As 2017 starts to wind down, it’s fun to reflect on all the crazy stuff that happened in WWE this year. Like, remember that time when the Undertaker (probably) retired? Or when John Cena popped the question to Nikki Bella? Or how about when Jinder Mahal casually threw racial slurs at Shinsuke Nakamura? (Actually, let’s forget that last one.)
Of course, one of the most absurd segments on WWE TV this year happened back in June, when Monday Night Raw came to the Staples Center in Los Angeles and somehow got LaVar Ball and two of his three kids (including Lakers rookie Lonzo) to make an appearance on MizTV in an effort to hype up the WWE pay-per-view Great Balls Of Fire.
And with most things LaVar Ball-related, it was a car crash, featuring his youngest son LaMelo uttering the n-word on live TV (something WWE later apologized for), Lonzo cracking up in the background of every shot he was in, and LaVar running around with his shirt off. Here, have a walk down memory lane:
While everyone gave props to the Miz for somehow managing to hold the segment together, it wasn’t until a recent appearance on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast that he revealed just how chaotic the whole thing was. As the Miz recalls:
“I walk into their dressing room to go over the script … And [LaVar] says, ‘Nah, we’re good.’ So [I think] ‘I guess we’re going to wing it.'”
As for the n-bomb in question, the Miz says he wasn’t even aware of it until later:
“I didn’t hear it. There’s so much going on, and I think it was during Dean Ambrose’s music. In the ring, sometimes you can’t even hear the person that is speaking to you. I’m literally a really good lip-reader a lot of the time because there’s so much [noise].”
When asked if LaVar taking his shirt off, climbing the turnbuckles and bouncing off the ropes was all part of the show, Miz had this to say:
“It was not planned at all. I was like, ‘I’m just gonna let him do his thing because guess what? People are going to be talking about it for months on end.'”
It turns out the Miz was right, as that MizTV clip has more than 1.8 million views and landed WWE plenty of mainstream media coverage. And even though LaVar put Miz through the wringer, the WWE Superstar is still a fan of the Ball family:
“I really like LaVar Ball. I really do. I think he’s a character … He’s very much a promoter. Everybody hates the promoter, but you can’t help but like Lonzo because he’s just a quiet kid who keeps his head down and works hard to be the best he possibly can be. The thing I like about LaVar is that he promotes his kids. He is so supportive of his children. No matter what they do — whether they’re in China doing something or the kid is dropping bombs on Monday Night Raw, he always stands behind them and always supports them.”
You can hear the full episode here or the segment in question below:
