The Miz Plans on Keeping WWE Championship by Any Means Necessary

People say that dreams can come true. Now, The Miz is proof that is true.

The reality TV star turned pro wrestler has always aspired to become WWE Champion. As outlandish and possibly ridiculous that may have seemed, he set out on a quest to accomplish that dream.

And on the Nov. 22 edition of "Raw," The Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated Randy Orton to become the WWE Champion.

Now that he has it, The Miz has no plans of giving it up anytime soon. But he does plan on keeping up his very hectic schedule as the flag-bearer for the company.

Part of that schedule was participating in the WWE's annual "Tribute to the Troops" show, which will air this Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. ET on NBC. Tribute to the Troops is a special show to support all the men and women in the Armed Forces.

Plus, The Miz will be defending his WWE Championship this Sunday at the TLC (Tables, Ladder and Chairs) pay-per-view against Orton in a tables match.

Earlier this week, FanHouse caught up with The Miz to talk about winning the WWE Championship and those upcoming shows.

Brian Fritz: You've been extremely busy as of late. When was the first time you got a full night of sleep?
The Miz: Well, last night I got an hour! Is that a full night of sleep for you because it has been for me lately. (laughs) Actually, when was the last time I got a full night of sleep? I would say... Monday night I had a nice sleep, 10 hours actually.

"The way I live is literally that I like to be working at all times. So even when I wasn't WWE Champion I was working towards getting the title and working towards getting my name out there as a WWE superstar."
-- The Miz Have you gotten used to that schedule where you know there will be a lot of nights where you just get a few hours of sleep?
That's kind of how it's always been for me. The way I live is literally that I like to be working at all times. So even when I wasn't WWE Champion I was working towards getting the title and working towards getting my name out there as a WWE superstar. It's hard to get rid of that, well, I didn't want to get rid of it, but it's hard to get respected in the WWE Universe with a reality background. So, it's not that I was trying to get rid of it but I was trying to get respected in the industry.

Where do you keep the title at night? Is it in bed with you or on the dresser?
You know how most little kids have stuffed animals? Well, I have the WWE Championship.

What was that moment like when you won the title? Was it a truly surreal moment?
People have asked me this question and the best that I can describe it is you go through a series of emotions in a matter of three minutes. You go through like a thousand emotions in like three minutes. My first reaction when I heard the 1-2-3 was literally panic mode, literally I'm slapping the ground. It took all my energy and everything is just rushing out of me and it's pure excitement and the adrenaline is just pouring out. Then about 10 seconds later I kind of sit back and realize "whoa, I just did it," and then I kind of got choked up. But then when I got choked up, I realized I can't cry on national television. So I immediately went "oh, OK go overboard and not do the crying mode." So then I kind of went back into reality and soaked it in. Then, (Alex) Riley was right there and he gave me a hug which choked me up again. He's saying, "dude, you lived your dream, you lived your dream," and it kind of brought back all the memories of everything I've ever done. So in a matter of three minutes I went through about a thousand emotions.

I think you're allowed to cry if you win the WWE Championship the first time.
I know! But here's the thing though -- you're still in front of thousands of people and millions watching at home so I still have the aura of people around me. It wasn't like I was in an enclosed, encompassed spot. It was like people were watching and for one minute, I felt the moment for myself and then you look up and you're like "oh, wait, there's people here sharing this with me." It was just one of those moments where you're literally... sometimes I don't think you even need to cry. The pure emotion of what's going on is enough for people to sympathize and see it.

Was there a moment later in the night when you paused and said "damn, I just won the WWE Championship?"
I think I've done that same moment every day since I won the WWE Championship. The funny part was people were like "what did you do afterward, did you celebrate, did you party?" And I'm like number one, it was a Monday night and Orlando didn't really have anything going on on a Monday night, so all I really wanted was to get a meal of food and the only thing open was Denny's. So the WWE Champion on his night of victory went to Denny's and had a sweet and sour barbecue chicken.

You win the title and there were a lot of reaction shots from the crowd that night, the most infamous one being the "Miz Girl" and that's something we don't always get in wrestling as much of these days. Did you get an opportunity to go back and watch "Raw" and see those reactions?
When I got backstage, the first thing that kind of happened was there were a bunch of people that gave me kind of a round of applause. It was a really cool moment, but then when I went by the merchandise guys they were like "did you see what happened?" I said "no, what happened?" They were like, some of the shots they got of the kids are instant classics and were literally on the computer YouTubing what happened and we got it. It was literally like five minutes and it was on YouTube and I saw the reactions. My first instant reaction was that was exactly what I wanted when I won the WWE Championship: shock, anger and awe of little children being so mad that I beat their little hero up, Randy Orton. It was fantastic.


"Miz Girl" Wins WWE Fan Reaction of the Year You got to have an encounter with the "Miz Girl" on "Raw" this past Monday night. How was she? She's gotten a lot of notoriety and people were wondering if she would be brought in by WWE to do something.
Well, the way that happened was the father saw me give out the address (to WWE), I gave the address out the next week and I showed the picture of her, and so it was one of those moments. It just kind of happened. The father called up WWE headquarters and was like, that's my daughter and she would love to do something, and I literally went "bring her in!" She ended up winning a Slammy for "Best Crowd Reaction," which honestly it was the best crowd reaction of the year. And me going out there and... how do you take something from a little kid? How do you get it? So you have to be extremely, excruciatingly nice. You have to be so nice to them that they trust you, and that's basically how I went out there and took her Slammy away from her. I was so nice that she trusted me and I took her Slammy and I gave her her own face right back to her.

The cool part was backstage everyone was telling me how shy she was. Just watching her go out there and saying thank you to my mom and my sister who always sticks up for me. It was so cute and she was so shy. Someone told me that Randy Orton went up and hugged her and she wouldn't let go. It was kind of cute.

You've talked before about everything you went through during your early days in WWE and trying to win over your peers. Do you feel like you've finally gotten over that hump now?
No. It's funny because the way it really works is like this. When I won the United States Championship, everyone said I never defended it. When I won the Tag Team Championships, Big Show was carrying me. When I won the Tag Team Championships with John Morrison, John Morrison was carrying me. Then when I won Money in the Bank it was a fluke. Now I win the WWE Championship and now I'm a paper champion and the only reason I won is because Randy Orton was injured and seven people beat him up. But the fact remains I am still WWE Champion and I really don't care what people think cause the fact still remains I'm el number uno.

"It takes a lot of years and a lot of building. And I'm still building. I've been building myself for the past four years that I've been here."
-- The Miz on what it takes to convince others that he's a main event star in WWE What do you think it's going to take for people to say you are a main event star and he should be champion?
It takes a lot of years and a lot of building. And I'm still building. I've been building myself for the past four years that I've been here. If you've looked at me from the beginning until now you'll see a person that has evolved, and I need to keep evolving and keep getting better and keep being the best that I can possibly be and keep on being unpredictable so people say I have no idea what the dude is going to do or say. I'm going to watch him next week just to see what happens. And that's the type of personality I'm going to be and who I am.

Are you going to be disappointed if you're not in the main event at WrestleMania?
Uh, yeah! I'm WWE Champion and I plan on having it long past WrestleMania. I don't know if you heard me but I said I was going to be the longest-reigning WWE Champion in the history of this company and I plan on doing that. Everything that I ever said I was going to do, I've done. I told everyone I was going to win the United States Championship; I won it. I won the unified Tag Team Championships and I said I was going to win them. I said I was going to win Money in the Bank; I won Money in the Bank. I said I was going to cash in the Money in the Bank and win the WWE Championship. Everyone told me I was going to be the first to lose. I didn't lose. I won. So now hear this: I'm going to be the longest-reigning WWE Champion in the history of this company. I'm beating Bruno Sammartino.


WWE Tribute to the Troops
(Dec. 18 at 9:00 p.m. ET on NBC) The "Tribute to the Troops" show is going to be airing on Saturday night on NBC at 9:00 p.m. ET. What was that experience like for you to be a part of that show which was taped over at Fort Hood, Texas?
These are always my favorite shows of the year. The last two years I went over to Iraq and I actually got to see what the day and the life is of a soldier. Literally what they do is wake up, they do their job. They're in the middle of the desert and there's nothing really to do. Then they might be able to Skype if the Internet works for three minutes to talk to their family and friends. Then they go eat lunch, go work out, go work out again and then they start their day over again. So, it's kind of incredible to see the day and the life of a solider. I literally love doing it every time because these guys put their lives on the line for us. They sacrifice so much. They don't get to see their families for their birthdays or their holidays or even the birth of their first child.

I remember talking to a general and he showed me a picture of an autograph signing in America with me, his wife and his child, his newly-born child, and he said I met his son before he did. That's incredible stuff. So, if we can go and give a tribute to the troops, a nice show for them, it's great. This year, we're actually doing it in America because we're trying to get as many military personnel as possible, and this year we have over 50,000 soldiers, families and friends that actually came to the show and got entertained by the WWE superstars and Divas. Diddy-Dirty Money also performed. Cedric the Entertainer also performed. Sherri Shepherd made an appearance as well as Miss USA. It was an incredible event and some of these people just got back from Iraq. So, to get them back in the swing of things, give them a good, entertaining show to put a smile on their face and the people that are deploying, going out on tour, let's leave them with a bang.

Did even the troops boo you?
(laughs) Yeah! Actually they did but I think it was more of a... I think this is what happens when Miz comes out so let's boo him.

The TLC pay-per-view is coming up on Sunday. It's a tables match between you and Randy. We're not going to see some cheap win where maybe he tries to RKO you and you go over the table and he falls through...
I love the way you're saying this like we're not going to see a cheap win. (laughs) Let's put it this way. I win at any way possible. Any way possible I will win. I go for anything. I don't care. I don't care if it's cheap. I don't care if it's cheating. I don't care if it's anything that people don't like. I've never cared what people thought and I don't care now because I'm keeping this WWE Championship no matter what.