Rusev Opens Up About The Importance Of Looking Like An Athlete and Body Insecurity Issues

November 3, 2025

Rusev answers if he’s ever dealt with any insecurity about his physique.

Rusev in 2025 looks vastly different from the Rusev of 2013 when it comes to his physique. The Bulgarian Brute has packed on a significant amount of muscle since his NXT days. His improved build was even highlighted by commentary shortly after he made his WWE return on the RAW after WrestleMania.

The former WWE United States Champion was a guest on his wife CJ Perry’s podcast, Identity Crisis, where he was asked by co-host Jonathan Saba if he had ever faced body insecurities due to the nature of his work.

“Any business where you have to go out there, expose yourself, and put yourself out there… I think you have to have insecurities,” he said. “I mean, when I grew up, I was always watching Arnold [Schwarzenegger] and [Sylvester] Stallone — all these guys were jacked. Watching all the action heroes back then, they didn’t look like the action heroes now. I mean, now they’re picking back up with the muscles and stuff like that.

“So for me, it was really important to look like an athlete. Throughout the years, I was doing all kinds of martial arts, rowing, and basketball. Being athletic has always been a part of me.

“But you have to — in my opinion — I have to look good because I want to go out there, look at myself, and be proud of how I look. I don’t want to be like, ‘Oh man…’ and start pinpointing different things and nitpicking. Of course, ‘I’m fat here, I’m fat there,’ blah blah blah. But yeah, my physical ability is very important to me.”

Rusev on always wanting to improve his physique

When asked if he sees himself as a “god of muscles” when looking in the mirror, Rusev replied that he does not view himself that way because he always wants to improve.

“No. You always want to improve certain things. I think that’s what pushes some people to be better than others. I can’t even imagine looking at myself in the mirror like, ‘Oh man, you look freakin’ great bro. Why even go to the gym?’ I’d never even imagine that.

“It’s always, ‘This little bit, this little bit, maybe a little bit here, maybe a little bit here. Okay, if I do cardio extra for this long, maybe this will help.’ That’s always been the process, it’s never being happy with the final product.”