Summary

The Miz looked back on the March 14, 2011 episode of WWE Raw, when he dressed up as The Rock during the build to WrestleMania 27 and turned a huge entrance reaction into the boos WWE wanted.

Speaking on Games with Names with Julian Edelman, Miz said he went into the segment convinced it would fail because he did not resemble The Rock closely enough. Instead, the entrance hit exactly the way Vince McMahon wanted, with the crowd first erupting for the music, then turning on Miz once they realized who was under the bald cap and sunglasses.

Miz said the segment helped set the table for his WrestleMania 27 main event with John Cena, while The Rock was serving as the event's guest host and feuding with Cena at the time.

Quote from The Miz

"The week before (WrestleMania), I dressed up as The Rock. I remember going to Vince (McMahon) going, ‘This isn’t going to work. No one is going to believe I’m The Rock. I don’t look like The Rock. I have blue eyes. I’m not bald. I’m not a 6’7” Samoan.’ He’s like, ‘They’ll believe.’ ‘It’s not going to work.’ ‘We’ll put a bald cap on you.’ I’m still 6’5”. I’m built, but I’m not built. I ended up putting on a t-shirt, and The Rock’s music hits. The crowd goes nuts. In my head backstage, I’m going, ‘This is going to be horrible.’ As I’m about to walk out, Vince is ging, ‘Wait!’ I hear the crowd start to come down. ‘Now.’ I walk out and did the best Rock impression I possibly could. As I’m walking out, there is another eruption, bigger than the one before. ‘How is this working? Do they not know that I’m not the Rock?’ I take the sunglasses off and they pop again. ‘This is unbelievable.’ As I’m walking down, they start realizing it’s me, and the pop goes into a huge chorus of boos, which is exactly what we wanted. I beat up John Cena, cut a promo on Rock, fans, Cena, and we are ready for WrestleMania."

Miz later said The Rock followed up in a way he did not expect:

"That day, I flew back to LA and I got a voicemail from The Rock. ‘That’s how you do it. That’s how you step up to the plate and hit a home run.’ He does not have to do this. He’s the Rock."

How The Segment Shaped WrestleMania 27

Miz's story underscores how much of that WrestleMania 27 build depended on audience reaction and timing. He said McMahon deliberately waited for the first burst of excitement over The Rock's music to cool before sending him out, which turned the reveal into a stronger heel moment. That lines up with later discussion of Vince McMahon still influencing WWE creative before WrestleMania 40, especially when it came to presentation details.

The segment also mattered because Miz was heading into the biggest match of his career. He went on to beat Cena in the WrestleMania 27 main event, though he said he does not remember the match because he suffered a concussion.

What The Rock's Call Meant For The Miz

For Miz, praise from The Rock gave extra weight to a segment that could have easily gone the other way. If the crowd had rejected the disguise from the start, WWE would have lost a key piece of heat heading into WrestleMania 27. Instead, Miz said the reaction broke exactly as intended, and the follow-up voicemail from The Rock confirmed that the performance landed with one of the few people whose opinion mattered most in that moment.

Sources

The Miz on Games with Names with Julian Edelman