WWE Superstar The Miz Talks Browns, Guardians, ‘The Chat’ & More with Rich

The Miz joined The Rich Eisen Show from his home theater, complete with branding on the screen and green accent lights. "I like a good background," he said. "People will be looking around being like, ooh, what is that?" Rich called him the Ricky Bobby of his craft, and the Miz happily accepted.

Rich also gave him credit for showing up at all. The Browns had just lost to the Jets, and the Miz still came on to talk. That turned out to be easy for him, because he walked into this season rooting for something no Browns fan usually roots for.

**The Browns fan who wanted a tank**

"This year, I wanted the Browns to tank. I really did," the Miz said. Usually he predicts an undefeated season. This year, he went the opposite way.

His reason was the quarterback of the future. "I'm not sure that we have the quarterback of the future yet," he said. Cleveland traded Myles Garrett to the Rams for a first-round pick, which means two first-rounders next spring. "If we want Arch Manning, we want Dante Moore, whatever we want, we can have," he said. "That's what I was looking forward to."

Then the Browns started winning. "Now watching them I was like, wait a second. This is kind of fun," he said.

He pointed to the win over the Steelers, when Pittsburgh's receivers couldn't get separation from Cleveland's corners, and said the team looked competent even in the loss to the Jets. "We've been winning close ones, which doesn't usually happen with a Browns team," he said. Browns fans he talks to are in the same boat. "I'm not sure if we really want them to do that well, but you know, it's fun. It's fun when we win."

The Miz also has a rooting interest across the country: every Rams loss helps Cleveland's draft pick. "As long as the Rams keep losing, I'm okay with this," he said.

**Monken, Berry and the quarterback question**

Rich pointed out that general manager Andrew Berry keeps hitting on draft picks, including rookie receivers Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion, and asked about Todd Monken. The Miz loves listening to the coach. "Every time he's on the mic, you want to hear what he's going to say next," he said, comparing Monken to Mike Tomlin. Rich went with Bill Parcells.

"Man, what a past two drafts," the Miz said of Berry. But he doesn't think the Browns will give Shedeur Sanders a chance, which is why he keeps looking to next year. The quarterback of right now, Deshaun Watson, has surprised him.

"I thought it was going to be the same old Deshaun Watson we've seen for the past four years. It hasn't been. He's been good," the Miz said. Part of it may be the weapons. Boston and Concepcion have been "tremendous, viable weapons," to the point that "Jerry Jeudy isn't even talked about right now."

On the Jets loss: "I thought the Jets were going to jet. They didn't jet, but they will jet."

**The Chat on WhatsApp**

The reason for the visit is The Chat, a WhatsApp and WWE collaboration for Sunday night's Cowboys-Packers game. The Miz will be in a group chat with Cody Rhodes repping the Cowboys, Liv Morgan repping the Packers, and Trick Williams, and fans can join in on WhatsApp. "Literally we're going to be talking a lot of smack," he said.

His scouting report: the Cowboys' offense is pretty great, their defense nonexistent, and "the Packers do well in October. They just do."

Rich tried to get TJ, the show's resident Cowboys fan, into the chat. It did not go great for Dallas. Asked if the Cowboys will beat the Packers, TJ said, "No." The room offered that some teams just have others' numbers, like the Packers with the Cowboys, or the Miz with John Cena at WrestleMania. The Miz added that the Browns have the Steelers' number in Cleveland.

The Miz then asked TJ what is wrong with a talented Dallas team that has been worse than last year. "The defense. We're not there," TJ said. The front four isn't getting it done, injuries have Dallas on its fourth-string defensive backs, and TJ said what he really wanted this offseason was to do everything it took to land Maxx Crosby.

Rich floated that maybe the Raiders keep losing and Crosby shakes free at the trade deadline, the same way the Miz roots against the Rams. TJ suggested Khalil Mack might become available if the Chargers keep sliding, which drew some pushback.

"See, this is the sort of conversation we need to get in the chat on Sunday night," Rich said.

The Miz also plugged his chat-mates. Cody Rhodes is on a Street Fighter binge after the movie's premiere, where everyone wore Guile popcorn heads. Trick Williams has been "literally a dynamite" in WWE, and the Miz thinks he's someone "we're going to be looking at in 10 years going this guy's main event." And Liv Morgan is the new women's world champion.

**Baseball is his first love**

Rich turned to the Guardians, who are still alive and "stout," after taking one in Tampa. That lit the Miz up.

"Baseball's my first love," he said. As a kid he went to Municipal Stadium with his dad on $5 tickets, running down to the front row and going to batting practice. "We'd go every single game. It was the best." He still brings his glove to ballparks. "People are like, what are you, five? I'm like, I don't care."

What impresses him most is how much Cleveland does with how little it spends, and that José Ramírez has stayed. Rich called Ramírez "a first ballot Hall of Famer that nobody talks about." The Miz agreed, saying there's no question.

"They play baseball. They do all the right things," the Miz said, before getting in a shot at Rich. "They do all the things the Yankees don't."

Rich admitted that whenever Steven Kwan comes on screen, he wonders what the Yankees could do with him at the top of their lineup. "That dude gets on base, he plays a great left field, he is a terrific baseball player," Rich said.

The Miz wants a Guardians World Series and is baffled by how the Brewers are handling a Dodgers team that is basically an All-Star team. Rich's explanation: Milwaukee puts the ball in play, throws gas and strikes, doesn't strike out, has occasional pop, plays outstanding infield defense, and has a great manager.

Then the Miz asked the question on a lot of minds: if the Dodgers win the World Series again, is there even baseball next year? Rich laid out both sides. The Brewers, Rays and Guardians together have a payroll just slightly larger than the Dodgers alone. A Dodgers title says money works. Or three of the final four show the current system lets smaller teams compete. He also teased the conversation he had planned with Bob Costas for Thursday's show.

**The theater tour**

Before letting him go, Rich asked for a tour. The theater seats eight comfortably, most of them full recline. There's a popcorn maker, and a bar with candy, alcohol and pop. The Miz and his kids have been on a Harry Potter run.

And the best part, according to the Miz: the bar has a TV, and so does the bathroom. "Say you got to go number two," he said. "You can sit there and watch it in the bathroom right there."

It was a fitting send-off for a guy who just celebrated 20 years with WWE. As the room noted on the way out, he's not on MTV anymore.