The Miz might just be on his way to being the WWE champion.
Wrestling purists will hit the roof faster than Dave Meltzer throwing around five stars for a Tokyo Dome match, but let’s remember that WWE is an entertainment company, not a professional wrestling company. Dollars and cents take priority over star ratings. Sure, the argument could be made that the act that is all sizzle and no substance doesn’t have the mileage of the well-rounded performer, (There’s a reason the peak of Ultimate Warriors career was relatively short) but with a pandemic that restricts live attendance, WWE brass have to look for a way to keep the brand awareness of the promotion strong regardless of sluggish ratings for Raw.
How can management bring better numbers to the company outside of the core group of fans that watch every week anyway?
The Miz and Mrs. show on USA is in the midst of a new season, and as cringe worthy as it might be, it’s very possible that the writing team will book The Miz to win the WWE championship with the MITB title shot in an effort to put more of a spotlight on the reality show. Granted, Miz and Mrs. isn’t a wrestling show, but numbers are numbers and the reality show formula made the Bellas much more well-known among the general public than just their on-screen wrestling characters.
On the flip side, Miz’s run with the MITB brief case might just be a way for the wrestler that has it to lose and get the stipulation off the radar, but the entire gimmick was fumbled since the start during the awful cinematic MITB matches at the WWE offices in July. For Otis to win it and then claim he was going to use it as a shot at the tag titles for the briefcase to be transferred to The Miz with a ridiculous segment on Raw proved that management had no solid plan for it beyond the surprise win for Otis at the pay-per-view.
Considering that Drew McIntyre beat Orton to win the title back on Raw, that might be the set up for Miz to cash-in at Survivor Series so that he can challenge a baby face for it. The sneaky cash-in gives Drew a legitimate claim to want a fair match against The Miz and basically sets up another feud for him to keep him involved in an angle for the title on TV for the rest of the year. Let’s not forget that Miz was going to cash-in on Orton a few weeks ago before Drew interrupted him.
Yes, I agree that The Miz as champion in itself does nothing from the brand, but it keeps Drew in the main event scene, and as mentioned, it puts a bigger spotlight on the Miz reality show. Again, the diehard audience might want to smash their computer screen reading this, but the ability to get a slice of viewership from outside of the WWE fan base is always a priority for management. Despite how dedicated the diehard fans are, the office knows that those fans usually watch the product either way so marketing to another audience is always a priority. It’s ironic, but there’s a demographic that watches Total Bellas and other reality shows under the WWE umbrella that doesn’t actually watch the wrestling product.
For as much flak as Miz might get from the long-time fans, to be fair, he wasn’t always positioned in the best light either. Even during the run that saw him main event Wrestlemania against John Cena, his entire involvement was secondary because it was used as the set up for The Rock vs. Cena matches that headlined the show the following two years. On the surface, Mike Mizanin checks all the boxes for a WWE performer that is a reliable choice for the office to invest in as far as a noticeable spot in the company. He’s dependable, rarely gets injured, represents the company well, and his reality show gives them another avenue to generate an audience. Plus, Mizanin, the person behind The Miz persona, is known as a nice guy and someone that could probably continue to do media appearances for the company after he retires from in-ring action.
The other side of the coin is that while Miz is steady in all the categories mentioned, he’s steadily average in most of them. This isn’t meant as an insult to him because you can tell that the guy puts in the effort, but how many stellar Miz matches are there? He’s not going to have those memorable matches that generate a buzz around the product and his star power will remain at relatively the same level. Assuming the writing team gets him involved in the title picture with the MITB cash-in, it’s another example of him being used as a secondary piece of the puzzle because the focus in the grand scheme of things would be to showcase McIntyre. Most importantly, management can’t expect fans to believe Miz is suddenly a main event star when he was booked as a mid-card tag team wrestler for several months.
Obviously, the other option is to have Miz cash-in and then lose the match to get rid of the brief case, which would make this entire discussion moot. But, when you taken into account WWE’s recent booking decisions, would a short Miz title reign be that surprising? Randy Orton’s three-week stint didn’t make much sense either, but it happened. In some ways, WWE brass booked themselves into a corner with the champion vs. champion match at Survivor Series because it’s indirectly a way to diminish the status of one of this, which is the exactly opposite of what either of them need, establish when the company has tried to boost ratings recently. A Miz cash-in might be a way for them to get through the match without either champion taking a direct defeat. It also creates the unique possibility that if the Miz cashes in mid-match, he could technically attempt to win the WWE or Universal championship if it becomes a triple threat match at the pay-per-view.
What do you think? Comment below with your thoughts, opinions, feedback and anything else that was raised.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Twitter @jimlamotta
