What's the story?
WWE Superstar The Miz recently appeared on Barstool Sports and shared a story involving Vince McMahon.
Miz stated that when he impersonated The Rock in 2011, Vince McMahon manipulated the crowd to believe for several seconds that The Miz was actually The Rock.
In case you didn't know...
On the road to WrestleMania 27, The Miz and John Cena went at each other multiple times to build up their eventual 'Mania main event match. The Rock's much-awaited return overshadowed the feud, and he was revealed to be the host of The Show of Shows.
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With The Rock involved into the mix, The Miz once impersonated The Great One himself on an episode of Raw and had the fans fooled for a good while before they realized that it wasn't The Rock.
The heart of the matter
While talking to Barstool Sports, Miz revealed the story behind his impersonation segment on Raw.
Apparently, Vince wanted The Miz to mock The People's Champion, despite their visible differences. The Miz had it tough at this point of time, as he had been completely overshadowed in the wake of The Rock's return and feud with John Cena.
Miz donned The Rock's attire, complete with a bald cap on his head. As The Rock's music hit, the arena erupted and The Miz proceeded to go out. Vince had other plans though.
He goes 'WAIT! WAIT!' He waited for the audience to come back down. I enter the arena and all of a sudden I hear another eruption. They believe it's The Rock! But it's me.
The Miz took off his sunglasses and the crowd was still chanting The Rock's name. The moment he began walking down towards the ring, the fans realized that it was The Miz, and booed him out of the building. After the segment was done with, Miz went backstage and asked McMahon how did he know that the crowd would fall for the ploy for so long.
Vince said "I told you! They wanted to believe so much that it was The Rock that they didn't care. They didn't even look. They saw and heard the music. They're not even looking at you. They are just mesmerized by the moment!"
Miz added that this was the moment he realized that Vince McMahon was an absolute genius.
What's next?
The Miz is one of the most popular Superstars on the blue brand today and is all set to move ahead after suffering an unfortunate loss to Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 35.
What are your thoughts on this story? Do you believe that Vince is a legit genius when it comes to the art of manipulating a crowd?