Like it or not, The Miz is one of the greatest heels in WWE history

In the course of WWE history, the promotion has been home to some of the greatest 'bad guys' in wrestling history. But perhaps there is none more unexpected and unlikely than The Miz.

Reality star Mike Mizanin grew up wanting to be a wrestler and obnoxiously displayed that to his roommates on 'The Real World.' He would cause problems around the house and literally developed The Miz persona during a time when he was a virtual unknown. So, when he finally entered professional wrestling, he already had a built-in gimmick.

Many people laughed him off, thinking he was just some stupid kid with a crazy dream. Still, Mizanin continued to fight to fulfill that dream.

There were certainly a lot of roadblocks along the way. Mizanin didn't help himself much either, as he has a real knack for being irritating. For example, when he finally arrived to WWE, he was despised by most of the locker room. On more than one occasion, he had his bags thrown out of the locker room and into the hallway. For quite a while, he wasn't accepted as 'one of the boys.'

The Miz remained undaunted and eventually became one of sports entertainment's biggest stars.

In 20 years with WWE, Miz has pretty much won every belt there is to win and is a two-time world champion. There's no doubt that he will enter the WWE Hall of Fame someday.

He's also a mainstream star and a household name. The Most Must-See Superstar and his wife have their own successful reality show, 'Miz and Mrs.', and he's appeared on 'Dancing with the Stars.'

And the reason for all this success? He's taken elements of his annoying personality and turned it up a notch with his gimmick. And for two decades, he's angered the audience to the point that many of them hate him in real life.

That's why you hear a lot of fans say: "I can't stand that guy. He gets on my nerves".

That's the point. It's also the reason Miz is one of the greatest heels that WWE has ever had. Does the rival names like Roddy Piper or Jake The Snake Roberts? No. But for this generation of WWE fans, it's hard to imagine that there's been a better antagonist than The A-Lister.

He's brash and bold. He's got a beautiful wife. He's rich and famous. And he isn't afraid to let you know it. The A-Lister is never at a loss for words.

Love him (you probably don't) or hate him (you probably do), you have to give the devil his due.

The Miz went from a longshot to a future Hall of Famer, and he did it by getting under your skin. He's done it better than anyone in WWE for years. That alone deserves the fans' respect.

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