Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe - Mike “The Miz” Mizanin: Feelin’ the Dance Moves

Episode Date: September 28, 2021

Get ready, WWE and Dancing with the Stars fans, because today on the pod Kaitlyn is sitting down with superstar Mike "The Miz" who brings the energy everywhere he goes, from the ring to the dance floor. After getting roasted for her podcast setup, Kaitlyn and Mike dive into the craziness of being a parent (and getting your butt kicked by a 3 year old), open up about their respective relationships, and speak to the challenges of dancing against a million professionals. The two bond over having parts of their body hurt that they didn’t even know could hurt after training for the DWTS stage. One bonus of staying put in LA to dance his butt off: Mike has had the chance to tuck his daughters in at night (and to build them doll houses of course). The Miz answers some listener questions from the vinos before giving a unique confession that Kaitlyn didn’t see coming. We’ll be rooting for you, Mike!! Find Mike on Instagram @MikeTheMiz and text “MIZ” to 21523 to get those votes in. APARTMENTS.COM - The most popular place to find a place. STRAIGHT TALK WIRELESS - No contract, no compromise. Available at Walmart and Walmart.com.  PELOTON - Experience motivation like never before with the Peloton bike, now $400 less. Go to onepeloton.com to learn more . CONAIR - The Knot Dr. All-In-One Dryer Brush by Conair® is all you need to create a salon blowout at home, quickly and easily. To order, go to Conair.com and search Dryer Brush. GEICO - Go to Geico.com, get a quote, and see how much YOU could save. It’s GEICO-easy!  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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And GEICO. Go to GEICO.com, get a quote, and see how much you could save. It's GEICO easy. Visit GEICO.com today. That's GEco.com. Hey, everyone, really quickly, straight talk wireless has now rolled out 5G coverage nationwide with no contract, all on America's best networks. Straight talk wireless, no contract, no compromise, available at Walmart and Walmart.com. 5G capable device required, actual availability coverage and speed may vary. All right, listeners, most people know that Apartments.com is the most popular place to find a place, and that's because Apartments.com has the most rental listings and the most ways to find them. All thanks to some of the most powerful tools like

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welcome, so come on in because OTV, it's about to begin, eh. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages. Today we have a one-on-one battle like none seen before. In one corner, we have last year's Mirabal champion of the world, Caitlin, the Canadian Bristol. And her opponent, coming in at six foot two, a reality TV star turned W.W.E. Superstar, and soon to be the mirrorballed champion of the world, Mike the Miss. These two will go toe to toe, head to head, and take one another on in nothing other than

nope, not a dance-off, not a wrestling match. I will simply be having a nice conversation over a podcast called Off the Vine. Wow, thanks, Jason, for that. Welcome to Off the Vine. I'm your host, Caitlin Bristow. I am so excited about this season of Dancing with the Stars, and today I had the chance to talk with one of this year's incredible contestants, Mike, otherwise known as Mike the Miz,

to all the WWE fans out there, about his personal goals with what he wants to learn from the art of dance and just taking on a brand new challenge. He is very competitive and very into it. I think he's going to go far. He is known as a bit of a villain in the world of WWE, but he is such a sweet dad to two little girls who like to be his weights on training days,

and I know he's making his little girls proud. So let's hear from the busy man who made time in a schedule for little old me, and let's also not piss him off because I'm slightly afraid he might do some secret WWE superstar moves on me, and I'll have to tap out. Call Uncle.

Hi. Hello, how are you? I'm good. How are you? Great. I wasn't sure if that was a microphone or a hairdresser. And I was, I was looking like, wait, is that, because that is the biggest, like, wind. I mean, are you, are you expecting a tornado to go through your room right now?

And I love the dog hair all over it. dog care everywhere. We're expecting a windstorm here in Nashville, Tennessee. Again, that is quite ridiculous, isn't it? Yeah, for for an indoor, like, you're indoors. Like, you don't need a windscreen unless you're, if you're talking like, hey, how are you? I mean, if you talk like that, then yeah, of course. But I mean, that is a hell of a wind. I laugh a lot. Maybe that is why they got that for me, because I was like, maybe that's what anyways i threw it away okay it's done there's no more windstorm coming um okay i'm so excited to talk to you one because don't you have a stand like how you've been doing this podcast it's like

one of the like biggest podcasts out here right and literally you have to hold your own microphone like and that can connect or anything i literally have a whole podcast studio room in my house with a mic that comes up and over and the Wi-Fi in that room is being so shitty and the I bought like an ethernet cord to plug into it and Jason my fiance stole the little adapter that goes into my computer and he's gone on a golf tournament and now I'm stuck doing it with this little recorder in my room like an idiot no you don't look like an idiot but I mean honestly can you blame the guy the guy's going golfing he's going to need that ethernet cable right because watch the writer cup yeah

is at the writer cup i'm so jealous okay your energy is friggin electric i feel like i have a lot of energy and i like when i podcast with people who also have a lot of energy because it makes for a great podcast people are entertained you're always very entertaining and i have a funny story to start off it's i mean you're gonna be like full story bro tell it again but one time i was in florida and it was at i was going to the what do you call it a match sure yeah a match sure a show a wwee event It was definitely a whole production. So, yeah, show is a good word. I was going to one of the WWE shows.

And it was in Florida, and I was staying at this hotel, and we were going up the elevator, and a guy was in there with us, and we were talking about the show or something, and we were talking about you. And we're like, that guy's so entertaining. And your dad was the guy standing in the elevator with us. Yeah. What did he say? Because he was probably like, I don't know.

He was probably okay. But boy, this other guy was amazing. Man, that's Seth. You didn't see Seth Rollins out there. You didn't see Roman Raines or Kobe Kingston. They're the good ones. My son, he's just okay. He's swell at Westman.

I mean, he literally was like, that's my son. Because, I mean, imagine we were just talking like, like, I seemed like a douche. We were like, that guy's awesome. I love his energy. And like, talking, he goes, that's my son. And we're like, really? He's like, yeah, that is my son.

And we were like, that's so funny. Where are you guys from originally? Parma, Ohio, which is like a. suburb of Cleveland. So yeah, I mean, I grew up there my entire life. And, uh, yeah, my dad is like a character. Like if you watch, I don't know if you've watched, but Ms. and Mrs. Uh, our reality insights of what it's like to be a dad, a husband, and just be in the life of WWE. It gives you an insight of kind of what our life is like. My wife is a WW superstar. I'm a WWE superstar. So we both have won championships and now we're tackling being parents. And let me

tell you something, I have been slammed in the ring by seven foot tall giants. And I'll tell you what, I get my butt kicked by a three and a half and two year old every single day. I was going to ask which is more challenging because I know I'm friends with Nicole and Brie. And I always ask them like, how do you, I mean, Nicole doesn't know she can do it anymore because of concussions. And I'm always like, how do you guys, that must be just so draining. Like I know football players have a certain career life that they would have. because of how hard it is on the body. What is the career span for a WWA superstar?

It's different for all superstars. Some superstars are, you know, have a style that doesn't allow them to go as long as others. And some people have to adapt. Some people have a style in the beginning that is really like, I wouldn't say dangerous, but it's very risk-taking. And, you know, as they evolve and grow, they realize, look, if I want to prolong my career, then you have to do it. I've been very fortunate that my first major injury was about, I would say, 12 weeks ago. I told my MCL.

Is your first surgery? Yeah, yeah. No, no, I didn't have that surgery. It was partially torn. So, but I had to sit out. It was the first time that I had to, like, actually take time off, but I didn't. I actually, the doctor was like, look, you can still be around the program. You can't do much. But if you either have crutches or wheel. wheelchair to roll. I was like, I will take a wheelchair and John and my tag team partner is going to roll me around in it. I don't want to have to do anything. And honestly, it created for a great content. Like the way I work with, with WWE is whenever an obstacle happens where something is challenging that like, say, Terry and MCL, that was not planned. I did not know that was going to

happen. And it did. I have to make the best of it because I love to work. I love what I do. So I said, okay, I want to be there every week and make something entertaining and captivating for the audience. And I got in a wheelchair. And everyone thought I was faking the injury because I stood up one day out of nowhere. And everyone was like, oh, he's been faking it the whole time. And I was like, no, it was real. Yeah, just made you believe it. Like, I will show you the scans of it.

It's definitely real. That's crazy. Yeah, you just have that mentality of, you know, the show must go on. and you are an entertainer, and I feel like athletes have that in them. You know what I mean? Athletes just will go through anything. One of my best friends played hockey for so long, and he would, like, not be able to walk. He would sleep on the floor because he couldn't sleep in a mattress because his back was so

bad. And he would get out there every game for years and years and years and just give it his all. And I feel like athletes just have that mentality. Well, I think it's the competitive nature that an athlete has, but also I feel like, you have an audience out there that paid their hard-earned money to watch you, and you want them to take home moments that'll last the lifetime. For instance, when you were in the elevator, you were talking about a moment that you saw on the show,

and that's what it's all about, putting smiles on people's faces, having people enjoy it. So all the pains and all the sacrifice that you go through, the blood, sweat, and tears, that makes it all worth it. Like being able to go to a WrestleMania in front of 100,000 people and perform in front of them, there's no there's no high quite like it in my opinion and uh we talk about bumps and bruises and pains you know right now in w we like i'm used to the pain and and what and what the

bumps and bruises are and dancing with the stars my body is not used to this so i am like oh my god like today i woke up my achilles is sore oh yeah like why what in the wild world of any type of sports does your Achilles store. Like there's no muscle in the Achilles tendon. So I'm like trying to figure out like I'm finding new muscles. I didn't even know I had.

And I haven't been able to like work out with weight training because I'm so depleted after like training like whether it's physically, emotionally, mentally I am just drained when I get home. And I still have to practice because I know my steps aren't where they have to be.

and I want them to be, you know, I want to pay tribute to, you know, every person that's ever stepped put in a ballroom. Like, I have an opportunity of a lifetime. There are millions of people that would love, that would beg, that would plead to be on this show. And the least I could do is put my best foot forward and do my best I possibly can. And honestly, it's fun. Yeah, it is. All right, we're going to pause the podcast to talk about straight talk. 5G is here.

But the big carriers want you to sign a pricey, long-term contract to get on it. Not anymore because Straight Talk Wireless has rolled out 5G coverage nationwide with plans starting at just $35 a month and no contract, all on America's best networks. Plus get the latest smartphones from brands like Samsung, or you can bring your own phone and just keep your number and 5G network just by swapping your SIM card. 5G coverage 5G phones less money straight talk wireless no contract no compromise available at walmart and walmart.com 5g capable device required actual availability coverage and speed may vary keep your own phone requires a compatible unlocked phone and straight talk k yop kit may need to change phones apn settings all right i'm all about the convenience things these days especially since i've been busy running around that i just want everything to be easy and come straight to me as

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It's so good. To order one yourself, go to conair.com and search dryer brush. You talk about being in that ring with 100,000 people watching and the WWE fans are loyal and passionate and they care so much and it makes their year and they just love being there. And then you are on Dancing with the Stars where it's obviously a completely different ballgame and beast and you've got millions of people now watching live on television. You can't see all of that and feel the energy.

at home watching and you still have to give it that full energy and you really did when you came out and I you know what I have to give you props to you because you really played to the camera I found that really challenging to do because I would be so in my head about the steps. You're a bachelor though. You are a bachelor. You would think that you would learn like so the real world always taught me like to be very comfortable in a reality setting because a camera's always on you like 24 seven when I was on the real world 20 years ago the camera was always on And so you would literally like, I just got so used to being in front of a camera. Yeah, I feel that I'm comfortable in front of a camera.

It was more that I was so in my head about my steps that I couldn't remember to look at the camera and give it a smile. And that really goes a long way because that's what you're performing to at home. And I noticed a few times in your dance, you really played to the camera. And I was like, yes, that people are going to love this. It was really fun to watch. I always tell Whitney, whenever we're doing stuff, I'm like, what's my mentality? like what is my feeling in this dance? Because I know each dance has a different emotion

and a different thing. And she's like, this is all about having fun. So I was like, okay, I want to make sure that I have the steps down so much that I don't even have to worry about anything else. I just have to worry about having fun. So I got a lot of positive reviews. But me, I go home and I dissect my dance.

There were a lot of moments in there where I was like, oh, I was so worried about my, so if your top is not stiff and your elbows are not up, then they're like, Whitney's like they'll probably dock a point from you. So all I was thinking about in one section of my dance was make sure your chest is out,

your elbows are up, and don't worry about anything else, and I forgot about my legs. You know what I mean? So it's like you're thinking about 30 different things, and my legs were just a little bit behind me, and you probably wouldn't notice it, but I noticed it, and it irritated me.

So that's what I, when we came back, she goes, okay, you throw that, dance out. I go, no, no, no. We need to figure out what I was doing wrong here because I want to make sure that if I probably won't ever have to do the cha-cha again. If I ever do, I'll be ready for it because I had her spend like 30 minutes just going over the things I did wrong. Yeah. I know the professionals are, I mean, they're professionals. They know exactly what they're doing. And they're such good coaches, but it's funny that their mentality is as soon as that dance is done, we move on. And I would have the hardest time with that because I'm like you. I would go home and I would watch it on slow-mo a million

times and I'd be like I could have done that better. I could have done that better. And I think that does make like obviously that shows where your head's at in the competition and where you want to be and that you always want to get better. And then you go into next week and they're like, no, that dance is gone. And you're like, but, but like how much is just learn a new dance now? And then by that time when you like finally are like starting to get it, it's like, and now we're going to perform it live and move on again. Yeah. And how about the fact that like you get like 10, 12 days to learn the first dance. And then you get like

five, five days to learn this next dance. And I'm like, wait, what? Yeah. Five days to learn. I had, I need a 10 for the first one. And then also my favorite line that she gave me was everything I taught you last week, throw it out because you're doing the exact opposite this week. And I went, what? What do you mean?

She's like, yeah, everything I just taught you do the opposite. And I'm like, this is unbelievable. Yeah. And it just, you you'd think it would get easier as the weeks go on because you're like, I'm starting to figure out how to move with your partner. You guys are starting to get on the same page. But it truly actually just gets harder because you have to keep up with the rest of the competition. So people are continuing to like, you know, get better every week. And it gets harder and harder and harder on your body, mentally harder, like physically in every way. What dance are

you doing this week? Tango. Oh, I love the tango. I'm having so much fun. with the tango. I didn't think I would like it at all because it's very, it's, I wouldn't say stiff, but your frame needs to be a certain way and it needs to look like it's stiff, but it can't be stiff because you need to move and glide through this entire, so I'm taking steps right now and she's like, you need to glide. And I'm like, I'm doing the best glide I possibly can right now. And it's, it's very tough and challenging. And I love, like, the thing about what I love, most about dance stars is, I'm not good at this. I've never danced before professionally or have taken any type of, like,

lesson where I was, like, learning this stuff. You know what I mean? It's like, I am literally going from 1980s watching MTV's The Grind, Eric Neese and doing the running man in my, in my bedroom, trying to learn how to dance. Like, that's how I learned how to dance. So when you come into a competition and you got, like, Melanie C., who's stupid professional dancer jojo siwa on dancing moms her entire life she has danced then you have

like everyone's like cody rigsby peloton trainer do you know what the second the second thing on his bio is a professional backup dancer i'm like what is this there's like suny lee gold medalist in all gymnastics like i'm like could you put any more professionals against me could you stack the deck a little bit in my favor any which way because this was I could not believe when I saw the people on here like Amanda Klutz incredible story like and then she poured her heart out onto that dance floor 16 years like she was a rock a rockette and I'm like Broadway dancer and I'm like good I mean Jesus like this is this is brutal well I'm going to give you a little bit of hope here because they tend to bring on people

that have danced before, but people really... You danced before, didn't you? Yeah, and I won. And it helped you out, didn't it? Oh, champ. You won. I thought about just proffing at my mirror ball. My favorite line, and by the way, all of them said it.

They go, they go, uh, yeah, I've had training before and dance, but never like this. Never ballroom or Latin. I'm going, but it's your dance, you're training and dancing. Like, if you're an athlete, And you're trained in one sport. You probably can learn a new sport pretty quickly than a person that's never been an athlete before.

It definitely helped me. It definitely helped me pick up choreography. I knew, like, how to move in a certain way. I had never done ballroom, of course. I'd never danced with a male partner before. But my dance background definitely helped me. But here's what I will say is Bachelor Nation is so freaking loyal and they want to see their people succeed. I feel like WWE is the same, even more so, like, passionate that, you know what,

votes do really count. And I feel like your people will vote for you. So I agree with you. But here's the thing. With WWE universe, they love me inside a WWE ring. My question is, do they love me out? Like, they love me on Miss and Misses, too. Absolutely. Like, they literally made my show a hit and I'm forever thankful, but I'm curious. Now, they may watch the dancing with the stars, but do they vote? We know that Bachelor Nation votes. You and Hannah Brown have won. Now, granted, you pulled your weight.

Like, you guys were absolutely incredible. You did amazing dances, and you were the best, the cream of the crop. And Bachelor Nation showed that they were like, look, we vote. We go out there and vote. Yeah. These superstars, they've made like seven, eighth. I think Keebler got third, which was great, but no. No one's ever won.

So I'm hoping that I am the change where the WW universe goes, not only am I going to watch, not only am I going to enjoy, but I'm going to vote. I'm going to text 215, two, three, and I'm going to put Ms. in that place 10 times. Like, I'm going to do that. I know Matt James has got a, like, a huge advantage because Bachelor Nation loves to vote. And honestly, his dance was so entertaining and he looked like he was just having a good time. Yeah, it's true. The first week just as so, you know, you want to just.

just see everyone having a great time. It'll change. It'll ebb and flow. You'll get feedback that you don't want to hear. You'll get low scores. You'll get high scores. But I think if you're saying what you're saying right now, and I think even for a dancer, a non-dancer, even if you're an athlete, it really is working your body in different ways than you ever have before. Not to mention the shoes you have to wear, like that are just so uncomfortable. The shoes are killing me right now. My feet are killing. I had to buy like this foot massager. Every time my wife is like, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm putting this foot massager on because my feet are absolutely killing me. And speaking of my wife, like, she's the reason that I wanted to

actually do, Dancing with the Stars. When I got the call and I said, oh, they want me to dance with Stars. She's just go, oh, you're doing it. And I was like, oh, really? Like, and now when I come home, she wants to learn the dances. She wants to help me with different beats. And honestly, when I was doing the cha-cha, like, so in WWE, we, she used to be my manager. She used to come out and she would stand like right next to the ring and kind of give me, you know, pointers and what the other person is doing. But knowing my wife is standing so close watching me in a in a speedo, because that's

what we wrestle in more or less, you kind of just want to show up. And I'll tell you what, I've never had better matches in my entire life than when my wife is front and center watching because all I'm doing is trying to impress her. So seeing my wife front and center watching me do this dance. And I couldn't help but show off and be at my best and just have fun with it. And yeah, she's been really my big support system. And whenever she is in a great mood, it makes me in a great mood. And whenever she is supportive, it makes me feel like I have the most, you know, like I feel like I can do anything. I could run through a brick wall. Yeah, yeah, you probably could. I could see you doing it, especially with her support. She does seem incredible. I did watch your guys' show

And I was just like, you seem like a really good team and great parents. And it's so nice. How long have you been married for? We've been married 2013, so eight years. Wow. And then how long have you guys been together in general? Probably about, I would say, 13 years. Wow.

Yeah, about 13 years. It's so cool to hear people. Like, I was telling this to my girlfriend last night, actually. Her and her husband have been together for 12 years and she's pregnant now. And he just left to go on the road. he's a musician and she was like oh i was just crying all day like i'm i don't want to be away from him for a month and i'm like even after all this time and she goes well yeah he's my person like i just love him and i said your love actually inspires me and she said i don't know why people

say that we literally just put each other first and love each other deeply but i hope you know how like blessed you are to have that i know how blessed i am when i don't know for the first time i saw her i was um i was hosting a show called the uh the diva search and It was so whoever, whatever woman wants to be a WWE superstar, you could try out and be on a reality show to gain a WW contract. She walks in, does not speak any English. Zero. I'm talking zero English.

Walks in and I go, hi, what's your name? My name, Maris. And I go, oh, hey, Maurice, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? And then she started, like, cutting a promo. And what I mean about cutting a promo for anyone that doesn't know any WW stuff, that's when we're in the microphone. and you basically just like, what's up, everybody?

I'm the most must-see WWE superstar of all time, The Miz, and I am on this podcast right now here to entertain you because I am awesome. It's like that kind of promo, right? So I ask her to cut a promo for us, and she goes, my name is Moniz, and I give 10%, 110%, and I go, I go, excuse me,

can you not just give us the cookie cutter answer? Can you give us like a real answer? And she goes, and by the way, she rehearsed this in English, I didn't know this, by the way. She rehearsed it in English for like days. She had her friends help her with this promo and everything. And so the next round comes.

And, you know, we still haven't got to know her that much. And I go, can you cut a promo in French? And she goes, Francaise? I go, yes. And she literally tore me apart. I have no idea what she said, but I've never been more turned on in my entire life. She got up in my face. and just ripped me apart, and I don't know, I have zero.

No, I know what she, like, I feel, I had a feeling of what she was saying, but could not make out any of the words. As soon as she left from the door, we all literally look at each other and goes, she's in. Yeah. And so two years later, where were we? We were in like, Wichita, Kansas, right? And I asked her, I was like, hey, do you want to go out afterwards?

We're all going to this pizza place. It's the only place really open, late night. You can come, hang out. out she gets there doesn't even sit at the same table as me she sits with all the others and I'm like wow that was interesting so everyone leaves the place closes and we kind of hang out in the parking lot and just start talking and she doesn't she speaks broken english by the way so she did a lot of listening that day and I was like this girl is incredible uh because I like to talk a lot so we ended up driving right and when we drive I tell her I see this place I go pull over pull over

pull over. And she pulls over. And it was like a sex toy shop. Yeah. And I was like, this would be fun. Like, you know, this is like something like, hey, I don't want to be in the friend zone. I like, I want to know that I like her. Nothing will take you out of the friend zone picker. It doesn't really speak English. I want to be more than just friends with you. You take him to a sex toy shop. Young Mike thought this was a genius idea. I thought this was incredible walking and there's like balls and mouths and like of like mannequins and like you know face masks of oh and whips and chains and she's just wide-eyed like what is this and I was like oh my god maybe this was a bad idea uh so we get out and we talk in this parking lot until our

flight and after we after we leave I get on a flight I fly home and I go to Barnes & Noble, and I find, like, a French book, like how to speak French, because back then we didn't have all these cool apps where you can literally look up how to do it. So I tried to learn French by reading a book, and it did not help whatsoever, but I ended up marrying the girl. So all these bad stories end up working out the best for me. Like, I had a hard time opening up. I had a hard time finding the right one. But, you know, whenever, you know, we would start, you know, whenever we fight, and, and I think, I think every couple goes through these fights where you're, we try to listen to each other and believe it or not, like, it's hard for me to shut up and actually listen and put myself in her shoes.

Yeah. Yeah. And try to understand what she's going through because I know what I'm going through, but I don't know what she's going through because I don't know what she's going through because I can't feel that. Right. And so I think the best thing that we do is we sit down and we listen to each other and we try to understand. And sometimes you're not going to. You're really not because you're two different human beings. But it's best to sit there and listen and learn and try the best you possibly can.

I mean, I guess that's my vote of advice and to open up. Me in this relationship compared to all of my other years, I am like a complete different person completely. Yeah, it's like a, well, my therapist always tells me about. rips and repairs. So if there's like a rip and you don't repair it properly, it's going to still like stay. And that's my problem because I think everybody views the world the same way I do. And I've learned that they definitely do not. Oh, not the least bit. No. And so I can never understand if somebody doesn't like feel the way I'm feeling. I'm very an empath and I'm compassionate and I feel a lot of things. And I talk about

my feelings. And then Jason, my fiancee is super logical, level headed. Um, just, like me really and it's just like so hard to see the world from the you know like we're trying to put each other in each other's shoes and it's like we've gotten better at it though and let me tell you me in the last two years in this relationship is the best i've ever been and and why do you think that is it that he so with my wife she brings the best out of me like you know no matter what Like whenever we're on Ms. and Mrs. And we're sitting down in our interviews, like, it's my most fun because I guess just get to play with my life.

Yeah. In scenes and Miss and Misses and I call them scenes, but whenever we're just being real life and it's on camera, it's fun because, you know, I just love being around her. I love hearing her. I love seeing her smile. And I will do anything I possibly can to make her smile and happy. So what about you? What does he do that literally what, what is, what, why are you engaged?

to him like what has he done that no other man has done he is the first person that's ever just made me feel like safe with him like i can have my emotions and i can talk about them and it can be dramatic or silly or nothing at all and he will he will i shouldn't say that we both try and see he has always seen or tried to see the way i see everything and he's very vulnerable he's not good with emotions of negative but in positive he is so supportive he reassures me all the time he's very confident and makes me feel really safe in the relationship and like i'm so in love with his family his parents have been married for 37 years and i come from a divorced family and he like he makes me so sure of what he believes in in marriage and what it's about

and how he will like constantly love me forever and he's able to reassure me while i'm being like I'm scared. He's just like a really, he's a really good guy who really believes in marriage and love and talking about how he feels and supporting. Like, I've never had someone be so supportive because I think a lot of guys now you can speak from being a guy. I think it would be hard for them. Jason ended up leaving his job, moving to Nashville.

I was the one that was like, you know, getting all the opportunities and jobs. And I think that could emasculate a lot of men. but instead he was the most supportive person on the planet and then started building something that he wanted to do and he never took that as like uh she makes this amount of money and i just put my job and i'm gonna like be mad about it like he was always like this is so awesome i love seeing women succeed and you're so happy and good at what you're doing and he's like i'll help you in every way i can and he's very business minded such a smart guy and he's helped me so much and then has started to build his own successful thing instead of, you know, trying to bring me down.

That's incredible. And in my head, I'm going, you were like, it could be emasculating. To me, one of the most attractive things about my wife is how dedicated and motivated she is, not just to be a mother, but to be a working mother. She wants her daughters to see her working, and she is working. And she's an executive producer on Ms. and Mrs. is always creating ideas, figuring out how to make things funny or how to make things better, how to make things more entertaining for our show. She has a moisturizer, skin cream that literally sold out in Sephora, Alta,

all these different places. She is working hard, nonstop all day, everything, creating ideas, even ideas that I'm like, I don't know, but she has big ideas, like big things that, you know, Mad Roe Productions, like our production company was all based on what she wanted to do and now we're out pitching shows to different networks and it's been incredible. I mean, her frame of mind, it motivates me. And I don't look at it as emasculating if she wants to be, you know, I guess they can quote unquote, the breadwinner of the family. I will support you. I will do everything I possibly can to make sure that you succeed in this business, in your goals and in your life.

because, I mean, that's what a team is all about. And, you know, you're married, a husband and wife, but you're also a team. And you're here to, you know, have each other's back at all time, support one another. And that's exactly what we do each and every time. Like, Dance with Stars, my wife is my biggest support system. Yeah, so it's pretty great. Okay, so I have to admit that in the past, I've gotten into a good groove with working out. But then I just get so busy and I tend to fall out of the routine.

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Pretty sure you guys are well aware that I love my Peloton bike. Cody, I know you're not listening right now, but you're my favorite instructor, okay? Actually, I don't know, because I also love Tunday, Robin, Emma. They're all so amazing. I actually look forward to taking these classes, and I love that some are super short. So I can get a workout in even when I don't have a lot of time. Like there are even 10-minute rides I've taken, and I'm still getting in a good workout.

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I love just hearing about that because Dancing with the Stars is a very, very time-consuming, taxing show that you're really working hours and hours a day, every day, seven days a week. And it's, you know, you can see it's only for like a short period of time. But really, it's a long show. It's 13 or 14 weeks of really just being. gone and dancing and coming home and probably feeling so exhausted. So I love that you guys can each support each other. But when I get home, I will say this, I'm not, I can't be exhausted because my three

and a half and two-year-old are like, da-da, da-da, da-da, da-da. Every day I take them in the pool because I've been teaching my two-year, my three-and-half swims, but my two-year-old is, honestly, she's way more advanced in swimming than my three-and-a-half is. So they both kind of swim now and are really good. So I take them in every day and make sure that I'm teaching them how to swim. We play every day, go for walks. We go searching for bunnies because there's buddies around this area.

So I'm always on dad mode. And honestly, being a W.W. Superstar, it's a 24-7 job. It's year-round, nonstop all day, every day. Whether you're on Monday Night Raw or Friday Night Smackdown, you are, you know, you're year-round. There's no off-season. So usually I have to fly out to go to the city that I have to go to. So I miss, you know, putting my daughters to bed.

The luxury of being on Dance with the Stars is that I'm taking time off from WW to do this. I get to stay home. Like, I live in, you know, Los Angeles. So I get to put my baby to bed every day. And I get to see them, you know, grow every day and be with them every day. So it's kind of a blessing to cries. Yeah, from nine to five, I'm gone.

But, I mean, I think everyone goes through that. I think most people have nine to five jobs. And that's kind of what this is. Yeah, I didn't even think about it that way. I was just like, I haven't worked at nine to five and so long. I didn't even think about it that way because you're right. That is kind of normal. And the fact that you get to go home and put your kids to bed.

And I know I've seen on social media and people, even when I said I was podcasting with you in the Facebook group, everyone's like, I love him as dad mode. Like they just see how sweet you are like building. dollhouse is at like three in the morning and oh my god so how about this all right so I'm building so my daughter's second birthday was on the premiere so we were going to celebrate

her birthday on a Saturday it's a weekend so it's easier to celebrate on a weekend Thursday night my wife gives me this this this castle and it's in a tiny box but it's in a huge like a huge box but it's not put together and she goes oh you got to put this together and I go

if I win like next week no Saturday I'm like what? And so I get this thing. And I'm not one of those guys that it's like, give me a drill and I can finish this thing in an hour. It's going to take me like 20 hours to do this thing. And I'm going to have a couple pieces missing. And some of the screws are going to be very loose. Right. So I start doing it by 1 a.m. I'm exhausted. I've already done my day of dancing. And I finally finish it. And I realize, I'm like, oh, man, my daughters wake up at 7 a.m. This is going to be a great day.

wonderful ran so but i got it done and i was pretty proud of myself that i got it done and it looks like it's in one piece and it's going to stay up that's incredible those things are tricky i don't know why they make them so hard um erindel wasn't built in the day i got to tell you that arndell in my household was built in like three days that's amazing um well a few listeners uh had some questions for you a lot of people actually wanted to know this Samantha said it any behind-the-scenes secrets from the challenge. I guess a lot of them are big challenge. Oh, wow. Like the real world challenges. I mean, it was so long ago. It was almost the real world was 20 years ago. So it's probably about, you know, 15, 16, 17, 18 years ago that I was on challenges. But honestly, a lot of people

always ask, like, is it real? And I always say real world as well as the challenges are as real as real can be on TV. You're in a competition. This is a competition. This reminds me of the challenge. because except for it in the challenge, you're not getting voted out by millions of people across the world. You're getting voted out by your friends. You know, by the people that you're shooting a show with. And so behind the scene stuff,

I mean, you don't see a lot of it, you know, but there's nothing that that I can remember from way back in the day. Like, I flew a plane, by the way, on the gauntlet. Like, I flew a plane. Like a plane. Yeah. So they tell us, on the gauntlet, this was a long time ago,

and for those that they don't remember, it's the gauntlet, the challenge. The stuff you can see on Paramount Plus and MTV. So we get a call that, hey, you have to week up to five in the morning. We're like, for a challenge, five in the morning, we get to play at seven. They give us a tutorial on how to fly a plane. I fell asleep through the whole thing, by the way. Oh!

From seven to like nine, we had this tutorial where they did it. I was in the back, literally nodding off, sleeping. Like, I probably won't need to know this. You're flying a plane today. They go, excuse me? They go, yeah, you're flying a plane. I'm like, like, like, Maverick? Like Maverick-type planes?

And it's like, yeah, you're in a Dixie dog fight where, so if you can imagine, the planes are going in circles around each other. And the idea is to get behind the other guy, and there's a piece of glass that you have to get them in in your cockpit. And if you get it in there, the guy behind you, who is like your ice man, for top gun references there. He's looking at it going and he'll go guns, guns, guns, guns, guns. And when you hit five guns, you have shot that person down.

So, and the idea is he flies you up there and then he goes, okay, the throttles, the stick is yours. And the stick is like in between your legs and you have to press back into the left and back into the left. And if you go to the left too much, you will stall out your plane. Oh, wait a second. I'm how many feet in the air? Thousands of feet in the air.

Okay, and I can stall out. So are you just going to restart the thing? Am I going to fall out of this thing? Like, what's going to happen? He goes, yeah, it happens all the time. I go, happens all the time. Now in this lifetime, it doesn't. So I get up there and I push back.

I go to the left. I push back. I go to left. And by the way, I am flying this plane. Like, there is no doubt in my mind that he does not have his hand on the throttle. I got it all. I'm flying a plane. Flying a plane after two hours of sleeping through a tutorial. And I ended up actually winning this challenge. I did. Yeah, I couldn't believe it. The other guy stalled out. I went right behind him and went, bah, pop, bah, fuck, fuck, guns, guns, guns, beat him.

And it was a really cool. It was probably my favorite one we've ever done. You know, there was times that we would do, they were like, hey, you're going to parachute. You're going to fly out of a plane today, and you're going to parachute. I go, excuse me? Like, I'm perisional. like the challenge is like the coolest thing to go on because you do all these weird intricate challenges and if you're a competitive person there's no there's nothing quite like it yeah you just go for that's like you don't know what you're getting yourself into but you're in like i'm you're doing it you have no other option that's great i feel like i could do that and i think because of your competitive drive i think you will go far and dancing with the stars i'm not going to tell you you're going to win you might though because you have this competitive drive you're entertaining. I feel like you really care about the people at home watching, like wanting to make them happy. It's such a feel good show. And I think people are going to really fall in love with your personality on that because you're, you know, you always already talked about your wife on the show and you're just happy to be there and you're going to work hard. And I don't know,

I'm excited to see, I'm excited to see your tango, but I'm excited to see how, how, um, how the rest of the season goes for you. I feel like every person who interviews, you probably asked us, but what do you think is more challenging, WWE or Dancing with the Stars? I think each one has its own separate way. I mean, when I first started wrestling back, gosh, 20 years

ago in an independent wrestling scene, learning how to wrestle was very difficult. I took notes on everything. I would study other wrestlers like my heroes, Sean Michaels. I would look at their footwork, how they'd go in and out of moves. It was a nonstop learning process,

and I'm still learning to this day, 16 years later. Now it feels like the first day of wrestling school when you come into dancing with the stars because I've never done this before. So now what am I doing? Before I even got on this show, like I knew I was doing the show,

I was watching YouTube videos on like different things, like what you do with your hands. Like one of the techniques that I learned was you look at the clock and you go down. Look at the clock and go down with your hands. And I'll show that to my dance process. She goes, no, no, that's not something. And I go, oh, okay.

And then I used to watch, like, I'd watch all the international, like, dance-offs. And, like, I watched, I studied all the shows, like, all of them. Like, I knew who was good, who was not good. I know all the top 10 best dances, top 10 worst dances. I've been looking at footwork. I was watching, I don't know if you watch, like, whenever I watch, like, the others go, I'm studying. Like, I'm studying Val, Blab. I'm studying Pasha and Sasha.

I'm studying Ardham. I'm studying how smooth Artem is. If you watch them, everything is just smooth and can't. dice and you watch you watch someone like bow he just strikes everything and uses his shoulders and his body and it's so unique and the way they are doing it because um you know that's going to help me in the long run like i'm studying nonstop all day every day but i also don't want to try too hard i realize that when you're doing these dances if you try too hard it you're not going to feel the music you're not going to let people in and so there's a whole process going in your

mind. It's so different watching it on the couch and judging everyone and then actually doing it. It's so true. Okay, I love that you said that because Ardum used to get annoyed at me because I would be like, well, I just want to do it like Whitney or like Daniela. And he's like, Caitlin, you're not a professional dancer. You're not a ballroom dancer. You cannot, if you practice like them for the next 10 years, yeah, you probably could. He goes, but you can't, it's making you try too hard because I would try and do the Danielle and then I would like whip it too hard and like throw my head and that I wouldn't be able to get into the next move and I was like I was trying too hard and what people love to see is that you are like you said feeling the music and showing I love that you said what am I feeling in this dance because that was something that Artem tried really hard to make me understand is you have to know what feeling when you're doing this move what feeling are you emulating like what is it and the fact that you're asking Whitney is incredible The first thing Whitney goes is like, what do you want out of the show? And I said, well, I think I would be, you know, I really want to learn how to dance.

I want to be really well so I can teach my daughters how to dance. I would love to win the mirror ball. And then I would love Derek Huff to offer me a spot on his Vegas show. And then because I'm so good. And then I have to turn it down because Vegas already offered me another show to rival his. And it's already sold out. And she goes, I go, how far along do you think I need? How far along do you think we need to do before on that level?

And she goes, you need to do, you need to be doing this for 20 years. I go, I just started. So, I mean, that's where my goal was. So, yeah, when you say, like, when you say, I'm exactly the same way. I was like, why don't I look like Artem? Why do I look like Derek? Because they've been doing it since they were kids. Oh, I know.

Because you feel like you see, you like understand the way they're moving. You watch it. and you're like, I can do that. And then you go to try and do it. And you're like, well, I don't look anything like them. Well, he doesn't do what you sees. It's like, why can I just see it? I vision and she'll show me the dance and I go, got it.

And then I'll do it and I'll go, that's not it. That's not, oh, this is not the stuff. Oh, this is terrible. Yeah, that's a lot of my listeners actually wanted to know what Whitney is like as a trainer. Oh, man, she's, I couldn't ask for a better trainer. She is patient, but she's also, you can sense the competitive, but also you could sense the stern and respect that she commands on a dance floor and that when you were coming to her onto her dance floor you better come with that you you want to do this and

and honestly it's very positive you know other dancers were like yeah that they just get down on it down on it down on she is very uplifting and motivates me and really is I couldn't ask for a better a better partner she's very creative and she like if I don't get something the first time and then she tries, gives me a drill, and I still don't get it, she'll give me another drill and another drill and another drill. She has like 15 different drills until I'm like, it clicks. And I'm like, how do you know, like if I train someone in WWE and they just started, I wouldn't have 15 drills for this person. I'm not that creative in that way. I can, I can teach them, but the way she teaches, it's just too perfection. And, you know, even when I think I have it, she finds something new

that I can work on. And that's what I want. I want to be amazing. I want to be perfect. I want to be great. And I know perfection is not going to happen. But I want to strive for that. And she helps me strive for that.

She's come back from a baby eight months ago. I know. I had a baby eight months ago. She took a year off, a season off to have her baby. She is back and she is motivated. And it's incredible to see her with her baby, with her child and be able to be here

as a mom and be working so hard and dedicated so well. It's great to watch. Yeah, I love it. I just have so much respect for all those dancers. They are true professionals. And like you said, they will always have ways to make you improve yourself. Like, Arden was very hard on me, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way because I, one, I like to be pushed, even if I was like sobbing and being like, stop talking to me like that. I still needed that. And he like lit a fire under my ass and there's so many times where I was like, you're being mean. And he's like, I'm not being mean. I just know what you're capable of. And I'm all like, I believe in you and I'm passionate about it. And I'd be like, okay. But I need it like, I would not have one if I didn't

have Artem as a partner. And I think they did a really good job this season of matching people's personalities and what they need from their other partner. I see that with Whitney and yourself. I feel like that was a really, really good match. Another one is Emma and Jimmy Allen. I feel like that was a really good match. Jojo and Jenna, like everyone I see that that they put them with, like I love that Melcy is with Gleb, like, because she can kick his ass because there are times where he needs his ass kicked.

So we love it. We love watching you on the show. My, my fiance is a huge WWE guy. Like, ever since he was little, he was, I think he was the one that, like, got talking to people to get you on this podcast, and he's just so excited to listen. He probably hate me, though, because I, I've been villain for the past 16 years. That's a weird part about this bit.

I know. You're like, yeah, the WVU. are going to vote for you. They've hated me for the past 16 years. I have been the most egotistical, arrogant jerk, and I've cheated to win every title I ever won. And now I'm saying, hey, guys, can you vote for me? But maybe that's why it gets,

that's another thing about Dancing with the Stars. It gives people an opportunity to show a different softer side of themselves. And between being a dad and being on dancing with the stars, I think people are going to really like seeing these new sides of you. And I'm excited to keep watching. Tell me last, I have two more things. What's your favorite part about being a dad? The fact that it opened up a whole new part of my heart that I didn't even know I had

when you have a child for the first time. And honestly, a lot of my friends were like that had kids before I did. We're like, you don't understand when you have kids, it changes your life, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, whatever. Let's go to dinner. I got to go to bed. My kids wake up in the morning. It's like, come on.

Let's come out. And now I get it. Like, it's just, when you hold your baby for the first time, you see her, you feel the warmth. It's next to your heart. Something opens up, and I can't explain it. And you don't know until you hold it for the first time. And then having a second one, you're like, oh, my gosh, there's a new part of my heart that has opened up. And it's the love.

It's seeing them grow and learn new things. Like my two-year-old is now talking, like saying, Dadda, come. Dad, come. Go on a scooter. Come on. Come on. And then she rides a scooter.

I'm like, you're two. What happened to you just needing me to hold you all day? You're on a scooter. Scooting. You know? So, I mean, that's probably my favorite part about it. It's just the love that you see, the endless love. Like, man, today, getting.

my three and a half old dress and her just giving me a hug and go, I love you, dad, and I'm like, oh, gosh, please, I don't need to cry in the morning. Come on today. That's so special. I mean, I only have nieces and nephews and I can't even, and dogs, I'm obsessed with my dogs, and I can't even imagine how much I can love a dog, how much I'll be able to love a child. Like, I just, I can't wait to have a family. But that's, that's incredible. And like you said, We're seeing other sides. Other sides are opening up to you, and I'm going to root for you on dancing with the stars. Well, thank you so much.

I need all the help I can get. Trust me. Going up against professionals here. Professional stars. Jojo's both fell, and she picked her up like nothing happened. Didn't even miss a beat. Smile on her face, and I'm like, what? Are you kidding me?

I was standing in a plod going, that is a champion right there. Come on, did you watch it? She has, it literally, her face did not flinch. Jojo picked her ass up and said, let's go. We're not missing a beat. Smile, let's go. And I was like, oh, my God, this girl is a pro. She is wise beyond her years.

It was incredible to watch. It really was. That moment stood out the most for me because, well, Melcy really stood out because I was like, oh, my God, she was my favorite spice girl growing up. I was born in 85. I was like, oh, my God. What wonder they call her sporty spice? Yeah, oh my gosh, she is just, everything is just so, like, she's a ball of muscle and her flexibility.

I was like, get it, Melsie. But yet that moment when Jojo did not miss a beat, just scooped up, smiled, kept going. And Jenna's face was even like, whoa. And Joe's like, no, we keep smiling and we keep dancing. I got you. I was like. She was going to get tens. The only reason she got hates is because Jenna fell.

She would have got tens on the first day. you don't want tens on the first day you want low but she would have got them yeah but she would have got them yeah you're right you're right uh and before i let you go i always make my guests confess something to me confess what would you like to confess well like something anything embarrassing that like stands out to you that you're like wow i haven't really ever told anybody about For the past half hour, I've had to use the restroom, but I didn't want to leave this thing. And you just keep asking more questions, and I like, my leg is shaking. I have to go so bad because I've been drinking coffee this entire time.

So you want something embarrassing? I've had to go to the bathroom for the past half hour, and you just won't let me go because you keep asking these amazing questions, and I didn't want to be rude. this is the end of the podcast that was a perfect way to end it oh my god go pee um i hope it's not the pocket poops but um i'm sorry for keeping you hey that's miss 21523 okay you know what i'm going to do just for this conversation uh oh my gosh well go enjoy your day do you have to go to rehearsal now yeah i got to go actually i go do fitting and then i go to rehearsal and then i come back hang out my dollars.

Hell, Danielle, I say hi at a fitting, please. I will. I will, definitely. Okay, well, good luck to you and enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you, you too. And thank you so much for having me on your podcast. Appreciate it. I'm Caitlin Bristow.

Okay, bye. I'm Caitlin Bristow. I'll see you next Tuesday. Thanks for listening to Off the Vine with Caitlin Bristow. Get new episodes every Tuesday exclusively on podcast1.com, the podcast one app, and subscribe on Apple podcast. Do you own or rent your own home? Say it with me. I'm sure you do, and I bet it can be hard work.

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