Mike “The Miz” Mizanin has always been a showman. The reality TV star graduated from MTV Real World to Tough Enough. His personality won him a shot in WWE, and he’s never looked back. On that note, the WWE Superstar talked about his video game skills and explained why he wants 2K Sports to give him more power in this exclusive interview.
What advice would you give to anybody playing as The Miz in WWE 2K14?
If you’re about to lose, press Reset. That’s the best advice you can get. If you are playing with my character and you’re about to lose, press Power. You turn the game off. You don’t allow me to get pinned one, two, three.
What’s the most awesome part of WWE 2K14?
The Miz. Is that enough said, or do I need to elaborate? When you ask, “What’s awesome about this game?,” I am awesome, and I am The Miz, so that’s my catch phrase. I’m the only thing that is awesome in the game, however, everything else is great. It’s fantastic. It’s wonderful. But when you talk about the word awesome, that correlates with The Miz. It goes hand-in-hand, for all you people out there.
How do you feel about your portrayal in the WWE games?
This year is WWE 2K14. I always tell the WWE video game people, listen, I’m the Miz. I get that you like to be authentic and realistic. I’d like it if you would make me bigger, more jacked and more ripped. Can we do that? And they always go, “No.” Fine. OK. Can you give me the most power out of anybody? And sometimes they’ll go “OK,” and other times they go “no.” I don’t understand how they can tell me no. I’m the WWE Superstar. I’m the character. Shouldn’t I have some say in this sort of situation?
The game’s for the fans.
I agree. I get the fans want realistic, they want authenticity, but what about what I want? I’m the person that invites friends over and they try and beat my character with a girl. I’m like, thanks guys. Thanks friends. Appreciate it.
What games did you play growing up?
I played Super Mario Bros. My dad got me a Nintendo. Not Super Nintendo, a Nintendo. I played Tetris. I played Contra. Basically all the games that Nintendo had to offer; I played it and loved it. It was one of the best things.
What’s your favorite game?
Galaga. I still play to this day. It’s one of my all-time favorites. I have a 60-in-1 old school video arcade game in a cocktail setting, so I have old school games like Ghost’n Goblins, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man and Marble Madness. I was a huge gamer as a kid growing up. Sometimes it took over schoolwork, which wasn’t always good, and my parents weren’t always happy with it. However, it was still fun.
But look at you now, right?
But look at me now. Now I’m a WWE superstar, so that’s what happens.
Where does being in a video game fit with the action figures and other WWE perks?
It’s better than action figures. Whenever you’re in a video game, it’s better than action figures because, granted, kids can play with you and that kind of stuff, but you’re in a video game. I played video games when I was a kid. Now I’m in one. It’s cool to have action figures. It’s cool to be in a video game. But these are childhood things that everyone dreams of having, and now I’ve got both, so I have the best of both worlds. It’s just how cool I am.
What was it like hosting SummerSlam?
It wasn’t a new thing for me. I mean, I host Miz TV. I’ve hosted a bunch of stuff on MTV. So I’ve hosted a lot of things, but I am the first ever host of SummerSlam. I think I’m the second host of any pay-per-view behind The Rock. So anytime you can be behind The Rock, it’s all good. I imagine I’ll exceed the Rock, because that’s just the confidence and the vibe I want to put out there. That’s the expectations I have for myself, but man, it’s such an honor to be asked to host. It’s like getting asked to host the Oscars, only I feel it’s bigger because I’m performing in front of a sold out Staples Center. I’m also performing in front of millions at home watching. So it’s always very cool. It’s a lot of pressure, but I’m willing to take that pressure. Whatever WWE gives me, I like to take a swing and hit it out of park.
WWE 2K14 is available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Published: Nov 4, 2013 02:00 pm