How The Miz Made It Back To the Top of WWE

It’s a testament to his desire to be the best that The Miz has been able to turn his career around, and is now back as one of the key stars of Raw. Let’s see how he got there.

There’s no doubt The Miz succeeded beyond expectations when he won the WWE title from Randy Orton in 2011 by cashing in his Money in the Bank brief case. But his title run afterwards was lacklustre. Yes, he main-evented Wrestlemania, but was overshadowed by John Cena and The Rock, retaining the title by DQ and ultimately losing the title to John Cena at Extreme Rules the next month. He hasn’t seen that title since.

The Miz worked consistently in the mid-card over the next few years, winning the Intercontinental title and tag titles, as well as turning babyface at one point. But he was never involved in any serious storylines, and it seemed he was destined to remain in the mid-card in between working on sequels to The Marine and nothing more. That was until the night after Wrestlemania 32, when Maryse returned and gave The Miz the shot of adrenaline he needed, helping Miz win the Intercontinental title from Zack Ryder.

Maryse is The Miz’s muse. Since she arrived, The Miz has looked better, talked better and wrestled better. She is what he was missing, inspiring him to push himself further than ever before and to not settle for anything but number one. No doubt she is one of the key reasons Miz has done so well in the last year, and he seems re-invigorated since her arrival.

By the summer of 2016, Miz was still Intercontinental Champion and was slowly but surely bringing prestige back to the title. A brand spilt was about to turn WWE upside down and this would prove the icing on the cake for The Miz. Smackdown got him away from the stars who had overshadowed him on Raw, and it allowed Miz to show us how good he had become.

Talking Smack was a new Smackdown post show, introduced following the split, hosted by Renee Young and Daniel Bryan – who will forever be enemies with The Miz (Miz was Daniel’s pro in the first season of NXT after all). Talking Smack gave superstars the chance to talk a little more freely and The Miz used it to catapult himself back to the top.

After listening to several jibes from Daniel Bryan, calling him a coward, the Miz layed into the GM and anyone who ever doubted him by telling us about all he had done for ten long years. And in one memorable line Miz told us: “I’m the one that loves the fans, I’m the one that loves everyone and everything.” This line was vital, as while he is a heel, there is a small glimmer of light in him. Perhaps one day he could be a babyface again, but not yet! It was that promo where everyone’s eyes were opened, and people realised how good he really was. This man was a main eventer, no doubt.

From there The Miz had an entertaining feud with Dolph Ziggler, with their match at No Mercy as a highlight. He never had that match with Daniel Bryan, but maybe that wasn’t the point. Maybe the point was to give The Miz that extra little push, the extra bit of relevance to get him over as a top guy, and his mini feud with Daniel Bryan worked wonders.

The Miz was rewarded for his hard work by being given the opportunity to be in a featured match at Wrestlemania with Maryse against Nikki Bella and John Cena. Having been kept well away from John Cena since late 2011, this time, at least on the lead-up, The Miz would not be overshadowed. Alongside Maryse, The Miz put in stellar work doing skits of John Cena and Nikki Bella on Total Bellas. Miz and Maryse had the audience in the palms of their hands.

Arriving for his match at Wrestlemania alongside Maryse, the crowd cheered wildly for The Miz. He must have been over the moon, his hard work had paid off. While Miz controlled much of the match, John Cena and Nikki Bella got the win. Not that it mattered too much, as all people really remember is the lead up to the match and the proposal. The proposal, the proposal, ahhh so romantic!

Had The Miz remained on Smackdown, he would likely have been about to seize the WWE Title. However, one Superstar Shakeup later and he and Maryse have been moved to Raw. Some say it was a reward for all his hard work, to be moved to what is deemed to be the top show. But for many this was a worrying change. Would Miz get lost in the shuffle or would he thrive?

So far, The Miz is doing just fine. With our Universal Champion missing in action the Intercontinental Championship is the top title. And while Dean Ambrose is the champion, we all know that title is best suited for The Miz and his muse Maryse. It’s his title after all, and Miz has set his sights on obtaining it for a 7th time, main eventing several episodes of Raw as a result.

Like it or not Miz does work hard every night, will do all the public appearances WWE asks of him and has improved in the ring. Maryse brings him that added star factor, which has brought him back to prominence. While he may never be Universal Champion on Raw, I believe he will ultimately return to Smackdown and win that WWE title sooner than you think. Soon, all that hard work will finally pay off.