John Cena had high praise for The Miz and the work he did when the two worked together prior to WrestleMania 33.
Speaking to Jimmy Traina on the SI Media Podcast, Cena was asked about storylines/wrestlers that left a bad taste in his mouth when he worked with them. Instead of throwing anyone under the bus, Cena chose to single out a worker he had nothing but fond memories working with.
"I don't see anyone as a negative. That's another thing that irks me as a professional," he said. "I hate to use an Inside Baseball, but this is Sports Illustrated, 'They're booking me wrong.' Bullshit. If you are given a chance, go down swinging. I think one person who does this spectacularly is The Miz."
Cena and the Miz famously feuded twice leading up to WrestleMania. Their first feud in 2011 was criticized as being one of the worst WrestleMania main events of all-time with many feeling Miz did not deserve the spot. The second feud in 2017 was well-received as Miz, and his wife Maryse, challenged Cena and girlfriend Nikki Bella both personally and professionally. Cena praised Miz for stepping his game up when the two worked together leading into WrestleMania 33.
"You have a choice. You either be like bring your best out there or...I think it works better when people put their minds together and say, 'How can we make this work the best we can?' Keep in mind, there was some offensive things I said about Miz and the repercussion were the spoof. The point of the story...we really had a long talk about this," he said. "It was very much similar to the feud I had with Dwayne. Dwayne is on his own planet. There is no one like him. When you face Dwayne Johnson, you have to try and become equal to Dwayne Johnson. He doesn't have to become better. In the situation with The Miz, seeing as we had wrestled so many times before, we had to bring them up a few notches. And the spoof was the perfect thing to show that he doesn't care and is willing to say and do whatever. And it was super entertaining."
Cena continued, revealing the conversations he had with Miz and how the famous "Total Bellas" spoofs came together.
"The honesty that Mike had in telling me, 'This is what we think, what do you think?' I thought it was fantastic. The look on his face, 'Are you sure?' 'Yes, I think it's going to be great.' Then, seeing his face, no better...when you talk about this weeks and months earlier, those are uncomfortable situations. Because it's like, this is what I'm gonna come at you with, this is how you're gonna come at me. If there is a bit of animosity there, those conversation can become uncomfortable," said Cena. "But there's no better feeling than going out there and knowing that you did well. I remember those vignettes airing and seeing Miz beaming. At the very least, I could make someone happy and give someone the confidence like, 'Hey man, you may be better and you may want to go at this in a different way and you may want to think like this from now on.' He works his ass off and he makes even the most trivial storylines, super entertaining. That's the definition of a pro."
Cena and Bella got the last laugh on Miz and Maryse, defeating them in the WrestleMania 33 mixed tag bout. Following the match, Cena famously proposed to Nikki in the middle of the ring.
You can view one of the "Total Bellas" spoofs below.
