He’s The Miz, and he must be awesome.With so few spots on the roster — especially compared to the number of hopefuls worldwide hoping for that one big break — making it within WWE’s sports entertainment empire is a very difficult task.
The Miz met the task head-on, making the most of his opportunity to achieve a spot and then keep it. Not resting on any laurels, the WWE superstar continues to improve, climbing the ladder of success in sports entertainment’s top company, on its top TV show.
The Miz is one of the most hated WWE superstars, but that’s a good thing, because these sports entertainers want fans to either despise them or love them. Fans do despise The Miz, booing with every look, movement and sound.
The Miz retaliated by becoming a WWE U.S. champ, a WWE tag team champ, a World tag team champ and a WWE Unified tag team champ.
The Miz, in all his glory, will be in South Florida when WWE’s top TV show Monday Night Raw visits the AmericanAirlines Arena for a live three-hour special on June 7 in Miami. Cast members from the much-hyped, summer action movie The A-Team will be guest hosts, and the live broadcast begins at 8 p.m. on the USA Network.
What can South Florida fans expect from The Miz on June 7?
“Always expect the unexpected from me,” Miz said, “because you never know what’s going to happen. It’s Monday Night Raw. It’s live. It’s not taped. It is live in front of the thousands of people in Miami [the AmericanAirlines Arena seats 20,000], live in front of millions of people watching at home [Raw draws 4.5 to 5-million viewers].
“You never know exactly what’s going to happen. However, it is a three-hour Raw, so it’s definitely going to be a special Raw and with the cast of the [20th Century Fox movie] The A-Team hosting it. So you never know what’s going to happen. It’s going to be some kind of insanity when we’re there in Miami.”
UFC fighter Quinton Rampage Jackson portrays B.A. (Bad Attitude) Baracus, a role played by Mr. T in The A-Team action adventure television series of the 1980s. The A-Team movie is being released Friday, June 11.
Any Miz thoughts on The A-Team?
“I’m actually quite excited to see Rampage Jackson as Mr. T,” Miz said. “I think Mr. T did such an amazing job with that character, and now for Rampage Jackson to pull off that kind of character, it will be interesting to see how he does.
“Bradley Cooper [who plays Templeton Faceman Peck], you always know you’re going to get a great response from him. Him being in The Hangover and all the other movies he’s done, he’s always on point. So I’m kind of excited to see how Rampage Jackson does.”
Who would WWE superstar The Miz fare against UFC fighter Rampage Jackson?
“I think we’re from two different realms,” The Miz said, “but if you put the realms together, and you put him in my ring, instead of an octagon, then I guarantee I’ll be OK, and he will probably have to take the Skull-Crushing Finale [full nelson facebuster].”
What does The Miz think of Miami/South Florida?
“I actually love Miami, Florida,” The Miz said. “Two years ago, I was there for New Year’s. Every year my friends from high school [Normandy High School in Parma, Ohio] and I meet up together and go to one place for New Year’s, and Miami was that place two years ago.
“We got to go to the Orange Bowl [football game where Virginia Tech defeated Cincinnati 20-7 on Jan. 1, 2009 at then Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens]. It was amazing. It’s always beautiful. South Beach has some of the most beautiful people you’ll ever see in your life. It’s fun.”
Miami was close to hosting WrestleMania 2011. What would it be like if Miami got a WrestleMania?
“I’m hoping Miami does,” The Miz said. “As great as Phoenix is, as great as Houston is, Miami is a huge, huge market as well as just a fun area to be for a week. So I could just imagine the WrestleMania Week that would happen, if we had it in Miami.”
Miami has hosted many NFL Super Bowls successfully and would welcome sports entertainment’s bigger version.
“WrestleMania Week is always so much fun,” The Miz continued. “People compare it to the Super Bowl, where the Super Bowl has an entire week of stuff to do for fans. That’s what WrestleMania Axxess is, and to be in Miami, Florida would be incredible.”
The Miz attended Miami University, the one in Ohio. A member of the Theta Chi Fraternity, he studied business at the Richard T. Farmer School of Business. He left college to appear on the 10th season of MTV’s reality TV program The Real World in 2001.
During an episode of The Real World, he introduced an alter ego known as The Miz. In contrast to his placid demeanor, the Miz was angry, combative and headstrong. He realized The Miz would make an excellent character in sports entertainment, and he proved it.
The Miz debuted for Ultimate Pro Wrestling under the direction of Rick Bassman. While attending acting classes, The Miz trained at UPW’s Ultimate University in Southern California.
Ultimate University has a solid history. The wrestling school sent some graduates to Zero One in Japan; Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe and So Cal Val to TNA Wrestling; and more than 30 to WWE including John Cena, Deuce, Jon Heidenreich, Chris Masters, Melina, Ryan Sakoda, Victoria, Lena Yada and The Miz.
How did the catch phrase `I’m The Miz, and I’m awesome’ get its start?
“It’s funny. I’ve always wanted to say that, and I wanted to do it when I was tagging with John Morrison, but there was never the right moment to find a new catch phrase for me,” Miz said. “When I separated from John, I had to cut a promo, and always in a promo, you want a strong finish. The best way to have a strong finish — no matter what — is to have a catch phrase.
“That’s something that defines you, that basically says what you are and who you are, and so I kind of came up with, `I’m The Miz, and I’m awesome.’
“It was absolutely one of those things that I thought, `Man, this is ridiculous, but it could get over,’ and it has since. So it worked out well.”
Why does FCW star and your former WWE NXT protégé Daniel Bryan disrespect you?
“Daniel Bryan disrespects The Miz because of the same reason everybody else disrespects me. Nobody has any respect for me, and they think just because I came from a reality [TV] background that everyone knows everything.
“Let’s face it. Before I was on The Real World, I was already doing independent wrestling. Granted, I didn’t travel all over the world like Daniel Bryan did, but I got picked up before I could. So it’s not my fault I was talented enough to get a contract before I went through all the worldwide stuff.
“I did have to pay to go to school for wrestling.
“Daniel Bryan disrespects me just because he’s been all over the world wrestling. He’s been doing it for 10 years, and he’s earned his way. Yada. Yada. Yada.
“The fact is if he was so good, why wasn’t he in WWE before? Why didn’t they hire him? Because he wasn’t that good. He’s over-rated, and I’m sick of hearing him say, `I’m better than you. I’m better than you.’
“I made Daniel Bryan a star in WWE, and the reason I say this is because I created attention toward Daniel Bryan by me berating him and telling him he’s not doing well and yelling at him every week. That made it interesting, made him interesting, and if you watch [WWE NXT], you’ve seen new things come out of Daniel Bryan that you’ve never expected. That’s what I do. I bring things out of people, and I make them better.
“Does Daniel Bryan appreciate it? No.”
If it wasn’t for The Miz, would we even be discussing Daniel Bryan?
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. No one would even be talking about him without me. If he had another pro, because he wanted another pro, and he blames me for him losing, even though he’s the one who cast himself off of NXT.
“Nobody would be talking about him. I’m the reason people are talking about him. I’m the reason that he has attention. Granted, has he taken the ball and rolled with it? Absolutely. But the fact is he would never been as big as he is now, which isn’t that big, if it wasn’t for me.”
Do you respect Daniel Bryan?
“I respect everyone I get in the ring with. As far as wrestling ability, I haven’t seen it. I haven’t seen the Daniel Bryan everyone’s talked about, the best in the world. I haven’t seen anything. I think he was a big fish in a little pond, but when that big fish comes to the bigger pond, then he’s kind of lost, and he realizes there’s more star power in this company than he’s ever seen.”
Best tag team partner you’ve had?
“Best tag team partner I’ve had so far would have to be me. I have carried all my tag team partners. The reason why I’ve won so much gold in tag teams is because I’m a tag team specialist. I’ve won it with John Morrison. I’ve won it with Big Show. I would have won it with Jericho, if he wouldn’t have messed up. Those things happen.”
So who would you team with? Daniel Bryan or Michael Cole?
“I’d team with Michael Cole in a heartbeat,” Miz said. “Just from his promo [May 25] on WWE NXT, he hit all the solid points that I’ve been wanting to say the past couple of weeks, and it was just incredible to watch Michael Cole tell Daniel Bryan exactly how it is, because I’m sick of Daniel Bryan blaming everyone else besides himself.
“Daniel Bryan was No. 1 in the pros poll to win the whole thing, and I honestly think that was because of me, and he ended up losing because he said he should be eliminated. So what kind of person says, `I should be eliminated,’ and then blames it on his pro?
“Michael Cole basically called him out. I’ll take Michael Cole everyday of the week.”
Do you feel like you’ve finally reached a point in your career where other sports entertainers are respecting you and your work?
“I still think I have a ways to go. I think, no matter what, I’ll always have that cliché that he’s a reality star. He’s not one of us. He’s an outsider, but I could care less.
“I don’t care what people think. I’ve had people discouraging me and berating me all my life — telling me I’m not good enough, telling me I’m not big enough. I use it as ammunition to be the best.
“When I am WWE champion or the World heavyweight champion, I still don’t think I’ll get the respect that I deserve. But do I care? No, because then I’ll be at the top of my game.”
• WWE Monday Night Raw, a three-hour special on the USA Network, begins 8 p.m. June 7 from the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.
See WWE superstars and divas from Raw and SmackDown in a viewers choice event.
Raw includes The Miz, John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, John Morrison, Mark Henry, Sheamus, Ted DiBiase, Virgil, Evan Bourne, R-Truth, Santino Marella, Maryse, Alicia Fox, William Regal, Melina, Goldust, Zach Ryder, The Great Khali, The Bella Twins, The Uso brothers, Tamina, David Hart Smith, Tyson Kidd, Natalya and Bret The Hitman Hart.
SmackDown includes MVP, Jack Swagger, Christian, Beth Phoenix, CM Punk, Big Show, Matt Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Kane, Drew McIntyre, Finlay, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, Michelle McCool, Trent Barreta, Tiffany, Caylen Croft, Vance Archer, Shad, Serena, Kofi Kingston, Theodore Long and more.
Guest hosts will be cast members of the action movie The A-Team including UFC fighter Quinton Rampage Jackson.
Tickets, ranging from $20-$70, are on sale at TicketMaster online, by phone at 800-745-3000 or at the arena box office. Prices do not include facility fees and service charges.
