The Miz has looked back on one of the biggest nights of his WWE career with a mixture of pride and discomfort. His WWE Championship defense against John Cena at WrestleMania 27 gave him the rare distinction of closing WWE’s biggest annual event as champion, but it also became a match he says is difficult to revisit because he sustained a concussion and has no memory of part of the finish.
WrestleMania 27 took place at the Georgia Dome in front of an announced crowd of 65,000, with Miz defending the WWE Championship against Cena. It was the first WrestleMania main event for Miz, who had made a dramatic rise from his early WWE years to become a world champion and headline the company’s signature show. The match also had major implications beyond the championship itself, as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson became involved and helped establish the following year’s WrestleMania 28 bout between Rock and Cena, billed as “Once In A Lifetime.”
For Miz, though, the enormity of the assignment began to register even before the bell rang. Speaking on WWE Vault, he recalled being told that he would receive pyro for his entrance, something he did not expect to be part of his presentation at that stage of his career.
“Main event, sold out! Georgia Dome, 65,000 people! And, they told me: ‘Mike, you’re gonna have pyro.’ I was like: ‘What? I never get pyro; I never get anything!’” Miz said on WWE Vault.
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The entrance detail might seem minor beside the stakes of a WrestleMania main event, but it spoke to the way Miz viewed his own position at the time. He explained that he had kept his expectations for WWE presentation relatively low, noting that even finding entrance music he was satisfied with had taken time. Being given pyro was therefore a clear signal that WWE was treating the championship match as the major attraction it was intended to be.
“But now I’m getting pyro?” he recalled thinking. The reality of the pyro did not entirely meet his expectations, but the entrance was not the reason the match became complicated in retrospect. The far more serious issue happened after Miz took a spear onto the concrete floor area.
A Risky Idea Led to a Serious Problem
Miz revealed that the spot was rooted in his own desire to make the match feel different. He wanted to be tackled into an audience area, believing it would create an image fans had not seen before. He had suggested adding seats and placing extras in the area to help sell the concept, but that was not possible. The eventual plan involved Cena spearing him onto the nearby concrete.
What was intended as a memorable visual became a dangerous moment. Miz said his head was accidentally slammed into the ground, knocking him out and causing a concussion. In his recollection, the impact left him unable to remember what followed.
“I wanted to be tackled into an audience, I’ve never seen that happen! And you know I was like, ‘Do we have any extras? Can we just put seats there?’ And they were like, ‘Well, we can’t do that.’ I was like, ‘You know, just spear me onto the thing!’ That was a dumb move, because I got knocked out, do not remember any of this!” Miz said on WWE Vault.
The admission adds a different dimension to a WrestleMania main event that is usually remembered for its ending and its role in launching the Rock-Cena rivalry. In storyline terms, the championship contest ended after Rock’s involvement created the opening Miz needed. Cena appeared to have the match under control, only for Rock to deliver a Rock Bottom that allowed Miz to retain the WWE Championship.
But Miz’s personal memory of that pivotal stretch is incomplete. Despite suffering the concussion, he still finished the match. He credited the people around him for getting him through the closing moments, specifically naming Cena, Rock and referee Mike Chioda as important to ensuring the bout reached its conclusion.
That is the central conflict in Miz’s view of WrestleMania 27. The match represents a level of career accomplishment that countless performers seek and only a limited number ever experience. At the same time, it is tied to an injury and a stretch of the bout that he cannot personally recall. It is a prestigious entry on his résumé, but not necessarily a match he can enjoy watching.
The Meaning of a WrestleMania Main Event
When asked about favorite matches, Miz said the WrestleMania 27 main event is often brought up because of its position on the card rather than because of the in-ring experience itself. The value of the match, from his perspective, is inseparable from the fact that it closed WrestleMania with the WWE Championship at stake.
“I don’t like watching that match, even though, people always ask, ‘What’s your favorite match?’ It’s like, that one [WrestleMania 27], and they’re like ‘Why?’ Because it’s the main event of WrestleMania and not everyone gets to main event WrestleMania,” Miz said on WWE Vault.
That distinction remains significant in WWE history. WrestleMania main events are the moments most frequently used to define eras, elevate stars and shape how championship reigns are remembered. Miz entered WrestleMania 27 as WWE Champion and exited still holding the title after defeating one of WWE’s most established headliners. No later reflection on the match’s physical toll changes that result or the magnitude of the position he held.
It also came at a notable point in Miz’s career. By reaching the WrestleMania main event, he had moved far beyond the perception that had followed him during his earliest time in WWE. The championship defense against Cena placed him in a spot normally reserved for the company’s top established attractions, and the involvement of Rock made the night even more prominent.
Rock’s role was particularly consequential. His attack on Cena gave Miz the opening to secure the pinfall, while the aftermath directed attention toward Rock and Cena’s impending collision at WrestleMania 28. That match became one of the most heavily promoted WrestleMania main events in recent history. Miz’s title defense therefore served two functions: it completed his own championship match against Cena, and it provided the crucial final turn into WWE’s next major WrestleMania attraction.
Success and the Cost of the Moment
Wrestling’s biggest matches are often remembered through broad images: a championship raised overhead, fireworks, celebrity appearances, a massive stadium crowd, or the final move that ends the contest. Miz’s comments show how different the internal experience of such a match can be. The visual of a WWE Champion celebrating at WrestleMania does not capture the concussion he sustained, the memory gap that followed, or the reliance on others to help complete the planned finish.
His description also reflects the judgment performers must make when trying to create something distinctive on the biggest stage. Miz wanted a moment that felt unprecedented. He wanted the spear to go into an area resembling the audience, a decision driven by the desire to make the WrestleMania main event stand apart. Instead, the concrete spot became the incident that changed his experience of the match.
Even so, Miz does not dismiss the match’s place in his career. His mixed feelings are not a rejection of the accomplishment. Rather, they underline why it remains such a complicated landmark. He can recognize the privilege of entering the Georgia Dome as WWE Champion, receiving a WrestleMania main-event entrance, hearing the reaction of 65,000 people and leaving with the title intact. He can also acknowledge that the night carries a physical memory he would rather not relive.
For Miz, WrestleMania 27 remains both a crowning achievement and a cautionary memory. It was the night he headlined WWE’s grandest event, retained the WWE Championship against John Cena and played a part in setting the stage for Rock and Cena’s WrestleMania 28 showdown. Yet it was also a night in which an ambitious spot went wrong, leaving him concussed and unable to remember part of the match that should have been among the clearest memories of his career.
That contradiction is why the match continues to stand out. It is not simply a victory to celebrate or a difficult experience to avoid. It is both: a WrestleMania main event that confirmed Miz had reached an elite spot in WWE, and a milestone whose most important moments are forever colored by the impact he took on the concrete.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.