Opinion: The Miz As Intercontinental Champion Is A Waste

[Jack-Hammer]

We saw Miz have his first match as Intercontinental Champion on Raw last night against Dolph Ziggler. I'm not complaining about the match as it was a very good one that had a lot of great near falls and both men worked hard. The problem, however, is that Miz lost the match just 24 hours after becoming Intercontinental Champion for the 3rd time.

For most of the past 2 years, Miz's stock hasn't been all that high. In fact, he's spent virtually all of 2014 as pretty much irrelevant in that he lost nearly every match he's been in and he's been out making movies the rest of the time. As a result, WWE hasn't really done anything to build Miz up before putting the title on him. They haven't had time as he's only been back for a couple of weeks and in that time, he's had 3 matches in total: against Jericho on Raw, Sunday as part of the Battleground ppv and last night against Ziggler. He's lost the two singles matches he's had, there's been no build up for Miz to gain some new ground in terms of credibility and trying to build someone's credibility while they're in the midst of a championship run can be difficult.

The most obvious setting coming from his bout against Ziggler is that Ziggler will now get a title match that'll probably take place at SummerSlam. In said match, Miz will probably retain the title before moving on. Personally, I'm not wild about the idea of beating the champion to get a title shot. Or rather, I'm not wild about the fact that WWE does it on a fairly regular basis. Under some circumstances, I can understand it. For instance, as of right now in the tag team division, Harper & Rowan going through other teams for a shot would ultimately feel like them just going through the motions as there've been no other teams on their level.

In the case of the IC title, however, there are more than enough credible mid-card to upper mid-card players about who can be used as stepping stowns towards becoming #1 contender. There are wrestlers like Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, Rob Van Dam, Kofi Kingston, Big E, Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio, Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, etc. It just goes against the grain too much. Whether it's boxing, MMA, kickboxing or, traditionally, pro wrestling, you earn a title opportunity by beating other top contenders instead of the champion. By facing and beating the champion, that's supposed to mean that you've become the new champion.

If it's not Miz vs. Ziggler at SummerSlam, another possibility could be a potential unification match between the US & IC titles. However, Sheamus is set to face Rusev on Main Event tonight, which I'm thinking might be the beginning of a title feud between them. Rather than a unification match, I think both mid-card titles will be on the line with Sheamus vs. Rusev and Miz vs. Ziggler.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I get what you're saying, but wins and losses don't really mean that much anymore. Entertainment is the bottom line. Miz, when he's on, is IC Title level over.

I don't mind him losing to Ziggler after. Makes him look more like a chicken shit heel.

As for the sports analogy, I don't want pro wrestling to be booked like a real sport with rankings. I want it to be story driven. That's how mainstream pro wrestling has always worked. If it didn't, nobody would have more than 3 or so title reigns.

 

[klunderbunker]

The name that came to my mind when I started reading this was JBL.

Bradshaw went from being a Texas bar fighter to the Wall Street tycoon and it was enough to make him the top man on Smackdown. MIz has recently undergone a character change and while it's not as big of a leap as JBL, it still gives him more steam than he's had in the three years since he was WWE Champion. The new character is entertaining and easy to hate, but with a character that draws heat, you want to build up his loss ala the Honky Tonk Man. Having him lose two out of three matches defeats the purpose and reenforces the stigma that comes with the Intercontinental Title.

Miz can be a good Intercontinental Champion if they play him up as a former World Champion who gets some wins. As Jack Hammer said, there's a LONG list of midcard guys that could challenge him and that could be used to make Miz feel like a big time contender. Instead, Miz loses to the first guy he faces and now Ziggler looks like an uncrowned champion. Why bother going this route when there's enough there for a long story? A possible answer: the WWE writers don't know how to tell long stories because they don't know how classic wrestling booking works.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I just don't get the logic that because The Miz is filming some direct to DVD / 6th place on opening day movie from WWE Studios, it's reason enough to give him the IC Title.

Ya know...because people will recognize him and maybe the movie gets a rub, or some such.

 

[jmt225]

Oh, it's not an opinion you have there Jack, it's a grade-A fact.

The Miz fucking sucks.

No one cares about him. The place is fucking DEAD whenever his music hits. No loud booing, no cheers, no mixed reaction.... just dead silence. No one cares about this guy.

People care about Dolph Ziggler. People care about Bo Dallas. People care about Dean Ambrose. That IC Title, which used to mean something, should be around the waist of someone people care about, or someone on the verge of making people care about them; not around a guy's waist just because he's starring in some shitty WWE movie that only 15 people will end up seeing.

 

[GOOZEKING]

Your absolutly right.... They give the miz chance after chance after chance they even gave him a main event at mania. The fans do not care about him, they reject him everytime... Hell even when teaming with Morrison he was the weak link.

 

[MartialHorror]

I'm perfectly fine with the Miz winning and I correctly guessed that he would come out on top, primarily because I thought it was strange that he was losing so many matches despite just returning/having a new movie coming out. I like the Miz alright, only when he's being a heel though, although I think they're taking the 'moneymaker' angle too far. The last time I saw him fighting Sheamus, it seemed like 90% of the action was dedicated to him panicking about his face.

But I kind of found myself wishing that Kofi won, because he had my favorite spots in the matches and dammit, he deserves to win at least ONE battle Royal!

Honestly, I could care less about Ziggler. He's a fast paced wrestler with a lot of energy who can deliver fun matches, but his mic skills have yet to grip me and he seems kind of sloppy. I was sure he injured Sheamus during that Battle Royale. I do understand that people like him and to a point, I guess I do as well...I just think he's kind of overrated.

But I do suspect that he will get some sort of push considering how the crowds do seem to genuinely love him. As for Cesaro, I think he should be a WWE World Champ contender and think giving him an IC reign won't help his career...unless he continues to flounder in the mid-card.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

You could take "Miz as" or "as Intercontinental Champion" out of the thread title and I wouldn't be able to argue against any of it. I guess that means the Miz as Intercontinental Champion is perfect. It allows me to fast forward through one segment as opposed to two separate segments.

 

[MartialHorror]

Personally, I'm indifferent to both the IC and U.S championships, as they are both seem like consolation prizes these days for those who won't win the World Championship. That seems to be the entire reason why Sheamus currently has any gold, as only a few months ago he was treated as a contender for the world belt.

Ugh, the tag team championships have got it worse right now though, as the Uso's have only been used as support for singles feuds (protecting Cena, Jericho, etc).

I do have hope that the Miz can make it interesting, but they need to make him more dangerous. Look at the Rock when he had the IC belt as a heel. He was vain and a bit of a Diva, but he was deadly. The Miz is doing a good job with this persona, but it's hard to take him seriously during the matches.

 

[aholeisahole]

Miz as ANYTHING is a waste. WWE is desperately clinging to the mainstream attention he had 10-12 years ago. Nobody cares. The mainstream barely cared when he was WWE champion.

If WWE wants to keep using him in WWE movies, that's fine. But get him out of the ring. The fans don't buy him as anything but a clown.

 

[GeneralKarim]

People are just not into the Miz anymore. They used to be for a while when he had good segments with some good promos. This was way back when he started his quest and changed his look a bit. Now after how irrelevant he has been since being the water boy for John Cena vs The Rock, people really dont give a hoot bout him. And it's not his fault really. He was never trully booked like someone they really wanted to succeed and "carry" the company as they say. Not even close to that. Hell if it was booked right and Maryse was still here with both of their attitudes they could have been the new power couple right now.

Miz now after being irrelevant for so long coming back and winning the title in a shitty fashion really doesnt help his case. Dolph will never get pushed so even if in the end he might win the championship, which I doubt; He will still be the stepping stone for the next guy to come up. The Miz boat has sailed in my opinion. With the current roster they have there just isnt room for Miz to be a top guy. He will just stay in the mid card and not do anything of importance while having meaningless feuds.

I think to them it's just easy to put the belt on him cause he can talk, he's pretty good in the ring and has a face that u just want to punch and he's obnoxious as hell. Yet people still seem to not care that much. I do hope they actually do something interesting with him. Have him and Sheamus unite the belts or smth. Just something interesting not these random matches that will happen very week and then he'll constantly get beaten and then he'll defend the belt in typical Miz style.

They need to change shit up if they want this Hollywood Miz persona to succeed.

 

[MMK]

The Miz is easily the best heel WWE has had these past few years. Because he's a heel in every sense of the word. There are cool heels, there are anti-hero's, and then there are guys who people just plain don't like. Cool heels and anti hero's are not effective heels because the crowd doesn't want to see them lose. In most cases they're more popular than the faces. Miz isn't like that.

He's not cool....No one likes him....And people already desperately want to see him drop the title. Just read some of the comments on here. People f'n hate him. That's why he's an effective heel and always has been, and why it was so dumb to turn him face.

Wyatt, Ziggler, Barrett, Sandow, and even Bo Dallas are very entertaining but they're not very effective heels because people like them. People smile and are entertained by their promos and/or ring work. Heel's shouldn't be likeable. Miz is as unlikeable as they get. He's like that geeky guy who thinks he's much cooler than he really is. The fact that he's so lame is what makes him such a great heel.

I'm defending Miz and even I want to see him lose the belt to a Ziggler or Cesaro. But that only proves he's doing his job and is the most effective heel they've got. If the title was on Barrett, I'm not sure I'd want to see him lose to Ziggler or Cesaro. Because I like Barrett. Which is why he'll be a babyface when he returns.

If WWE's smart they'll have Miz feud with someone who the crowd really loves so that we don't get that split crowd crap or dead silence. But if they're stupid they'll have him fight Sheamus, who's a terribly ineffective babyface due to the fact that no one cares about him. Which is why he should be a heel.

The formula for most wrestlers is simple: men want to be them, women want to be with them, and kids admire them (see Cena, Orton, Dolph, Reigns, etc, etc, the list goes on). What makes Miz so great is that there are no men in the crowd who want to be him, no women who want to be with him, and even kids think he's lame. He's an old school chicken shit heel. Fans over think it and miss that some times.

 

[Sundar]

Anyone as IC champ is a waste. Over the years the title has been buried so much thanks to the lack of feuds and matches. Anyone holding the IC and US belts are seen as midcarders for life. The only title that matters is the WWE title because that's the only title involving which there are actual promos and feuds. Barrett could have possibly elevated the IC title but unfortunately he's injured.

 

[Pedigree1]

I actually enjoyed BattleGround I watched it on the Network.. But the fact that the Miz of all fucking people won the title is bullshit.. No one cares about the Miz,hell they havent cared about him since WM27.. Ziggles shouldn't automatically be the No1 contender just because he beat the paper champion Miz..

I just cant take the Miz seriously as a champion.. No one cares about him,his movies suck,he is far from an A-lister in Hollywood.. There is at least 10 guys who would make a better champion than the Miz..

People care about Ziggler,Bo Dallas,Kofi,RVD,Cody,Big Show,Big E,Cesaro,etc.. All those guys would make better champions than the Miz! I guess losses really dont matter in the writers eyes,they used to mean a lot but not so much i guess anymore

 

[ABMorales787]

Oh, it's not an opinion you have there Jack, it's a grade-A fact.

The Miz fucking sucks.

No one cares about him. The place is fucking DEAD whenever his music hits. No loud booing, no cheers, no mixed reaction.... just dead silence. No one cares about this guy.

People care about Dolph Ziggler. People care about Bo Dallas. People care about Dean Ambrose. That IC Title, which used to mean something, should be around the waist of someone people care about, or someone on the verge of making people care about them; not around a guy's waist just because he's starring in some shitty WWE movie that only 15 people will end up seeing.

Agreed. The man is a PR workhorse for sure. But in the ring, he is just flat out uninteresting. Yeah, the new Hollywood bit is something. It gives him direction. But once he wrestles he'll kill 10 minutes dead and make them look like 20. The man performs ONE wrestling maneuver. The Figure 4. How do you stretch a match with such a limited moveset?

It's a shame too because the man is trying. He looks a fuck ton like Johnny Cage from Mortal Kombat. But is sadly nowhere near as good or entertaining a fighter.

 

[J.J.]

I like The Miz. I like him even better that he's,at,the mid card level where he respectfully belongs. I personally thought The Miz had a great run as WWE Champ.

 

[Reflection]

The Miz as Intercontinental Champion is totally a waste. This is one guy that nobody cares about. Marks, Smarks, Casual fans, Old School fans- nobody. WWE seems to think that since he has done a movie, people will care about him a lot, but very soon they will figure out that's not the case and relegate him back to the lower-mid card.
Also, Miz vs Ziggler is a match that we have seen so many times before. Same with Kofi Kingston, who will likely be his next opponent. They're all hard workers, sure, but I'm not even remotely intrigued by their matches and feuds.

They could have instead given it to someone that needs it more and could use it to progress forward, like Cesaro- who has lost his momentum lately, or Slater- whom they seem to be trying to give a push, or Sandow- who was robbed off a WHC reign because they were planning to unify the titles. They were all better options than Miz.

 

[WarroBODFan]

I've mentioned it before, but I disagree with anyone who says The Miz is a good heel because he gets negative reactions. Half the time he gets no reaction (look at his return at Raw last month). He gets booed or no reaction because he his status in the company has nosedived, and it's impossible for him to get close to where he was at. I am not entertained by him in the slightest, and I know many others feel the same. I actually prefer him on commentary than I do in the ring, and even then that's more just tolerating him rather than enjoying his work. I couldn't care less about the IC title with him holding it, and this is coming from someone who longs to see every title get some more prestige back, and have more importance put on holding the title like it used to be.

 

[chicagokmc]

I look at him at as a placeholder champion. If the prospect of Barrett coming back on time or early looks good, Miz can hold the strap for a couple of months and they get it back on BNB in some kind of 3 way match (so it isn't just heel vs heel) or maybe even they turn BNB face and they go 1-on-1 for it. However, if it looks like he needs more time then they can either keep it on Miz or go on to plan B and get it on someone else for a longer term run.

If I'm right and he's just keeping the IC belt warm, I don't think its a waste and it makes more sense.

 

[Mustang Sally]

It's a waste in terms of the IC belt holder being considered an in-ring force. Yes, whomever holds the title has to defend it in actual matches, yet Miz is never going to be known as a superior ring performer; that's not what he's here for.

As stated earlier in this topic, he's a PR presence; he gets things done with his mouth more than his wrestling. Sure, he can work a match, but so could Jinder Mahal and JTG.......yet look where they are today. The reasons Miz is still employed by WWE lie in another direction than dropkicks and hammerlocks.

Miz won in typical fashion for a PR villain; he hid out of camera range as the match was going on, so we forgot about him. I fully believed Dolph Ziggler had won the thing (another waste, imo), but when Miz showed up suddenly and eliminated Dolph, it was surprising to none of us that Miz should achieve victory in this manner, right?

I don't know what the company has in mind for Miz this time around. After all, winning the IC title isn't exactly a big deal, yet the fact the belt was displayed near the announcer's table for a couple weeks makes one think it's status might be elevated. With the way his push is being handled, things are right on schedule for Mike Mizanin.

Whoop-dee-do.

 

[sabataged]

I like Miz as IC Champion. The way I see it is Miz is one of those guys that NEEDS a title belt to make him look impressive. I have always thought Miz would make a great stable leader. When he had Alex Riley following him around I thought he elevated Alex Riley. hell the guy had matches with John Cena on Raw. Its better than being on the WWE Network pre-show.

The sheer fact Miz does so much promotional work allows him to take the titles on to tv screens and the casual fans take notice because its a title belt. Do they know how big of a joke the IC title is? Do they care?

I just hope they use it and make it competitive. Ziggler and Miz have some great chemistry. A best of 7 series ala Booker T and Benoit would be a nice touch. Instead of Miz being a sissy and not wanting to get hit I would like to see his aggressive side as well.

Just the way he comes off he definitely needs a lacky. Just like Dixie Carter has her Spud I think Miz needs someone to treat like crap to make him more of a hatable heel. The only person that comes to mind is Brad Maddox. But its hard going from GM to like Miz's personal assistant.

 

[Degree In Huganomics]

The Miz is awesome and he's enjoying a new lease of life since his return. Anybody that says The Miz isn't entertaining is just allowing their pure hatred for the guy affect their judgement. Did anyone see his segment on Smackdown? It was class. Judging from the reactions here, he clearly is worth his salt as a top level heel, I'd love for him to win the WWE WHC again at some point.

I was watching some old PPVs on the network recently and as soon as I heard Right To Censor's theme, I subconsciously groaned, because of how much I used to HATE these guys back in the day. That reminded me of the reactions that Miz gets from the general wrestling fan. They got louder 'boos' than Miz, but to be fair, fans were a lot more boisterous back then. They were great heels because I completely despised them when I was younger, and so is The Miz!

But whatever, he sucks, marks will be marks, etc.

 

[blueskyy]

Anybody that says The Miz isn't entertaining is just allowing their pure hatred for the guy affect their judgement.

lol, anyone that says Miz is awesome must be infatuated with him then. What's the logic in any of that?

I'm willing to give Miz a chance, to see what he can do this time round. But in regards to the Miz of the past, he's NOT good in the ring, he's not really entertaining, although he does have some good promos. The "I'm AWESOME" part is extremely boring. He's good on the mic, but when he's out of ideas, it becomes really tiresome to have to listen through his "really, really, really..." Lastly, he doesn't have the size. He's billed as 6'2", but he looks shorter than that.

 

[Blade]

The Intercontinental title needs a strong heel run at the moment. After a horrible 12 months that was Curtis Axel as champion followed by Big E as champion, the IC title needed help.

It's harder to make the IC title look good than it is to make a World Title look good, simply because the IC title is not a World Title. To make the World Title look good, you stick in on one of your top guys, and let them do their thing. It doesn't really matter if it's a face or a heel who's champion.

But when you're trying to make a midcard title look good, the best approach is to give it to a heel, and then have a babyface chase it for a few months. So that's what they're doing with the IC title right now.

The Miz isn't that bad a choice for the simple fact that Vince likes him. Even if the audience is indifferent to the Miz, the fact that Vince likes him means good things for the IC title. It means the title will get segments, and promos and feuds. Hell, we're a week into Miz's IC title, and already we've got a fun three-way angle over the title.

It doesn't matter if the person holding the midcard title is over if he's not being booked in feuds over the title. Look at Dean Ambrose's US title run. But because Vince likes Miz, he'll make sure Miz has something good to do. Which, right now, means Intercontinental title feuds. Which is good for the belt.

Like I said, the crowd might be indifferent to the Miz. But they don't seem to be indifferent to Bo Dallas. And they're definitely not indifferent to Dolph Ziggler. So with Dolph Ziggler getting the crowd invested mixed with Miz's support from Vince, guaranteeing the feud gets TV time, this angle can only be good for the title. Unless we get a string of screwy finishes.

 

[Mudlup50]

I'm not unbiased on this subject as I most definitely am a fan of the Miz, but I think this is a good thing. Hopefully he doesn't leave anytime soon, Miz was getting no where fast his last run. They give him a mid card title and keep in mind he is a former WWE champ(as in the main belt). I can understand saying he's a mid card heel so this is the epitome of what he can do. He is a good heel regardless of what people think, he makes the crowd hate him.

Someone mentioned the really, really thing and honestly I knew teens in school who did that before Miz did and so I already hated it xD which is the easiest heel heat possible. I take it less as, he has nothing to say and more as, he's being a dick. Who knows what it really is though

Anyway, Miz can hold the belt till either Ziggler finally gets it or until Barrett comes back, either way we need a heel champ who can get heat