– WWE Champion The Miz took part in a conference call with media yesterday to promote this weekend’s WWE Tribute to the Troops special on NBC. Here are some highlights, courtesy of IGN:
What was it like meeting and doing a RAW Slammy segment with little 9-year-old Cayley? Aka “Miz Girl.” Aka “Scowly.”
The Miz: [laughs] Yes yes. The angry Miz girl! Aw, man that was arguably one of my favorite moments. That little girl literally made my WWE Championship win. When I got backstage, the only thing anyone could talk about was that little girl’s scowling face, being so mad at me. And as soon as I saw it I thought “that’s the exact fan reaction I wanted out of the crowd.” And sometimes you don’t get that. Sometimes fans see the camera and go “Oh, hey. I’m on camera.” She didn’t see it. You could see the passion that she had for Randy Orton and how mad she was that he lost. It made my day. I guess the dad actually called, because the next week, in my address, I talked about the fan reaction being one of shock and anger and I showed her picture again. So her dad called up and said that she was more than willing to come back if we ever needed her. So, of course, being WWE like we are, we totally leapt at he opportunity and took the reins.
And just going out there and getting on one knee…I mean, how do you talk to a little girl and then take something from a kid? You have to be so nice to them so that they trust you, and then you take it from them. And then they get really really mad. It was so great. And backstage, she was the shyest little girl. It was so cute to see her back there and everyone told me that when Randy came up to her she gave him a big hug and she was so shy and nervous that she couldn’t talk. And then to watch her go out there and start thanking her dad and her mom and her family. And then me, being the big bully that I am, taking the Slammy away from her. [laughs]
Do you think WWE expected the kind of mainstream media attention that your title win got? I mean, it got picked up by a lot of major outlets.
Miz: I don’t think anyone expected it. I certainly didn’t expect it at all. Usually, when titles change there isn’t that much media, so I wasn’t expecting anything. But as soon as I got home, suddenly 50 people that I didn’t realize I knew, and didn’t know had my number, and didn’t know watched WWE, texted and called me. I had voice mails for days. And then all the outlets. Like MTV.com got a hold of it. They didn’t even say anything when I got signed to WWE. US Weekly, who never covers WWE, covered us. TMZ asked me to host their show. I’m going on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It just makes me so happy because that’s the goal that I want. I want people that normally don’t talk to us and normally don’t say anything to us to come in and say “You know, this kid has something. We want to talk to him. And he’s got a good story so we want to learn more.” And it legit is. It’s a real life story. It’s like a movie and I’m living it. It’s like a dream come true.
What was it like, both as a fan and a wrestler, to face Jerry Lawler on RAW a few weeks back?
Miz: As a fan, it’s surreal. Because I remember watching Jerry back when I was a kid. And to grow up and be in his first ever WWE Championship match, It was just incredible. Especially since it was a TLC match. It was my first ever TLC match so it was a new opportunity for me. It was my first title defense. And it was against Jerry “The King” Lawler. So whenever I can say that, and those words come out of my mouth, it just makes me smile. And the fact that I beat him made it even better.
