The Kane-Miz segment from Raw and the Intercontinental Championship situation.

[AegonTargaryen]

When I realized that there's going to be a "mystery opponent" for Miz's IC title defense on Raw tonight, I automatically assumed it's going to be Kane. (Since obviously, Kane was there, and pretty much every conceivable major superstar was already involved in something else).

I thought may be I was wrong and that it could be Cesaro(but Cesaro having had already failed like 4-5 times to win the IC title from The Miz), I dropped him.

I was hoping for someone new/surprise who would finally take the IC title from The Miz(I thought of Apollo Crews and then Bray Wyatt) and then Kane's music hits. The audience was just quiet, like meh, "Kane? Really? Yawn". Actually, I wouldn't have minded Alberto Del Rio either, as I have lately begun to enjoy him(as paradoxical as it seems) when he utters Perro and whatever in Spanish, the "Si" chants, and pretty much every heelish thing he does during his matches.

So I'd like to ask you:-

Why is the WWE not creating any genuinely surprising situations any more, when it comes to the mid-card? (Remember when Carlito debuted on Smackdown and won the US title, and on Raw and won the IC title?)

What did you make out from the audience's reaction to Kane's entrance and the segment overall??

Whom would you like to win the IC title?

I'm going to say I have been wanting Cesaro to win the IC title pretty much since 2 months. He even faced the Miz on various Smackdown episodes but meh, I've become desensitized to/resigned to talented wrestlers like Cesaro not doing anything of significance/winning tag matches/losing title matches, and just being there.

Thoughts?

 

[Aquaman6686]

Personally I want The Miz to hold the title for a LONG time. Long title reigns are such a rarity these days, and it's even rarer when it's a heel. Usually it's just faces squashing heel after heel. I wouldn't mind one bit if The Miz held it until WrestleMania 33 and then dropped it to Cesaro in a 30-minute opener.

 

[nwocongo]

Personally I want The Miz to hold the title for a LONG time. Long title reigns are such a rarity these days, and it's even rarer when it's a heel. Usually it's just faces squashing heel after heel. I wouldn't mind one bit if The Miz held it until WrestleMania 33 and then dropped it to Cesaro in a 30-minute opener.

I agree with you for once. I don't mind a long title reign IF Miz is actually going to be on tv to defend it once every other week or so. I can't stand the Miz which means he's doing his job well, I'll change the channel during his segments but I can watch his matches as he has come long way in the ring. Since they did not immediately have Miz drop the belt I'm ok with someone having a long title reign to try and rebuild the importance of the IC title. I just wish it wasn't Miz.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I agree with you for once. I don't mind a long title reign IF Miz is actually going to be on tv to defend it once every other week or so. I can't stand the Miz which means he's doing his job well, I'll change the channel during his segments but I can watch his matches as he has come long way in the ring. Since they did not immediately have Miz drop the belt I'm ok with someone having a long title reign to try and rebuild the importance of the IC title. I just wish it wasn't Miz.

This.

I have been a Miz hater/detractor for years, but while watching the match with Kane, I realized something.

It's not my fault. The guy wrestles so awkwardly and the way he punches and kicks and basically his entire moveset, even his gimmick/mic work if you ask me, is downright disgraceful. It's not even worth an analysis. The guy should've been hosting TV Shows or pretending to be a Hollywood A-lister or whatever. That guy is NOT a wrestler, as far as I'm concerned. Alberto Del Rio or even Mike Bennet from TNA, are.

I simply want someone more interesting and athletic as my IC champion. I don't mind if it's a year long reign. Back in the day, it was Christian, Chris Jericho, Booker T and Rob Van Dam who would hold that title.

Today, I want someone like Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, or even Alberto Del Rio. (Even Sheamus, Bray Wyatt or Apollo Crews, tbh).

I'm just desensitized to both Miz in the WWE(no matter how many times they put the IC title on him, or how many times he screams I'm Awesome) and the mid-card scene. (I just don't like Rusev and his schtick, as it's just very formulaic and boring when week in and week out Jack Swagger loses to him and he claims to hate America.)

 

[Xemmy]

Kane's earned the right to do what he wants. But if the crowd doesn't pop for you anymore, why do you want to be on the card man? I like the idea of him being a general manager, but he needs to change up the corporate Kane stuff. Just be Glen if you want to wear the suit. Sort of like Gorilla Monsoon.

Meanwhile, we have the Miz. His promos have gotten bland. And while there was a time where it made up for his average ring performance, he is now finding himself champion in an era where literally all the people coming for his title are better than he is. Hell, most of them have been wrestling longer. His value is dropping. Being a former WWE champion only gets you by for so long. He needs to come up with something. New moves, fresher character. Something.

At this point, neither of them have any business being in the IC title picture.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

That'S what you get when you alienante the casual fans, you get a crowd that will pretty much do what they want and you won't be able to control them anymore and that'S what happenned last night. You got yet another smart crowd that will do and chant what they want and in the case of some superstars last night like kane, apollo crews,cesaro, sheamus,del rio & titus, they won'T get a reaction at all and that'S to bad because kids wants to go to shows and feel like we use to when we started watching wrestling at their ages but they can't anymore because of the hardcore doing what they want but that's the state of wwe and wrestling in general right now, it's just not mainstream anymore and last night was yet another proof of that.

 

[Spencesc11]

Miz has done a nice job but I would have him drop the title prior to the brand split. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Crews, etc.. all need a singles title run much more than Miz at this point. Miz and Rusev should both be on Smackdown because they have valets (Lana & Maryse) then you could just keep the Diva's division on Raw. Not enough girls for both shows. I would also have Miz Segway into a tag team with someone not as great on the mic like a Baron Corbin. He will never break the mid-card ranks so a run as a solid tag team with Miz will help get him over even more as a heel.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

In regards to Kane coming out, I was legitimately surprised but I didn't mark out (and the crowd didnt pop) because as soon as his music hit the chances of Miz losing his title dropped to 0%. I have a tremendous respect for Kane and definitely think he can still go in the ring but in this "Smark Era" WWE can't really think that its universe would believe Kane is taking the IC strap from Miz in 2016.

As for Miz's reign and whom I want to hold the title, I guess ideally it would be Sami Zayn. I think he has top guy potential, he comes off as very likeable and has a very exciting moveset with above average mic skills. With WWE focusing its attention on Shield alum, indy stars, and established faces on the top of the card I think an IC reign would be the perfect way to stop Sami from falling into irrelevance. Luckily for him, he has a hot feud with Kevin Owens which is actually looking like a top tier conflict and it doesn't need the belt. So as this feud continues I would've preferred Cesaro, he's another guy who's very over and has an exciting moveset and I'm afraid he's already fallen into the lower-mid card limbo that so many talented men have fallen into in the past. As I typed that sentence I finally realized that maybe this brand extension will not a huge fail after all.

I have hated Miz since he debuted, but I do think he is the perfect placeholder for this situation. Whoever beats him will automatically be over simply because how much heat is on Miz. So until they decide who they want to pull the trigger on, why not have him hold it and give his stupid segments with Maryse? They both have charisma and know what they're doing, regardless if they're good at it or not.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I admit that I wasn't at all crazy about Miz winning the Intercontinental Championship for the 5th time though, in fairness, that's mostly WWE's fault because they saddled him with the title 4 times and did nothing but job him out as champion so there was no reason to believe that this run was going to be any different. However, I have to say that I've enjoyed Miz as Intercontinental Champion this time around; I knew he had the talent, the problem was getting WWE to actually use him positively as champion, which they've finally decided to do. I like Miz, I think he's someone that's definitely gotten an unfair share of hate among internet fans especially, and the guy's talented. He's a natural heel who's genuinely good at garnering heel heat with everything from his mannerisms, to the way he speaks on the mic to those idiotic robes he wears to the ring.

While I like and respect Kane, especially the condition the man has kept himself in given that he's damn near 50 years old, I honestly couldn't have cared less about his bout with Miz last night and the worst part is that they're almost certainly going to have a match at Battleground given that Kane won last night via count out. They've had various matches in the past and they've never really meshed well together and Kane has reached a point in his career where I'm just not really interested in seeing him pursue a championship.

I see Miz retaining the title until SummerSlam at the very least. It'd give him a respectable 139 day run as champion and I just see SummerSlam being an event where most of the titles will wind up changing hands. If WWE continued to use Miz in the way we've seen over the past 3 months, I wouldn't mind if he retained the title for much longer. However, the problem with lengthy title reigns in WWE these days is that, before long, here come the complaints about how it's time to drop the title to someone else. Whether it's been Cena, Rollins Orton, New Day, Punk, or just about anybody in the past decade that's had a title run with any title make it to 4 months or more, here comes the whiners about how they're bored with so & so as champ and want to see it dropped, but usually only to "their" guy.

 

[MERPER]

I was as disappointed as the OP here with this being Kane though it was obvious from the start.

The guy is so bad it is insulting to watch at this point. Miz tried to act shocked and OMG it's the monster Kane but not even that could sell this being a reasonable opponent with a chance to win the title.

I guess, for now, I am willing to give them a pass here because I think the next few weeks leading up to the brand split/draft are really going to be kind of stagnant while they sort through the futures for both shows, rosters, champions, belts, etc.

I am sure they don't want to take the belt off of someone or start pumping up a guy for a IC title match only to split them from Miz at the draft.

But yeah, in general, it would be nice to see Kane almost never. He should be nothing more than the "muscle" in a feud or the guy who helps another guy who is getting beat on by multiple guys sometime.

 

[thebarber]

Horrendous that Kane is being used in such a way. Give him a role off screen. Cesaro or Zayn would benefit from a reign with the title, they will elevate the belt with the great matches they would have with pretty much anybody. Owens has outgrown it and needs to be looking irking at the main event. Personally, a cocky arrogant Heticho holding for a10th time would be awesommmmmme

 

[Black Anaconda Vise]

I don't mind Miz as champion, I've enjoyed him this past year. However, feuding with Kane is just death. Kane's put in his fair share of work for nearly two decades, but it's time to hang up the boots and take a backstage role or keep the authority role that he has right now. Right now, his matches just aren't very interesting and the quality are pretty damn shit. Miz is good enough to have decent to really good matches when put in with the right guys, but unfortunately Kane is not one of them and he's also not good enough to really "carry" a match.

I'm assuming they'll do Kane/Miz at Battleground which will probably suck, but then they'll have Cesaro and Miz at Summerslam and Cesaro can win the title and at one of the big four shows.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

the other problem also weasn't really kane himself but the fact that the crowd was just dead after the highlight reel segment since pretty much everything after that segment got no reaction from the crowd. The third hour of raw felt like the fans we're just burn out because they really didn't react to anybody during that last hour and that the type of crowd that normally would go nuts for cesaro or aj styles or even ambrose and almost no reaction at all for those guys especially cesaro. So i think it wasn't the fact that it was kane because normally kane is still over with the crowd but more of the fact that theu we're burn out after the highlight reel segment and couldn't care less about the last hour of raw.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Raw was pretty good overall so complaining about The Miz or Kane or the IC title situation seems pointless. There is far more significant stuff going on, some good, some bad, nothing too good or bad. The segment and match they had were not nearly as painful as reading the OP of this thread.

Miz hasn't been around much but when he has, his IC reign has been fine. Kane is old and sluggish but him on my TV for a small stint in the three hours is fine. I care little about the IC title at all. It has failed to elevate anyone since I started shaving. It's not a gateway to the main event or main title. It is basically a prop used to try to create interesting stories but more likely is a catalyst for some decent matches here and there.

If I could say anything nice about the IC Title is that I grew up a WWF fan so it means more to me than the US Title.

As far as WWE no longer surprising people, that's debatable. Stuff happens on the show that I never see coming. It may not have the impact it used to have but that could be more about the 40,000 hours of wrestling programming I have watched over the past than them doing the same old shit.

 

[Messiah]

What do you expect them to do?.. They have a roster filled with talented wrestlers, they can't push all of them, some will be irrelevant, some will be mid-carders and main-eventers.. You just have to live with it.

 

[ShinChan]

I would surely prefer a Cesaro or Corbin or Crews over Kane for the challenger spot for The Miz's InterContinental Title.

I ain't saying that Kane is bad or horrible but I believe that there are much better options available for this spot instead of Kane.

I duly respect the work Kane has done in the past decade or more but I think that he could better be used at putting new guys over rather than hunting titles.

 

[Radical]

The situation with a "Mystery Opponent" for Miz's IC title on Raw was just another example of how many great opportunities for something special and impressive to happen, but instead WWE goes with something safe and, as a result very underwhelming.

When I saw that there was a "Mystery Opponent" for the IC title I was actually excited. I'm sure many fans were because they get thinking about who might come out.

Maybe Sami Zayn will come out? Get a pop from the crowd and look close to winning the title and then a jealous Kevin Owens would come out and interfere costing Zayn the title and that adds to the Zayn/Owens feud.

Maybe it would be Apollo Crews? A new fresh face who would have an opportunity to have a 10-15 minute competitive match to show off more of his skills to the crowd. Miz would retain by cheating or Sheamus could come out and distract Crews to add to their feud.

Or maybe this could be the DEBUT of Finn Balor! Imagine that! Lights go out and smoke comes up and Balor's music hits and ... well, you know the rest! But imagine that demon coming to the ring and how fresh and exciting that would be. And there you could have possibly a HUGE story with Balor winning the IC title or, again, finding an underhanded way or a interference from someone to cost Balor the title.

But there were many ways that could have been an exciting segment, but it wasn't.

And, this is me, who is a HUGE Kane fan. I have a ton of respect for him, one of my favorites of all time. But I'm also a realist. He's aging and he isn't a draw anymore. WWE just chickened out of doing something more interesting.


As for Miz's reign as IC champ. I don't mind it. He's a decent mid-card heel with his wannabe A-List celebrity gimmick and his cocky attitude and ridiculous outfits. He does a good job of that so who ever DOES win the title off him should get a good pop. I would be fine with a 2-3 month reign and then losing to an up-and-coming face.


Hopefully WWE will start taking more risks and being more interesting and fresh once brand split happens or else they won't gain or retain fans very long.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

The situation with a "Mystery Opponent" for Miz's IC title on Raw was just another example of how many great opportunities for something special and impressive to happen, but instead WWE goes with something safe and, as a result very underwhelming.

When I saw that there was a "Mystery Opponent" for the IC title I was actually excited. I'm sure many fans were because they get thinking about who might come out.

Maybe Sami Zayn will come out? Get a pop from the crowd and look close to winning the title and then a jealous Kevin Owens would come out and interfere costing Zayn the title and that adds to the Zayn/Owens feud.

Maybe it would be Apollo Crews? A new fresh face who would have an opportunity to have a 10-15 minute competitive match to show off more of his skills to the crowd. Miz would retain by cheating or Sheamus could come out and distract Crews to add to their feud.

Or maybe this could be the DEBUT of Finn Balor! Imagine that! Lights go out and smoke comes up and Balor's music hits and ... well, you know the rest! But imagine that demon coming to the ring and how fresh and exciting that would be. And there you could have possibly a HUGE story with Balor winning the IC title or, again, finding an underhanded way or a interference from someone to cost Balor the title.

But there were many ways that could have been an exciting segment, but it wasn't.

And, this is me, who is a HUGE Kane fan. I have a ton of respect for him, one of my favorites of all time. But I'm also a realist. He's aging and he isn't a draw anymore. WWE just chickened out of doing something more interesting.


As for Miz's reign as IC champ. I don't mind it. He's a decent mid-card heel with his wannabe A-List celebrity gimmick and his cocky attitude and ridiculous outfits. He does a good job of that so who ever DOES win the title off him should get a good pop. I would be fine with a 2-3 month reign and then losing to an up-and-coming face.


Hopefully WWE will start taking more risks and being more interesting and fresh once brand split happens or else they won't gain or retain fans very long.

It was (kind of) unexpected for Demon Kane to come out. But I highlighted the above statement as I also thought Apollo Crews would come out and get attacked by Shaemus causing a DQ.

Hopefully Kane vs Miz was just a one off and they aren't going into a feud of some sort.

They really should give more time to The Miz as he can get the crowd riled up and have a decent match with anyone. Even if he gets away by a slimy finish it makes the viewer want that title off of him more, so when it does happen it's a little more special. This is The Miz's better runs with a title but IMO he's not getting alot of time to heel it up before, during and after a match. Maybe Cesaro can take it off of him.