When Mike “The Miz” Mizanin took on the role of hosting the wet and wacky summer competition show Cannonball, he had no idea how it would inspire his oldest daughter’s daredevil ways. The WWE Superstar opened up on PopCulture @ Home ahead of Thursday’s season finale of the USA show about how his experience in Cannonball Bay had an impact not only on him, but also his family.
Spending time at home during quarantine with wife Maryse Ouellet and their two daughters โ Monroe, 2, and Madison, 11 months โ is fun-filled “mayhem,” Miz told PopCulture.com, a lot of which takes place outside and in the family’s pool. “I’ve dedicated myself into teaching my daughter Monroe how to swim,” he recalled. “The other day we were in the pool and I went really far into the pool thinking like, ‘She’s going to be too afraid. She’s not going to jump. She’s not going to do it.’”
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Little Monroe was determined, however, so when her dad shouted, “Three, two, one … Cannonball!” she jumped in and swam right over to him. “We were all in amazement. We couldn’t believe it,” Miz gushed. “She went underwater and swim all the way to me, we were applauding. So now anytime she wants to do anything, it’s not ‘Three, two, one, go!’ It’s ‘Three, two, one, Cannonball!’ for her.”
The contestants on Cannonball may have slightly bigger obstacles to conquer as they compete for $10,000, but that hasn’t kept Miz’s celebrity friends from wanting to give them a go. “All of my friends, I’m talking everybody, has been like, ‘I want it to be on Cannonball,’” the Miz & Mrs. star said. From the WWE’s Sasha Banks, Bayley and Braun Strowman to Saved By the Bell star Mario Lopez, all these A-Listers are dying to throw their hat in the ring in Cannonball Bay. “With the popularity that Cannonball has been generating, I feel like we should have a next season, and so if we do, I feel like we need a WWE version … or just a celebrity version,” he laughed.
People are shocked to learn Miz and his co-host, Rocsi Diaz, haven’t gotten to test their skills on the obstacles, but insurance issues have kept the two firmly on the sidelines…for now. “Imagine if something happened, some freak thing happened and I couldn’t be there to host because I was testing out on one of the competitions,” he explained. “But I think for next season, if we get a next season, I’m going to put in my contract that I have to test out everything, because the number one question I get asked is, ‘Did you do it?’” Don’t miss the season finale of Cannonball, airing Thursday, Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. ET, only on USA. For more on the summer show from PopCulture, click here.