10 Primary Dynamics in WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Match
By Adam O'Brien
WWE.com
5. The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose
The Miz has officially lost his Intercontinental Championship rematch, which essentially puts the man out of contention for the title going forward.
This begs the question of “what’s next?” for The Miz, whose performance has consistently been at an all-time high ever since SummerSlam. This speculation leads us nicely into the Royal Rumble match. From a character standpoint, The Miz is going into this Sunday’s pay-per-view in sheer desperation mode.
He’s lost the championship that brought his career back from the brink in 2016, and the Royal Rumble may be his last opportunity to make the best of a bad situation and guarantee himself a world championship match in the main event of WrestleMania.
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On that note, with Dean Ambrose entering the Rumble also, you better believe that The Miz is going to make it a point to do everything in his ability to eliminate the new Intercontinental Champion — exacting revenge on “The Lunatic Fringe” for all the pain he’s caused since the two started a program with one another.
With Daniel Bryan, Renee Young and even the WWE officials standing firmly in Ambrose’s corner over the last month, the aggression has to be mounting inside The Miz’s psyche. The best way to harness that emotion is to duke it out with Ambrose at the Rumble and eliminate him — along with his chances of becoming WWE Champion.
That is, of course, what The Miz would want to do — which is a lot easier said than done. Then again, there are few ways for Miz to redeem his recent losses without winning the Rumble, and being the man to eliminate Dean Ambrose might help his cause. Once that happens, who knows how far The Miz can get into the Rumble?