While it wasn’t as epic (to me, anyway) as when Shawn Michaels appeared on ESPN Bill Simmons’ podcast, WWE Champion The Miz recently appeared on the show. It’s cool (and a little weird) when my worlds collide. As many of you know, I love WWE wrestling and Bill Simmons is my favorite sports columnist. When those two things come together, it’s better than a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Download the podcast when you have a moment and let me know what you think (please)!
No matter how well he does as Champion, there's a part of me that will see the Miz's title reign as only slightly better David Arquette's. I know it's an unreasonable opinion, but there I said it.
That being said, I really like his entrance music and his workrate is pretty solid.
Not only do I think that's unreasonable. I think it's insulting. Mike has worked his ass off to get where he is today. I don't see how comparing a guy that has dreamed about being at the top of WWE and worked extremely hard to get there to a B-level celeb that got a title on name recognition.
I wouldn't go as far as Nightshade did but you must admit that The Miz is awesome indeed but he in not world championship material. The WWE has been putting the main strap on a lot of undeserving guys lately. This happens all the time on Smackdown but not on RAW so I'm surprised that they gave the tittle to The Miz on RAW. I thought they would at least trade him to the B show, Smackdown, and give him the title there.
Nice to see you! You were missed.
I like the "look toward the future" mentality the WWE has had lately. They've played the old hat card for decades now.
The guys you're talking about that deserve the main strap have usually already had it at one point, or the don't need the push.
I've seen the title as an easy way to hand name recognition to wrestlers in a quick manner for some time now. That's all it really is, right?
It seems like a lot changed after WrestleMania. Shawn retired. Hunter got hurt and caught up in fatherhood. I love that guys like Sheamus, The Miz, Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan), etc. are getting pushes. Even though The Miz has the top spot, I've been super impressed with Sheamus.
Yeah, but that's the problem now in my opinion. That's why the title means absolutely nothing now because they just use it to put a mid carder over. It used to be you had to get over on your won and prove you were a champion before they give you the title and now it's the other way around. When Hulk Hogan or Bret Hart got beat for the title it was a huge deal. Now, there's a new champ, oh it's Monday already?
I agree. The big belts get swapped around more than a cheap hooker these days. Kinda loses something in my opinion. And frankly, if not for his mic skills I wouldn't see the Miz as much more than "enhancement talent" as they used to call it.
I don't think you've matched enough of his matches. He has really improved in the last year. Hell, he carried Lawler to a decent match last week. I was impressed that he could make the old man look like he had a chance.
I disagree that The Miz is a mid-carder. He has been a top guy on the mic for the last year and has gotten better in the ring. If you don't want the belt on a new guy, what's the alternative? Cena is boring. Orton is better at chasing a title than defending it. I like that WWE is making new stars. The Miz has gotten more mainstream press than Orton ever has. That's good for the company.
Going back on your example, who was Hulk Hogan before he beat Bob Backlund? It's not like he lit up the world as Sterling Golden.
Let me first say that I consider The Miz as UPPER mid card. His mic work is impeccable indeed and he has gotten better in the ring but still not good at all. I don't mind a new guy getting the belt but that new guy had better be worthy like Sheamus or Alberto Del Rio, not The Miz or Jack Swagger. The Miz is getting so much press becuase the majority is in agreement that he is not worthy. It's more of a shock factor than anything else. If the WWE wants another new guy worthy of the title then I suggest that they quit having Alex Riley be The Miz's lackey and use him. Alex Riley is better than The Miz in every way. Again, I love The Miz but he is just not worthy of the main strap.
" The Miz is getting so much press becuase the majority is in agreement that he is not worthy."
That's not even close to being true. He's getting press because he has a great story — going from an MTV wannabe to the top of the company. Look at all the mainstream TV, print, and online outlets covering him. Most of them couldn't tel the difference between a good wrestler and a bad wrestler.
"Look at all the mainstream TV, print, and online outlets covering him. Most of them couldn’t tel the difference between a good wrestler and a bad wrestler."
Exactly. But they're not the one's watching it either. If he was ready for the belt, it wouldn't rub so many people the wrong way. But as it is, it comes across as a publicity stunt.
Who is it rubbing the wrong way? A lot of the dirt sheets love that he's champion. He's getting mainstream and enthusiast support.
Honestly Ray, other than you, no one I know who likes wrestling likes the guy.
So therefore he's unworthy?
OK, I was referring to the dirt sheets and the fans as people who think he's unworthy. Most of the ones I've read think he not worthy. It might impress the uneducated media but they are not watching RAW and they are not buying PPVs. That gets attention from the press for a few weeks and then dies because they are not wrestling fans just like with Mayweather and Donald Trump at Wrestlemania.
He's getting a lot of support from the dirt sheets and insiders.
I see that as the role of the US and Intercontinental titles. Not the big straps.
Agreed.
I woudn't say they've put a lot of "undeserving" guys over on Smackdown lately. I mean, other than The Miz, the only other "new" champions on either brands are Sheamus and Jack Swagger. Although, if we want to hearken back to The Great Khali, I've tried to block that travesty out.
Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, Jack Swagger, and CM Punk. I like all of those guys but they are upper mid carders who were unworthy of the main title.
I partially agree with that list. Swagger is limited on the mic and by his lisp. I completely disagree with your assessment of Punk. He's pretty strong in almost every area.
You said lately, so I limited my list to 2009-current. I disagree w/ you on Punk and Mysterio. Hardy has been around forever, so at least he's paid his dues. Swagger….eh….whatever.
Punk is great but I like him better in between Jerry Lawler and Micheal Cole.
I'm not a fan of the 3 man announce team. It feels too crowded for my tastes.
@Raymond Padilla
I'm surprised you're as high as you are on The Miz. I like The Miz, his mic work is his only saving grace, but he's worse than Cena in the ring and we all know how you feel about Cena. Not to mention The Miz's totally unimpressive and unthreatening finishing move.
I disagree that he's worse than Cena. Both of them have gotten better, actually. Can you picture Cena doing that jumping clothesline into the corner? He'd botch that half the time. The Miz's offense is above average, but he can sell and make people look good. In his role as the heel champion, his offense is secondary.
Well after 9 years, Cena better learn something other than punch, kick, really bad death valley driver, STF.
His moves are mostly the same. He has gotten better at stringing them together and telling stories in the ring.
It still seems like it's mostly him getting pounded on for 15 minutes and then doing the patented Hulk Hogan comeback.
Have you watched him much in the last year? I thought you didn't watch much Raw.
I try to watch when I can, but with a 4 year old it's tough to follow as much as I used to. Really don't want him performing DDT's at daycare and such. And I don't buy PPV's anymore due to the fact that they're absurdly expensive. So I have to base my judgment off of what I've seen though, and of what I've seen of Cena, not much has changed. He's always sold well, but he really has no offense to speak of.
I think you're overrating offense from your comments in this thread. Very rarely do the guys with the best offense go to the very top of the company. Selling, storytelling, and crowd reaction — I'm talking about all three on the mic and in the ring — are more important than offense.
Getting beat on for 10-15 minutes and then doing the Hogan comeback is the same story I've been seeing for 9+ years out of the guy.
Yeah, I definitely think you don't watch him enough. That are you just dislike him to the point where you can't be objective. I am not a Cena fan at all, but I can see that he has improved and I understand why he's over.
I happen to like guys who can do a number of different things, who can translate their skills back and forth between heel and face and still be great at it. Guys like Jericho, Guerrero, Angle. I couldn't see Cena as a heel. Ever. He's one dimensional in the ring because he has no offense. It would be like watching Hogan in the NWO. Punch, kick, punch, kick, back rake, big boot, legdrop. Maybe an occasional scoop slam to keep things "interesting." I don't find that entertaining.
In SVR 2011, I used the paint tool to make a "You Can't Wrestle" sign and replaced all of Cena's crowd signs with it.
Cena is terrible in the ring as well but I said The Miz is worse because at least Cena has moves that get the crowd off of their feet. The crowd loves the 5 knuckle shuffle. As soon as he pumps up his reeboks they go crazy. The FU er Attitude Adjustment gets everyone off of their feet along with the STFU. No one cares about The Miz's Skull Crushing Finale nor is it a feared move and that clothes line to the turnbuckle is just as weak. True, Cena would botch it but most Muscle guys are immobile.
In general heels aren't supposed to have moves that get the crowd off of their feet.
Tell that to HHH, or Corporate Rock.
Or "Stone Cold" Steve Austin or Randy Orton.
The Pedigree is a thrilling move? That's news to me.
Crowd loves it. Plus his spinebuster is about as close to AA awesome as it gets without Arn Anderson actually doing it.
The crowd loving it has little to do with the actual move and more about how Hunter uses it. He's great at ring psychology and storytelling. That's obvious when you see how the crowd buys into a move where the receiver magically kicks out his legs every time.
How do you guys feel about size? I think there is a certain size requirement to carry the main title. Some people feel that Kofi Kingston deserves a pus to the main title but I disagree. I feel about Kofi the same way that I feel about Rey Mysterio, I love them but they are both undersized for the main title in my opinion. Not to mention they are both average on the mic.
I disagree. I don't think size should matter, but it works better if the smaller guy is a face. You can always sell the David vs Goliath angle when David is the good guy.
But how many times can David kill Goliath? When Rey Mysterio was champ it looked completely unbelievable when he pinned Batista a few times.
Even worse, in WCW they had Rey Mysterio pin the Big Show cleanly.
It all depends on how you tell the story in the ring. If it's 20 minutes of getting beaten down and then a 619 for the win, then yeah, it's unbelievable. If the small man focuses on hit and run attacks, taking out the legs and wearing or tiring the big man down, it works.
Comparing Kofi to Rey? That's a bit of a stretch. I had to hold the mic down to Rey when I've interviewed him. I think that's the only time I've had to do that for a male. You also have to consider the WWE's drug testing policy. Almost everyone is smaller than they were before. With that in mind, Kofi isn't that small. He's comparable to past champions like Jericho, HBK, Benoit, Guerrero, etc. Edge is really skinny, but he's tall. Ultimately, Vince just likes big guys. As long as he's one of the main influences on who gets a push and who doesn't, big guys will always trump small guys.
"As long as he’s one of the main influences on who gets a push and who doesn’t, big guys will always trump small guys."
But don't you agree with it? Come on, how believable was it to see Rey get a clean pin on Batista? How many times can you allow that to happen? How can you advertise a PPV with Rey as champ defending the title against the likes of Cena, Taker, HHH, Orton, Big Show, Sheamus, Kane, and Batista and expect him to have a chance?
10 years ago, I would have given Rey a pass, simply because he could do things that nobody else in American wrestling was doing. He has slowed down a lot due to multiple knee surgeries and there are younger flyers that can do everything he can do today. If booked properly, I don't mind seeing a smaller guy beat a bigger guy. Take someone like Evan Bourne. If he's booked to perilously avoid all of Kane's big attacks and get his unique high spots in then it's believable.
Again, Rey isn't the best example. Is anyone else on the roster 5'4"?
I use Rey as an example because he has been given the main title before. I agree with your Evan Bourne example but again, you can do that once and it can be believable but you can't do that every week and have it be believable.
There are several ways to do it. The writers just have to mix it up. Unfortunately, WWE writers have shown a lack of creativity and are often out of touch with their customers. My friend Justin has written better stuff in the last few WWE games than the RAW writers.