Over the past 12 years, WWE has been annually showing their appreciation for the American troops by entertaining military personnel both overseas and domestically as a way to show thanks for their sacrifice and brave service to our country.
This year WWE Tribute to the Troops showcases WWE’s visit to United States Army post Fort Benning that supports more than 12,000 active-duty military members. During this visit, WWE Superstars and Divas express their gratitude to our servicemen and their families with hospital visits and a live event.
Triple Crown Champion Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin, chatted about his experience with Tribute To The Troops and what makes this event so special.
The true real life action heroes
Q: Why is this event so important to WWE and to you personally?
The Miz : For me personally, its one of my favorite specials that WWE does. It’s incredible to be a part of it. I’ve been doing this for six years now. WWE has been doing it for 12 years.
My first year being a part of Tribute To The Troops I actually got to go over to Iraq and witness what our soldiers go through on a day-to-day basis. We can watch the news all we want and how they portray what a war is like and what’s going on, but until you actually go over there and see the life that a soldier lives, you will have a whole new found appreciation for the life they live.
The only thing to do over there was work, eat, and if they had a gym, work out. They couldn’t talk to their families. They were secluded and all they really see is soldiers in uniform. To bring the WWE out there in our normal clothes, it’s just refreshing… ‘It boosts morale’ is what most soldiers would tell us.
I remember being over there and talking to an 18 year old kid who drives an armored vehicle so he goes and shows me the armored vehicle and takes me around and I saw this orange pole sticking out of the front which seemed out of place to me. I asked him “What’s the orange pole for?” and he said “Oh, it blows up the land mine before it blows us up.” I was like “Oh my God. Have you ever had that happen?” and he said, “Yeah, it just happened yesterday.”
Wait a second. This can’t be normal. This was just a normal conversation and so matter of fact. That’s scary. That is supposed to be fearful, but these guys are the true real life action heroes.
Q: How did your experience and interaction with the troops impact you with your upcoming role in The Marine 4 and did you have these memories as you were going through the process of making the movie?
The Miz : Absolutely! It was a tremendous amount of pressure to go into a movie and call yourself “The Marine” especially when you know the sacrifices that each and every marine goes through on a day-to-day basis. So when I went to do this movie, I want a marine there to show me how they clear a room, how they hold a gun, and to be able to do everything a marine does. Honestly though, I’m not going to war. I’m filming a movie.
These guys are the true heroes and I’m just trying to make an action film that hopefully while filming it, I’m like “I could care less about all the critics. The only critic that I care about is The United States Marine Corps.
From the feedback I’ve gotten, most people have said that they really enjoyed the movie so that’s enough for me.
Q: Was there a specific moment when you got to sit down and talk to a soldier whose story impacted you the most? Did you have any experiences that touched your heart more so than others?
The Miz: I was in Bahrain on an aircraft carrier where they don’t see land for like thirty days. They’re on the ocean for that long. We went to a private location, couldn’t say where we were in Bahrain… but we get in there and I start talking to this one soldier and I asked him “Why did you join?” He said, “I was working at LIDS and just thinking about my life and my wife she got pregnant and it got me thinking. Do I want my daughter to go to show and tell or talk about her dad and say, ‘My dad works at LIDS or do I want her to say my dad is in The United States Armed Forces?’ I just wanted her to be proud of me and have respect for me. I wanted to do something noble, something she could be proud of and I wanted to protect her along with everyone else in the United States.”
I was blown away by that.
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Q: Do you have any particular memories from your experience in Fort Benning?
The Miz: Just going out into the arena and seeing just a sea of uniformed soldiers with their families and with their friends is just an amazing sight. It gives you a newfound appreciation with what we’re doing, whether the soldiers are booing me or cheering me, it doesn’t really matter because WWE always likes to give them the show that they see on Monday night RAW, but also, make it extra special.
We bring all of our Superstars and Divas but not only that, we bring Florida Georgia Line to perform for them and there’s a bunch of celebrity messages from Angelina Jolie to Eva Longoria and many, many more. It’s a lot of fun. Its very cool and very impactful.
The things they go through are just incredible
Q: In the six years, you have been doing Tribute To The Troops; do you have a favorite place you have visited?
The Miz : I would say Iraq. It was my first tour for tribute and it just blows you away. We went to so many bases. Just to see the lives that they live out there — it’s truly hardly to explain. It’s a desert. There’s nothing to do. I could just see people going stir crazy, especially when you’re away from normalcy. Things that we take for granted, they don’t have.
The Internet doesn’t work most of the time. Nowadays you look at kids, you look at adults, you look at everybody, they’re always on their phones. They don’t have their cell phones out 24/7, texting their buddies, Facebooking, and Twitter…it just can’t happen. They don’t get the small things we take for granted.
I couldn’t imagine not living with water for six months to a year. The things they go through are just incredible. It’s so noble. It’s really cool.
Q: Why do you think people enjoy tuning into WWE’s annual Tribute To The Troops special?
The Miz : I think people really enjoy tuning in because it’s a feel good moment. It’s something that puts a smile on your face. You can sit down with your family in front of your fire, maybe sip on some eggnog if you want and just really enjoy a fun interactive show where you get to see a crowd really interacting with the superstars and you can laugh, there’s drama, there’s comedy, there’s action, there is real life’s true stories in there.
Multi-platinum recording artists and two-time CMA Vocal Duo of the Year winners, Florida Georgia Line will join WWE Superstars and Divas to honor the United States Armed Forces with the 12th annual WWE holiday special, Tribute to the Troops, which will air on USA Network as part of “WWE WEEK” on Wednesday, December 17 from 8-10 PM ET, and will re-air as a one-hour special on NBC Saturday, Dec. 27 from 8-9 PM ET.
In the tradition of Bob Hope, WWE brings together the best of entertainment and pop culture with celebrity appearances and performances for our servicemen and women to celebrate their dedication and commitment to our country with a holiday program that is considered one of television’s most patriotic and heartwarming shows. NBCUniversal joins WWE in saluting our troops with special messages from some of their networks’ biggest names such as TODAY anchors Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Natalie Morales , and Al Roker , Seth Meyers , The Kardashians , Andy Cohen , Giuliana Rancic , Katherine Heigl , Lester Holt , Padma Lakshmi , Mark Feuerstein , Debra Messing, Tom Brokaw , Rachel Maddow and Carson Daly ,as well as the coaches of The Voice, Pharrell Williams, Gwen Stefani , Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.
Photos courtesy of WWE
Joshua Caudill is a writer for CraveOnline Sports, a surfing enthusiast, an unhealthy sports fanatic, and an expert on all things Patrick Swayze. You can follow him on Twitter @JoshuaCaudill85 or “like”CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
