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Listen Here: The Miz Interviewed on The Rack (.MP3)
Former WWE Champion/Intercontinental Champion/multi-time Tag Team Champion and star of “The Marine 3: Homefront” Mike “The Miz” Mizanin joined “2012 Award Winning Best New Show” the Rack Thursday Night. In a nearly 15 minute interview, he discussed his upcoming film ‘The Marine 3: Homefront’ and what it was like working with co-stars Neal McDonough and Ashley Bell, his own personal expectations in life, the WrestleMania experience, working with Ric Flair and people comparing him to be ‘the next Ric Flair’, he thoughts on the new WWE Title design, being well-dressed in the WWE locker room, the special nature of his ring jackets and more.
On the Marine 3 “Homefront” and working with the likes of Neal McDonough and Ashley Bell: “We spent about a month up in Vancouver shooting this and it was my first real movie that I’ve actually been able to do and had so much fun; I mean, whenever you get to work with stars like Neal McDonough, who’s done it all in the business, has been in the business for so long and has done such incredible work and I get to have the opportunity to go opposite of him and be the good guy while he’s the villain, which normally I’m used to being the villain, let me tell you something. I’m used to being the bad guy, the person people boo and tell that they suck and that kind of stuff, so it’s definitely interesting to be the hero for once.
I think there are challenges for everything but I’m always open to all challenges, like I love new things and experiencing new experiences. I mean, when I did ‘The Real World’ back in New York about 12 years ago on MTV, that was a completely new experience and from that day forward, I said ‘You know what? I’m going to do everything I’ve ever wanted to in my life” And that’s when I set out to become a WWE Superstar and when doing the WWE, they offered me ‘The Marine 3: Homefront’ and I couldn’t be more excited because the franchise started with John Cena, and the second was with Ted DiBiase, Jr. and I now get to do the third installment and both of those were highly successful and I’m hoping to keep that success going with ‘The Marine 3: Homefront’, if not exceeding all expectations and that’s basically what I’ve always wanted to do with everything that I’ve done in WWE as well as movies, as well as my life; is just not only get to my dreams, but exceed them and I think I’m doing a pretty good job of it so far.
Ashley Bell was great; she plays my little sister, who actually gets kidnapped by a terrorist, radical, militia group and that’s basically where the marine has to come in and save the day or at least try to save the day, we’ll see what happens when you see the movie. But working with her was fantastic; she’s a great actress, watching her in ‘The Last Exorcism’ as well as the new one, her new movie ‘The Last Exorcism 2” is coming out as well, so she’s been doing a great job in there and going opposite of her was fantastic as well. So, I cannot say enough great things about Neal McDonough as well as Ashley Bell, as well as all the other cast of people in ‘The Marine 3: Homefront’, that made this movie so great for me to just walk in there and really do my thing and feel so comfortable. Afterwards, when we were done, it was like we were one big family, you know?”
The Upcoming WrestleMania: “Oh my god, are you kidding me? I mean, WrestleMania 29 at Met Life Stadium and New York City, where it all started; that’s what it’s all about. This is like our Super Bowl, our NBA Finals, our World Series; WrestleMania, I like to think, is bigger than them all because this is what we lead up to. Every Superstar wants to be in that Main Event-caliber match; now, granted, I don’t believe I’ll be in it this year because, you know, The Rock is the WWE Champion and he gets to face either CM Punk or John Cena, whoever wins on Monday Night RAW this Monday night, basically he’ll be going against them in the main event. So, it saddens me that I won’t be in the main event but I cannot be more excited to be going to Met Life Stadium and having a match; whoever it is, is going to lose because, let’s face it: I’m undefeated at WrestleMania, I’m 3-0. I’ve main evented WrestleMania before and I’ll do it again; it may not be this year, it could be next year in New Orleans, where WrestleMania 30 will be taking place. But, we are gearing up for WrestleMania 29 and it’s going to be spectacular, so if you don’t have tickets or if you’re thinking about getting the Pay-Per-View, this is your sell to say basically, ’Hey, go get it, because you’ll have a memory to last a lifetime.”
Working with Ric Flair: “What an honor; I host a show on RAW called MizTV and my guest at that time was Ric Flair and , you know, not only did I get to do a “Woo” off with Ric Flair, going “Woo” “WOO”, you know; that was a childhood dream. Not only that, but Antonio Cesaro, a person I was feuding up against, basically told Ric Flair that he was a has-been and a never-was, ‘yadda, yadda, yadda’. Ric Flair and I took Antonio apart; as I told Ric Flair to give him the figure-four, what everyone wanted to see, Ric Flair gave me the honor of slapping on the figure-four to Antonio Cesaro. So, to keep that honor, that tradition going, I’m going to keep using the figure-four leglock, and hopefully make Ric Flair proud because as a kid growing up, I was putting the figure-four on all my friends, so it’s very, very cool to do that.”
On people comparing him to be ‘The next Ric Flair’: “I will take that and I will run with it, thank you very much. You know, that’s a compliment and a half because Ric Flair has done everything there is to do in the WWE; he is a living legend and has touched so many people through the years upon years, decades I guess you could say, of the work he’s done for this business and where he has come and where he has brought it is just incredible. I mean, he is ‘the man’, and will always be ‘the man’. So, if can style and profile like Ric Flair, then I will do the best I possibly can; if people want to say it, perfect. ”
His thought on the new WWE Title and it’s design: “You know what, I actually changed the title when I was WWE champion as well; I changed the “W” into an “M”, and it no longer spun because I kind of agree with The Rock; at a time, there was a time and place for that WWE Championship, but this isn’t the time or place anymore. A WWE Championship, I don’t think, should be looked at as a toy, it shouldn’t spin. It should be something people celebrate and that people look at and go ‘you know what, I want to wear one of those. That’s the thing I want to grow up to have.’ And I think this title embodies exactly what a WWE Championship should look like.”
