Wrestler The Miz has spoken to NME about Snoop Dogg “sucker-punching” him, his iconic theme song, and still proving that he’s more than “just a reality guy”.
Last Friday (March 28), Smackdown was held at London’s O2 Arena as part of the Road To WrestleMania tour. At the show, The Miz confronted Jimmy Uso and lost an impromptu match against him.
Ahead of the show, Miz – real name Michael Mizanin – reminisced on his love for music, especially metal. “Right now, I’ve been listening to the new Sleep Token [single] ‘Emergence’, Bad Omens, Falling in Reverse,” he told NME. “Those are the kinds of bands that have been on my playlist non-stop, so that’s what I’ve been listening to quite a bit. Sleep Token’s – since I had 11 hours to fly over to Europe – probably been repeated a million times.”
Mizanin is also a self-proclaimed fan of ‘90s rap, revealing that he listens to “Tupac, Biggie, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – because I’m from Cleveland” while he works out.
Funnily enough, his theme song ‘I Came To Play’ blends both genres and has been with him since his WWE debut in 2006, becoming one of the company’s most recognisable tracks. The track was created by Downstrait, the band behind other fan-favourite themes for other wrestlers such as Cody Rhodes (‘Kingdom’), Dolph Ziggler (‘Here To Show The World’) and Matt Cardona (‘When the Lights Go Down’).
“I do remember the day I got my theme song,” The Miz said with a smile. “The first time I heard my theme song was in a car. I had a CD – yes, back in the day we had CDs. And so, I was with Zack Ryder or Matt Cardona, however you want, and Nic Nemeth [formerly known as Dolph Ziggler]. And I put the CD in, and I go, ‘Guys, I got a new song. We have to see if this is good or not.’”
The CD contained multiple potential themes, with some being “Kid Rock-y”. Mizanin continued: “I liked the rap-rock, nu-metal-type stuff, but it just wasn’t there. Then when ‘I Came to Play’ came on, we all looked at each other like, ‘This is awesome, this is perfect.’”
The song has since become a sporting anthem: “Now, it’s crazy, like you’ll hear it at sporting events. And I’m like, ‘That’s my song’. Literally, it was made for me. The fact that my song was Downstait’s biggest song until Cody came along… that kind of sucks, but it’s alright.”
NME asked The Miz why he thinks Downstait’s music resonates with wrestling fans. “Downstait’s a very good band,” he answered. “They’re able to write a song and embody the character, really allowing it to [be] showcased and allow the crowd to get behind them.”
“[In general] Music allows our entrance music to help our character,” he added. “It helps you know exactly who the person is and how to feel about that person when they come out. If it’s dark and ominous, like the Undertaker, you know it’s eerie and evil. Or if it’s fun, like Rey Mysterio, you know it’s upbeat and energetic.”
As arrogant-yet-beloved The Miz, Mizanin has had his fair share of monumental moments inside the ring, even taking a blow from various pop stars. One of his biggest moments was at WrestleMania 39, when – while co-hosting the event with him – WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg gave him The Rock’s finisher, The People’s Elbow.
“Usually hosting WrestleMania just involves you literally coming out, welcome everyone to the show, maybe do a couple of backstage stuff and then announce the attendance,” The Miz recounted. “For me, at SoFi in Los Angeles, I had like two matches: [my] first match was against [sports commentator] Pat McAfee the first day on Saturday. Then on Sunday, I ended up having a match against Shane McMahon, which ended up turning into Snoop Dogg just sucker-punching me and giving me a People’s elbow that people talked about still to this day.”
He also recalled the time when “Bad Bunny got in the ring with [him] and ended up beating [him up]” when explaining how cool it was that “huge, worldwide stars” not just have an interest, but really lock in and take pride in what we do”.
“Bad Bunny would go do the Grammys, come back and train,” The Miz added. “He was locking in and wanted to learn because this was a dream for him.”
For the 21-time champion, the whole experience was a reminder of what WWE is all about: “creating moments that last a lifetime.”
But outside of the wrestling ring, The Miz is known for being a reality star as well. From his early days on MTV’s The Real World to his time on Total Divas and Miz and Mrs, reality TV has played a huge role in his career, but Mizanin got candid with NME about the stigma he has faced due to it.
“Back then, it was very difficult. [In the early 2000s,] whenever you tried to do something other than being on a reality show, you were a no talent hack,” he admitted. “You were just a person that can go on a reality show and be in front of a camera. Now we know there are differences in reality stars, right? There [are] some people that are just wallpaper, are just there to stand around and other people that actually make magic on television.”
Mizanin continued: “Back then, we didn’t know. We didn’t know who the talent was or if there was any talent, and no one wanted to know. It was very difficult to get into anything, and you really had to work and struggle. It took a long time. It’s still taking a long time. I still sometimes have that in the back of my head, like, ‘Alright, they still see me as just a reality guy. I’ll show them.’”
WrestleMania 41 will take place on April 19 and April 20 in Las Vegas, with CM Punk, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins main-eventing night one. On night two, the main event will be John Cena (in his last year of wrestling) challenging the current WWE champ Cody Rhodes in hopes of becoming a record-breaking 17-time World champion in the company. You can find any available tickets here.
US fans can watch WrestleMania via Peacock, and most international fans can watch WWE’s most prestigious event on Netflix.
In other news, Lewis Capaldi appeared during last Friday’s Smackdown, aligning himself with fellow Scotsman Drew McIntyre by congratulating him backstage after his win against Randy Orton.