MICHAEL "THE MIZ" MIZANIN - 2004
Real
Name: Michael Gregory Mizanin Ring Name: The Miz Height: 6' 1" Weight: 215 Home: Parma, OH Years in Wrestling: 1 yr. 8 months Current Affiliations: UPW Past Affiliations: NA Ultimate Goals: contract with WWE Website Links: www.themizareyouready.com Contact email: [email protected] Favorite Color: black and blue Favorite music group: Right now, Trapt Favorite Movie: Swingers, Old School, Forrest Gump, Dumb and Dumber |
PRO WRESTLER THE MIZ | ||
Be
good. Be bad. Be MIZ.
That's the
saying... Why you ask? I created a character called The Miz because of
a feeling I get.
Everyone
has a Miz in them. People fear bringing their MIZ out because of what
everyone's reaction may be. They care too much about what people think
instead of being themselves. That fear, that feeling of being scared
is what gives MIZ it's amo! Whether it's the fear of approaching
someone you desire in a bar for the first time, bungee jumping, sky
diving, or just plain old fear of anything, it's allowing yourself to
be scared! But when you are being Miz, you step up to that fear and
turn that knot in your stomach into energy which then turns to
adrenaline which builds up and builds up until you explode. And that
my friends is when you are being "MIZ." The Miz is bringing
out that raw, primal side. The side that has no judgements that is
just you. It doesn't care what people think or how they'll react. The
Miz steps up to that fear and shoves it right up someone's ass. Some
people say "Be yourself." I say Be good. Be bad. BE MIZ.
Miz
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This month on the cover of UCW's Pro Wrestling Online magazine is probably one of the next WWE stars to enter the ring, Michael Mizanin, better known as "THE MIZ", he is one of the star attractions of the Ultimate Pro Wrestling Promotion run by the legendary Rick Bassman and has gone from the Wrestling World to the Real World and his future is looking brighter and brighter. Miz, thanks for taking time out of your obviously busy schedule to participate in this Q&A session with us. MIZ: Not a problem,
anything to support what you're doing. MIZ: Ever since I was
a little kid I've loved to watch wrestling but never thought I was big
enough to do it. I tried out for a show called The Real World. Trying
out and making it onto this show was a dream for me as corny as it may
sound. I remember in 7th grade sitting there watching The Real World San
Francisco and saying to myself that some day I 'm going to be on this
show. 8 years later I followed that dream to become part of the cast of
The Real World 10. While taping I felt that nobody really liked me and
wouldn't accept me for who I was. So I created The Miz, my alter ego,
and started telling people off. The cast started liking The Miz better
than they liked Mike so did the fans. That ended and I went back to
Parma not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I had
to get out of Parma. I started paging through my high school year book
and that brought back memories of my friends coming over to my house
every Sunday to watch wrestling. Remember back in those days there were
usually a paper view every Sunday between WWE, WCW, and ECW. I realized
that day that I wanted to become a professional wrestler. I moved to Los
Angeles and started attending UPW's Ultimate University ever since then
I've been addicted. The Real World made me realize I can achieve my
dreams if I try hard enough so that's what I'm doing. MIZ: I was nervous as
hell. I didn't know what to think. I saw all these guys taking bumps and
I had no idea what to do. I never wrestled in high school so even chain wrestling
was new to me. MIZ: I came up with
The Miz on the Real World. Everybody would pick on me in the house
nitpicking mostly and I MIZ: Yes, That was the
first gimmick. However, I do remember dressing up like different
wrestlers when I was a kid. MIZ: Not really, I've
mainly worked with UPW. Louis Velazquez: You're obviously a bright guy and I'm sure that you do other things beyond wrestling, can you share that with us? MIZ: I go to colleges
and speak to students about issues that face them in their everyday
lives. I take my experiences off the Real World and try to take what
I've learned and spill it to them. It's a great job because it helps get
me comfortable in front of big crowds. I also do a lot of charity work
with Elizabeth Glazier Pediatric Aids Foundation and The Hollywood
Knights. MIZ: I definitely want
to become a WWE superstar. It's a dream I want to achieve and hopefully
with hard work and dedication I can fulfill it. MIZ: I'm really
looking at wrestling right now. Acting is always there knocking but
wrestling is so much better. MIZ: I use what I have
and that's a very high intensity level. I want to stay in this business
for a long time as well as be as healthy as I can. Some times I feel
people use more extreme moves because they have to. I never saw The Rock
or Hulk Hogan ever go to the top ropes and by no means am I saying I'm
like The Rock or Hulk. I'm just saying it can be done. MIZ: I couldn't really
tell you. I know since I've been working in the indy scene I've been
watching more Indy shows but that's only me. MIZ: Giving me a WWE
contract. :) I like to keep things as is because everything works itself
out at the end. MIZ: Okay me in a
nutshell, I travel a lot for speaking engagements at colleges,
appearances at bars, and charities. I MIZ: I lift basically
4-5 times a week. I switch my routine all the time. The key to working
out is eating right. I'm trying to gain weight right now so I eat 5
times a day with 2 protein shakes. It's hard and strict but it must be
done. I also do some sort of cardio 3 times a week whether it's biking,
running, jumping rope, etc. My thing about working out is always keeping
it interesting and not getting into the same thing. I always want my
muscles to be sore the next day. I get into the ring about 2-3 times a
week for 2 hours. It's nice and I learn something new every time I step
in. MIZ: No one really.
Just being 100% Miz. I'm a huge mark for myself. :) MIZ: Follow your
dreams and do what you want to do. People are going to tell you you
can't do it but keep your frame of mind. You don't want to look back on
your life and say I wish I would of....Like Nike Just do it and if it
doesn't work out at least you tried. Miz thanks again for taking time out to do this Q&A session, it was really interesting, we will be following up with you especially when you make your way to the WWE. Good luck with everything and keep that intensity going.
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‘The
Miz’ aims to be first ‘Real World’ WWE Superstar ANAHEIM, Calif. – Dec. 8, 2003 – Several competitors from Ultimate Pro Wrestling, a Southern California-based promotion, were on hand at RAW today. One of them was Mike Mizanin, already a familiar face to many fans because of his days on “The Real World 10: Back to New York” and subsequent “Real World/Road Rules Challenge” shows. Mizanin, now 23, would often morph into a wrestling persona on MTV’s “The Real World” because he’s a lifelong fan of WWE. “In high school, I used to throw parties for the pay-per-views,” said the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Mizanin. Mizanin was just a regular kid from Parma, Ohio, when he moved to New York for five months in 2001 to film the tenth season of “The Real World.” When he made a few naive comments that offended some of the roommates, he became enemy No. 1 in the house, at least among the women (he eventually won them over). As something of a defense mechanism, he began “cutting promos” on them as if he were in a wrestling ring, often carrying a WWE Championship replica belt to help solidify the character. “I just called the character ‘The Miz,’” he said. At the time, Mizanin had no intention of breaking into the sports-entertainment business. But after filming wrapped on “The Real World” and “The Real World/Road Rules Battle of the Seasons,” which was shot just after, Mizanin realized he didn’t have a career path in mind. “I was just sitting in my house in Parma thinking about what I wanted to do,” he said. He added, “People always told me I was too small (to be a wrestler). … Finally, I just said, ‘I’m going to do what’s in my heart.’” He got on the Internet looking for a wrestling school, finding two that seemed promising – UPW and Ohio Valley Wrestling, which is WWE’s developmental territory, based in Louisville, Ky. “I saw OVW was in Louisville and UPW was in L.A.,” and that – the nice weather – became the deciding factor. So Mizanin packed up and headed to UPW, where John Cena and John Heidenreich once trained. Mizanin has been there for over a year and a half now. He’s also filmed two more seasons of the “Real World/Road Rules Challenge” – “The Gauntlet,” which is currently airing on MTV, and “Inferno,” which just wrapped production and is scheduled to begin airing early next year. Mizanin said he gets paid almost nothing to appear on the “Real World” series (unless, of course, he wins the competitions), but he does the shows to gain exposure and to get word out that he’s interested in a career in sports entertainment. For instance, he often wears “The Miz” apparel on the show. On a similar note, he’s been speaking on college campus, and he’ll often break into his wrestling character during the speeches. He’ll say, “You guys mind if I do a promo?” And the crowd will cheer approvingly. One day he hopes that crowds at WWE arenas will do the same. |
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