Mike “The Miz” Mizanin last appeared on The Challenge in 2005, back when it was still known as Real World/Road Rules Challenge. 20 years later, he remains one of the franchise’s iconic characters.
Mizanin, 44, spoke to Us Weekly exclusively at the Newport Beach Celebrity Classic golf tournament on Sunday, March 16, benefiting Steadfast LA and the Newport Beach Fire Department Foundation, where he set the record straight on whether he will return to the show.
“I retired from The Challenge,” he told Us. “I told everyone, ‘This is my last one.’ And people were like, ‘No, it’s not. Never will be blah, blah, blah.’ And I was like, ‘It’s the last one.’ And then it literally was.”
That’s not to say Mizanin has disappeared from the reality spotlight. He’s competed outside of The Challenge franchise, appearing on Fear Factor and Dancing With the Stars. He also served as host of the reunion shows for several Challenge seasons and hosted spin-off series Champs vs. Stars for two seasons.
Even though he’s no longer competing, he’s paying attention.
“I love seeing the new, up-and-coming challengers. I love seeing where The Challenge is. Who would have thought that it’s bigger than The Real World, bigger than Road Rules?” he said. It’s one of the biggest shows out there.”
Mizanin shouted out Johnny Bananas specifically, as well as Wes Bergmann, who recently competed on season 3 of The Traitors. And, yes, he has considered potentially competing on the Peacock reality hit.
“The hard part about doing Traitors for me would be three weeks in Scotland with no phone,” he said. “I can’t be away from my kids that long, not just that long, but it’s about not even talking to them. I need to talk to my kids, but I feel like that’s a show that I could totally go on and win.”
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Mizanin also admitted that Mark Long, who he played with on The Challenge in the early 2000s and most recently competed on The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras, has tried to recruit him back to the franchise before.
“He always talks to me. I always hear from Mark, but he knows the answer,” Mizanin said. “I’m busy. I literally have WWE. I have a new golf YouTube channel called Miz Golf.”
For his part, Long told Us that he’s enjoyed following Mizanin’s career and praised his fellow wrestler’s work ethic.
“When I think of cast members, I always put Mike in his own category: ‘superstar,’” he said. “He’s one of the hardest working guys out there so I never even ask him. But I love following his career and chatting with him.”
Mizanin also teased something “big” that will further occupy his time in the coming months.
“It’s something that I had a passion [for] ever since I was a little kid, and now I get to be a part of it and I’m really excited about it,” he said. “And then also, me and my wife were working on something big as well.”
With reporting by Mike Vulpo
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