- Programming note: The American Century Championship will air Friday, July 11, from 1-3 p.m. PT on Peacock, and again from 5-7 p.m. PT on GOLF Channel. Saturday, July 12 and Sunday, July 13, the tournament will air locally on NBC Bay Area (KNTV) from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT.
Michael “The Miz” Mizanin and George Kittle — playfully — don’t get along.
In an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco at the American Century Championship in South Lake Tahoe, the WWE Superstar explained why he holds a grudge against the star 49ers tight end and hyped up his Cleveland Browns ahead of their home game against San Francisco during the 2025 NFL season.
“[The 49ers are] going to lose,” Mizanin told Maiocco. “They’re going to lose to the Cleveland Browns. I’m sorry, Bay Area, I know you’re huge fans of your beloved 49ers. But look, to George Kittle, Brock Purdy, to all you little 49ers out there, you’re going to lose to the Cleveland Browns, and that’s just going to happen.
“You don’t think I forgot that George Kittle clotheslined me and helped Pat McAfee beat me at WrestleMania? I hold a grudge. I hold a grudge. What’s going to happen is that I’m going to beat George Kittle here, and then the Browns are going to beat him [in Cleveland].”
Mizanin is rooting extra hard for his Browns, and extra hard against Kittle, because of this iconic moment from WWE WrestleMania 39 on April 1, 2023.
Yeah … Mizanin’s stance hilariously is fair.
He shared more context with Maiocco about Kittle’s takedown.
“George Kittle, I thought we were friends; I thought he was a good guy,” Mizanin told Maiocco. “But come WrestleMania, I’m hosting at SoFi Stadium, 70,000 in attendance, millions watching at home. … [Kittle’s] in the crowd, he’s a fan. Pat McAfee comes out and says, ‘Hey, man. I don’t have a match, you don’t have a match. I’ll take you on right now.’… I see George Kittle cheering Pat McAfee on. What do you do when a person you think should be cheering for you is not?
“I pushed [Kittle] down and said, ‘Sit down and shut up.’ And then I started walking away. And what does he do? He hops the barricade, and I turn around like, ‘What is this guy going to do?’ And before I can even turn around, he clotheslines me, throws me into the ring, and Pat McAfee punts my face, pins me, one-two-three. Now, what would you do in that situation?”
There’s no way around it. Kittle did Mizanin dirty.
“Would you hold a grudge? Would you be angry? … You watch ‘em on Netflix, they’re good people,” Mizanin told Maiocco, referencing Kittle’s role on Netflix’s docuseries “Receiver.” “But man, he did that to me.”
Fortunately for “The Miz,” he’ll have the chance to take down Kittle — on the green. A possible victory over Kittle would give Mizanin some peace of mind.
“Well, I’m going to beat him, so. Maybe if I beat him, we’ll bury the hatchet,” Mizanin told Maiocco. “Maybe I’ll hit him with something on 17, if I see him. Could you imagine me hitting him with a skullcrusher finale on 17?”
Mizanin added that Kittle, if he ever seriously pursued professional wrestling, would have to go through “The Miz” and wouldn’t last four seconds. And Mizanin concluded by jokingly saying he’s going to injure Kittle, preventing him from playing for the 49ers.
Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast