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Yesterday, Heath Miller sat down with PWInsider.com to discuss this Saturday's Impact Wrestling Bound for Glory PPV, where he'll be competing in the Pick Your Shot Gauntlet Battle Royal. During our discussion, Miller discussed returning for a final Raw appearance after being convinced to do so by Drew McIntyre and how that last appearance helped him regain his confidence and reset himself mentally for professional wrestling as he headed for Impact Wrestling. Transcription by Billy Krotchsen.
Mike Johnson: Having been in that system for so long, and kind of having the power to not give a damn, because either way you're exiting, what does that do for your confidence? You hear all these stories and they'll even make references on television of "Oh, the catering," but what does it do to your confidence as a performer, because on the outside, someone will say "Well you're getting paid," but you and I both know even from the beginning...
Heath: It's not about money, man.
Mike Johnson: ...it's about that creativity and having that position and that ability to do something you create behind the scenes and then manifest it into a physical reality and create emotion for the audience in the process. Does that moment [of not giving a damn in his final WWE appearance] help you find your confidence again? Does going to Impact and having the chance to have that live microphone on TV at Slammiversary - at what point do you find your confidence again as a performer? You mentioned Drew [McIntyre] and him not being in the mental right place at different points and obviously he's more than found it, what was that process like for you? Did you need to find that creativity and that confidence again?
Heath: I feel like it was one of those things like I said earlier about the whole, "Look what I could have been doing, you know, ten years of this," but like you said mentally - I feel like mentally I've been ready up there for like the last five, just ready, willing to go. I mean, I didn't even have a singles run or any title up there in ten years, you know, ten years - not one singles run. So it's just like, "what the hell gives?" type deal. So with me being able to go back with one of my best friends on national television and literally say, "Hey, this is what y'all let go," and then I have to turn around, walk away, and then throw a middle finger in the air and smile - yeah, I feel like I hit my point, you know? So it's just one of those things where...I want to say, what really gave me confidence to get back on my feet, I mean because my last couple of years in WWE, I mean let's just be real with ourselves - I was skinny fat, I wasn't in the best shape, my fuse was out, man, my fuse legit went out, I mean that's just a fact, all my friends can tell you that, I mean I'm just telling you this on this damn interview so the whole world's going to know now but it's just one of those things - my fuse was out.
So with WWE knocking me in my jaw and putting me on my ***, it like stirred that firepit up again where I got up and I was like, "Oh damn, OK after this many years you're going to get rid of me? I'm going to show you that you shouldn't have done that." So then I got focused, I got ready, I got mentally ready, I mean, hell, I had Drew, he was one of the first persons to even call me when I got released, and he was like, "Bro, you know what to do now," you know? He just always had my back and that's why I love that dude, you know, and that's another reason why I did that thing with him on Raw, you know, to help the storyline out, because I love him....People will say, "you know, you're making all this money", it's like dude, when you're mentally not in there, I mean that goes with any job - any job that you're passionate about, and it's like, you know you should get that little raise, you know you should do this but then other things happen, and you're just like "What the hell just happened? What's going on?"
You get frustrated, you get a little bitter, but it's like all these people telling me this stuff and then you think, so what the hell do they know? So it's just one of those things where like yeah, a lot of stuff can get frustrating or mentally challenging but you gotta make sure you block that out and realize what your real focus is, focus on what you can change, focus on what will help you, focus on what's going to make you better, and that's what I did. It was like, man, I gotta get back in shape, I gotta get mentally ready, I gotta get my wind up, I gotta make some more connections, when I go out there I'm going to knock a homerun every time I go out there. Why? Because that's what I'm going to start doing now. I mean, I'm not playing a role anymore, this is Heath - you're going to get me, and if you like it, great. If you don't, I'm sorry. Sorry man, I just literally went on a huge rant.
Mike Johnson: No! No reason to apologize. I know we're starting to run out of time here but what advice do you give to others who kind of need their fire stoked, who maybe are not even working for WWE but are working elsewhere where they're in that rut and they need that punch in the jaw to wake them up - what advice do you give them so that they find that passion again without losing their job in the process?
Heath: Just remember what made you start doing it because, yeah, I got released, it put me on my a**, I got back up, but I lost the vision and the focus of why I started doing this and why I loved it and everything, and once I got released and I wasn't on a "OK you gotta go 3 minutes," you know, and I got to go out there and literally do a match, and be creative and let my mind run on its own out there, it's like one of those things you gotta find again what put that fire out but make sure you can regain it. Mine was wrestling in front of a crowd, doing my own thing, and once I did a few times I was like man, so this is those little feelings on the inside called butterflies that I haven't had in like 6 years, man this feels good. It's just one of those things, just remember what made you want to start doing it - remember you as that kid, remember you going to those shows, remember the fact that this is all you ever wanted to do, and go out there and do it.
The complete conversation can be heard now at www.PWInsiderElite.com as part of Bound for Glory week!
Heath will be in action on tonight's episode of Impact Wrestling competing in a five way bout, attempting to earn the #20 entrance in the Gauntlet this Saturday.
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