Listen to any number of wrestling shoot interviews with ex-WWE talent, and whenever The Miz is brought up, it's quite clear to tell that the man grates on people's nerves pretty easily. During a Kayfabe Commentaries shoot with former WWE star, Curt Hawkins, the wrestler remarks that whilst he liked Mike Mizanin - the man behind the character - he couldn't stand The Miz, feeling Mizanin deliberately hid his real-life persona from people in favour of being the overblown loudmouth. Before he would go on to surprise everybody by actually making a success of himself in pro wrestling, Mizanin was a featured part of the reality TV show, The Real World during the early years of the new millennium. Making appearances on many other reality TV projects, it was with The Real World that Mizanin created the idea of The Miz, a mega star in the world of wrestling. Yes, The Miz was the brain child of someone many people thought was nuts, but he'd eventually go on to become a WWE Champion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjsYJjo5jVs During his early years in the WWE system, following his appearances on the Tough Enough show, The Miz was considered very annoying by a lot of his fellow talent, mainly because he was always 'switched on' and full of energy. It's understandable why this was irritating, and the guy had to put up with a lot of jibes and hazing from men such as JBL and others. It's mind-boggling to think that a man who was pretending to be The Rock on reality television would go on to headline WrestleMania, but that's exactly what happened. Better yet, The Rock was actually involved in the match, interfering in Miz's bout against John Cena at WrestleMania XXVII. His star may have faded somewhat over the past several years, but The Miz is still featured on WWE programming, meaning his own determination and the 'dream world' (nevermind real world) that he lived in were not all for nothing. What other rare 'before they were famous' wrestler TV appearances do you know? Do you remember any of the ones listed here? Let us know down in the comments section below!
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
