“I made sure Bad Bunny earned it.”
One of the highlights from this weekend’s WrestleMania 37 weekend was the in-ring display of Bad Bunny, a musician who held his own in a WWE ring.
Bunny teamed up with Damian Priest, and they made a triumphant WrestleMania debut at the expense of The Miz and John Morrison. Part of the reason why Bunny looked so good in the ring was the manner in which Miz and Morrison bumped and sold to make him look like a bona fide star.
“Bad Bunny is the biggest recording artist out there right now,” Mike “The Miz” Mizanin says. “He’s performed at the Super Bowl with Shakira and J.Lo, he won a Grammy, he’s been on SNL. This guy is very popular and he’s generating a new audience to WWE.”
Bunny hit all of his high spots in the match, which was one that added some electricity to the opening night of WrestleMania. And his feud with The Miz, which began in January, arrived at its happy ending when Bunny hit a flying crossbody on him for the win.
“To get a spot at WrestleMania, you have to be at the top of your game,” Mizanin says. “I made sure Bad Bunny earned it.”
“This match was about respect, and Bad Bunny earned my respect.”
The past few months have been especially active for Mizanin. Alongside his wife, Maryse, he returns to the USA Network on Monday night for a new slate of episodes of Miz & Mrs. He also recently finished an eight-day run as the WWE champion, serving as the transitional champion between Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley. And while his run as champ was quick, he believes that the brevity of his second title reign will add even more meaning to his next run as world champion.
“I do believe I’ll hold the title again,” Mizanin says. “And it wasn’t as long as I would have liked, but if I’m given the title for a minute or a month, I don’t take it lightly. It means I am the one holding that title. The job is to carry it with respect and show that it is the most prestigious title in the world. This past time, I didn’t hold it for as long as I would have liked, but I will next time.”
In addition to his life in wrestling, Miz & Mrs looks at life for the Mizanin family away from the ring. The episodes, which were filmed before the pandemic, showcase Mizanin’s entire family, including his children, parents and mother-in-law.
“It’s the type of show where a family can sit back, watch and laugh together,” Mizanin says. “You get to see myself and Maryse, and we’re often making the kind of mistakes that will make you laugh. And let’s be honest, there is no one like her mother or my dad. These episodes are going to be so much fun.”
Before Miz & Mrs returns, Mizanin is back on this week’s Raw, ready to start a new post–WrestleMania program. Since he was on the opening night of WrestleMania 37, that provided him with the opportunity to analyze and dissect the second night of the card. And the show further reinforced what he already knew to be true: that nobody else in WWE is operating on the level of Roman Reigns.
“Roman has represented the company with such poise,” Mizanin says. “He’s a true superstar in every sense of the word, and clearly, he is ‘The Head of the Table.’ ”
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Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.