Daniel Bryan and The Miz Facing Off In Mixed Tag Match a Step Back

The Miz and Daniel Bryan will team up with their wives, Maryse and Brie Bella, to face each other at WWE Hell in a Cell in a mixed tag team match. Here is why this is a step down for the feud.

It is not so often in the WWE that long-term storytelling goes in hand with nail-biting in-ring action. Curt Hawkins’s losing streak is an entertaining running joke. But it is not something that would get anybody excited, unless Hawkins defeats a major name out of the blue. However, Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz was an exceptional case of compelling storytelling by the creative team.

A feud eight years in the making had all the right elements. The video package that was aired to hype up their match at SummerSlam was extraordinary and it showed how personal things were. The entire feud from the very start was done so well, knowingly or unknowingly. You couldn’t help but despise the Miz and cheer for Bryan to get his revenge.

When it was announced that Daniel Bryan was finally cleared for action, you knew things were about to get real. Bryan vs. Miz was only a matter of time from then on. Before long, the Hollywood A-Lister was drafted over to SmackDown Live while his lackeys were left behind on Raw. But as the match unfolded, controversy stuck as the Miz managed to once again outsmart the popular babyface. Maryse’s ringside assistance reminded me of the time when Dolph Ziggler and Miz had a memorable feud over the IC title.

SummerSlam ended with the Miz standing tall over a fallen Daniel Bryan. Ideally, that’s where the feud should have taken a backseat until WrestleMania. Instead, we are now moving towards a mixed tag team match at WWE Hell in a Cell with Brie Bella returning to action.

But, doesn’t it all seem a bit too familiar? Isn’t this what basically happened during WrestleMania 33? Except that this time around Bryan and Brie will face the It Couple instead of John Cena and Nikki Bella.  People certainly don’t remember said match for its in-ring action or storytelling. No, it will forever be remembered for the whole proposal angle and the couple’s eventual breakup.

It can be understood that the whole match is being designed as of now to help hype up the upcoming Evolution PPV. While it will be a great moment as far as the Women’s Revolution goes, it should be built up organically — not by meddling with a classic feud built over a span of eight years.

The Miz has been doing phenomenal work as a heel and it is high time he moved to something better. He has been the IC champion on more than one occasion. But am talking about something bigger and better. The time is now to bring the Miz back to the WWE title picture. He has been doing an exceptional job on the mic and in the ring. He deserves to be the WWE champion.

With the Miz finally being the one to end AJ Styles’s reign as perhaps one of the best WWE champions in recent times, creative can resume building the Miz-Bryan saga in time for WrestleMania 35. Bryan should return to his underdog roots to get back at the Miz, fighting from behind to earn his shot at the WWE title. He should head into Royal Rumble, aiming to win it all and put on a gutsy performance, only to be upstaged by a Raw superstar.

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SmackDown should then come up with a tournament or an Elimination Chamber match to determine a new number one contender for the WWE title. With Daniel Bryan going up against the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, Big E and Shinsuke Nakamura, expect sparks to fly. Throw in the Miz, who is a cowardly champion, using whatever means necessary to topple Bryan’s efforts and you have a compelling program on TV.

He can bribe other superstars to make things more difficult for Bryan or to try to injure him. The Miz can try every trick in the book to make sure Bryan does not become the number one contender for his title at WrestleMania. However, the Beard will prevail and in a recreation of the ultimate underdog storyline that catapulted Bryan to the top of the WWE Universe, he will once more ascend to a WWE title win at the greatest stage of the all.

By investing time into the feud and allowing it to grow organically in time for WrestleMania, creative can build something magical. Not only would it allow Daniel Bryan to get back to the top of the mountain, he will do so by defeating his greatest rival. In addition, the Miz too can benefit with his much deserved tenure as the WWE champion on Tuesday nights.