The Miz Talks Getting Started, Bryan Danielson and More

An interview with The Miz is available here. Some highlights:

On getting started in wrestling: The Ballard Brothers actually trained me. They taught me how to lock up and how to run the ropes. They taught me all the basics. Other people who were around were Frankie Kazarian. Samoa Joe was down there. Cena had just left when I got there. Right before I came. I don’t think anyone else that’s in the WWE was there. Mike Knox was in IZW and I wrestled him a couple times while on the independents. Those are the main guys, more or less. Everyone else quits. And trust me, I’ve seen a lot of people come in and a lot of people quit.

On working with Bryan Danielson on NXT: I loved it. When they said that Bryan Danielson was going to be my “rookie” I thought it was a genius move. It really was. I mean, think about it. I’m the guy who everyone looks down at and says “this guy can’t wrestle. We can’t stand him.” And they look at him like a god. They look at him and call him the best technical wrestler in the world. Now I didn’t know Danielson at the time he came in so the way I looked at it was like this: I was like “screw these people who say he’s the best. He’s never been in the WWE.” He’s travelled all over the world but the WWE is a different entity. It’s nothing like anything he’s ever experienced.

On the differences between him and Danielson: People just think I went from reality TV right to the WWE. They think that the WWE sought me out because I was on a reality TV show and they just scooped me up because I liked wrestling. That wasn’t the case. I paid my way to get into a school $2,500 by the way. I had to pay out of my own pocket to learn how to wrestle while I was still a star on MTV and doing their shows. And I didn’t mind paying because it was one of those things where I knew this was what I wanted to do. So for three years I was on the independents. Sorry it didn’t take me ten. My bad. It took me three because I had something that the WWE was looking for. Now does Bryan Danielson have “it?” To be completely honest with you, I think he did a tremendous job while he was on NXT. As far as developing a persona. People are still chanting his name to this day.

Do I think he got the short end of the stick on the whole Nexus thing? Of course. But the fact is he is no longer here so you live and you learn. But as far as Danielson is concerned, he won me over. He changed my mind about him. I thought he was just going to be a guy who couldn’t talk. And then I saw a couple of his matches on the independents and I wasn’t really blown away. I think it’s because everyone kept telling me “he’s the best in the world.” I think he was so hyped up by all his indie friends that – you know when everyone tells you that a movie is the best and “oh, man. You’ve gotta see this movie”? You know when you see clips from a movie and it all looks great and then you go see the whole thing and you come out and you say “Well, it was good but…it wasn’t as great as everyone said it was.” That was Danielson to me. But then I also thought that towards the end he proved himself.

On cashing in his MITB title shot: Cena, And here’s why. Because I had six months where I ripped him to shred in my promos. Just months and months of ripping him and ripping him. Right up until the Pay Per View match where he just killed me. And let’s face it. I wasn’t ready for Cena. We all knew I wasn’t ready for Cena. But now? Right now? I think I’m getting there. I’m just at the point where I really think I could take him.