AEW Star Wants To Be More Like The Miz
A rising star in AEW has explained why they are working to become more like WWE’s The Miz.
The Miz has done it all in WWE as he likes to tell the audience. The Miz is a two-time WWE Grand Slam Champion meaning he’s held all of their major men’s titles at least twice, which includes two reigns as a WWE World Champion. The Miz also main evented WrestleMania with John Cena as well.
Currently, The Miz remains a respected veteran in WWE with nearly 20 years of tenure on the roster. While The Miz may not have a great win-loss record over the last few years, he always does his best to entertain the crowd, no matter what situation he is put in.
That’s something to be admired, according to AEW’s Ethan Page. In an interview with Jackson Bragman on Bragman Breakdown, Ethan recalled a time early in his wrestling career when he was backstage at a WWE show and saw how The Miz treated people.
“I did extra work, very young, I think I was 22, 23 years old. Still only doing independents. This was pre-IMPACT, pre-EVOLVE even. I was there for extra work, and I was waiting to sign in, you have to fill out these waivers. As I’m waiting, The Miz walks down the hallway. I had greeted maybe a couple of wrestlers at this point. First time I’ve ever been backstage, so I’m blown away at the whole larger than life atmosphere of it, and I’ve only seen what’s on-screen, so my mind is blown.”
“I see The Miz walk by. He stops to say hello to every extra, every staff member. These are people just filing papers. It didn’t matter who it was, he stopped and said hi to everyone. He stops in the admin room to double-check his charity appearances. As he’s double-checking, they are adding more to his plate. ‘Do you mind stopping to read to kids for Be A Star?’ ‘Yeah, no problem. Whatever you need. You know that.'”
“I have the clearest mental picture of that experience that I have tried to recreate in my career to give that same…the feeling I got watching it, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s how you do this job right.’ That is the person and performer that I want to be like.”
John Cena Has A Lot of Respect For The Miz
One of the greatest rivals of The Miz’s WWE career is perhaps the Greatest of All Time, John Cena. In September 2023, Cena had a lot of nice things to say about his WrestleMania 27 opponent.
“I have a lot of mutual respect for The Miz. I think he’s one of the most underrated WWE superstars in history. I also have a tremendous amount of respect for LA Knight because his trajectory is that of persistence. You want to talk about somebody never giving up, I have it on a shirt and I try to live it every day, he walks that talk and he does it with his own style, and he’s not afraid to be who he is here.”
“And speaking as somebody who started as the Dr. of Thuganomics, I have a lot of respect for that. That’s one I’m watching with a close eye because, often in competition, one superstar has something to prove, and the other has something to hold onto. This matchup is special because both have something to prove.”
To end 2023, Miz challenged GUNTHER for the Intercontinental Title twice since Miz has held that title eight times, which is the second most of all time. Miz failed in both attempts while also agreeing that he can’t challenge GUNTHER while he’s still the champion. It was a tough loss for Miz, but he showed a lot of heart and has the respect of the fans every time he competes in that ring.