The Miz has recalled hoping to make it in Japan before he was given an opportunity in WWE.
The 2-time Grand Slam champion has now spent more than 2 decades in the company, has headlined WrestleMania, and is pretty much a lock to be a future Hall of Fame inductee. However, for those familiar with Miz’s career, it was never going to be a straightforward path.
After finding success in the reality TV world, Miz made his way to WWE via the Million Dollar Tough Enough competition in 2004. Although Miz lost out to Daniel Puder in the final of the competition, he is easily the most successful wrestler to have made his way into the promotion via the format. According to The A Lister, there also could have been a scenario where he would have attempted to make his name overseas.
“I Tried To Go To Japan, They Wouldn’t Take Me”: The Miz
Appearing on The Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast, Miz first recalled a conversation with former WWE star Simon Dean, who convinced him to try out for Tough Enough despite his hesitations:
“Before trying out, I called Simon Dean,” Miz said. “Do you remember Simon Dean? I called him because he was part of UPW and I said, ‘Hey, I want respect in the business. And I know if I go on Tough Enough, I won’t get any respect. Like, I didn’t do it the right way.’ And he goes, ‘It’s for a million dollars. Like, it’s for a million-dollar WWE contract. How many opportunities do you think you’re going to get? This is your opportunity, this is your time.’ And so I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to try out, I’m going to do it.’
Continuing, Miz added that he also tried out for Japanese promotions, but they were not interested:
“Because I tried to go to Japan, they wouldn’t take me. Like, every time I tried going to Zero1, they would come in and we would wrestle, we’d do a match. I’d think my match would go great. It wasn’t, but I thought at the time I was really special. But, yeah, Japan would never take me. So I was like, ‘I mean, this is the opportunity.’ So, tried out and then gave it full force and didn’t win, but got a contract to go to developmental.”
In a previous interview, The Miz explained why his character does not work as a babyface.
