The Miz talks about nearly fired, Danielson and his rise...

Rjd2

Awesome interview. Imagine the E without Miz:(

I thought he was doomed when he moved to Raw, how wrong I was.:)

Mattel and the WWE decided to grab Comic Con in a giant headlock by holding a joint panel featuring WWE Superstars The Miz and Eve, WWE SVP of Creative Writing Brian Gewirtz, WWE Lead Writer Ed Kosky and top Mattel toy designers.

IGN had a chance to speak with the United States Champion, and recent Money in the Bank contract winner, The Miz, about starting in UPW, Bryan Danielson, improving as a wrestler and Comic Con madness!

IGN TV: How much to do you feel you’ve moved beyond your reality TV beginnings?

The Miz: I am ever evolving. If you look at me today and you look back at me when I was 20 on The Real World, nine years ago, I was a completely different person. I am very different from who I was back then. I’ve lived and I’ve learned. As far as being on The Real World, I had so much fun doing it. How many times in your life do you get to live in a house with seven strangers you’ve never met. Oh, and you’re someone who also has never been outside of Ohio and you get to move to a melting pot like New York City and get overwhelmed by how big it all is. You just learn a lot by meeting different people who come from various backgrounds and cultures. I had never been exposed to that. It just made me want to absorb more and want more. So after I got done with The Real World I had to move to LA because I didn’t want to be in Cleveland anymore. Because Cleveland is small. I don’t want to say it’s all small-minded, but where I lived it was very much like that. You go to high school and then you go to college and then you have a family and there was this one way of doing things. I wanted more out of life, so I moved to LA and started my wrestling school. My parents did not want me to do it.

IGN: Who was there with you in UPW?

Miz: The Ballard Brothers actually trained me. They taught me how to lock up and how to run the ropes. They taught me all the basics. Other people who were around were Frankie Kazarian. Samoa Joe was down there. Cena had just left when I got there. Right before I came. I don’t think anyone else that’s in the WWE was there. Mike Knox was in IZW and I wrestled him a couple times while on the independents. Those are the main guys, more or less. Everyone else quits. And trust me, I’ve seen a lot of people come in and a lot of people quit.

IGN: What was it like for you, coming from the independents, to get put in the story with Bryan Danielson on NXT?

Miz: I loved it. When they said that Bryan Danielson was going to be my “rookie” I thought it was a genius move. It really was. I mean, think about it. I’m the guy who everyone looks down at and says “this guy can’t wrestle. We can’t stand him.” And they look at him like a god. They look at him and call him the best technical wrestler in the world. Now I didn’t know Danielson at the time he came in so the way I looked at it was like this: I was like “screw these people who say he’s the best. He’s never been in the WWE.” He’s travelled all over the world but the WWE is a different entity. It’s nothing like anything he’s ever experienced.

IGN: Do you think people don’t really know how hard you’ve had to work to get where you’re at?

Miz: Yeah. Definitely. Nobody knows that. People just think I went from reality TV right to the WWE. They think that the WWE sought me out because I was on a reality TV show and they just scooped me up because I liked wrestling. That wasn’t the case. I paid my way to get into a school $2,500 by the way. I had to pay out of my own pocket to learn how to wrestle while I was still a star on MTV and doing their shows. And I didn’t mind paying because it was one of those things where I knew this was what I wanted to do. So for three years I was on the independents. Sorry it didn’t take me ten. My bad. It took me three because I had something that the WWE was looking for. Now does Bryan Danielson have “it?” To be completely honest with you, I think he did a tremendous job while he was on NXT. As far as developing a persona. People are still chanting his name to this day.

Do I think he got the short end of the stick on the whole Nexus thing? Of course. But the fact is he is no longer here so you live and you learn. But as far as Danielson is concerned, he won me over. He changed my mind about him. I thought he was just going to be a guy who couldn’t talk. And then I saw a couple of his matches on the independents and I wasn’t really blown away. I think it’s because everyone kept telling me “he’s the best in the world.” I think he was so hyped up by all his indie friends that – you know when everyone tells you that a movie is the best and “oh, man. You’ve gotta see this movie”? You know when you see clips from a movie and it all looks great and then you go see the whole thing and you come out and you say “Well, it was good but…it wasn’t as great as everyone said it was.” That was Danielson to me. But then I also thought that towards the end he proved himself.

IGN: When you first debuted, people said that you couldn’t wrestle. You’ve gone through a few finishers now. How would you say you’ve evolved in the ring? What would you say your style is?

Miz: Oh, man. I would say I have evolved in everything. I am very hard working. I would say my style isn’t flashy. It’s not high-flying. I’m obviously a mouth. I’ll talk anyone to death. I’m sort of a sneaky person, to where I get my way. And I want to win and I have the drive to do it.

IGN: If you could actually pick the wrestler to cash in your Money in the Bank contract on and take the title from, who would you pick?

Miz: Cena, And here’s why. Because I had six months where I ripped him to shred in my promos. Just months and months of ripping him and ripping him. Right up until the Pay Per View match where he just killed me. And let’s face it. I wasn’t ready for Cena. We all knew I wasn’t ready for Cena. But now? Right now? I think I’m getting there. I’m just at the point where I really think I could take him.

IGN: There’s a youth movement going on in the WWE now. Guys like Sheamus and Swagger have won World Titles and sort of skipped over a lot of stuff. Do you prefer your path better? Winning tag belts and other titles before you get the big gold?

Miz: Yes. I actually enjoy my path better. Just because I don’t want to get thrown in there and have people say “he doesn’t deserve it.” I want to get thrown in there and have people say “man, this guy has worked his butt off.” I was on the “future endeavored” list, at least, three or four times. And I’d heard it from people in the know. And they’d tell me “you gotta turn it up or do something or else you’re gone.” So then I did. Every time I went out I’d try to think of new stuff. John Morrison and myself would literally say “okay, we’ve got a lot of time to wrestle but the people don’t know who we are. So we came up with “The Dirt Sheet” on dot com. We were the first people to ever do a show like that on dot com. And it became the number one show. People kept trying to copy us and do spinoffs, but ours worked because John and I had a certain kind of chemistry. And that’s when people started thinking we were for real.

The way my career’s gone, I started on Smackdown as the host. And people were saying as soon as I got out there “oh, he’s future endeavored.” ECW. “Oh, he’s going to be future endeavored.” And then when John and I split everyone said he was going to go to the top and I was going to fall down and fail. Then I got killed by Cena and everyone said “Oh, that guy’s done.” Once I got the U.S. Championship people have started changing their minds and saying “oh, he’s never going to be future endeavored. He’s too much of a talent.” I had to build to that. I’ve seen everyone criticize me. Trust me. I read the internet things. I try to see who writes what and stuff like that and I check to see if I’ve changed their mind. And the best part is when you see the people who were ripping you apart in the beginning change their mind about you.

IGN: You’re here in the heart of Comic Con. Are these your people, or do you like to keep at a distance?

Miz: Oh, I enjoy everyone. Even though I’m a jerk in the ring, I enjoy seeing nerds. I enjoy the Storm Troopers. I actually haven’t seen that many Storm Troopers around. I thought there’d be more here. I also thought I’d have seen fifty Harry Potters too. I saw Optimus Prime, but then someone told me [in nerd voice] “that’s not Optimus Prime that’s Voltron.” And that’s when you know you’ve made it. When you’ve got nerds correcting you about Voltron.

http://ie.tv.ign.com/articles/110/1107768p1.html

Jolt2007

What a great man. Love him or hate him you do have to admire all the hard work he's done and is doing. The guy's always doing some interview or appearance or something.

Rjd2 wrote: »

Imagine the E without Miz:(

Don't say that :mad::(

That blue writing is woeful. Thanks for the link though, great read.

Mr.Nice Guy

I don't like the guy but I'll concede that he has worked hard to get to where he is. Good interview.

Degag

Personally, i think The Miz is one of the best things in the WWE at the moment.

campo

The Miz is AWESOME.........

2nd Row Donkey

Good read.

He's changed my view on him over the last few months.
(not that he cares what some random internet weirdo from Ireland thinks about him .... or does he? hmmm)

JP Liz V1

I still would love to see a feud with him and Bryan

waltersobchak

Good interview.. But he's still the Jiz as far as im concerned..

Diabhal Beag

waltersobchak wrote: »

Good interview.. But he's still the Jiz as far as im concerned..

Ya but you didn't even think Percy Watson was good till I told ya. You fall behind on great things :pac:

Good interview.

D2D

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Ya but you didn't even think Percy Watson was good till I told ya. You fall behind on great things :pac:

Good interview.

I'll never, ever believe that line.

Anyway, Miz has come on leaps and bounds over the past 2 years imho. Awesome read

JP Liz V1

For me I think he needs a good decent feud while I agree he is "awesome" on the mic and I think a feud with someone like Randy Orton or Chris Jericho would really help get him over as a legit main eventer imo

sky88

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Ya but you didn't even think Percy Watson was good till I told ya. You fall behind on great things :pac:

Good interview.

percy watson is amazing

i think the miz is great on the mic and all but i just dont see him as a main eventer but ill guess hes going to be so il have to get used to it

glenjamin

I saw Optimus Prime, but then someone told me [in nerd voice] “that’s not Optimus Prime that’s Voltron.” And that’s when you know you’ve made it. When you’ve got nerds correcting you about Voltron.

Lol

waltersobchak

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Ya but you didn't even think Percy Watson was good till I told ya. You fall behind on great things :pac:

Good interview.

I believe your the one who's jumped the bandwagon, as i believe it was you who slagged him off in the first podcast:cool::pac:

Terry

waltersobchak wrote: »

I believe your the one who's jumped the bandwagon, as i believe it was you who slagged him off in the first podcast:cool::pac:

I've grown to like him. I can't help but like anyone who is as good on the mic as he is.
Yes, he can be hit and miss, but it's more hit.

On a pg show, he is one of the best performers they have at the moment.

Diabhal Beag

waltersobchak wrote: »

I believe your the one who's jumped the bandwagon, as i believe it was you who slagged him off in the first podcast:cool::pac:

No you said you didn't watch NXT and I told you he was the only reason to watch.

I agree the Miz has come on in leaps and bounds since he split from Morrison.

Headshot

im a big fan of the miz, one of the best wrestlers on the mic

himself and MRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Anderson best in the business today

paddyismaddy

i am not a fan of the miz i just cant take to him

gimmick

Am I mistaken in thinking that "interview" was done partly in character?

I could not enjoy it at all. Either it was in chraacter or extremely badly written.