Donald Wood sent this in.
Fellow columnists Mike Chiari, Brandon Galvin and myself had WWE Star The Miz on the show this week, and it was a great episode with plenty of exclusive content.
YouTube interview: http://youtu.be/pZ_7i6Erswk
Ring Rust Radio Episode: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ringrustradio/2015/02/03/ring-rust-radio–feb-3-w-wwe-star-the-miz-interview-and-raw-review
The Miz Interview
Donald Wood: You are guest starring on USA Network’s hit comedy series SIRENS this Tuesday, February 3rd. You are portraying an obsessive gym-goer named Lance. What kind of character should the fans expect and describe your experience on the set of the show.
The Miz: Here is what I want you to imagine: When you go to the gym, the guy grunting, wearing compression pants, barely has anything on, staring in the mirror, checking out his muscles, and flexing is the character that I am portraying right now. It was a lot of fun. I have been in a lot of gyms and seen a lot of these characters so it was a lot of fun to play. The cast of Sirens is just so cool and so fun. Sometimes when you do a guest-starring role, it’s very hard to come in because these guys all know each other and you don’t know anybody. They really made me feel like part of the family which made me very comfortable on set. That is acting 101, to be comfortable and relax and they made me feel like that. We had a lot of fun and it’s going to be a great episode. With Psych no longer on, I feel like Sirens has taking over where Psych left off. Psych was such a great show, a fun show, and an interesting show that I also once guest starred on. Now Sirens is taking over that funny, interesting, cool comedy that I’m really happy to be a part of.
Mike Chiari: When you appear on a TV show like Sirens or when you star in a movie, how does that translate and help you in terms of being a WWE Superstar? What things are you able to take away from those experiences and apply to your craft?
The Miz: You know anytime you get to act with different actors it’s a whole new experience. You learn so much about yourself and different things. Acting on a movie set is very different than acting in the WWE. In WWE we are performing for everybody in that arena. You have 18,000 strong cheering or booing you, where when you are on set you just have 20 people there. You don’t have anyone chanting “you suck” so it’s a completely different experience. You get more than one take, you get a bunch of different camera angles. You take what you learn from every experience and bring it back to the WWE. What I’ve learned is with acting and doing things for film you get a bunch of different takes, but in live TV you only get one.
Brandon Galvin: You’re one of WWE’s go-to Superstars for media tours, appear on nearly every show while also filming movies and TV show such as Sirens on USA. Being on the road so much, do you ever have time for yourself and is there something you enjoy doing on the road when you do have time to take a break?
The Miz: Time to myself is being in the WWE. We are on the road 250 days a year, we’re traveling, and the media stuff is a blast. I enjoy going to these different locations and going over the different media we do is a blast for me. Time to myself I don’t really need it. I’m young, I’m having fun, and as long as I’m having fun I don’t need time to myself. I want to work as much as possible because I enjoy what I’m doing.
Donald Wood: Recently, you have been working with Damien Mizdow in one of the most entertaining storylines in the company. The fans have really bought into the stunt double gimmick and love it, but there was serious tension teased as the Royal Rumble. What does the future hold for Miz and Mizdow and how much longer do you see the relationship lasting?
The Miz: It’s funny that every sees to see this tension brewing between Mizdow and myself. The fact is that Damian is a stunt double. What was he doing before he met me? Nothing. He was crazy, he was barely on TV, and he never had a championship. Since he has been with me I have brought him to the promise land. I have made him relevant. I have made people cheer for him and love him. The reason why they are cheering for him is because he is an extension of me. If you watch him he is doing everything I do. So in a sense, everyone is cheering for me. So teasing this and that and the other thing, as long as Damian keeps doing what he is doing then that is completely fine with me. As long as he knows his place and where he stands. If he starts thinking that he is better than his place then we will start having problems.
Mike Chiari: You and Damien Mizdow have consistently been one of the best parts of WWE programming over the past several months due largely to the dynamic you guys have and how the crowd reacts to it. Talk a little bit about why you guys are able to play off each other so well and how you’re able to help each other in terms of furthering your characters.
The Miz: It’s because I can play off of anyone and I am an amazing actor as well as a sport entertainer. I am a seasoned vet, I’ve been in WWE for ten years and I can make anybody look good. That is exactly what I am doing with Damian right now. I am making him look a million bucks, like the star that he could finally be. The problem is that if Damian decides that he is a bigger star than he really is, he is going to have a problem. Look at anyone that has been attached to me as a tag team partner, where are they at now? Look where Alex Riley is. You think he just wants to be in the preshow? No. Every Superstar wants to be in the main event of WrestleMania and do the things that I have done. If they over step their boundaries then they are going to have a problem. As long as Damian doesn’t overstep his boundaries, than he will be ok.
Brandon Galvin: I grew up and still am addicted to Real World and The Challenge and rooting for you to beat everybody. With WWE recently announcing 1 million subscriptions for the WWE Network and always looking for fun and original content, do you think WWE should hold its own version of The Challenge pitting WWE Superstars against each other? And if so, what type of format would you like to see and who would win?
The Miz: That would be very, very interesting show. That would be a lot of fun. Back when I did the Real World, it was so much fun back then. I was in my twenties, I got to go to these exotic locations, and preform these incredible challenges. To bring it to WWE would be incredible. I’m so proud of the WWE network and what it has accomplished. To get a million subscribers in the time it has been around is incredible. I love the content and think WWE is doing a fantastic job with keeping it new and relevant. They are giving you everything you want to see and more like the Monday Night Wars. I remember those growing up as a teenager and now I can watch them wherever and however I want with the WWE network. I think everyone has a great opportunity to check it out this month since this month is free.
Donald Wood: WWE recently announced the return of Tough Enough. You were one of the first and most successful stars of the show. Do you think bringing the show back was the right move for the company and what are some of the benefits and disadvantages of participating in Tough Enough?
The Miz: I only see benefits to be honest with you. You look at me: a person trying to make it to the WWE, trying to get there, it’s difficult, and it’s hard. Putting a show like Tough Enough on air you get to see what people have to go through to make it into WWE. That is just a part of it. That’s just the beginning round. They don’t tell you about the middle and even the end game. I think it’s a great opportunity for people and the fans to really appreciate what people have to go through on a day-to-day basis. I love the show and it gave me the opportunity to be a WWE Superstar. I thank that show every day because if that show was never there, there may never have been a Miz.
Mike Chiari: With the Royal Rumble in the rear-view mirror, the focus in WWE is now firmly on WrestleMania and the build toward it. There aren’t any guarantees right now aside from Brock Lesnar against Roman Reigns, but for you personally, what are you hoping for and what are you expecting to do at WrestleMania?
The Miz: Everybody wants that moment. That Monday after WrestleMania that everybody is talking about. Everybody saw that moment at the Super Bowl yesterday when Butler got that amazing interception and won that game that’s the kind of moment you want. Did he get the MVP? No he didn’t, but people are talking about Butler and that’s what I’m doing. Right now, Roman Reigns VS Brock Lesnar is probably going to be the main event at WrestleMania so obviously I can’t take that. I can make sure though that I have a moment that everybody remembers and is talking about that next morning. That is what the goal is.
Brandon Galvin: You’ve already been in the main event of WrestleMania, which included one of your all-time favorites in the Rock. If you could wrestle one person in a WrestleMania main event, would it be the Rock or somebody else now?
The Miz: Right now I would love to wrestle the Rock. It would be movie star VS movie star. Obviously I am a better actor than the Rock. I will be a bigger movie star I just need to find those couple of movies that really elevate me. I am building my cape and my resume right now to get to that level. Obviously the Rock is a little older than me and he is going to do great. I imagine I’ll be bigger, I’ll be the one hoisting up an Oscar and an Emmy and a Golden Globe as well as the WWE championship if we ever do get in that ring.
Mike Chiari: You headlined WrestleMania 27, retained the WWE Championship against John Cena and had a lot of interaction with The Rock along the way. Those are obviously all things that nobody can ever take away from you, but as a performer, what do you believe you need to do in order to get back to that level and get back in contention for WWE’s top prize?
The Miz: Everyone always has different answers for that type of question. I think they are a lot of things involved with getting to the main event of WrestleMania. With me when I started going towards the main event, I felt the elevation and kept feeling that every time I did something it got better and better. Right now I am feeling like I am in those beginning stages again. It takes a while to build until you get to that main event at WrestleMania. This WrestleMania main event is already set in stone, so I am looking forward to the next WrestleMania. To build and build, and get bigger and bigger. Just keep making entertaining television where people are captivated by the Miz and what I am doing. They always want to know what I am doing and what I am going to say when I am not there.
Brandon Galvin: Do you feel you’re still trying to prove yourself to fans, but more importantly, to the wrestlers in the locker room because your journey to the top was so unconventional?
The Miz: Every day of my life is a fight. I don’t think I will ever get the respect I deserve in the WWE. I will never go to the Philadelphia’s or the New York’s and get cheered or get “Miz is Awesome”. They just don’t like me and don’t respect me. They don’t respect the way I got to the WWE even though they respect people whose Daddy got them into the WWE which I find amazing to me. I felt like I did the right path and I did everything right. Obviously I did everything right because I am the one being successful and proving everyone wrong. So I do enjoy the negativity I get because I generate positivity out of it and use it as adrenaline and energy to basically go out there and perform to the best of my availability.