Insight with Chris Van Vliet
The Miz: 20+ Years Of AWESOME, Headlining WrestleMania, Tough Enough, Maryse, The Rock
13 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is discussed at the start of this section?
Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Vliet! How do you want to start it?
I guess we're starting it right now.
Are we starting it right now? Is that how you want? That's how you want to start it? That's how we're going to start it. You don't want to introduce.
You don't want to do a whole introduction. Do you need an introduction? Really?
I do need an introduction. I would like to know what your introduction of me would be. Right here, right now? Right here, right now. You don't get to look at your notes. Just off the top of my head? Off the top of the dome. What would it be?
Is it a two-time Grand Slam champion?
It is. Wow. Did you not know that? No, I did know that. Then why would you say, is it? Is it just your interviewer coming out? Everything has to be a question?
Everything's a question.
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Chapter 2: How did The Miz's journey in wrestling begin?
Okay.
Yeah. But you're introducing. I'm introducing. Ladies and gentlemen. Okay, here we go. Should I look at you? I should look at the camera. Look at the camera. Okay. Make it really big. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a man who needs no introduction. One of my very first wrestling interviews dating back to my time at WOIO in Cleveland, Ohio.
He is a two-time Grand Slam champion, walked into WrestleMania 27, the WWE champion, walked out of WrestleMania 27, the WWE champion. He is a future Hall of Famer. He is The Miz.
Nice. That was really good. Is that accurate? I mean, yeah. Those are all my accolades. Not all of them. Some of them. You missed a couple, but it's okay.
What are some of the main ones I might have missed there?
What is it? Eight-time Intercontinental Champion, two-time United States Champion, two-time Mr. Money in the Bank, Star of Marine 3, 4, 5, and 6, Santa's Helper, Christmas Bounty, and let's just say 10-time Tag Team Champion because I'm not quite sure. Sometimes people say world and WWE when they combine is this and that, so it's hard to decipher
which one is which, but though I would say 10 time tag team champion with all of that said, it's a hell of a career. It is a hell of a career. Yeah. I, uh, I've had a, a career that wasn't supposed to happen. Let's, let's put it that way. At what point in your career do you feel like it wasn't supposed to happen the entire time?
Uh, as soon as I started at UPW and feeling my first bump that I ever took, I was like, Oh my God, This is rough. Am I really going to be able to do this? And then going through the three years of basically trying to go into dark matches, trying to get a notice from WWE or even Japan was very difficult. Trying to get any type of booking was very tough.
I was getting booked on college circuits because I was on the real world. I was going to these colleges and everyone would always ask me, you know, could you do the Miz? And I would cut promos as The Miz. There would be thousands of kids there listening to my speech, listening to my stories. And then I would go and perform in... like back alleys for like 20 bucks.
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Chapter 3: What challenges did The Miz face in Tough Enough?
So then the next day, he would come in, and he would have a beer bottle. And he's like, you know how tough I am? I'll bust this beer bottle over my head. Ready? Boom. And if anyone knows, beer bottles don't break like they do in movies, right? They just don't. So he just kept, wah, wah, wah. He said, ah. That's how tough I am. Big time, Nick Mitchell. Yeah, what it do?
I was like, oh my, I was crying laughing. My promos were like, I would change it up every other time. But Paul Heyman was always there for the promo class. And it was such an education to have him there, promo class. And I mean, he just, the little things that he would teach you.
you know, and motivate you and kind of highlight the things you do well, low light the things you do poorly, and then work on the things you do poorly to make sure that it can be something that you can do and harness in and lock in. So when I was at Deep South, I remember Bill DeMott, which by the way, it was very difficult.
It was one of those type of training where they're just trying to weed out who's or either weed out or prepare you for everything. And that's the way I looked at it. Like deep South was to prepare me. Like if I can make it through here, I can make it through anywhere. And it's true to this day. Like it was the hardest thing to get there. And then. to get to WWE, like I was just, I was ready.
Uh, there was no way you were going to blow me up in a ring because I've, I've been through built them up. You know, there's no way that the pain was, I mean, every day I'd wake up and I'd go just one more day, just one more day. You can do it one more day. You can do it. This is the dream. See the big picture, see the big picture. And I remember like there was a bleachers over on the side and
If you were sick or injured, you would sit on the bleachers. I was like, I'm never sitting on those bleachers ever. I'm not getting on those bleachers. You'd see guys be there. I was like, I'm not, I'm just, I'm not, I'm going to prove myself to everyone. People would come down to help teach us. And it was a very good learning experience. I became like, and Bill, I remember Bill saying,
if you can sell out here, then you have to sell out. And like the way it used to be was you would sell out a territory. Then you go to another territory and you could sell out there and then you'd make it all. You'd work your way around the territories and you'd finally make it to the big one. Right. This is kind of cheap. Your, your magnet, your setting is.
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Chapter 4: How did The Miz adapt to the pressures of being a WWE superstar?
Yeah. Is that what it is?
That's perfect. It's right there. Yeah. Beautiful. It's okay.
It's not going to work.
Well,
This is the type of, by the way, if you thought this was really nice, if you thought this was really, really nice, this thing's falling apart. I got a bed over to my right. I'm telling you, the bed is folded up. Like every time I watch, every time I watch this, by the way, I see such great backgrounds, great lighting. You really go all out. And then I get here.
I'm in the tiniest hotel room with a bed that is folded up because he didn't want to see the bed in the background, but he wanted to con you guys into believing that he has this big studio.
This is a beautiful shot. Look at me.
I have the best podcast in wrestling. I'm better than everybody. It's got a bed right here. There's a bed to my right.
I can't touch it.
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Chapter 5: What does The Miz say about the pressure of being a champion?
Now, granted, you have a lot of help. You have a lot of people going at it. But if you're a champion that is not... I feel like the champion needs to be the hardest worker in the room. And if he's not the hardest worker in the room, the people that are up and coming need to be that person. Need to make whatever title it is, the title.
Because we need something on the live events that people are going to pay money to see if that person isn't on the live events.
Did you feel the pressure when you cashed in and became WWE champion?
Oh my God, you feel it right away. You hold the title and you feel the 25 pounds, but you also feel, hey, if pay-per-view doesn't go very well, not a lot of hits, it's on you. If there's no one in the WWE arena, that's on you.
So take me to that day, November 22nd, 2010. You cash in on Randy Orton. Yes.
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Chapter 6: What was The Miz's experience when he cashed in for the WWE Championship?
What's going through your head that entire day knowing, oh my gosh. I didn't walk in knowing.
That was a day of situation. Same with like, when I won my second WWE championship, I had no idea. I thought I was losing. I thought the reason they took it off of Otis was so he didn't have to lose. So they were giving it to someone that can just lose the money in the bank and be done with it. And then cutting to money in the bank the first time, I didn't know. It was Orlando.
I walk in the arena and I got in a meeting with Vince And usually I didn't have a meeting with Vince, but this day they were like, Hey, you got to meet with Vince.
That must've felt important.
Okay. Oh, I wonder what's happening. I'm probably losing. I honestly, I was starting to believe I was going to lose it. I did. Even though I had like, I mean, if you remember, I had like three titles, like they were, they were giving me the rocket without me realizing I had the rocket. Right.
And most people didn't think I had the rocket either, because even though I had three titles and everything like that, people still are just like, go away, go away. So I get in there and he's like, we're going to put it on you. I go, oh, I'm like, oh my God. Wow. I'm not losing. No, we're putting it on you. okay, I'm going to do my best to make sure that this is the biggest thing ever.
Like I will do whatever it takes.
It's like, I know you will.
You've worked hard for this. Like I really have. And I'm about to work even harder. And so I remember kayfabing everyone, not telling a soul. And I remember I had a match that day or I had something where I had my gear on and everyone was asking like, dude, why are you still wearing your gear? Why are you still wearing your gear? I was like, I'm just tired, man. I'm just tired.
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Chapter 7: How does The Miz describe his iconic promo on Talking Smack?
I hit the move. And while I'm hitting the move, I'm going, yes, yes, yes, yes. Boom. One, two, three. Three, it's real. It's real. So many things go through your mind when a moment like that happens. It's like, you see pictures.
You see, you know, as a kid watching wrestling, playing with my red, white, and blue ropes and flinging my action figures, going to Toys R Us, asking my dad, hey, Coco B, where's that Toys R Us? Can we please, please, please, please go wait in line and get his autograph? No, I don't have time for that. You know, walking in and seeing which one I didn't have. I don't have under...
I don't, I don't have undertaker. I don't have a, I don't have a ultimate warrior yet. I don't have this one. I don't have this color. I remember those that like, it's going through my head while I'm, while I'm winning, like all this. And then like, you know, going through meeting Hulk Hogan for the first time. in Toronto and him asking me about the real world. That's going through my head.
Uh, did, did, did it go going to UPW for the first time meeting Rick Bassman saying, Hey, I'd really love to train here. Uh, you know, he had $2,500 and you can train as much as you want. Absolutely. No problem paying the money, uh, did, did, did it going to, uh, deep South wrestling, the hardest stuff I ever had to go through the blood, the sweat, the tears, then going through, uh,
getting kicked out of the locker room, winning my first championship, tag team championship, almost getting in a fight the same day that I won my tag team titles, you know, United States champs, first singles title. Oh my God. God climbing up the ladder, you know, climbing up, grabbing the money in the big briefcase going, oh my God. This is happening.
This, the crowd booing, booing in awe saying, oh my God, you just threw Randy Orton, our hero off. This is going through my, all of it while I'm winning, while I'm sitting there, this is, this is how fast it's going through my head. Then, then to like, you know, having the money in the bank, everyone's saying, all the critics and everyone online saying he's going to be the first to lose.
We hate him. We don't want him. We don't... Give it to another person. There's so many better options. Give it to DiBiase. Give it to Cody. Give it to someone. Anyone but the Miz. And then... going in there and winning and holding it up. And then you're like, oh my God. And then all those things go through and then you feel the eyes, the water start to happen.
And you're like, no, wait, this is my first moment as a WWE champion. I kept crying. Can you cry?
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Chapter 8: What are The Miz's thoughts on his legacy and the future of wrestling?
No, don't cry. Don't cry. And then, so then what do I do? I get up and I go up to the top rope to kind of walk it off. you know, walk off those tears, like tears that are about to happen. I hoist the title up and I'm like, oh my God. I remember, I remember Ari hugging him being like, I did it. Like we did it. Oh my God.
This is, I don't, I, you don't know what to say or do because that's not supposed to happen. That's a dream. Dreams are supposed to happen when you're sleeping, not when you're there. And this is the dream. And, and I walked backstage and everyone's clapping. Nowadays, no one stays after the show. Back then, everyone stayed after the show. It was mandatory. And everyone was there.
And everyone was clapping. And maybe they were made to do that. I don't know. Or maybe they felt compelled to do it. But man, that was a really cool moment. Really cool moment to have all these people there. This is crazy. And then afterwards, me and Maurice went to Denny's and I had like a breakfast slam to celebrate because nothing was open and I didn't plan a party.
So you remember winning the WWE Championship so vividly. That's an incredible story. What do you remember from WrestleMania 27?
I remember my entrance. I remember not seeing that vignette. The vignette, I never saw it. Like, so, and I always wonder if that vignette, the Hate Me Now vignette. So good. It's, I still think it's the best. People say Rockin', Austin, Rollin', or whatever. I can't remember. My Way. My Way, yeah, that's it. They say that one's the best. I beg to differ.
And the reason is what that vignette did in that moment. And I wonder if that vignette was put on SmackDown if there would have been a different feeling, energy going in. Because going in, I remember I was swallowed up, man. You're the WWE champion. I'm going up against Titans. The Rock and John Cena. Titans. And then there's me with the WWE championship.
And then there's a lot of like, you know, back then, it still is very, very competitive. But man, it was... Everyone was fighting for it, right? Everyone's fighting for that spot, that main event spot. And I'm like, man, I want this main event. I have to get this main event. This main event is everything. Like, we have to get it. I mean, I have The Rock. I have Cena. Like, this has got to be it.
But I mean, there were so many great matches and great superstars on that card. It could have been, it could have went either way. So... I remember, man, the leading up to it, the promos, everything. Oh my God. Like, I remember the promo I cut where I walked out as The Rock. I didn't think it was going to work at all.
I went out, did the whole Rock thing, and then I cut a promo, and I remember The Rock calling me, leaving a message being like, dude, that was it.
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