WWE superstar The Miz has taken a calculated bet on himself – and it paid off big time.
Mike Mizanin accepted a pay cut from his six-figure salary as a reality show star to make it as a professional wrestler.
GettyThe Miz with his family in reality TV show Miz & Mrs[/caption]
GettyThe Miz is one of the biggest stars in WWE[/caption]
GettyHe has a reported net worth of $14million[/caption]
Now the 43-year-old has a reported net worth of $14million after becoming one of the headline acts in WWE over the past 20 years.
And he did it after making a name for himself in MTV’s The Real World: Back to New York in 2001 and utilizing his reality show success to find fame and fortune in WWE.
“I was making a lot of money [in reality TV], I was making six figures,” The Miz told Jay Glazer’s Unbreakable podcast.
“When I got to developmental, I took a pay cut, because I said, ‘I can take a pay cut in this because I believe that I can make more’.”
In early 2002, The Miz participated in MTV’s Real World/Road Rules Challenge and used the prize money to pay for wrestling school, acting and classes, and hiring a nutritionist to gain weight.
“I invested in myself. I’ve always invested in myself,” The Miz added.
After struggling to make a mark in the now-defunct Ultimate Pro Wrestling, The Miz was invited to the fourth season of Tough Enough, WWE’s reality show.
He finished as runner-up but impressed enough to sign with WWE’s developmental system.
After two years, he moved up the main roster and – after some teething troubles – he went on to become one of the most reliable performers in WWE over a number of years.
“They gave me a contract, I took a pay cut, went to McDonough, Georgia, went to Louisville, and then from Louisville, I got into WWE and started making the money I thought I could possibly make,” The Miz said.
He has headlined a WrestleMania and became the first two-time Grand Slam Champion in WWE history, winning all of the company’s available championships at least twice.
“Not Hulk Hogan, not Rock, not (Stone Cold Steve) Austin, not Shawn Michaels, not Ric Flair. It’s The Miz,” he told The Athletic.
“It’s crazy to think.”
The Miz has not forgotten his reality TV roots.
He recently took part in USA Network’s reality TV show Miz & Mrs with his wife Maryse and their two daughters.
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