The Miz reveals The Rock praising him before WWE WrestleMania 27
Wrestling veteran The Miz has opened up about once receiving praise from The Rock before WWE WrestleMania 27 for impersonating him.
Leading up to WrestleMania 27 in 2011, then WWE Champion The Miz was involved in a heated rivalry with John Cena. With The Rock also involved in the feud, fans during the March 14, 2011, episode of WWE Raw saw The Miz imitate The Rock.
Shortly after, it became a much-talked-about segment leading up to The Miz and Cena’s WrestleMania 27 rivalry, as well as The Rock’s presence there as the WrestleMania host.
Recently appearing on Games with Names with Julian Edelman, Miz recalled that segment and revealed how he received praise from The Rock after that.
“The week before (WrestleMania), I dressed up as The Rock. I remember going to Vince [McMahon] going, ‘This isn’t going to work. No one is going to believe I’m The Rock. I don’t look like The Rock. I have blue eyes. I’m not bald. I’m not a 6’7” Samoan.’ He’s like, ‘They’ll believe. It’s not going to work. ‘We’ll put a bald cap on you,'” The Min said.
“‘I’m still 6’5’. I’m built, but I’m not built. I ended up putting on a t-shirt, and The Rock’s music hits. The crowd goes nuts. In my head backstage, I’m going, ‘This is going to be horrible.’ As I’m about to walk out, Vince is going, ‘Wait!’ I hear the crowd start to come down,” he continued.
“‘Now.’ I walk out and did the best Rock impression I possibly could. As I’m walking out, there is another eruption, bigger than the one before. ‘How is this working? Do they not know that I’m not the Rock?’ I take the sunglasses off, and they pop again. ‘This is unbelievable.’ As I’m walking down, they start realizing it’s me, and the pop goes into a huge chorus of boos, which is exactly what we wanted. I beat up John Cena, cut a promo on Rock, fans, Cena, and we are ready for WrestleMania.”
He further revealed, “That day, I flew back to LA [Los Angeles], and I got a voicemail from The Rock. “That’s how you do it. That’s how you step up to the plate and hit a home run.’ He does not have to do this. He’s the Rock.”
At WWE WrestleMania 27, The Miz defeated Cena after interference from The Rock and retained his WWE Championship.
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
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