The Miz Reveals Reluctance To Impersonate John Cena

Leading up to WrestleMania 33, The Miz was involved with sketches that saw him take on the role of John Cena on WWE; all that was missing from the impersonation was Cena’s physique. The Miz was joined by his wife, Maryse who portrayed Nikki Bella.

While the mockery saw immediate success, a recent interview with Sports Illustrated’s “Extra Mustard” highlighted The Miz’s cautious approach to the idea.

At the first the A-List superstar didn’t want to do it, he thought that it wouldn’t be very good and that it wouldn’t be memorable. Having already seen Kurt Angle do a perfect imitation of John Cena, it’s not surprising that The Miz thought this way.

The Miz later started to change his mind as he experimented with different styles of Cena’s voice and catch phrases while on the road. The indicator that the idea was worth running with came from Maryse, who is apparently hard to make laugh.

“If Maryse laughs at something, then it’s funny because she doesn’t laugh at anything. So I was like, ‘Hmm, this is something. And then I started thinking of ideas on what it would be and I was like, ‘alright we got something here.”

The Miz highlighted Maryse’s impression of Nikki as the key to opening up a simple gimmick into a running theme. The other important factor that The Miz pinpointed was the production value and dedication; the way the editors worked to match the segments with Total Bellas, making everything as realistic as possible.

According to the former Intercontinental Champion, the reaction to John Cena & Nikki Bella VS The Miz & Maryse at WrestleMania 33 was extremely negative. He explained that fans were expecting John Cena VS The Undertaker, with The Miz taking on AJ Styles. However, the A-List superstar appeared to claim that his build up to WrestleMania 33 turned the pessimistic fan base on it’s head as the match became one that “everyone’s looking forward to seeing.”

The Miz also showed a softer side to his usual heel/self-centered persona as he credited Cena’s proposal to Nikki Bella, which completed the story arc “perfectly”.