In an ESPN interview that hypes the WWE RAW vs. SmackDown! 2010 game, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin tells an interesting story about the decision to switch to wrestling trunks.
Referring to his surprise appearance as The Canadian Kid (which allowed to return to RAW despite guest host Jeremy Piven’s storyline issuing of a lifelong ban), Miz notes, “I had to look completely different because I had to fool everyone, so I wore a mask, but everyone knew that if I wore shorts or if I wore tights, people would know it was me because they know my body frame and my mannerisms.”
He adds, “I figure I’m going to go back to my shorts the next week. But walking back from the ring, Vince McMahon stops me and says, ‘You look great in trunks, kid. You’ve got great legs. You should be wearing trunks.’ I’m like, but I don’t like the trunks. I want to look different. I want to stand out. And he said to me, ‘You already stand out enough. Now we’re going to make you serious.'”
When Miz first gave interviews about the wardrobe change, he echoed McMahon’s words, noting that the switch to traditional wrestling trunks was part of a plan to be taken more seriously as a performer.
And, even if he did not agree with the “serious” claim, “when Vince McMahon comes up to you and tells you that you have great legs and that you need to be wearing trunks, well, you’re wearing trunks.”
On the web: http://sports.espn.go.com/videogames/news/story?id=4577492