10 Biggest Heat Magnets In WWE History
6. The Miz
Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin has been pretty open over the years about the godawful hazing he received from the WWE locker room after his debut with the company.
The more traditional boys on the roster didn’t appreciate those who’d arrived on the roster via WWE's reality television projects like the Diva Search or Tough Enough. They actively despised Miz, who’d first become famous through multiple seasons of MTV reality television shows like The Real World and Road Rules Challenge (none of which had anything to do with wrestling).
Imagine the heat from everyone - fans, wrestlers, you name it - if some kid from Jersey Shore or Made In Chelsea began wrestling full-time for WWE. Well, that’s the position Mizanin found himself in when he started on the main roster in 2006, despite having been in WWE developmental since the beginning of 2005, and in training since 2003.
In his early months in the company, Mizanin made the mistake of eating chicken over Chris Benoit’s bag. Allegedly getting crumbs on it, he was hauled over the coals and into wrestlers' court. The sentence fluctuated wildly, first banning him from the locker room for house shows but not television, then extending the length of the punishment.
Eventually, The Miz was told that he simply couldn't dress with the boys anymore. Mizanin was banned from the locker room for six months, forced to use the public facilities to get changed. More than once he had to change into his wrestling gear in the toilets, trying to ignore the coming and going of amused fans.
You probably remember most of that story from WWE television: The Miz has cut promos that mention it in the past, referencing the legit, nuclear heat he had as a rookie to advance his character. Naturally, he used JBL’s name since Chris Benoit has been erased from WWE history.
Since his rookie days, The Miz has become one of the most trusted veterans in the company. Word is that next to management and John Cena, he’s considered the go-to media ambassador for WWE and is a linchpin of the upper midcard.
It’s a testament to his strength of character that he stuck it out through those first couple of years. Most people would have quit, suffering that level of heat through no real fault of their own.