Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, formally a cast member on MTV’s The Real World back in 2001, a runner up on Tough Enough in 2004, and a former tag team partner of R-Truth, is the best heel in WWE today. But not only is he the greatest villain in WWE right now, he may be the best of the last 10 years or so.
Before you start getting your panties in a bunch, hear me out on this one.
When was the last time anybody legitimately said they looked forward to seeing The Miz come on their TVs? Until after WrestleMania 32, probably never. Please don’t say you enjoyed him when he was with Damien Mizdow, because the fact of the matter is we were only watching him for the aforementioned stunt double.
Whether it’s his snarky attitude, his fancy suits, his hotter than hell wife or just his brutally honest demeanor, the most must-see WWE Superstar of all time has turned into must watch TV for any wrestling fan.
Not only has Miz gotten exponentially better inside the ring over the past year, but he’s been fire on the mic. His promos were already good, but there’s something about them now that make me sit there in awe at what I’m listening to. It’s almost like he’s writing his own stuff (which I’m convinced he is) and not telling any of the backstage guys what he’s going to say. I know it doesn’t work that way as I have been backstage at wrestling shows before, but you know what I’m saying.
He single-handedly put Talking Smack on the map as mandatory viewing.
Do I even have to go into his feud with Daniel Bryan? Mimicking his moves in the ring and calling the Smackdown GM out on not getting out of his WWE contract to wrestle elsewhere, Miz has sparked the hottest feud in the company, and they probably won’t even get to wrestle each other!
But what really makes The Miz such a great heel is that he gets booed by EVERYONE in the arena when his music hits. You can try and justify that Kevin Owens is the best heel in WWE or that Seth Rollins or CM Punk were the best when they had their runs, but those guys were still getting cheered by fans who don’t see or care about the lines of babyface and heel (or they’re just assholes).
What makes a great heel is drawing genuine hate by fans. Not one thing they do will make you cheer for them (except beating Roman Reigns), and they thrive off of that. When Miz does the “YES!” movements during his matches and all the fans either boo or chant “No!”, that means he’s done his job in tremendous fashion.
Give The Miz his due. The guy is a former WWE Champion, a six-time Intercontinental Champion, a two-time United States Champion, a four-time WWE Tag Team Champion, a two-time World Tag Team Champion, the 25th wrestler to accomplish the Triple Crown, the fifth wrestler to accomplish the Grand Slam (under its current format), and he’s only just NOW doing the best work of his career.
Bravo, Mr. Mizanin. I once hated you, but now I love to hate you.
Keep being AWWWWESOOOME.
Troy Taroff
Latest posts by Troy Taroff (see all)
- Taroff: Best Heel in WWE…The Miz - March 17, 2017
- Taroff: Break Up The New Day - March 6, 2017
- Taroff: Will The Hardys Invade WWE? - February 28, 2017
