John Cena's retirement tour hasn't played out in quite the way many fans hoped, but the news that he'll face AJ Styles at the upcoming Crown Jewel PLE has been met with a very positive response.
Talking on the Unlikely podcast, The Miz made it clear that he isn't happy about being overlooked by WWE, Cena, or fans during the 17-time WWE Champion's final year in the company.
"I'll tell you what. I'll tell you backstage, I was happy for AJ Styles, but very angry that it's AJ Styles versus John Cena and not John Cena versus The Miz," he stated. "I beat the guy at WrestleMania in the main event for the WWE Championship, one of the only people ever to do something like that, and I can't get a match with John Cena. He’s got five dates left."
"The audience could say, 'We want The Miz versus John Cena,' and I would love to have one more match," The Miz continued. "I've been talking about this since the retirement tour started. I was the first person to go sign me up. I'm putting my name in the hat. When's my number going to get called? Maybe never, because there’s only five left."
"I was, I'm pretty upset. Like, that's my heart talking. Selfishly, I want that match," he concluded.
In a separate conversation with The Schmo, The Miz elaborated on his feelings and seemed legitimately hurt that the fans haven't pushed for him to face Cena the same way they did with the likes of Randy Orton and AJ Styles.
"It pisses me off as a WWE Superstar because I feel like I have had a big rivalry with John Cena. I've had multiple WrestleManias with John Cena. And yet the fans aren't sitting there saying, 'Hey, we want The Miz vs John Cena.' They're saying, 'We want AJ Styles vs John Cena.' John Cena has five matches left - or five dates, I don't even know how many matches are left in his pocket, but there's five dates. That's it. That's five Superstars that are gonna get an opportunity to be in the ring and I want myself to be one of them."
"I've been vocal! I've been the first person to say out there that I wanna put my name in the hat to against John Cena. I was the first person, when I heard about the whole farewell tour, I said, 'I wanna be the first person to put my name in the hat.' All the fans had to do was tweet and go on Instagram and talk about it, get it riled up, to where it would be The Miz vs John Cena one last time. But no, you wanted the Randy Orton. You wanted the Brock Lesnar. You wanted the AJ Styles. You didn't ask for this guy."
After defeating Cena in the main event of WrestleMania, it's easy to understand why the A-Lister feels that one more match with the Leader of the Cenation is the least he deserves. While it was a memorable rivalry, it's not necessarily one that fans are eager to see renewed.
You can watch both interviews with The Miz below.