The Saudi Prince called: Former WWE superstar reveals how Vince McMahon changed plans for Greatest Royal Rumble

In 2018, Rusev was very popular and scheduled to face The Undertaker at the Greatest Royal Rumble. He narrated the story of how he was told about the match by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon on his Youtube show.

Rusev was a fan favourite in the WWE during the last few years. The ‘Rusev Day’ gimmick was extremely over with the audience as he became one of the top merchandise sellers for WWE during the peak of his popularity. Despite being a negative character on screen, Rusev was cheered heavily by the WWE Universe and it eventually led to a face turn for the former superstar. However, Rusev (now known as Miro) was released by WWE earlier this year.

Vince McMahon with The Undertaker. (WWE)

In 2018, Rusev was very popular and scheduled to face The Undertaker at the Greatest Royal Rumble. He narrated the story of how he was told about the match by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon on his Youtube show.

“I thought it was a rib. I got called in the office by Vince. He said ‘Miro, I got you working with The Undertaker in Saudi Arabia’. I’m like (laughs) and ‘I’m winning right?’ That’s exactly what I said, that’s what exactly my reaction was.”

“Because I thought he was joking. So I said, ‘I’m going over, right?’ He was like ‘Hahaha.’ He looked at me kind of weird. I’m like ‘Alright sir, I’ll see you next time’,” recalls Rusev.

But McMahon thought making Rusev lose in a PPV with thousands of people watching would be detrimental to his babyface run. So he was replaced by Chris Jericho in the Casket Match against The Undertaker. But Rusev revealed that those plans also changed as the Saudi Prince called McMahon to reinstate him into the match at the Greatest Royal Rumble.

Rusev eventually lost the match to the Undertaker but it was a dream come true for the Bulgarian as he got the chance to wrestle one of the greatest in the world of professional wrestling.