The Miz recently spoke with Ben Kiely in an interview for Sportskeeda Wrestling. The former WWE champion discussed several topics, including Big E’s potential and the challenges of wrestling during the COVID-19 era. Here are some highlights:
On performing without fans:
Miz: “The thing I miss the most about everything that’s happening is the WWE universe, and as much as they tell me I suck and how much they boo me and tell me how horrible I am, you miss them. The WWE universe gives an electricity like no other show I’ve ever been to, and so to not have them there live in person is a lot different, it’s a different experience. And we had to hone in on who I am as a talent and how do I deal with this sort of situation, and I think WWE has been doing a terrific job at that with a lot of these cinematic matches that you’ve been seeing.”
“And now we have a Thunderdome where we have virtual fans, we have the most virtual fans that anyone has ever seen, and that’s just what WWE does. When things happen in the world, we adapt and we make sure that we give our audience, whether it’s live or through a television screen, the entertainment that they need, especially in situations right now.”
On Big E’s potential to succeed right now:
Miz: “I was talking this out with Big E on a new show on WWE network called Talking Smack, and we were in a discussion, not a heated discussion but we were, I was listening, he was listening, we were both talking, but we were on different sides of the page on, I think it was about Kofi [Kingston.] And I was saying, Big E right now is trying for a singles kind of push, he’s going for going on his own, going away from New Day, and I was telling him like, how are you going to gauge this? Because we don’t have an audience. Like the way Kofi did it was, if the audience wasn’t there, I don’t think Kofi could have done what we did because the audience was the reason that I believe, well obviously, Kofi is an extraordinary talent and is amazing in the ring, but that audience, you could hear it. There was no one more loved than Kofi, and if that audience wasn’t there, you wouldn’t know that.”
“So now with Big E, I was curious to see if he’s thinking the same way and he’s not. When I was in [this] discussion on Talking Smack, I told Big E that he needs to be more serious because that’s the way the brass looks at their top-tier talent, the main eventers. And Big E got serious with me and started talking to me.”
“What he was telling me and the way he was telling it to me, that’s the Big E that is a main eventer. That is the Big E that, if he hones in and locks in, he will be a Universal Champion by, I would say, before the end of the year.”
On whether it’s more difficult to be a face or a heel:
Miz: “Honestly, it’s really easy to get people to hate me. Like you look at me, I just have a very punchable face and when people see it, they just don’t like me. I just have that effect on people.”
“I have “the Miz” down I guess you could say, and I know who I am as a person, as a father, as a family man, so I’m able to gauge both.”
The full interview is available here:
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