The Miz spoke with Sports Illustrated to promote WrestleMania 35 today and defended WWE against John Oliver’s criticism from the recent “Last Week Tonight” rant on HBO.
Miz, who will face Shane McMahon in a Falls Count Anywhere match on Sunday, said people taking shots at WWE during WrestleMania Season is expected. The A-Lister also said he’s been with WWE for more than 13 years and he lives a pretty incredible life because of it.
“Who doesn’t take shots at WWE, especially when WrestleMania is around? All the news is about that,” Miz said. “The way I look at what he said, and I don’t know all of it verbatim… I’ve been there for 13+ years. I met my wife in WWE, and we now have a child together, and trust me, I live a pretty incredible life. It’s not every day where you get to go out in front of 80,000 people and either have them boo or cheer you, but be interactive. We get to create moments that last a lifetime. And the way I’m treated, I’ve got to perform in movies with WWE Studios, I have my own reality show ‘Miz & Mrs.’ on the USA Network, which you can see every Tuesday. I’ve been so fortunate of everything that WWE has given to me.
“Now, are there people that are going to be disgruntled and upset? I imagine you have people here at SI Now that are disgruntled and upset… ‘Oh, I should get this, I should get that…’ But the thing is, it’s like, what are you doing to get it? And I feel like I’ve gotten everything I’ve ever wanted from WWE, and more.”
As we’ve noted, Oliver once again called out WWE, this time for how the WWE Superstars are treated by the company and their status as independent contractors. He also suggested fans use their voice as they did with the “#GiveDivasAChance” movement, noting that there’s potential for fans to make signs and create chants at WrestleMania 35 to help push long-term healthcare for the wrestlers, and for the wrestlers to be classified as actual employees instead of independent contractors.
WWE responded to Oliver’s rant with the following statement and invited him to WrestleMania 35 on Sunday, but there’s no word on if he will be in attendance.
John Oliver is clearly a clever and humorous entertainer, however the subject matter covered in his WWE segment is no laughing matter.
Prior to airing, WWE responded to his producers refuting every point in his one-sided presentation. John Oliver simply ignored the facts.
The health and wellness of our performers is the single most important aspect of our business, and we have a comprehensive, longstanding Talent Wellness program.
We invite John Oliver to attend WrestleMania this Sunday to learn more about our company.
The Miz is just the second WWE Superstar to publicly respond to the comments from Oliver. As noted, Big Show spoke with TMZ earlier today and defended the company.
“You know, everybody’s entitled to their own opinion,” Show said. “Everybody’s got their own experiences and how they feel. I’ve had a hell of a career, I’ve had a lot of injuries. I knew from day one stepping through the ropes that it was not an easy job, it was a job that I was going to put myself at risk. And I took the paychecks, I took the fame, I took the fortune, and those are the risks that happened. That’s just part of the industry, and the industry has changed. It’s done everything it can to protect the athlete and create longevity for the athlete. I’m 47, I’m still rock and rolling, so they’re doing something right. They’re doing something right.”
Below is Oliver’s original rant along with The Miz’s comments to SI:
The Miz pushes back at John Oliver’s criticism of WWE.
“I feel like I've gotten everything I've ever wanted from WWE, and more.” pic.twitter.com/bk9W0TALoi
— SI Wrestling (@SI_wrestling) April 4, 2019
