WWE is The Miz’s World, And the Rest of Us are Just Living In It

You’d be hard pressed to find a superstar who’s had a better 2018 than The Miz. Between being one of the best parts of WWE SmackDown Live and starring in a new hit reality show, The A-Lister is on top of the world.

In the world of professional wrestling, there aren’t many constants, even in WWE. The most popular superstars one day are old news the next. Two performers with amazing chemistry can have a stinker of a match. Even things that are always objectively bad may accidentally provide something worthwhile. But The Miz turns those trends on their head.

When you look at The Miz and what he’s done in 2018, you see just how consistently, well, awesome he’s been. Over the past year or so, The A-Lister has been a part of both great matches and great promo segments. He’s helped to restore prestige to the Intercontinental Championship. And now he’s starring in a hit reality show, Miz and Mrs, with his wife Maryse.

Does it get much better?

Even more impressive, Miz is playing two distinct characters simultaneously (or as simultaneously as a taped reality show can be). On SmackDown Live, he’s the best version of his wrestling character: an entitled, arrogant, cocky, but ultimately cowardly heel. He does anything and everything to get the drop on his rivals, while avoiding direct confrontation at all costs.

Just look at last week on SmackDown. The Miz and Maryse were promoting their new show ahead of its premiere with their daughter — or so we were led to believe. Daniel Bryan crashed the party, but couldn’t bring himself to attack The Miz while he was holding his daughter.

But it turns out the baby was a doll, allowing Miz to get the drop on Bryan without facing any real consequences. He followed that up the next week by hiding backstage and taunting Bryan with hurtful words and the sounds of numerous crying babies.

Compare that to Mike Mizanin on Miz and Mrs, and it’s almost unbelievable that they’re the same person. In last week’s premiere, The Miz ran around backstage at a WWE event like a lunatic when he got some bad intel about Maryse having contractions. He’s the ultimate loving husband.

This week, Miz proved he would do anything for his family after a mishap with a baby shower cake. I mean, yeah, it’s nice to have that WWE money to throw at a problem to make it go away. But when the whole episode was geared toward how cheap the Mizanin men are, watching Miz spend the big bucks to make Maryse happy was adorable

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How does one of the best heels in WWE inhabit the same body as one of the greatest heroes in reality television? It’s stunning, but it comes down to the passion Miz has for everything in his life. He wanted to be a WWE superstar, and didn’t quit when the going got tough. Now, he’s pretty much a guaranteed Hall of Famer.

Miz wanted to be the best husband and father he could be. Now, we’re seeing the results of his efforts in real time. With a hit show on his hands, and a big time feud with Daniel Bryan — a feud literally a decade in the making — The Miz is firing on all cylinders.

It just goes to show how you can’t always judge a book by its cover. Back in 2010, I thought “WWE Champion The Miz” was the stupidest Mad Lib in the history of the world. Now, it’s something I would love to see happen again.