The Miz went into WrestleMania 42 expecting a fight with John Cena, but the moment took a very different turn once he stepped into the spotlight.

Speaking on the Complex Graps Wrestling Podcast, Miz revealed he genuinely believed he was about to throw down with Cena at Allegiant Stadium. Instead, Cena handed him the microphone and told him to take the moment for himself.

“When I was out there, I was expecting to have to fight John Cena. John Cena was like, ‘No, have your moment, here’s a microphone. Do what you do best.’”

That expectation alone made the situation feel huge for Miz, especially given their history dating back to their WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 27 in 2011. The idea of running it back on the biggest stage had clearly crossed his mind.

Rather than a fight, Miz pivoted into what was meant to be a major promo moment tied to the American Gladiators reboot. He was prepared to unveil exclusive footage and believed it would be one of the standout talking points coming out of the show.

“I’m about to talk, I’m about to give everyone a never-before-seen footage of American Gladiators, this new American Gladiators, I’m about to throw it out there at WrestleMania. Huge right? This is big.”

But things did not go to plan. The segment quickly unraveled when an unexpected interruption changed the direction entirely.

“And who interrupts it? Danhausen.”

Miz admitted the final outcome was far from what he envisioned, especially given the scale of WrestleMania and the setting inside Allegiant Stadium.

“That’s not the way you want to have a WrestleMania moment, especially at Allegiant Stadium. That’s not what I imagined my moment would be.”