Caden Moran discusses why The Miz is the MVP of WWE in 2016
Five years ago, a man by the name of The Miz main evented WrestleMania 27 alongside John Cena as the WWE Champion. This was a big moment for The Miz because he was never really looked at like a man who would ever reach the top of the mountain until he shocked all his doubters when he defeated Randy Orton to capture the WWE Championship.
But his run as the top guy in WWE was always being overshadowed by the running feud involving John Cena and The Rock, so The Miz never got the attention and respect he deserved, even as the WWE Champion. However, after an up and down road in the years that followed, it has been the year of 2016 that has skyrocketed The Miz into stardom due to his heel work, his rivalries with Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan, and his ability to make the Intercontinental Championship mean something again.
2016 can described as the year of The Miz.
Following an awful run as a babyface in 2012, The Miz turned heel once again and adopted the gimmick of an arrogant movie star and since that adoption, The Miz has become one of the best things in wrestling. His ability to make the crowd hate him and everything he says is something not every heel can do and if you don’t believe me, look at how the fans react to Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho.
The character of The Miz has revealed a new side of him we have never seen before and I don’t know about you, but I love it. In the year of 2016, The Miz has done, in my opinion, the best work of his entire career and it has shown in the past few months with his improved ring work, insanely good promo skills, and his ability to be the egotistical, arrogant, and narcissistic movie star champion. The Miz is arguably one of the best, if not THE best, heels in all of WWE and the main point of argument is his ongoing feud with the SmackDown LIVE General Manager and former apprentice, Daniel Bryan.
The Miz and Daniel Bryan have always been at each others throats. Once his ‘pro’ in the game show version of NXT, The Miz reignited his feud with Daniel Bryan earlier this year after Bryan called him a coward champion. To this day I have never seen The Miz show so passionate and have so much fire in his eyes when he tore into Daniel Bryan for calling him a coward.
The Miz let all of it out on Talking Smack as he not only attacked Daniel Bryan, but subtly attacked the fans who never believed in him and still don’t believe in him. It was a blistering promo that opened the eyes of many, including mine, and I can honestly say that after that promo, I have never respected a wrestler more than I do The Miz. Not only has The Miz perfected his feud with Daniel Bryan but at the same time, he has perfected the ability to continue two feuds at once with both Bryan and Dolph Ziggler.
The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler has been one of the best rivalries of 2016 and many would argue that it has been the best with what the quality of matches and buildup to the matches has been like. The feud has been spectacular to say the least and both men have done a phenomenal job at making the Intercontinental Championship look like the most important title in WWE. The amazing promo battles and the great storytelling matches have made this feud a must see for all WWE fans and this feud has made me realize how much of a star both men are and none bigger than The Miz himself.
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I did not want this rivalry to happen but once Dolph Ziggler gave a very passionate promo with tears in his eyes and offered to put his career on the line, I was invested and I have been invested ever since. Both The Miz and Ziggler have made the Intercontinental Championship relevant again and it has been The Miz’s amazing heel work and Dolph’s passion for the business that has skyrocketed both men into super stardom.
2016 has been the year of The Miz and I am really hoping the WWE gives him one more WWE World Championship run that the fans can actually be invested in this time around because it would just simply be awesome (no pun intended).
I respect The Miz for his passion and heart for the wrestling business and I respect him for doing everything he can to make himself and the Intercontinental Championship mean something again but most importantly, I am very proud of what The Miz has done and achieved this year which is why Mike “The Miz’ Mizanin is the undisputed MVP of WWE for the year of 2016 and if he keeps going the way he is, 2017 will be a very successful year for the A-Lister himself.
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