April marks the twentieth anniversary of The Miz’s first appearance on WWE SmackDown, with the star reflecting on his career.
An entrant in Tough Enough season four, The Miz would appear at WWE Armageddon in December 2004 as Mike Mizanin before returning as the name by which he is known today.
While his in-ring debut on SmackDown wouldn’t take place until September 2006, The Miz would find himself blocked from making his debut on SmackDown in April of that year, going on to host the show in June, as well as being a backstage interviewer, among other roles.
With twenty years under his belt as a WWE star, The Miz recently reflected on the achievement in an interview with Esteban Ramirez, saying:
“When I first heard, I was like ‘God, I’ve been here for 20 years. I’ve been here longer than most people.’
“As a kid growing up in Parma, Ohio, there’s no way, if you would have told me ‘Hey, you’re going to be not only a WWE superstar, you’re going to win every title there is to win. You’re going to be the first ever two-time Grand Slam champion, that’s not going to be The Rock, your hero, or Stone Cold Steve Austin, or Hulk Hogan or Ultimate Warrior, it’s going to be you.’ If you would have told me that, I’d have said, no possible way.
“Even in high school, if you would’ve told me that, I was like six-foot-nothing. I wasn’t a big, jacked guy; I wasn’t six-seven, 300 pounds all muscle, no. How could I do that?
“(The Real World TV series) showed me that I could do anything I wanted with my life, and I chose to be a WWE superstar, and I haven’t looked back since.”
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The 2001 season of The Real World would see The Miz drop out of college to pursue his dream, going on to multiple appearances on spin-off series, and landing his own reality series on USA Network alongside his real-life wife, Maryse, under the title Miz & Mrs.
The Rocky Road To WWE Stardom
In a now well-recorded incident, The Miz was banned from the WWE locker room for a period of time, having commited the sin of eaten chicken over another star’s bag.
Forced to change in corridors or closets, The Miz would be unable to engage with other WWE stars in the backstage environment, effectively being ostracized from others.
It would be The Undertaker who would eventually reverse the decision, with The Miz having clearly learned his lesson, going on to be the respected WWE star that fans see today.
The mindset of The Miz has seen Camelo Hayes reflect on the support he has received from the WWE veteran, not just in the ring but in backstage interactions of their own.
In an era where WWE has released many stars with lengthy tenures, The Miz has been a constant since his first appearance, and is, indeed, the first two-time Grand Slam Champion in company history, with Seth Rollins as the only other star to achieve that accolade.
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