Busy Miz, WWE returning to South Florida

 

Miami Herald Writer

Between the philanthropic appearances, autograph signings, movies and performing for millions on a weekly basis, The Miz is among the hardest working ambassadors for World Wrestling Entertainment.

The charismatic superstar will join Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan in action against the Shield’s Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 7 at the BB&T Center in (South Florida) Sunrise.

“I love South Florida,” Miz said.

“It’s always amazing. The crowd is always incredible. We’re bringing a jam-packed show. You’re getting WWE champion John Cena versus Ryback in a tables match, which are always entertaining matches. Not only that, you’re getting The Shield versus Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan and myself. So hopefully we can give them their first loss.

“Not only that we are bringing R-Truth, Fandango, Rhodes Scholars, Tons of Funk, it’s just going to be a jam-packed, absolutely entertaining show. Bring the friends, bring the family, tell everybody because it’s going to be fun. I definitely have some heart for Florida because Florida brought me the WWE championship in Orlando.”

The popular grappler recently spoke at the You Convention in Berlin, Germany on behalf of WWE’s ‘Be a STAR’ (Show Tolerance and Respect) anti-bullying campaign. For Miz, real name Mike Mizanin, it’s these opportunities to potentially make a difference in someone’s life that helps him stay motivated in maintaining his busy schedule.

“I don’t know how I do it to be completely honest with you,” Miz said with a laugh.

“It’s just one of those things where you have something like the You Convention where you get to go there and do speeches for ‘Be a STAR’. That is what keeps me going when you can motivate kids and young adults to stop bullying and prevent it. It’s fantastic. That’s what keeps me going.”

The Ohio native says he puts his personal life into all of his speeches. Often times he reflects back to his own experiences.

“Growing up as a kid in high school I was five-foot-nothing and a hundred-and-nothing,” Miz said.

“I wanted to play basketball. Everyone told me, ‘You’re not going to make the team. You’re not fast enough. You’re not athletic enough. You’re not tall enough.’

“I would just try to use my heart and dedication. I ended up making that team through that, not listening to that negativity and trying to be more positive with my life. I think everyone grows up, at least three out of four students is what we always say is admitting to being bullied. Bullying is not only a huge thing going on in the United States, but worldwide. So we are trying to make a difference with the ‘Be a STAR’ campaign.”

Miz is a success story, going from MTV’s “Real World” reality show to living his dream of being in WWE. In his tenth year in the business, the superstar is on a roster of talent hungry for similar results.

“I love having new talent come up,” Miz said.

“It’s great, and I think WWE is doing a great job bringing in new characters and new entertainment to the WWE Universe out there and new characters for me to play with out there. I mean now we have a guy that dances called Fandango and during one of my matches I’m wrestling, what does he do? He starts his music and starts dancing during my match. I’m sorry, but I’m the center of attention when I’m in the ring. Not Fandango. It’s been incredible to have all these new characters. It just makes it so much more fun.”

Read more Wrestling stories from the Miami Herald

Get your Miami Heat Fan Gear!

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category