The Miz

Off The Beat’s #1 fan, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, is back for a full interview with Brian about his fascinating journey from reality TV star to WWE Superstar. He dives into his VHS tape audition for The Real World, the creation of “The Miz,” and the advice The Rock gave him for his first film.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Whenever there was a camera around, like a professional camera anywhere,
and I'm talking like if they were there was a
news thing, and I would literally be up behind it
trying to get on the TV to do an interview.
If you look at Netflix right now, there's a show
of Woodstock train Wreck. I went to Woodstock ninety nine
and I got in front of this camera and was like,
Woodstock ninety nine. Baby, had no idea this was out

(00:23):
there at all until that documentary came out on Netflix
this year and they used me as like their first person,
like guy. They didn't say it was the Miss, but
everyone on the internet was like, is that the Miss?
Is that the miss? It? Yeah, that was me. That
was like eighteen year old miss out of high school
going to honestly what I thought was the greatest concert

(00:44):
I've ever been to. Hey, what's up? It is the
most musty w w E superstar of all time? The
Miss or You may know me as Mike from the
Real World and Miss and Misses and I am awesome. Well,

(01:08):
hello everybody, and welcome to a brand spanking new episode
of Off the Beat. I'm your host, as always, Brian
Bob Gartner. Now, as you just heard today I got
to sit down for a full interview with the Miss.
Why because he's the Miss and he is awesome. If

(01:34):
you listen to the Live from Lake Tahoe episode, you've
got a sneak peek into just how freaking awesome he is.
But if you didn't let me catch you up, you
probably recognize them is from his pure domination in the
w w E. But there might be a group of
you out there who knew him before he was a wrestler,
when he was just planting the seeds of his future

(01:56):
career on the real world. Tough enough and well then
just about every popular reality TV show of the early
two thousands. The MSS is an entertainer to say the least,
but he's also a true underdog. He went from being
just well, the token real world guy to the only

(02:21):
two time Grand Slam champion in w w E history.
But that's not all. He's continued to crush the reality
TV space and a number of ways, including his very
own show with his wife Maurice MS and Mrs Mike
the Ms. He delights me. I don't know what it is.
His spirit is so infectious. He's an interesting guy. I

(02:44):
cannot wait for you to hear this conversation, but buckle up, okay,
because it is going to be a wild ride here.
He is everybody, Mike the MSS Bubble and Squeak. I

(03:05):
love it. Bubble and Squeak, Bubble and Squeaker Cookie every
month left over from the NAT before. What's up? Mike?

(03:25):
Look at you? What's up? Buddy? How are you? Look
at you? Where are you? I'm at my house. This
is like this is like our office alright, like like
our production company's office. Okay. I I don't know why
I keep feeling like I have to tell people I'm
at a hotel room in Atlanta, Georgia. But I mean,

(03:46):
we've got we've got a studio ready here, you know.
I you know, I lived close to Atlanta, like right,
I lived in mcdonnet, Georgia when I first started wrestling.
I'm from here originally. I know that I've listened to
Off the Beat literally NonStop since it was before Off
the Beat, So I know, I feel like I know
everything about you, and well, we're gonna get to know

(04:10):
more about you today. Mcdonn. Why were you here? Is
this a training facility or what it was? So? W
W E had a training facility called Deep South Wrestling.
And once I got off the show Tough Enough, which
is a show where you could win a contract. It
was a reality show for w W, but I didn't win,
but I got a contract for Developmental and Deep South

(04:32):
Wrestling and mcdonnoh, Georgia was where we trained. And yeah,
your look says it all. Uh it's it wasn't the
greatest place, but honestly, I really enjoyed it, like I
loved I had such a blast. It was very grueling,
hard work. It was a great place to dedicate yourself
into a profession. Well, we're gonna talk about all of

(04:55):
that and more. I want to start going back now.
My understanding is not just born, but lived in Ohio
exclusively for a very long time. Born in Parma, Parmasana. Yeah, yes,
I was born in Parma, Ohio, and um I lived there.

(05:17):
My entire life grew up kind of I guess middle class,
you know. Um, and it was it was a great
place to live. Like I I still have friends to
this day that I talked to on a weekly basis
from you know, Cleveland, and uh, it's it's it's amazing.
It's like I've developed friendships that will last literally a lifetime,

(05:39):
and they have lasted my lifetime. So growing up Parma
was a great spot. I lived in a condo. It
was like a eight square foot condo and yeah, I
lived there basically until I got off the real world.
How would you describe yourself as a kid? Exactly like
my kids. I have a four and a half and

(06:00):
three year old and they have way too much energy.
Like when I say way too much energy, I'm like,
I have a lot of energy, Like I know I
am high, like I am high energy person. But these kids, man,
they they'll worry out tell you what. And now I
really appreciate my parents even more having kids because man,

(06:21):
it's it's gruel. It's it's not that it's grueling. It's
it's great. You love them to death, but man, it
is tough because they just want to play at all
times and sometimes you just want to sit down and
relax and have you time. But I'll try to talk
to my wife and my kids would be like, dada, dada, dada.
I'm like, I'm just starting. I just want to talk
to Maurice just for five minutes. Is that okay? That
that that a It's like all right, you played basketball

(06:44):
and cross country. Would you consider yourself like, were you
an athletic kid? Was sports like was that your main
focus and interest when you were a kid? Yeah, definitely,
I was very sports oriented. I wasn't very good at them,
Like I was a captain of the cross country and
baseball team. I played basketball, football, I swam a year.
It was funny actually, uh my, uh, I don't even

(07:05):
know if I had told this story before. So when
I was in high school, I was on the basketball team,
and my sophomore year I got on the varsity team
and played the varsity team, and the next year I
got cut and I didn't understand it, Like I was like,
how do you get cut? And I wasn't like it
wasn't like I was a rude person or a bad
kid or anything that. Like, I was very devoted, very dedicated,

(07:27):
hard working. I just didn't understand how you can make
the varsity team your sophomore year and then junior year
nothing really, If anything, I got better and bigger and
everyone liked me on the team, and it wasn't like
there was some sort of thing. I didn't understand what happened.
I went home and I was like dad, like, the
weirdest thing happened, Like I got cut from the basketball team.

(07:48):
My dad was like, yeah, I figured that, I got
What do you mean you figured that? Bees? Yeah, I
got a fight with your coach um last year. I
didn't want to tell you about it because I didn't
think it would I thought it would blow over. But uh,
I'm probably the reason why you got cut. Like my
dad got in a full blown fight with my coach
which got me cut from the team. Now here's how
I know this is true. So I went for out

(08:11):
for I was like, I had to do something during
my I just get bored real easy. So I went
to for the swimming team and I was one of
the best swimmers on the team. And the next year,
this coach got fired and I tried out for the
varsity team. Guess what, I made the team. So it
was literally like like that was what happened, and it
was crazy. And I know with off the beat you

(08:33):
like to talk about acting. In my school we did
have theater, but I never I never even thought about
it because it was so sports oriented and I wish
I did because I love entertaining, I love acting, but
I also loved sports. So I really didn't have the
time to do the theater, but I'd always go to
the plays and watch them and think, wow, these guys

(08:54):
are so great at this. But you would go, you
would go and watch Okay, Yeah, absolutely. Was a press
into the student government and then senior editor of the
year book. Like I was highly involved with the school.
So uh, whenever you're like president of anything, you should
go to everything is what I'm It was instilled in me.
So as president student government, I would go to all

(09:15):
all the functions and try to just you know, meet
people and talk to people and have a great time.
And I would go to these things and they were
so good, like even back then, like watching them, you know,
watching some of the kids that would do the plays,
I'd be like, wow, that's so amazing. And I never
thought I could ever do anything like that. Like coming
from Cleveland, I was always like I want to be

(09:36):
a basketball, baseball, football player, but I was never the athlete.
And then once I got to college, I started realizing
I was like, I don't I don't want to do business,
Like I wouldn't mind peop Ohio and my pet Ohio
has a great like theater school, like very good in acting.
I didn't. I didn't even think to go there, and
nobody actually like that. I knew went to that side

(09:58):
of the campus, but it was a really cool side,
um is more artsy, and so I never went over there.
But I was wished in high school and in college
that I would have done theater. It wasn't until I
got on the real world. It made me realize, screw everything,
I'm gonna try and do everything I possibly can. Right,
So okay, so let's let's take this moment for a second.

(10:20):
So you, I mean, your president of student council, your
head of the yearbook, you're playing three varsity sports or
whatever it is. So I mean, you're incredibly active and
involved and you decided to go to Miami of Ohio
study business whatever. But what what did you at that moment?
What did you see yourself doing? Like? Where did you
did your life going? You didn't. I didn't. I had

(10:42):
no idea, Like I thought. My dad owned a Mr. Hero,
which is kind of like a like a hot subway
sandwich if you will, like it's it's like a Cleveland
version of like a better subway. Think of it like that.
And so Billy Chi Steakes like I worked there. I
worked there from when I would fourteen. I bought my
first car because I didn't want my dad to pay

(11:04):
for my car, because a lot of kids in school
would have their parents buy their cars. I didn't want that.
I wanted to buy my own car on my own.
So I spent like three summers just saving, saving, saving
until I could buy my first car, which was a
V six Firebird and it looked like kit and I
thought it was the coolest thing ever. So I worked

(11:26):
for my dad at Mr. Hero. Then I also worked
at J. C. Penny as a stock boy, and Abercrombie
and Fitch as a greeter. So I had many jobs.
And then once I got into Miami of Ohio, which
once you get done with with high school, you basically
are like, all right, what do I do? I go
to college. That's that's the standard where where I'm from,

(11:47):
you know, nothing else was even in my mind. So
I went to college and I was like, all right,
what do I do? Like, I don't know what I
want to do with the rest of my life, my
own my own business like my dad, So maybe I
should just go in business. And it was a very
good business school, very public school to get into and
so I went there and I just I would do
terrible in all of my like business classes, but all

(12:08):
of like like I did Greek mythology and art history
and I get straight a's and it was just like
I wasn't into the business side of it. And got
into a fraternity. Yeah, I got into a fraternity, uh,
Theta Kai. And then I saw I was watching I
would sitting at home watching TV and it said, do
you want to try out for the Real World? And
I was like, uh, yeah, definitely, Like I want to

(12:30):
be on TV. Okay, so did you did you watch
The Real World? Yes, you're a fan of the Real World?
Then yeah, it was. It was the biggest show in
in my demographic if you will, like you know, a
teenager going out of you know, high school into college,
like that was the prime time for the Real World.
I'll never forget like sitting at home sick when I

(12:53):
was in eighth grade watching the seasons like the I
think it was the third season San Francisco with Pedro
and Puck, and I was like, this is the greatest
show ever. And I and and now actually being on it.
I get people all the time that tell me like
I watched the Real World or everyone has their season
that they invested in that they watched, at least my

(13:13):
generation does, and so it's kind of interesting to hear,
you know, different people in their different views and what
what show they watched, like because I was I was
in San Francisco and New Orleans person that I watched
those seasons of the Real World, and that's what made
me want to be on the Real World. You auditioned
by sending in a VHS tape basically, guys that that

(13:36):
would existed back in the sixties, what what was its
eight and nineties two? I mean there was my camera phones.
I know what was on the tape, all right, So
I would videotape everything. So I would have parties at
my house and I would videotape and I had the
camera over the shoulder. I don't know if you remember
those back in the big, big order camp order. I

(13:59):
had one of those things, and I would videotape everything.
And so i'd video tape just different things that I
would do in my life, partying, dancing, you know, hanging
out with friends, that kind of stuff. So I edited
an entire video together. Now nowadays kids can edit on
their computers. Back then, we didn't have like the computers

(14:21):
and the editing tools to do that. So you had
to hook up your camcorder to your VHS tape and
press play on the camcorder and then record on the
tape on the VHS and then stop at the same time.
You're doing your left hand in your right hand and
you stop it at the same time, and then you
like fast forward on the camcorder and then you press
record on your on your VHS and play and it's

(14:42):
like that's how you edited. So that was my edited. Yeah,
that was my editing technique. And just how that is unbelievable. Yeah,
it's pretty crazy. Wow, And what did you did? You
deliver like a monologue like, yeah, I did a whole
Like here's why you should choose me. I'm from Parmer, Ohio.

(15:02):
I go to college. This is who I am. Gave
him a whole thing. My parents were divorced when I
was in fifth grade. Uh. You know, when you're going
on in the real world, you tell them all your drama,
all your ups, all your downs. But I like to
make it more entertaining and energetic, and so I uh,
that's kind of how I did my monologue if you will. Okay,
So this this is where I'm starting to go deep

(15:24):
with you here because I want to know at this
moment and obviously could change, But at this moment, what
did you perceive as the greatest reason that you should
be on the show? Was Yeah, Like, was there a
quality within you that that you were saying to them,
this is why you should choose me. I'm the most

(15:45):
fun person you'll ever have on your entire show. Like that,
That's that was basically the gist of it. Like I
am You're token frat boy that will literally go out
and party and have fun, and I'm an open book.
And I didn't realize that being an open book on
TV was so difficult for people like me. Whenever there
was a camera around, like a professional camera anywhere, and

(16:08):
I'm talking like if they were there was a news thing,
and I would literally be up behind it trying to
get on the TV to do an interview. If you
look at Netflix right now, there's a show of Woodstock
train Wreck. I went to Woodstock ninety nine and I
got in front of this camera and was like, Woodstock
ninety nine, Baby had no idea this was out there
at all until that documentary came out on Netflix this

(16:32):
year and they used me as like their first person,
like guy, they didn't say it was the miss, but
everyone on the internet was like, is that the miss?
Is that the miss of it? Yeah? That was me.
That was like eighteen year old miss out of high
school going to honestly what I thought was the greatest
concert I've ever been to. In that tape, and as
you began the real world, are you playing a character?

(16:55):
Are you showing yourself? I? I, uh so when I
got on that show, like it's interesting. So I started
in August and I didn't get on the show until February.
Like that's how long the audition process took. So I
sent in a videotape. Then I got had this fifty
page application asking everything and anything about my life. Then

(17:15):
you do like a sit down interview where you have
a camera in front of you and you videotape it
and they're on your speaker phone and you are talking
directly to the camera and they're asking you questions and
these aren't your normal, average every day questions. Like the
one question that sticks in my mind to this day
is Mike, you're an onion? And I peel Away, your

(17:35):
fraternity at peel Away, your friends at peel Away, your family,
what's at the core of Mike mazzanin And I literally
was like at a loss for words, and I was like,
I don't know, I I don't know. And it was
an honest answer and an honest question. And then the
next interview I had in person interview. And when I

(17:59):
was there it was like in Detroit. I had to
drive from my me Bhio to Detroit in my Firebird,
drove up there and I had to wait like fifteen minutes.
So I saw all these girls and they were all
going to prom so I kind of went up to him,
sort of talking to him, not realizing that the producer
is going to come down and see me talking to
like ten girls. I was like, oh, wow, this probably

(18:22):
was a good thing anyway, So go up there. I
talked to them in this interview, and you ever see
people on reality shows and they're bawling, crying, and you're like,
why is this person crying? Like, I don't get it.
I don't get like. That's that was my mentality until
I got into that interview and they were not necessarily
dissecting me, but asking questions that I've never been asked before,

(18:43):
and questions that I felt meant something, and and it
made me, I don't know, think, And you know, when
you're just living your life, you don't ever have people.
Sometimes you don't have people that really challenge you. And
I thought this show was really going to challenge me.
And so I was like driving back from Detroit to Miami,

(19:04):
I was like, I have to make this show. I
have to make this show. This is gonna make me
better and a better person. And so that's what happened.
Like I got done, went on the show, and I
didn't play a character. I was Mike until I was
on the show, and I was just uncomfortable. Now was
New York for the first time in my life. It

(19:25):
was a big city, is a melting pot, all this diversity,
so many people from different backgrounds, different ways of life,
different ways of thinking. And I am an unfiltered person,
so I just speak whatsever on my mind, and I
was hurting people's feelings and I didn't realize it and
didn't know. And then finally, like everyone started not liking me.

(19:45):
It felt like I was the outcast of the show.
And it was the first time in my life, I've
ever been an outcast anywhere. I was always able to
fit in, always able to be a chameleon, if you will.
And this was the first time that I couldn't do that,
and nobody liked me no matter what what I did.
And so I created this character called the Miss, which
was a w W E wrestler that was basically cutting

(20:08):
promos on everyone. And so I would get hammered and
literally just start cutting promos on everyone, telling him exactly
how I felt. And everyone loved the Miss but didn't
like Mike. And so everyone will always be like, do
the Miss, do the Miss, Do the Miss? Do the Miss.
So I just keep on doing the Miss, keep on
doing the Miss, keep on doing the Miss. So you asked,
did I was I a character on that show? No,

(20:30):
I wasn't. I was. I always look at the real
world is as real as real can get with cameras
in front of you. But the first week, so we
had this, uh this tryout right where we all went
to Palm Springs before we were on the real world.
It was a tryout. It was like twenty six people
were brought there and they had cameras and everyone was
talking about all these different things, like as soon as

(20:51):
you meet them, like they were talking about religion. Uh,
all these different issues that were at the time very important.
But you don't meet them and say, Hi, I'm Mike
Mazzen and uh, this is my religion, this is who
I You don't you don't just do that. And that's
what everyone was doing. And I literally in an interview,
I went, this is the biggest thing I ever seen
in my life. But three days into that that shoot,

(21:12):
I guess you can say people started getting real and
it started you started forgetting about the cameras. So once
you're on the real world, the first week is a
little weird, but then it just becomes the norm and
you're just in front of a camera. Yeah that makes sense.
I mean this is fairly early early days of reality TV.

(21:32):
What was your experience with other people in your life
about you becoming like a reality TV star? People supportive?
Was it difficult for you or what happened? I was
leaving college. There was no way my parents were gonna
be like, yeah, great, you're going to do this show.
And by the way, I wasn't allowed to tell anyone
that I was going to be on a reality show.
You had to tell. You had to be like, hey,

(21:54):
I'm going away for a little while. So I debated
telling my parents. And the reason I've debated is because
my parents have big mouths and they'll tell everyone. So
I kind of like said it like this. I was like, Mom, Dad,
I'm gonna go do this thing in New York and
I think it's gonna be big and it's gonna help
me and it's gonna be great. I'm gonna leave college.

(22:15):
What what is it? I can't tell you. And so
they were not happy with that, but I did it
anyway because I knew. I just knew there was something
about it, something that was you know when you feel
something and there's something inside you that are like, this
is right, this, this is where I need to be,
This is where I need to go. That was that moment.

(22:37):
And if I didn't do that just then and there,
I would sit in college plug probably flunk out, go
back to Cleveland and stay there for the rest of
my life and never feel that fire ever again. So
sometimes you get chances in life where there's a fire
and you feel it and you're scared of it because
everyone's telling you not to do it, and you're like, no,
I can't. I have to do it. I have to

(22:58):
do this. I have stick to my guns and I
believe it. I feel like so many people don't do
it because of what everyone else is telling them. I

(23:25):
read you were a fan of wrestling when you were
a kid. You create this persona the miss on the
real world. When does the idea began to come into
your mind that that could be a direction that you
you move. It didn't until I until I like, as

(23:45):
a kid, you're not thinking just because I love a show,
you're actually going to do it and be on it.
Like I loved w w E. I loved it. I
loved Ultimate Warrior. I loved the pain in his face,
streamers on his arm, I loved his energy when he
when that music hit and he came out, I was like,
oh my god, that's the outside my Warrior, you know
it was. It was amazing to me. And these guys

(24:08):
were larger than life, and I believed in him. I
had every action figure that you could imagine. Like I
talked about wrestling NonStop as a kid, and so you
never believe as a child that you could actually become
a w w E superstar. There's just no way, no option,
and it's it's I never even thought of it until

(24:30):
I got on the Real World and right, that's what
I was saying. So you at that moment you've created this,
people are loving them, miss is this this is what
starts the idea like maybe you could do this? Yes,
I I was like, maybe I can do this. So
as soon as I got home from the Real World,
I was sitting in my bedroom in Parma, Ohio and
my dad's condo, and I was like, am I going

(24:52):
to go back to college or am I going to
pursue this? And so I was calling, like being to Murray,
the production company that did Real World, trying to get
on you know, the challenges, because that was the next thing.
It was like, once you're on the Real World, I
want to be on the Real World road Rules Challenges.
And now today there's like ten challenges. They're like everyone
anyone could be on it. Back then it was just

(25:12):
Real World and road Rules, and I wanted to be
one of those cast members. So I got on the
show and actually won the show, and so I got money.
So I was like, because I was broke once I
got off the Real World. You don't get paid like
people were like, Oh, you're on TV, You're a millionaire. No,
that's not necessarily true. I was on a reality show.
I didn't get paid very much, like literally nothing. I went.

(25:33):
I went. Actually, I maxed out my credit cards because
I wanted to live the life of a person on television.
And so once I paid off those credit cards with
everything everything I had left over, I was sitting in
my room and I was like, all right, what do
I want to do with my life? And I looked
in the mirror and there was an action figure of
the Rock that my my roommates gave me and were like, hey,

(25:53):
I'm gonna be a w W superstar. So I went
on Google. I checked up all right, wrestling schools. How
do you how do you do it? Like? How does it?
Does it even work? So I saw ohil Valley Wrestling. Okay,
I could go to Louisville and learn there, or I
can go to l A with Ultimate Pro Wrestling. I'm
going to l A. So I moved to l A.
People from Buna Murray found me a place uh that

(26:15):
I literally lived with roommates from Buna Murray and then
I went to Ultimate Pro Wrestling pays to learn the
art of professional wrestling, and then I was like, all right,
what is wrestling? Wrestling isn't just wrestling, it's acting, it's improv.
So I went to acting school from Steven Anderson, who

(26:36):
was a great acting coach. And then I also was like,
all right, I need to go to Groundlings. I need
to go to Improv Olympics. So I went to those
two places and then the real world was like real
world was like hey, awesome, yeah, So then real world
was like, hey, do you want to do like when
you get off the real world? Pedro started this thing

(26:57):
from real world San Francisco, where you would go to
colleges and speak to students about your experience because it's
so much like being in college, and they would pay
you for it. So I started doing motivational speeches and
I looked at that is a way to perform in
front of a live audience. So I would always have
a promo in my mind of who the miss was,
and I would cut a promo at each one, but

(27:19):
then have this speech about motivating people to do stuff
with their lives. And there was a kid that never
graduated college getting paid to go to colleges to talk
to students. It's crazy, right, So that's how I would
make money. And then I started. I started making T shirts.
I got myself a logo for on a person that
would that would do a logo for me for unnor

(27:40):
Bucks because I wasn't really rich, so I started making
a T shirt lines because I was like, all right,
WW has a bunch of merch. All their superstars sell merch.
Maybe if WW sees me on TV talking about being
a w W superstar, they know that I'm trying to
become a WW superstar by learning the professional art of wrestling.
I'm also trying to act. I'm trying to improv. I'm
working on my body to get bigger because everyone was

(28:02):
like six seven three pounds and I wasn't, uh so,
what's gonna stand me out? And then also I wanted
to make sure that my merch was out there that
I could tell them, hey, I'm selling merch, like even
though I'm not in w W, E I am valuable.
I can, I can, I'm I can do something. So
and the best part was when I would go on
the challenges, people weren't jealous of the fact that I

(28:23):
was bringing T shirts and hats. They were supportive and
that doesn't happen very often. And everyone from the crew
from the cast members even to this day, have always
been so supportive of of me and and and my
dreams and everything that I've wanted to do. And they
literally if you watched The Inferno, which I think it's

(28:45):
on like either Paramount Plus or and Netflix, one of
the two. But if you watch that, people are all
wearing my my my gear, like my T shirts and
my hats with my logo on it, and I'm being
the miss on the show and everyone's loving it. And
by the way, the next season that was my I
believe my last season, they basically said no one's allowed
to do T shirts anymore or hats because I ruined

(29:08):
it for everyone. Uh so you you do all of
the this. I did not know this. You were going
to improv Olympic. That's unbelievable. Um, you then go on
tough Enough talk a little bit about tough enough. So
three years into training, I'm not making any noise through

(29:29):
w w E. I've been backstage and every time they're like,
hey we do an interview for w w E dot com.
Absolutely no problem, whatever you need. And they never would
give me a contract, never give me any like they
just wanted to basically put me on dot com and say, hey,
the miss backstage uh from the Real World loves w
w A. But no one was. It wasn't catching anything.

(29:51):
I wasn't getting what we call dark matches. I wasn't
getting these matches where you know, you could wrestle and
show what you can do. And so I was like, man,
I don't know if this is ever gonna happen. There's
always those doubts, you know. And in three years, I
did five um challenges, making it to the end on
a lot of them. The MS was honestly, any time

(30:11):
I would go anywhere, I was recognized, like it takes
I always think it takes five seasons or five five
shows to really get recognized by everyone. Um, that's when
it's like you're a staple. And so with the Real
World on my fifth season, I was like, my god,
I literally it's five Like everyone recognizes me, but I'm
still not making any noise with w w E. And

(30:32):
then I got a call, would you like to try
out for Tough Enough? And I said I would love to,
but I tried. I wanted to try out two years
ago and they wouldn't let me because back then you
couldn't be on two reality shows. You couldn't be on
Real World and The Challenges and Tough Enough because it
was all at MTV. And they were like, well, it's
not an MTV anymore, it's on CW. And so I

(30:53):
was like, I'm in. He's like, all right, you have
to try out. There's fifty people gonna try out. It's
in Venice Beach. I was like, no problem, I make
my way there, went to Venice Beach and tried out
and made it onto the show that I believe there
was eight of us, and they put us through the ringer.
Like every week we'd have to go to Connecticut and train,

(31:14):
and the training would be like taking five bumps, and
a bump is when you flat back onto the ground,
Like think about like just straight back to your like
if someone shoved you and you just landed straight on
your back. So taking five hundred of those, you are sore,
your body hurts, you're getting bumps, you're getting bruises, and
you have to do it every day to train to

(31:36):
get ready to learn the art of professional wrestling. And
by the way, I've already been three years in, so
I knew how to do a lot of the stuff
that they were training us to do. But you couldn't
have a big head, you know, you couldn't be like,
oh I know this stuff already, ha ha. Like I'm
not gonna tell al snow and build a mop that
absolutely not. Like, so, you know, we were training and

(31:56):
it seemed like fans were getting into us, and it
was through and vote on how you were going to
win or lose. And I've always been a punchable face.
I guess you can say a bad guy. And so
I ended up coming in second place. So I didn't
win tough enough, and I'll never forget. They were like,
you know, you impressed us so much that you know,

(32:19):
maybe there is something for you here. And so they
brought me up to Connecticut to commentate. I don't think
I've ever told this story. Actually they brought me up.
So Joey Styles brought me up with Todd Grisham and
Michael Cole. They all brought me up and I had
to do a take of commentating and they told me, hey,
we think we're thinking we might bring you in as

(32:40):
a commentator or an interviewer. And it was the first time.
I like, I said, but I want to be a
WW superstar and they were like yeah, Like they didn't
look at me like a w W superstar. They looked
at me as a personality. But I saw something different.
I was like, no, Like, I love what you guys do,
and I think you guys do a great job, but

(33:01):
I want to be, like I want to be bigger
than the Rock. I want to be bigger than than
than Hogan. I want to be I want to be
a superstar like and they were like, all right, okay,
And so they gave me a developmental deal to go
down and they didn't. They did not think I was
gonna be much of anything. To be honest, you could
you could kind of tell they were like, hey, let's
see what we got here, because I remember I was like,

(33:22):
they gave me this developmental contract and I was like,
I'm making more than this doing the real world and
the challenges and stuff like I'm gonna take a pay
cut to do this. And I had to think about that, like,
all right, are we looking at this is a career
move because sometimes you have to take you know less

(33:43):
because you see the big picture and you you see
them more and That's exactly what I did. I said, Okay,
I'll take less money, I will go there and I
will train and I'll prove everyone wrong. And I became
the first ever Deep South Heavyweight Champion. Uh. The first
thing they tell us is like, when you can sell
out this territory like we called it, like a territory

(34:03):
like Deep South Wrestling and mcdonnah Georgia. If you can
sell out our little arena which is like two people,
then you can go to Ohio Valley, which is like
which is the other territory. If you can sell that
one out, then maybe you can come to w W
E and SmackDown and raw and then that's where you
know you can make some money. So we were selling
out shows at Deep South Wrestling and I was the

(34:25):
first ever Deep South Heavyweight Champion. And I was a
good guy. People loved me. And Paul Hayman, who is
a huge influential person in wrestling in the wrestling world
like created e c W. He was was like, all right,
we're moving you to Ohio Valley Wrestling. So I went
to Ohio val Wrestling and Paul Haman was the first
person that said you're not a baby face because I was.

(34:48):
I connected with the Deep South people, like all the
people loved me and thought it was a baby face
and would buy my shirts and everything like that saw
me off the real world. When I went I was
a good guy. I was absolutely good guy. You know,
everyone's a big smile on my face. Hey cheer me,
rah rah ra. So then I go to Ohio Valley
Wrestling and they weren't cheering me. They were just it

(35:08):
was kind of just men, you know, like all right,
what do you got kid, Let's see what you got.
And it was a different territory. It was a different group,
and I didn't realize like different areas. I don't know
in theater when you go to like say Atlanta and
then you go to Broadway, then you go to different
is it different audiences? Do you do you do you
feel the different audiences? Do you feel the energy? Okay,

(35:29):
so it's the same thing. So we went to Oil
Valor Wrestling and it was just different and I was like,
oh man, and I wasn't getting we call it over.
We I wasn't connecting with the audience. And so Paul
comes to me and goes, you know why you're not connecting?
I go, no, He's like, you're not a baby face,
You're a heel, which is a bad guy. And I

(35:51):
was like, I don't know, man, down there is like
trust me, you're a heel. So we sat up, we
wrote this promo and I went out there and at
it and I don't think i've ever went back since.
It would just felt right. Oh my god. It was
just having people boo me and hate me and get
under their skin. And I became the biggest bad guy

(36:14):
in Ohio Valley Wrestling. And so then what happens. You
get taken up to SmackDown in raw And this was
another learning curve because right when I first got to SmackDown,
which is where they brought me, it was on national
television Live TV, and I was brought in as the host.
And I'll never forget the first day I was there.

(36:34):
I didn't know what I was doing there. No one
told me anything. I was just there like and they
were like, Vince would like to see you, and I'm like,
oh boy, I'm going in with that. I'm going to
Vince like this is like the first real conversation, like
I'm going to have with Vince McMahon. Walk in, I'm like, hello, sir,
I'm really excited to be here, and he's and he

(36:54):
sits down, he just he takes kind of a while,
like he'll just stare at you and just wait, and
there's that moment and he just waits to see what
you're gonna do. And I just sat there and stared
at him. We're just staring at each other for an
awkward amount of time, and he goes, we're gonna make
you the host. I want you to be the Ryan
Seacrest of w w E. And in my head, I'm

(37:17):
going like, you don't ever want to hear your boss
Like Ryan Seacrest is a hell of a talent, an
amazing talent, incredible host, but when you want to be
the biggest superstar in the world, you don't ever want
to be told you're the host of a show. But
in my mind, I said, I'm going to get a microphone.
If I can get a microphone and get this audience

(37:40):
to absolutely despise me as the host, then they're gonna
want to see me get beat up. And if they're
gonna see beat up, they gotta put me in the ring.
If they put me in the ring, they're never gonna
want me to come out of that ring. And so
for the next three four months, I was the host
of SmackDown, and there was a lot of ups and downs.

(38:02):
Because I was such a good host on SmackDown, they
made me the host of a Diva Search, which was
where we which is where I first met my wife,
by the way, which was w W E's version of
tough Enough. It's for the women, trying to find the
next women's superstar. And we went in there and I'll
never forget. I forgot the phone number of like I'm
on Live TV. We don't have Q cards, we don't

(38:23):
have teleprompters. There's none of that stuff out there. Teleprompters, No, Brian, No,
we don't have teleprompters. We memorize everything, and whatever we forget,
we just make up. You know. It's it's it's highly
improm that's what. That's where my my my ground lays
in prov Olympics come in, let me tell you. But
so I forgot the number and I wrote it down

(38:45):
on my wrist, but I was sweating so much that
it wiped off of my wrist. And what is the
number one thing you don't forget when you're the host.
It's the phone number you called to vote in like
I forgot it, Brian and I it was the first
time I felt cold sweat. I don't know if you've
ever felt this, where you're out there and you forgot everything.

(39:05):
Your mind goes blank and you nothing even you can't
even put words in your mouth because there's nothing there,
there's nothing in your brain. You're you're sinking and you
know it, and it's just like you're in quicksand and
you can't get out of it. And that's what I
was feeling while I was out there. Luckily, they played
music and just introed, so I introduced all the girls
and I was like, great, thank god they just did that. Um.

(39:28):
But then I went back and I went to Vince
and I was like, I am so sorry. This will
never happen again. I will dedicate, I would do whatever
it takes. I will figure out he goes. I know
it won't happen again. I know you won't allow that
to happen. And it never happened again. And from that
that point, I never wanted that to happen again. So
I would cut promos on everything I'm talking. If I

(39:49):
was stuck in traffic, I would cut a promo on
the traffic. If I was in the shower, I was
cutting promos on shampoo and conditioner. If I was if
I was you know, running, I was cutting promos on
the person running next to me, you know, or or
running across from me, or the tree. I was cutting
promos on everything. So even if I got that cold
sweat again, I would have something in my brain. And

(40:11):
so from there, from hosting they were it worked like
people hated me and despised me and wanted to see
me get my butt whooped. So they put me in
the ring and I went undefeated for like six months.
And then once I got beat, I had to figure
out what was next, like how do I elevate and
evolve this character? And they brought me so there was three.

(40:34):
There was raw SmackDown in E c W, and E
c W was like the C Show. You know it,
we never say it, but it was the C Show.
It was like where people are trying to figure out
what they're doing. Veterans are in that area to kind
of boost and you know, give it a rating, but
you know it's kind of an up and coming kind
of thing. And that's where I met John Morrison, who

(40:57):
became my tag team partner at the time, and this
guy taught me so much in the ring. Like I
had the charisma, I had the ability to connect with
an audience, but my in ring skills were okay at best,
you know, and I had to And even though I
was training for three years on the independence, even though
I was training envelopmental and doing well, I just still

(41:21):
didn't connect in the like I was a reality star
to everyone, and it's gonna take time to get them
out of that reality star mode because I don't even
know about you. But in Hollywood. When I went to Hollywood,
like I would tell people, Um, I was on the
real world, and they would look at me, like, look
at you. Like I couldn't get an audition, Brian, Like
I was trying to audition for stuff before w W

(41:41):
EAT and they wouldn't even let me audition because I
was on the real world and people know exactly who
I am. So then, you know, back then you weren't
allowed to know who the people are. You have to
be very hidden, Like actors had to be very hidden
because you know, you're playing a character and they didn't
want to know your character. And so that's kind of
where I set, so when I went to w w E,

(42:02):
it was like I was still a reality star. People
didn't like me, and I had to develop myself into
a w W superstar and gain respect not only in
the ring, but outside the ring as well. Well. You
have won the w w A Championship twice, the Intercontinental
Championship eight times, United States Champion twice, eight tag team championships,

(42:27):
giving you a total of twenty overall championships in w
W E, and you became the ww E Triple Crown
Champion and fourteen Grand Slam Champion. I mean, yeah, you
were a reality star that nobody paid much attention to,

(42:48):
kept pushing you into hosting and holding a mike as
opposed to doing what you wanted to do. How did
that make you feel? Eventually when you when you began
this this ascent really to the place where you are now.
So when I first won the money in the bank contract,
which is a contract that you can cash in anytime,
anywhere to have a w W Championship match. So say

(43:12):
the person just got done with the match, got slammed
with a chair, is laying down and can't get up.
I could cash in that contract and say, hey, I
want to match this guy right now for the w
W Championship, and that's how I won the championship twice.
Now is a bad guy. There's no better way to
win than that kind of way. And once I won
the first w w E Championship, there was so many naysayers,

(43:35):
so many people that were like, this guy does not
deserve the title. He's a reality star, he's an outsider.
I still get it to this day that I'm an outsider,
you know, coming in looking in, even after eighteen years
of being in this business, you know, still trying to
harness that respect value. I guess that I want and

(43:56):
so bad, I guess you can say. But when I
wanted that first w championship, nobody wanted it. And then
I went on to main event WrestleMania, which is the
hardest thing to do, and I was w W champion
at the time, walked in the w W Champion as
a bad guy in the main event of WrestleMania, and
walked out the w w E Champion at WrestleMania with

(44:20):
the Rocks help granted. But then the Rock gave me
People's elbow at the end, which was fine because I
walked out the w w E champion, uh, And that
was that was one of the most incredible things that's
ever happened in my life. Because, man, I'll tell you
what you try to get, like it's like getting an
Oscar or an Emmy or you know, for me, you know,

(44:44):
getting to be the main event. That doesn't happen very often,
especially to a guy like me who people were so
down on and didn't didn't expect to do anything in
this business. And then to be able to go there
and main event and do it then and then from
there you think I'm a made man, But I wasn't.
Like I went on a deep downward spiral where I

(45:07):
couldn't win anything, and then all of a sudden, you know,
maybe like six years ago, I started understanding what I
had to do to be a top talent in w
w E. And there's a difference between you know, winning
at w w E Championship and being a top talent

(45:29):
and not needing a title and still being considered one
of the most valuable superstars that w w E has.
And so that's where I've turned my career into being Uh.
I guess you could say a leading man like I
can be the main focus on Monday Night Raw. I
could be the main focus on SmackDown. It's like, you know,

(45:50):
I guess having a Michael Scott. You know, he can
do so many different things. He can give you so
many different emotions, tell so many different stories. Each superstar
knows their role and basically is trying to become the
biggest star in w w E, and everyone's there to
help it. Like I always look at The Office as

(46:11):
such a great show of so many different characters, and
everybody is, as we say, getting over and everyone knows
how to get over and nobody everyone knows their role
and what they need to do to get there. It's
kind of the same thing fascinating past current w w

(46:48):
E stars. Compare them two characters from the Office, say
who would be whom? And why? Ready? Michael Scott. I
would want to be Michael Scott, to be honest. But
but here's the thing, though, I can't be Michael Scott
because I feel like I'm Jim. Because on Miss and Misses,
which is my reality show on the USA Network, I

(47:11):
do the Jim look to the camera almost not like
almost every episode. And the reason I do that and
I love so I love what you know, Greg Daniels
and and all your interviews with all the different characters,
the crew, the cast, you know from you know, makeup people,
the casting directors, every I loved all those interviews to
hear the insights of reasonings on why. And I believe

(47:34):
the reason that that Jim would look at the camera
is because it's so absurd that someone needs to bring
reality to this is this really happening kind of look?
And Jim would always have that look. And so in
my reality show, if something so absurd is happening, and
trust me, in my real day to day life, absurd
things happen that you won't believe is happening, but it

(47:56):
really is. So I have to give that Jim look
to the camera to show like I'm in on this
with you, like I know this is ridiculous, but it's
really funny. So I I kind of I stole that
from the office because I love the show so much.
So I would reckon. I would say, I'm Jim. Um,
Michael Scott is is the lead. Every story can revolve

(48:20):
around him, right, so I would say, gosh, it have
to be like Roman Reigns or a John Cenah. Granted
it's not the comedy aspect of it's not the airhead
aspect of it. It's not the you know, I wouldn't
call him airhead, but you know what I'm talking about,
Like he's just so absurd. So I would say, as
a lead actor, you'd have to have like a Sena

(48:42):
or a Roman Reigns as like you're Michael Scott. But
like with the comedy aspect, I mean, Sammy Zane is
doing some really funny stuff in w W E and
the whole show can revolve around his character, so he
could also be that Michael Scott. I didn't and prep

(49:04):
you for this question, I'll just do one more. Who's
Dwight Shrewd? Dwight Shrewd? Uh? Can Maurice be Pam because
that's who I marry? And then Dwight Shrewd? Gosh, who
would be Dwight Shrewd who's a weirdo and gets on
my nerves? Johnny Gargano right now is on my nerves
or dex uh he who shall not be named uh

(49:27):
shall is always on my nerves? So I guess if
I'm Jim, then right now, in this moment, Johnny Gargano
has to be Dwight because he's annoying. Okay, are you
an athlete or you an entertainer primarily primarily entertainer. I
love entertaining and I'm a I'm an athlete as well.

(49:48):
Like it's a little bit. That's the thing about w
w E. There's nothing quite like it. It's why you
always see the rock coming back to w w E
because there's nothing like it. There's nothing like that live
audience and that live feel. I imagine that's why you
probably enjoy going back to theater because you get that live,
instant gratification rather than waiting six two months to a

(50:09):
year to wait for your stuff to come out and
you're like, oh, like, yeah, I did that like a
year ago exactly. UM, have to talk about your wife, Maurice,
your new reality show, Miss and Mrs. You work together
both in the ring and outside of the ring. Is
that correct? We met, like I said before, we met

(50:30):
off the Diva Search. She was a contestant. I was
the host and the first time, it's funny, like on
TV you can see the first time I ever set
eyes on Maurice and the first time she ever set
eyes on me in the first conversation we ever had
is literally on television. Yes, so you like Jim and Pam.
I know you are like Jim and Pam. You played

(50:52):
out in front of the cameras. What do you think
that your chemistry? How did that? How did that change you?
And you're persona or enhance it? She enhances me in
every way. She makes me a better person, pushes me
when sometimes I feel like I don't need to be pushed,
but she will push me into directions. And I always

(51:14):
look at her as like she's a dreamer and a
go getter. And sometimes when I'm like, I'll we have
this joke now because my buddy just came up with
this book called There's Just One Problem, and she read
the book and now she uses There's just One Problem.
Because I always say she'll come up with an idea
and I go yeah, but she goes yeah, but is
there is there a problem? Is there just one problem?

(51:35):
And I go, oh my god. And so I'm just
trying to be a realist here, but she's sometimes her
like fans. So we have a production company called mad Reproductions.
We have like six shows that we're pitching right now,
and some of these ideas she comes up with, and honestly,
most of these ideas are hers, like she derived him,
came up with them, got the decks and the sizzles

(51:58):
all together and squared away. And then I am always
the one that's like, yeah, this is not really real,
and I's like, what this is real? Look, this is
what we can do, this is what we can have,
this is this is and then she does it and
I go, wow, that's actually a really great idea. The
good thing I have you. But she pushes me and
she makes me a better person. And outside the ring,

(52:18):
so say say we're in the ring and she's managing me.
If you will, whenever you have your wife, you always
want to show off. And I'm in I'm in a speedoh,
like I'm half naked, Brian, you know out there. And
so when I'm half naked and I'm I'm wrestling, I
want to show off in front of my wife. I
want to you know, show her like, hey, look what
your husband can do. So I'm always trying to do go,

(52:39):
go one better, and go and add it. But on
miss and Mrs we love doing this show, like you know,
we've had so much fun. It's our We're we're getting
into our fourth season and we absolutely love it, and
you know, it's a reality show that we're proud of
that my parents are involved in and everyone loves my

(53:00):
dad and Margaux and it's comedy and our little girls
to see them grow up, Like we started this show
and Monroe wasn't even born. She's four and a half now,
and literally I've been able to watch videos of my
daughter getting born on the on the first season, and
now I get to see her grow and it's been
such a cool process, Like I'll always have those, like

(53:23):
homemade videos that are really professional and we're televised, and
I'll always have those to watch and see them grow.
And sometimes it brings a tear to my eye, but
it's a comedy, so you know it will tug on
your heartstrings, but it will also make you laugh. And
it's kind of what The Office does for me, Like
I still watch all the Super shows, like the Super episodes.
I think was the most genius idea that they have.

(53:45):
And I don't know if this is my favorite scene
off the office, And I'm sorry to get off of topic,
but my favorite scene off the Office is with you,
and it's not the chili. I imagine everyone is says,
it's the Chili. It's not and I think gets off
of a Super episode and I don't know if this
actually aired on the real episode. So Jan has a baby.

(54:08):
She brings a baby, she's singing with it and she's
and people are asking her where did she get the sperm?
And she's like, oh, it is a very high end
v I P type place, and you go, was it
next to the eye hop? And she gives the look
and it's like, oh my god, Oh my god, she

(54:29):
got it from where Kevin gave his Like this could
beat Kevin's kid like that. That is my favorite scene.
That one, and and Creed coming in as a teenager
like his hair done was two of my favorite scenes
in the office. And did I stutter yes, Oh yeah.
That was the biggest fight I ever had with the

(54:50):
editors and writers when that scene in Baby Shower was cut.
I thought it was the most genius I was. I
am right, it was. It's in the Super show it now,
and it's my favorite scene because the way you throw
it out there and the look she gives you, Oh

(55:11):
my god, it was like it was one of those moments.
It's like a moment that you that you yearned for,
like in those type of shows where you she didn't
never say anything, and the look she gives it's like,
oh my god, that's where she got it. And it's
next to the eye hoop, so prestigious, it's so p
I P. It's next the freaking eyehop. So good, so

(55:34):
well written. I don't know was that improv or was
that like, oh that was the writer's that was so good. Well,
look you're now you're also now doing straight acting. You're
starting in the Marine franchise as Sergeant Jake Carter. Do
you find acting in that more difficult or easier than

(55:56):
the entertainment stuff that you do on reality TV? And
from the w w E. They're all different. So being
on a reality show is completely different than being on
a series show, than being on a movie, than being
in w w E. So with acting, and I was
very fortunate on my first marine Marine three Home Front

(56:17):
to be with Scott Wiper, who was the director, because
he is very method in the way he does things,
and he taught me kind of how to do that
and I was, you know, I was green, and so
he made me stay in my trailer and he would
make me watch before we even did the movie. We
would sit there and watch like all these old school

(56:39):
movies and the little things like the good, the bad,
the ugly, and just the little things that Clin Eastwood
would do that we're nothing. And then watching cool Hand
Luke and watching Newman like literally be effortless and everything
that he does. And me, I'm a try hard I
want to try hard and do the best impossible can
and everything I am and sometimes that isn't the character

(57:01):
and that isn't and I'm too big. I'm very big,
especially when you're in a theater like I look at
w W as a theater like if you have I
have to play for the last person in the in
the last row, so I have to be big and huge.
But with the camera it's so it gets everything. So
he was teaching me all these little nuances, these little

(57:21):
things that I could do to be natural and normal,
and I'll never forget. I actually called the Rock and
I texted him and I said, hey, man, I'm about
starting my first movie, um getting ready to do my
first scene. Is there any advice you can give me?
And he called me and he was like, dude, the
best thing that I could tell you and help you
out with is just to be natural and it's gonna

(57:44):
sound so easy and so weird. But once you get there,
there's gonna be three or four cameras. You're gonna have
to hit a spot that you're not that you can't
look at. You can't look at the spot, and you
have to be normal and natural and it's action. You
have to just make it feel and I was, and
it was great advice because you know, sometimes you see
in acting, you know you'll see a robotic kind of portrayal,

(58:07):
and I didn't want to do that. And so luckily
Scott Wiper was able to hone me and dedicate me,
and then you know, I was given I didn't have
to audition for Marine three. I was given it. And
then my next movie, Christmas Bounty. The producer of Marine
three said, we gave you Marine three, but you earned
Christmas Bounty, and then from there we I was the first.

(58:30):
It was so Marine three was my first one. John
Cena did the first, tabas did the second, and so
every time they had a new marine. The first time
they made brought a marine back was me. So a
Marine four, five and six was all me and I
was like, I couldn't believe that they would give me,
you know, like keep doing it with my character and

(58:50):
elevating the character. And then I also did a couple
you know, Supernatural and a bunch of other things. But
I love acting, like I love getting into different characters.
It's just so much fun. And that's why I love
off the Beaks. I like hearing other people's process in
how they developed their characters, get into their characters, how
they got their characters, how you know, some people didn't

(59:12):
have to audition, some people did have to audition. Some
teop to auditioned for years upon years and did an
audition for that that actual show, but then they saw
them off that audition and got them that thing. So
every time I do an audition, I'm like, maybe I'm
not auditioning for this role. Maybe I'm auditioning for something else.
So I'm always trying to get better and hone my
craft and and be better as an actor, especially coming

(59:34):
off of reality because people still look at me as
a reality star. Well let me tell you something. Let
me tell you what I admire about you. Right, Both
Michael Scott and Wayne Gretzky said, you miss or you
miss of the shots you don't take, you shoot your

(59:57):
shot and let me just say this. You're pitching six
projects right now. You've got the reality show with your wife,
You're doing stuff with w w E, You're acting in
in other films. And in addition to all of those things,
let me tell you something. It exhausts me looking at
your Instagram. Its exhausts me because you are constantly creating content.

(01:00:23):
You are constantly putting yourself out there. And now I'm
gonna say something, and this is gonna sound negative, but
I promise you it is not. I watch your stuff.
You know, we've gotten to know each other, we're friends.
I watch your Instagram. Let me just say this, with
all respect, some of it is is terrible. Okay, now
I'm saying that. No, I'm saying that. I'm saying that

(01:00:45):
in a funny way. But then the next day I'm
scrolling through and I genuinely laugh. And so here's my
point is you always and consistently shoot your shot, and
when you do that, it's not all going to be perfect.
And that's not just how it should be in what

(01:01:07):
you're doing, but I'm talking about in terms of acting
as well. The boldness with which you try new things,
set up different shots, put on God only knows what
outfits in different settings, and you make a hell of
a lot more than you miss. So I yeah, I

(01:01:27):
mean we joked before when we talked in Tahoe that
you are the consummate entertainer, and I mean that. I
mean you are putting yourself out there consistently and regularly,
and you are are very often succeeding. So I wanted
you to hear that from me. I respect the hell
out of you and you're willingness to put yourself out

(01:01:47):
and that is a lesson that regardless of what you're doing,
whether it's sports or whether it's entertainment or acting or
singing or any of the other folks that we're talking
to here, that's a lesson that everybody can learn is
just keep keep shooting your shot. Well, thank you very much, man. Yeah,
I want you to know, whether it's conscious or not,
it's impressive. It's it's really impressive, and you're entertaining a

(01:02:10):
hell of a lot of people, So congratulation. Times it
is sometimes it is like I mean to do it,
and other times I don't. I'll give you an example.
So Mortal Kombat came out with a movie, right, brand
new movie and once it came out, Johnny Cage wasn't
in it, but I was trending worldwide that the miss
should beat Johnny Cage. So literally the next day I

(01:02:32):
call my age and I go, hey, if this is
an option, I will do whatever it takes to beat
Johnny Cage in the next Mortal Kombat movie. And so
they made calls and they're like, we don't have a
script yet, Like this guy's already calling, Like I'm already
like I'm already shooting my shot, like I've been stretching,
I am so close to getting the splits down. I've

(01:02:53):
been working on my kicks, my punches, and like, this
is a this is a thing I've even auditioned for,
Like I haven't even audio for. It was just exactly
it doesn't even exist right now, but I'm still preparing
for it because there's something wrong with me, Brian. I
really honestly believe there's something wrong with because I'm like,
this is something that I want. I really feel I

(01:03:15):
can be it and really put everything I have into
it and make it the character that it should be.
And I know I could do it, and so it's
all a matter of just seeing the scurrit and then
literally getting the producers and they don't have directors of producers,
they have anything done like but that that's that's all it.
Like I guess I do really do shoot my shot

(01:03:37):
even when there is no shot to be shot, Like
I'll still shoot a shot just to see if it
if it makes it because you never know what's going
in it can it can ricochet and hit something even
better at times I can speak from personal experience on that. Uh,
Mike the miss thank you so much for talking to me.

(01:03:58):
My best to your family. I'm want to see on
the golf course soon. Yeah, I'm actually go right, I
gotta beat you and something you will beat me and
that and be honest with you. I mean you you
played a hell you played a really good in Tahoe.
Let me tell you. I think I was like eighty
I out of eighty six. And then I look for Brian,
You're like in the forties. Well and that is that

(01:04:18):
is saying something because everyone there is like really good
at golf. It's ridiculous there. But hey, I also wanted
to say I really appreciate you having me on your podcast.
I love Off the Beat. I loved like ever since
the beginning, when you're doing all the office stuff. I
watched it. I love how you interview, I love how

(01:04:38):
the information and the passion you have for it. And
by the way, just for everyone out there, Brian is
amazing at gambling, because every time I've gambled with you,
I have one. I have one. I I went up.
By the only time I win is when I'm next
to you, because you literally tell me everything to do. Oh,
I do have something else to say. When I talked

(01:05:01):
to MSS in Tahoe for the podcast this is what
do we call this? A special A very special follow up?
MS found a five thousand dollar chip and we made
a lot of jokes about what to do with it.
I told him he could just give it to me,
and I would I would put it in a safe place. No.
He went to Jonathan Thomas, the head of the American Century,

(01:05:23):
and told him the story and said, this is for
the foundation, this is for cancer research. And the five
thousand dollar chip that wasn't his that he found, fair
and square ended up getting donated for cancer research through
the American Century Foundation. So there you go. A good

(01:05:45):
guy as well as a lucky guy. Yeah, very lucky
very lucky. Well, thank you so much, Mike. That was

(01:06:06):
so fun. I have loved getting to know you better
and what makes the miss tick, or at least what
makes Mike tick. To everybody out there listening, you're the
best as well. It's always great to spend my Tuesdays
with you. I will be here next week, same time,
same place, with another guest who some might say he's

(01:06:29):
always watching. Mm hmm, what does that mean? You'll see
next week? Off the Beat is hosted an executive produced

(01:06:50):
by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer Langley. Our
senior producer is Diego Tapia. Our producers are Liz Hayes,
Hannah Harris, and Emily Carr. Our talent producer is Ryan
Papa Zachary, and our intern is Sammy Cats. Our theme
song Bubble and Squeak, performed by the one and only

(01:07:11):
Creed Bratton