WWE star The Miz recently opened up about how being isolated early in his wrestling career helped shape the way he now treats younger talent backstage. After struggling to fit into the WWE locker room years ago, Miz says he now works hard to make sure new wrestlers feel welcomed and supported.
Early in his WWE run, Miz faced heavy criticism from other wrestlers because of his reality television background. At one point, he was even banned from the WWE locker room for several months.
Over time, however, Miz earned respect through his hard work and eventually became one of WWE’s veteran leaders backstage.
The Miz says his difficult early WWE experience helped shape his current role
Speaking on Almost Athletes with Dude Perfect, The Miz explained that he now takes his leadership role in WWE very seriously and wants to help new wrestlers succeed.
“My job right now as a WWE Superstar is to make sure that when new people come into WWE, like it’s a gimmick that I’m a locker room leader, but literally I take it very seriously. It might be like, ‘Yeah, master, inspire, zone in, Miz method. I’m the locker room leader.’ But I want to make sure that when the new guys come up, that they are successful in everything they can possibly do.”
“That is our job, to make sure they’re successful and to make them feel as comfortable as possible because when a person’s very comfortable coming in, because I wasn’t. I was ostracized. I was thrown out of the locker room. I was not wanted because everyone was like, ‘He’s from The Real World. He just wants another 15 minutes of fame.'”
“They didn’t understand how much I loved and adored this business as a child. They didn’t care. They were just like, ‘Get this guy out of here.’ I don’t want anyone to ever feel that coming into WWE. I want the best possible performance ever. And I think everyone’s on the same boat.”
The Miz Claims WWE has the best locker room he’s ever seen
The Miz said, “Our locker room has literally mended together and is probably the best locker room I’ve seen. You know, we sit there and play video games. We talk to one another. We will observe each other’s matches, give tips, give everything. So, we’re always working together from a production standpoint, from the writers.”
“You can watch Unreal on Netflix right now. Literally, they’re showing you the insights of what it is. And a lot of old-timers hate that show. I love it because it shows exactly how hard it is to be in WWE. Every single person counts. Whether you’re the microphone person or lighting or cameras, everything matters. Every person that works for WWE matters.”
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