The Miz has revealed that he actively pitched to face John Cena during the 17-time World Champion’s retirement tour, but the match never came to fruition. Speaking on SI Media With Jimmy Traina, the former WWE Champion expressed his disappointment that he wasn’t able to mix it up with his longtime rival one last time before Cena hangs up his boots this weekend at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
“It’s a little upsetting… I remember when he first started this whole ‘The Time is Now’ tour, where it’s like, ‘Hey, I’m retiring in one year,’ I was the first person, literally the first person to put my name in the hat and go, ‘I wanna go up against John Cena. I want to take on John Cena one last time. The Miz versus Cena,’ and it never came to fruition,” Miz stated.
The Pitch Was Not Rejected
Miz explained that he approached everyone, including Triple H, about the idea. He noted that the concept wasn’t rejected outright, but external factors prevented it from happening. “It’s not even like it was shot down. There was instances where it could have happened… There was a moment where it could have happened, and then that moment went away because of certain circumstances, and it never came back.”
Reflecting on their history, which includes main eventing WrestleMania XXVII, Miz recalled his last in-ring interaction with Cena on the Raw after WrestleMania 40, where they teamed up with R-Truth. “Literally, two years ago, I was in the ring… and actually tagging with him which kind of came full circle with everything. I didn’t think that would be (my) last match with John Cena, but I guess it will be.”
Despite the missed opportunity, Miz maintained a pragmatic outlook. “I could be angry, right? I could sit there and say, oh, I’m so mad, I’m so angry… I’ve been in WWE long enough that I know things happen, domino effects happen… so I don’t get mad. I get more or less like, okay, how can I make the best of a situation?”
The Miz did participate in ‘The Last Time is Now’ tournament to determine Cena’s final opponent but was eliminated. After losing to Jey Uso in the first round, he filled in for an injured Sheamus in the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by LA Knight.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit SI Media With Jimmy Traina with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can listen to the full interview on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast feed.
