The Miz on Bad Bunny WrestleMania match, reality show and losing WWE title to Lashley
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
The Miz has already had a busy year.
In January, the WWE Superstar kicked off a feud with recording artist Bad Bunny at the Royal Rumble after being the recipient of a crossbody block from the top rope to the outside of the ring.
Then, the following month, he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Drew McIntyre at Elimination Chamber to become a two-time WWE Champion. That run with the belt only lasted for a few weeks, but on the latest episode of "Out of Character with Ryan Satin," Miz says it was just as meaningful.
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"I didn’t want to be a one-trick pony. I didn’t want to have one title reign," he explained.
"I think as a WWE Superstar you always want to be that guy. No matter how long you have it. Whether it’s a month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute, it doesn’t matter. If you win the WWE Championship, you are that guy for that particular amount of time and it is your job to showcase the prestige and honor that everyone before you did."
As you’ll recall, Lashley defeated Miz for the WWE Championship in a Lumberjack Match on Raw back in March and the positive reaction from fans and his peers alike almost turned Lashley babyface in the process.
"Honestly, I think we created a moment of magic," Miz stated. "I had two Monday Night Raws with the WWE Championship, and I think we made Bobby an incredible monster, which he is, and I think a talent like Bobby Lashley deserved to be WWE Champion at that time."
"I was just proud that when he covered 1-2-3, and the lights went out, and the show was over, we had a lumberjack match and all our fellow WWE Superstars were around. You could hear an eruption of applause, not just from the WWE Superstars, but from the production crew as well because we all knew that Bobby deserved to be WWE Champion, and it was a great moment for everyone, in my opinion."
After losing the WWE title, Miz hopped back into feuding with Bad Bunny to resume setting the stage for their tag match at WrestleMania where he’d team with John Morrison against BB and partner Damien Priest – who had been in the mix since Royal Rumble.
As one would expect with a match involving a celebrity, a majority of the vocal fanbase on social media were quick to bash Bad Bunny’s initial appearances on the shows.
Some were unhappy with a famous person taking "the spot" of a Superstar on the WrestleMania card. Others assumed the singer wouldn’t take the match seriously like other celebrities have done in the past. Some just didn’t know who he was. For Miz, however, all of this provided a challenge.
"When I started going up against Bad Bunny," the wrestler said with honesty, "nobody wanted it. Everybody was like, ‘No! Bad Bunny shouldn’t be there. Why is Bad Bunny here?’ All I saw on Twitter was just negativity and I was like, I’m gonna prove these people wrong."
"When we did our match at WrestleMania, there wasn’t that negativity anymore. We proved them wrong and then people were like, ‘Oh, it was such a great story! Such a great match. Wow, incredible! He really put forth the effort. Bad Bunny did an incredible job! Blah blah.’ Applause, applause, applause."
"When something first starts, everyone always has to criticize, and be negative about it," Miz added. "Then, three months later, when you see the whole story unravel, and you see the match and everything that has happened, people are like ‘Applaud, I love it, oh my God, match of the night. Bravo!’
"So, it’s one of those things where, now, I use negativity to fuel my fire to turn it into something positive."
The match itself received praise from just about every single person who watches WWE programming.
Legends, currents stars, fans and journalists alike agreed Bad Bunny put on one of the best celebrity wrestling performances in the history of WrestleMania after pulling off a ton of impressive feats in the 15-minute match.
"To be honest, as much as I gave him a hard time throughout that entire three months, the guy honed in," admitted Miz. "He locked in, and he put forth the effort. He put in the work, and you could see at WrestleMania that he did put in the work. This wasn’t a one week, ‘I’ll get in the ring and try to figure everything out,’ this guy worked since Royal Rumble and was there each and every week."
"It brought a whole new audience to us. People that might not be WWE fans, are now WWE fans. That’s what bringing in a celebrity does, and I don’t think our hardcore fans—I think they do understand it, they just don’t like it, because they want to see their guys. The guys that maybe aren’t getting the shot at WrestleMania. They want to see their guys in that spot. So, I understand that Bad Bunny took a spot, but he also gave an opportunity to Damian Priest; who is, I think, one of their guys and a huge up and coming star in WWE."
With all of that going on at work and in the ring, you’d think Miz would relax when he’s at home. Instead, however, his year has remained just as busy there too due to the second half of "Miz and Mrs." season 2 premiering last month on USA Network.
The series focuses on Miz and his wife, Maryse, who is also a part-time WWE Superstar, raising their 3-year-old daughter, Monroe, and 1-year-old daughter, Madison, while living with their parents in a giant house.
According to Miz, who is Executive Producer of the series, their intent is to show that he and his wife go through the exact same situations as every other parent – even if they’re also WWE Superstars.
That includes making tough decisions like not wanting to have more children, which in turn meant one of them would have to undergo surgery to tie things up.
"This is an on-going story these next couple episode of Miz and Mrs," he noted of the recent reveal on the show. "This was a huge decision for both of us."
"I want to be able to do my job to the best of my ability, but I also want to be able to be the best dad and husband. My wife said the same thing. She wants to do her job the best she possibly can and be the best wife and mother she possibly can."
"So we both looked at that and said, ‘Are we done? And if we are done, who gets it done?’ So we’re going through that right now. Through the next couple of episodes, you’ll see actually what happens and it’s kinda, you’ll just have to wait and see. I will say this … you will laugh. You will laugh very very hard."
Miz and Mrs. airs Monday nights on USA Network at 11pm Eastern after Monday Night Raw.
For more with the WWE star on big moments in his career – like debuting against Tatanka, feuding with John Cena and wrestling against The Rock – check out the full 45-minute conversation on this week’s episode of Out of Character with Ryan Satin.
Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.
