The Miz Defeating Daniel Bryan Was The Best Possible Outcome

The Miz and Daniel Bryan have one of the most heated rivalries in WWE, and their feud came to a head at SummerSlam 2018. Even though Bryan was, unsurprisingly, the superior competitor, it was The A-Lister who came out on top. Here’s why this was the best possible outcome for our entertainment (and for the future of this feud).

Although The Miz has become much more likable for many members of the WWE Universe due to his prodigious talent, he remains a heel’s heel with his arrogant words and cheap actions inside the ring. Up against the lovable Daniel Bryan, the clear goal is to have Miz brutalized by a man he’s tormented verbally for years.

There’s so much history these two, stemming from Bryan’s days in NXT when he was forced to be Miz’s rookie. The video package that hyped up their match at SummerSlam was one of the best in recent memory, which is a testament to the tireless work these two have put in to make it seem like they truly despise one another.

At SummerSlam, The Miz defeated Bryan, and he did so in dubious fashion. Just as he did in his feud with Dolph Ziggler in 2016, Miz needed Maryse to help him overcome the superior wrestler. She slipped him brass knuckles on the outside while Bryan was flying around, hitting savage knee strikes. So when Bryan went for a suicide dive, Miz put him to sleep with a well-timed shot to the face, courtesy of the brass knuckles.

Maryse has always been Miz’s “MVP”, and he’s at his best with his wife ready to help him again. On this night, the combination of Miz and Maryse proved to be too much for Bryan to overcome, and this was the best possible outcome for the future of this feud.

While SummerSlam is certainly a big venue for a feud, the ultimate goal is for Bryan vs. Miz to take place at WrestleMania, with many fans hoping that they end up feuding over the WWE Championship. These two “fight forever” rivals could have a dramatic sequence in the Royal Rumble to help set up that match, too.

For that to happen, Miz needed to win the first match. Because if Bryan won, the first question after the match would have been, “Well, where do these two go from here?” Everyone sees Bryan as the better wrestler, and Miz is the one trying to prove this, regardless of his rhetoric about the match being for Bryan’s benefit and not his. So if Bryan wins the first match, that’s it. It’s over. He’s unequivocally better, and all The Miz can do is go crawling back home.

But since The Miz won in the most underhanded of ways, the onus is on Bryan to get his revenge. Again, despite Miz’s increasing popularity, Bryan reminds insanely popular, so the fans want to see him get his hands on The Miz for everything the A-Lister has said and done to him. The focus is clearly on Bryan after this result.

Furthermore, Miz has a case to fight for the WWE Championship after defeating Bryan, even though AJ Styles is currently locked in another impassioned rivalry with Samoa Joe.

This result opens up so many possibilities for both superstars, and after an entertaining match at SummerSlam between them, WWE seems like they are getting this Bryan vs. Miz program right.