WWE Superstar The Miz recently appeared on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast, where he shared high praise for his longtime rival and mentor, John Cena. The Miz detailed the single most important lesson he learned from the 16-time world champion, a skill that he says shaped his entire career.
The Most Important Lesson
The Miz explained that when he was first coming up in WWE, he had the opportunity to wrestle Cena at non-televised live events. It was during these matches that Cena imparted the crucial advice that changed his perspective on performing.
“I got in the ring with him, and he was like, ‘Listen.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m listening to the audience. I hear them chanting, you suck,'” The Miz recounted. “He’s like, ‘You’re not listening. You’re not listening to them. You’re not hearing them.’ And so he taught me how to actually hear an audience and what to do with that audience. And that’s one of the biggest things that I’ve learned from John Cena.”
Cena’s Work Ethic
To illustrate the level of dedication Cena possesses, The Miz shared an anecdote from a WWE European tour. “People were like, ‘What’s one thing that you remember, that you always remember about John Cena?’ And I remember us being on a European tour, and he had flashcards, like a child in elementary school,” he said. “And on one side was Mandarin. On the other side was the English version. So he was practicing his Mandarin on the European tour… He’s like, ‘I wanted to learn Mandarin.’… And so he knows it.”
A WrestleMania Main Event and Cena’s Farewell
The Miz and Cena’s careers are famously intertwined, having main-evented WrestleMania 27 for the WWE Championship. The Miz, who won that match, reflected on its significance. “If Cena would have beaten me, it would have been forgotten,” he stated. “But I won’t let you forget that. And it will go on and on and on for life.”
With Cena now on his farewell tour, The Miz expressed that the next generation of talent will be missing out on the invaluable lessons he received. “I got to learn from John Cena… and now these kids that are coming up from our Performance Center, won’t get that opportunity,” he said. He added that he hopes Cena will use his finisher, the Skull Crushing Finale, in one of his final matches as a tribute to their historic rivalry.
Cena will wrestle against Brock Lesnar today at Wrestlepalooza on ESPN. Click here for details on how to watch the show.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Bussin’ With The Boys with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
