Everyone hates The Miz. Everyone does. That hate is not due to his heel character and it’s not due to anything he does while portraying that heel character. Fans hate The Miz because they just do. He doesn’t get it done for them, and he really never has.
But they love him today. They can’t get enough of him today. Today The Miz is the talk of the wrestling world, and the funny part is, he’s still the same guy. Nothing has changed. The only thing that’s different between yesterday and today is the promo he cut on Daniel Bryan.
Remember Daniel Bryan, the beloved General Manager of WWE SmackDown Live? He’s the guy with the beard, says “yes” a lot, and just happens to be one of the best technical wrestlers the business has seen in the past 20 years? That Daniel Bryan questioned Miz’s toughness on a recent edition of Talking Smack, and pointed out his style is the “WWE style.”
In response, The Miz lost his mind. He went off on Bryan, lighting him up so bright that you could see him in the dark. Miz reminded Daniel that his career is now over, because of his own style in the ring, and that Miz himself has never had a serious injury. What was Daniel’s response? He walked off the set.
Let’s not forget that Daniel Bryan is babyface, and a babyface should really never appear to be in the wrong on anything. He can be fooled, he can be lied to, and he can make mistakes, but he can’t be wrong.
Typically, a heel is wrong, and the babyface calls him out for it.
But the tables have been turned here, and it’s all gone completely insane. Now fans are questioning Bryan’s ring style as well and actually agreeing with what The Miz had to say. He had a legitimate point, and it’s really hard to argue against him. Bryan was forced to retire early because WWE’s doctors would not allow him to return, but why is that?
It’s because WWE knows Daniel; he only has one speed, and its 100mph. Anything less, and it’s not his style. So rather than see Bryan come back, only to get dropped on his head and concussed again or worse, WWE said no. Now Bryan has a perfectly safe job on TV; he’s over, he has a good role, and the fans love him in that role.
But now they’re applauding The Miz. Legitimate points aside, what was the purpose of this promo? Was it done to get The Miz over? As a heel? Was that the motivation behind it? Because today, The Miz looks nothing like a heel; he looks like a hardworking Superstar that deserves recognition for his hard work, and deserves to be respected.
The Miz is still heel though right? Has anything changed?
The fact is that once again, WWE is trolling its audience. There’s nothing wrong with that to a certain extent. The only way to make the customers happy is listen to them and give them what they want. So in that regard, WWE should be paying attention to what’s being said on social media.
The company should care about what the pro wrestling media in particular has to say, because that’s where the fans go to either complain, or cheer. This is where observations are made, and where ideas blossom. The main criticism against fans is that the majority of them have no idea how to run a wrestling company, and that may be true.
But that does not mean there’s a complete lack of intelligence. Fans see the chaotic ring style that every top WWE Superstar employs now, from Neville to Finn Balor. They see the risks being taken, and they understand that when guys get hurt, it’s bad for business. At some point, the outcry to slow down had to come, and it’s coming now.
Daniel Bryan is the best example of this of course, but there are others. Sami Zayn came back after missing nearly a year due to injury, and he went right back to the death defying moves that could see him injured again. He never slowed down. Sasha Banks is now out for the second time, thanks to injury.
Seth Rollins came back from his own injury, and his ring style has not changed at all.
His own move-set is now under scrutiny because of Balor’s injury, which is eerily similar to the injury that appears to have ended Sting’s career.
These are only a few examples, there are many more. But why is all of this happening? Guys don’t stay in the ring anymore. They fly over the top rope, through the ropes and under the ropes. They come off the top turnbuckle to the outside, and they do that either facing their opponents, or backwards.
The aforementioned Neville hit a 450 splash from the ring apron on Kevin Owens, who was on the floor. Why? What was the reason for that, to pop the crowd? What did that have to do with actually winning the match? For that matter, what do any of these stunts have to do with winning a match?
Has the WWE style now become so high risk and high impact, that even the three count doesn’t matter anymore? Is it all about making the fans jump out of their seats like a horror film? This is what many fans are beginning to see, and discuss online.
WWE as a company knows this. They see it all, and now, they’re using it in a storyline.
But the guy chosen to use it is The Miz? This can only mean one of two things. One, WWE wanted this positive reaction to The Miz, because he’s turning face after this. Or two, WWE didn’t realize he would get over like this, and the spot completely backfired.
Either way, this is perhaps one of the most surreal segments that fans have seen in quite some time, and there’s just no explaining it.
The fact is that the men and women in WWE take a risk every time they step through the ropes, despite what style they work. It’s a business where each talent is concerned with protecting the other, and that’s how it should be.
But when pro wrestling turns to daredevil stunts, as is the case now, then fans begin to worry.
Why, because fans know it all? No. It’s because fans love the business, and they don’t want to see the men and women in it get hurt for no good reason. The high risk style is elevating the chance of injury, and everyone knows it. WWE knows it.
Why this apparent revelation was given to The Miz to share with the masses however, is anyone’s guess.
Tom Clark can regularly be found on Sportskeeda. His podcast, Tom Clark’s Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Android, Windows Phone and online here
