The Miz is definitely one of the most established and decorated WWE Superstars in the history of the company. In addition to winning several championships in the company, The Miz has seen massive success outside the business, but it appears he was once pitched to join TNA Wrestling.
The A-Lister has also main evented WrestleMania once in his career, and he can never stop talking about it. That being said, The Miz had a very rocky start to his WWE career, and many believed he would get fired. However, he persevered and became one of the mainstays of the company as he even took a pay cut to begin his WWE journey.
While speaking on My World with Jeff Jarrett, talked about a pitch made by Johnny Fairplay to bring The Miz into TNA. According to a report in the Torch, Fairplay had pitched The Miz as a potential opponent for a segment he was working on in TNA called the “Reality Television Challenge.”
Although this idea never materialized, it poses an intriguing hypothetical scenario. At the time, no one could have anticipated that The Miz would eventually become a Hall of Fame talent in WWE, culminating in a victory over John Cena in the main event at WrestleMania. Reflecting on this suggestion from 20 years ago, it’s clear that many would not have predicted such a trajectory for The Miz’s career.
“There’s a report out there in the Torch that Mike ‘The Miz,’ whom WWE had just reached out to, was apparently one of the names suggested by Johnny Fairplay as an opponent for what Johnny was doing on TNA called the ‘Reality Television Challenge.’ Now, it never came to fruition, but this is a really interesting what-if. I mean, we know that The Miz is going to become a Hall of Fame name with WWE; he’s going to beat John Cena in the main event at WrestleMania, for goodness’ sake. But nobody would have predicted that 20 years ago. Do you remember this conversation about Johnny Fairplay making this suggestion? That’s a great what-if.”
Jeff Jarrett then recalled that Johnny Fairplay still brings up the time he pitched The Miz to him. Fairplay often jokes, asking if Jarrett remembers their conversation in a hotel room in Los Angeles. Jarrett thinks back and realizes he might have had a few drinks that night, but acknowledges that Fairplay did suggest The Miz multiple times, which deserves credit.
However, Jarrett points out that at that time, they were facing numerous uncertainties. They were shooting television in Nashville on a very tight budget. He mentions that while The Miz might not have been a high-cost option, he was based in Los Angeles and hadn’t yet achieved his Hall of Fame status.
Jarrett expresses his fondness for the early version of The Miz but notes that no one could foresee the direction his career would take. He appreciates Fairplay’s enthusiasm, as he believed The Miz would be a perfect fit for the reality show concept, but ultimately, that idea never materialized. Jarrett admits that it was never a viable box office option for them.
”So Johnny will probably tell you to this day that he used to rib me about it: ‘Don’t you remember me pitching you Miz in the hotel room in Los Angeles?’ And I’m thinking, ‘Johnny, I probably had a couple of adult beverages by that point.’ But yes, he did pitch it, I think a few times, to his credit. Wow! But, you know, as you said, we were dealing with so many unknowns. At this time, we were shooting TV in Nashville on a super limited budget. I’m not saying that The Miz would have cost a lot, but I think, if I remember correctly, The Miz was based in L.A. and didn’t have all of his Hall of Fame career at that point.
I love the old Miz, man, but nobody knew the direction it was going. I tip my hat to Old Fairplay; he was like, ‘Yeah, he’ll fit perfectly for this reality show deal.’ But the reality of the reality show deal is that it never really got off the ground. Come on, Johnny, it was never box office for us!”
During the September 30 episode of WWE Raw, The Miz ended up betraying R-Truth and it’s become clear that The Miz will be feuding with his former tag team partner for the time being. Nonetheless, fans truly wonder how The Miz would have fit in TNA, had he not joined WWE.
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