Mike Mizanin
Encyclopedia
Michael "Mike" Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American
professional wrestler
and reality television
personality better known by his nickname and ring name
The Miz. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment
on its Raw brand. Mizanin first gained fame as a cast member on MTV
's The Real World: Back to New York
, which first aired in 2001, and its spinoff
series, Real World/Road Rules Challenge
. He later entered the fourth season of Tough Enough, a televised competition that would award the winner a WWE contract, and became the first runner-up. Mizanin has also made appearances on television shows including Battle of the Network Reality Stars
, Fear Factor
, Identity
, Ghost Hunters
, Dinner Impossible, Psych
and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
.
Mizanin trained and wrestled with Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Deep South Wrestling, where he became the first Deep South Heavyweight Champion
. Mizanin was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling
(OVW), working in tag team
action and winning the tag team title, the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
, on one occasion.
After signing with WWE, Mizanin became host of the annual WWE Diva Search
competition in 2006. Following his hosting duties, Mizanin made his wrestling debut in September 2006, as a villain
who went "undefeated". In 2007, was drafted from SmackDown to the ECW brand, where he formed a partnership with John Morrison, in which the two held both the WWE Tag Team Championship
and the World Tag Team Championship. He was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2009 WWE Draft
, and won the WWE United States Championship
on two occasions. He also won WWE Unified Tag Team Championship with The Big Show and the WWE Tag Team Championship with John Cena
. In July 2010, he won a Money in the Bank ladder match
at the first WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view
, earning a contract for a WWE Championship match, which he used in November to win the WWE Championship for the first time. In 2011, The Miz was ranked number one on Pro Wrestling Illustrated
's annual PWI 500 list.
, attended Normandy High School, where he was the captain of the basketball
and cross country
teams. He also participated in swimming, the student government and was the editor of his high school yearbook. He then attended Miami University
, where he was a member of the Theta Chi
Fraternity
, and studied business at the Richard T. Farmer School of Business.
of MTV
's reality television program
The Real World
in 2001. He went on to appear in multiple seasons of its spin-off
series, Real World/Road Rules Challenge
, along with contestants from both Road Rules and The Real World, including Battle of the Seasons, The Gauntlet
, The Inferno
, Battle of the Sexes 2, and The Inferno 2
. Except for Battle of the Sexes 2, Mizanin made it to the end of the rest of the Challenges on which he competed, and won both Battle of the Seasons and The Inferno 2.
It was during an episode of The Real World that Mizanin first displayed an alter ego known as "The Miz". In contrast to Mizanin's usually placid demeanor, The Miz was angry, combative, and headstrong. Mizanin later realized that "The Miz" would make an excellent professional wrestling
gimmick.
In 2004, he appeared on the Bravo reality show Battle of the Network Reality Stars
, where his team finished second. Mizanin was also a contestant in the "Reality Stars" episode of Fear Factor
. His partner was his former girlfriend and cast mate, Trishelle Cannatella, and the two won the competition. In April 2007, he appeared on the game show Identity
, where he appeared as a stranger, and contestant John Kim correctly identified his identity as a professional wrestler
by the odd way he added "Miz-" before most words. In 2008, Mizanin appeared on the Sci Fi
reality series Ghost Hunters
Live as a guest investigator. In 2009, Mizanin appeared on two episodes of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
, which were both aired on September 29. He appeared on an episode of Destroy Build Destroy
on March 3, 2010. On October 5, 2011, Miz starred in an episode of H8R
. He's also confirmed to guest star in one episode of Psych
.
.
In October 2004, Mizanin entered the fourth season of Tough Enough, a televised competition which would award the winner a World Wrestling Entertainment
contract and $
1,000,000. Despite coming last in an arm wrestling
tournament on November 25, 2004, Mizanin outlasted six other wrestlers, and made it to the final round. At the pay-per-view event, Armageddon
, Mizanin faced the other remaining entrant, Daniel Puder
, in a three round "Dixie Dogfight" (boxing match). Neither man achieved a knockout
, and the contest was awarded to Puder on the basis of crowd reaction. On the December 16, 2004 episode of SmackDown!, Puder was announced as the winner of Tough Enough by head trainer Al Snow
.
Despite losing the Tough Enough contest, Mizanin had piqued the interest of WWE, and he was eventually offered a developmental contract. Mizanin was sent to Deep South Wrestling (DSW) to train under Bill DeMott
, relocating to McDonough, Georgia
in the process. In July 2005, he wrestled two dark matches for WWE, teaming
with former Tough Enough champion Matt Cappotelli
to face The Highlanders
(Robbie and Rory McAllister). On December 1, 2005, Mizanin defeated Mike Knox
in the finals of a tournament to determine the inaugural Deep South Heavyweight Champion
. He continued his partnership with Matt Cappotelli throughout the second half of 2005 in WWE dark matches and house shows until Cappotelli, nominally of Ohio Valley Wrestling
(OVW), was diagnosed with a brain tumor after an injury at a taping in December 2005.
, but lost by countout.
At the February 8, 2006 TV taping, The Miz and Chris Cage captured the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
, defeating Chet the Jett and Seth Skyfire. In what was deemed a "disciplinary move", WWE released Cage over the weekend of March 18, 2006, making it necessary for Miz and Cage to drop the titles. On March 19, 2006, Deuce Shade defeated The Miz in a singles contest to win the championship for his team The Untouchables (Deuce Shade and Domino
).
banned from entering the arena by "network executive" Palmer Cannon
who told him that he had been "canceled" before having security escort him from the premises.
On May 31, 2006, WWE's official website announced that he would serve as SmackDown!s "host". The Miz debuted as the "host" on June 2, 2006, announcing the planned card at the top of the show and attempting to hype up the crowd. Other "host" duties included backstage interviews and hosting a bikini contest. The hosting duties seemed sporadic at best, with some weeks having little to no involvement of Miz at all. Starting in July, Miz, along with Ashley Massaro
, became host of the annual Diva Search competition
appearing on both Raw
and SmackDown!.
After the end of the Diva Search competition, The Miz returned exclusively to SmackDown! and adopted a villainous
persona, starting his in-ring competition with a win over Tatanka
in a September 2006 episode of SmackDown!. After this win he, along with commentator Michael Cole
, began to note whenever possible that he was "undefeated", though he only wrestled five matches over the next two months, defeating such superstars as Matt Hardy
, Funaki
, and Scotty 2 Hotty. At the same time he began a feud
with Diva Search winner Layla El
, who spurned his advances on more than one occasion, leading to Miz helping Kristal
defeat her in various competitions. Soon, however, Miz and Kristal found themselves being stalked by The Boogeyman
. This began a feud in which the Boogeyman ended the Miz's winning streak at December's Armageddon
event.
Following a brief absence from television, The Miz returned to SmackDown! to host an interview segment called Miz TV. After the unsuccessful segment, the Miz returned to in-ring competition with a more intense style and began to pick up wins once again. On the June 11, 2007 episode of Raw, Mizanin faced off against Snitsky
in a match to determine a draft pick for SmackDown!. Snitsky easily defeated the Miz to give ECW the draft pick, but after constantly assaulting the Miz after the match, the referee reversed the decision and awarded the match to Miz, thus allowing SmackDown! a draft pick. SmackDown!'s pick was then revealed to be Chris Masters
.
Miz was drafted from SmackDown! to ECW on June 17, 2007 as part of the 2007 Supplemental Draft
. He was absent from the first few weeks of ECW, though he was the subject of backstage mentions between matches and had several short Miz TV Crashes ECW video segments. He made his debut on the July 10 episode of ECW in a match against Nunzio
, which he won. Following this match, Extreme Exposé began expressing admiration in him and gave him a lap-dance, starting a new gimmick for him of a self-proclaimed "chick magnet". Extreme Exposé then became managers for The Miz. He then began a feud with Balls Mahoney
, after Kelly Kelly began to fall in love with Mahoney on screen. On the October 2 episode of ECW, it was revealed that Miz owned the contracts of Kelly Kelly, Layla, and Brooke Adams
, and used this excuse to stop Kelly from going out with Mahoney. He was voted at Cyber Sunday
to face CM Punk
, for the ECW Championship
but lost the match. On the November 16 episode of SmackDown, he became one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions
with John Morrison when they defeated Matt Hardy
and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) in a title match, which gave the Miz his first title within the company.
In February 2008, Miz and Morrison were given a streaming
segment on the WWE website named The Dirt Sheet in which they mocked other wrestlers and facets of pop culture, showing off their promo skills. Morrison and The Miz co-wrote each episode of The Dirt Sheet each week. As the duo continued to hold the titles, WWE downplayed the angle of Miz and Morrison disliking each other, and portrayed them as friends. The team had many successful title defenses over the next few months, before dropping the championship to Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
at the Great American Bash
in a Fatal Four-Way match which also featured Jesse and Festus
and Finlay
and Hornswoggle. Neither Miz nor Morrison were pinned, as Hawkins pinned Jesse to win the titles. Miz and Morrison soon followed a feud with Cryme Tyme
(Shad Gaspard
and JTG) as a battle of their webshows, "Word Up" and "The Dirt Sheet". The two would be victorious against Cryme Tyme in a match at Cyber Sunday
where they were voted in. On December 13, 2008, Miz and Morrison defeated Kofi Kingston
and CM Punk to win the World Tag Team Championship during a WWE house show
in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The team then engaged themselves in a feud with The Colóns
(Carlito
and Primo
). In a dark match at WrestleMania XXV
, they lost the World Tag Team Championship to The Colóns in a Lumberjack match to unify the World Tag Team and the WWE Tag Team titles.
On the April 13 episode of Raw, The Miz lost a match to Kofi Kingston
due to Morrison's inadvertent interference, which gave Raw a draft pick in the 2009 WWE Draft
. The pick was then revealed to be The Miz, and he subsequently attacked Morrison, ending their partnership. He challenged John Cena
to a match on the April 27 episode of Raw, but as Cena was out due to injury, Miz claimed an unofficial win via forfeit and continued to do this over the following weeks, until Cena defeated him in a singles match at The Bash. On the August 3 episode of Raw, The Miz lost a match to Cena, which meant that, in storyline, he was banned from the Staples Center
, Raw and SummerSlam
. The following week, on August 10, Miz competed under a mask as "The Calgary Kid", and won a Contract on Pole match against Eugene
, earning a contract in storyline, and revealing himself by removing his mask afterwards. After removing the mask to reveal himself. he cut a promo and debut his catchphrase "Because I am The Miz and I'm Awesome."
, and also debuted new ring attire and a new finishing move, the Skull Crushing Finale, to defeat Evan Bourne. He challenged for the United States Championship at the Night of Champions
, Breaking Point
and Hell in a Cell pay-per-views, but was unsuccessful. On the October 5 episode of Raw, the night after Hell in a Cell, The Miz received a rematch for the championship, and defeated Kofi Kingston
to win the United States Championship and his first singles championship in WWE. The following pay-per-view event, Bragging Rights, was themed with interpromotional matches and now that The Miz was the second-tier champion on Raw he was booked against SmackDown's Intercontinental Champion
, his erstwhile tag team partner John Morrison. In the build up to their first match since splitting, the two hosted a one-off edition of The Dirt Sheet on the October 16 episode of SmackDown where the two compared themselves to '80s tag team The Rockers
, debating over which is more comparable to the successful Shawn Michaels
and which was the less successful Marty Jannetty
. At Bragging Rights, Miz pinned Morrison to become the only member of the Raw roster to win an interpromotional match. The following month at Survivor Series
, Miz captained a team of five wrestlers against Team Morrison in a five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match and once again bested his former partner.
In 2010, The Miz began a rivalry with MVP that began with a critically well-received verbal exchange between the two. The two met in an unadvertised match for the United States Championship at the Royal Rumble
event with Miz retaining his title, but in the Royal Rumble match itself MVP eliminated both himself and The Miz. During the rivalry with MVP, Miz began showing signs of an allegiance with The Big Show
and on the February 8 episode of Raw, the two defeated champions D-Generation X
(Triple H
and Shawn Michaels) and The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk
and Luke Gallows
) to become the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions.
On February 16, it was announced that he would be on the WWE NXT
show as the storyline mentor of Daniel Bryan
. During the 2010 WWE Draft
on the April 26 episode of Raw, ShoMiz lost the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship to The Hart Dynasty
when Tyson Kidd made The Miz submit to the Sharpshooter
. After the match, The Big Show knocked out The Miz, and was later drafted to the SmackDown brand, leaving The Miz on Raw. On May 10, Kidd defeated The Miz in a match, which earned any member of The Hart Dynasty a match for the United States Championship, and The Miz, who was allowed to chose his opponent, elected to face Bret Hart. On the following episode of Raw on May 17, Hart defeated The Miz to win the United States Championship, despite Chris Jericho
, William Regal, and Vladimir Kozlov attempting to interfere on The Miz's behalf. The Miz had a tumultuous relationship with Bryan, who was eliminated from NXT on May 11, although he returned the following week to attack The Miz.
On June 1, The Miz announced that he would be returning as a Pro for the second season of NXT, to mentor Alex Riley
, the only Pro to do so. On the June 14 episode of Raw, The Miz defeated R-Truth
, John Morrison, and Zack Ryder
in a fatal four-way match to win the United States Championship for the second time, and successfully retained the championship against R-Truth at the Fatal 4-Way
pay-per-view.
On July 18, at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, The Miz won a Money in the Bank ladder match
to win a contract for a WWE Championship
match that he could utilize at any time over the next year. Over the next few weeks, The Miz attempted to cash in his Money in the Bank contract on the WWE Champion Sheamus, but was continually interrupted by other wrestlers before the matches could occur, which meant that he retained the contract for future use. Daniel Bryan returned to WWE at SummerSlam
, taking The Miz's place on Team WWE, causing The Miz to attack him. This began a rivalry between the two, with The Miz losing the United States Championship to Bryan at the Night of Champions
event in September. The following month, Miz defeated John Cena to become the captain of Team Raw, but at the Bragging Rights
pay-per-view Team Raw—The Miz (with Alex Riley
), R-Truth
, John Morrison, Santino Marella, Sheamus, CM Punk, and Ezekiel Jackson—were unsuccessful in defeating Team SmackDown.
On the November 22 episode of Raw, following a successful WWE Championship defense by Randy Orton
against Wade Barrett
, he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to become the new WWE Champion making him the first person from Tough Enough to win the WWE Championship. He successfully defended the championship against Jerry Lawler
in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
on the following episode of Raw, due to help from Michael Cole
and Riley, and again at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
pay-per-view in December by defeating Orton in a Tables match following interference from Alex Riley
. He defeated Orton again at the Royal Rumble
, after interference from CM Punk
, in January 2011 and Lawler the following month at the Elimination Chamber
pay-per-view to retain the championship.
The night after Elimination Chamber, The Miz and John Cena were paired together by the Raw General Manager to challenge The Corre
(Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater) for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The Miz and Cena were successful in winning the titles (making Miz a double champion and seemingly turning him into a tweener
), but lost them back to Corre immediately afterward in a rematch, after The Miz turned on Cena. This made their reign the shortest in the championship's history. The following week, The Miz lost Riley as his apprentice after Cena defeated Riley in a steel cage match with the stipulation that if Cena won, Riley was fired from his job, but The Miz hired Riley back, this time as his VP of Corporate Communications, in mid-March. On April 3 in the main event of WrestleMania XXVII
, The Miz successfully defended the WWE Championship against Cena, following interference from The Rock. At the Extreme Rules
pay-per-view on May 1, The Miz lost the WWE Championship to Cena, in a triple threat steel cage match, also involving Morrison. The following night on Raw, The Miz failed to regain the championship from Cena in a singles match when he lost by disqualification, and failed to regain the championship again in an "I Quit" match at Over the Limit
.
The night after Over the Limit, on Raw, The Miz fired Riley, blaming him for not being able to regain the championship. This led to Riley attacking his former mentor, sending him crashing into a barricade at ringside and then head first over the announce table which turned Riley a fan favorite
for the first time in WWE. On the May 30 edition of RAW, The Miz assaulted Riley after an interview from Michael Cole
, but Riley gained the upper hand and Miz escaped through the crowd. At Capitol Punishment
, Riley defeated Miz in a singles-match. He went on to lose to Riley in various singles and tag team matches. It was later announced that Miz would be a participant in the Raw's Money in the Bank ladder match
at Money in the Bank
, though he was unsuccessful in winning the match.. At Summerslam
,The Miz teamed up with R-Truth and Alberto Del Rio in an unsuccessful effort against Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston
and John Morrison
.
On the August 22 episode of Raw, Miz and R-Truth attacked Santino Marella before his match. They would then cut a promo agreeing there was a conspiracy in the keeping the both of them out of the main event picture, and declared they would, together, seize any opportunity that came their way in the future. The duo would soon begin referring to themselves, on Raw and in other media, as "The Awesome Truth". On the August 29 episode of Raw, Truth interfered in Miz's match and the duo attacked CM Punk
. The following week, Miz and Truth announced that they would challenge Air Boom
(Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston
) to a match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
at Night of Champions
. In that pay-per-view tag title match, Miz would assault the referee, causing his team to lose by disqualification. Seeking retribution, Miz and Truth later attacked both Triple H and CM Punk during their no disqualification match in the main event. Because of their actions from the previous night, R-Truth and The Miz were fired by Triple H on the September 19 edition of Raw.
At the conclusion of the main event match at Hell in a Cell
, R-Truth and The Miz jumped the barricade wearing black hooded sweatshirts and entered the cell as it was being raised. They then used weapons to attack Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, John Cena, and several others while the cell was again lowered. After this, the entire WWE roster led by Triple H came out to find a way into the cell, before New Orleans Police Department
officers were able to get the door open and arrest them. The two later posted a video on Youtube
apologizing to the WWE Universe for their actions. The Miz and R-Truth were reinstated by John Laurinaitis on the October 10th 2011 episode of Raw. At Vengeance
, Miz and Truth would go on to defeat CM Punk and Triple H in a tag team match, due to interference from Kevin Nash
. Later that same night they assaulted John Cena during his WWE Championship match with Alberto Del Rio. On the October 24th edition of Raw
, Awesome Truth attacked John Cena and Zack Ryder
. Two weeks later on the 7th November edition of Raw
, Miz and R-Truth defeated Cena and Ryder. At the 2011
Survivor Series
PPV, The Awesome Truth were defeated by John Cena and The Rock.
The following week he injured John Morrison , then the next day WWE acknowledged the end of Morrison's WWE Contract .
as CIA agent John Steel. Mizanin made an appearance at The CW Television Network
's TV series H8R
, at episode 5 which aired on October 5, 2011.
, Indians
, and Cavs
. Prior to the Indians vs. Angels game on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 Mizanin fulfilled one of his life-long goals when he threw out the first pitch.
When Mike was 11, his parents divorced. He has a step-father named Donnie and two step-siblings, Jimmy and Tonia. His father, George Mizanin, owns several "Mr. Hero" sandwich shops in Cleveland, Ohio. Mizanin has been romantically involved with several female reality stars, including Trishelle Cannatella
, Lauren Conrad
, and Kendal Sheppard. He is dating former WWE Diva Maryse.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
personality better known by his nickname and ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
The Miz. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
on its Raw brand. Mizanin first gained fame as a cast member on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's The Real World: Back to New York
The Real World: Back to New York
The Real World: Back to New York is the tenth season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships...
, which first aired in 2001, and its spinoff
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
series, Real World/Road Rules Challenge
Real World/Road Rules Challenge
The Challenge is a reality television game show on MTV that is both dependent on and spun off from the network's two flagship reality shows, The Real World and the now cancelled series, Road Rules. It is currently hosted by T.J...
. He later entered the fourth season of Tough Enough, a televised competition that would award the winner a WWE contract, and became the first runner-up. Mizanin has also made appearances on television shows including Battle of the Network Reality Stars
Battle of the Network Reality Stars
Battle of the Network Reality Stars is a television series that aired on the Bravo channel in the US in August and September 2005. Based on the popular 1970s and 1980s television competition Battle of the Network Stars, the show consisted of thirty-three competitors from several different reality...
, Fear Factor
Fear Factor
Fear Factor is an American stunt/dare reality game show. The original Dutch version was called Now or Neverland. When Endemol USA and NBC adapted it to the American market in 2001, they changed the name to Fear Factor. The show pits contestants against each other in a variety of stunts for a...
, Identity
Identity (game show)
Identity is a reality/game show, hosted by Penn Jillette and produced by Reveille where contestants could win money by matching 12 strangers one-by-one to phrases about their identities.-Format:A contestant is introduced to twelve strangers...
, Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on October 6, 2004, on Syfy . The program features paranormal investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson who investigate places that are reported to be haunted. The two originally worked as plumbers for Roto-Rooter as...
, Dinner Impossible, Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is a television game show format based on asking grade-school level questions to adults, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy...
.
Mizanin trained and wrestled with Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Deep South Wrestling, where he became the first Deep South Heavyweight Champion
Deep South Heavyweight Championship
-After WWE:The title was "held-up" after the agreement between WWE and DSW ended in March 2007, and another tournament was held in on July 12 to crown the new champion.↑Alexander the Great defeated Salvatore Rinauro by Coin Toss-Title history:...
. Mizanin was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
(OVW), working in tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
action and winning the tag team title, the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
The OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. As of 2011, the current champions are Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver, known as The Elite in their fourth reign...
, on one occasion.
After signing with WWE, Mizanin became host of the annual WWE Diva Search
WWE Diva Search
The WWE Diva Search is a talent competition held by World Wrestling Entertainment. The first winner was Jaime Koeppe, but she did not receive a contract like subsequent winners of the contest. Other winners included Christy Hemme, Ashley Massaro, Layla El, and Eve Torres. In addition to the winners...
competition in 2006. Following his hosting duties, Mizanin made his wrestling debut in September 2006, as a villain
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
who went "undefeated". In 2007, was drafted from SmackDown to the ECW brand, where he formed a partnership with John Morrison, in which the two held both the WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
and the World Tag Team Championship. He was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2009 WWE Draft
2009 WWE Draft
The 2009 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft was the seventh Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The Draft took place over two days: the first day was televised live for three hours on April 13; the second part, the "Supplemental Draft", was held on April 15...
, and won the WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
on two occasions. He also won WWE Unified Tag Team Championship with The Big Show and the WWE Tag Team Championship with John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
. In July 2010, he won a Money in the Bank ladder match
Money in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
at the first WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
, earning a contract for a WWE Championship match, which he used in November to win the WWE Championship for the first time. In 2011, The Miz was ranked number one on Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
's annual PWI 500 list.
Early life
Mizanin, a native of Parma, OhioParma, Ohio
Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is the largest suburb of Cleveland and the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio...
, attended Normandy High School, where he was the captain of the basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
teams. He also participated in swimming, the student government and was the editor of his high school yearbook. He then attended Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
, where he was a member of the Theta Chi
Theta Chi
Theta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta...
Fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
, and studied business at the Richard T. Farmer School of Business.
Television career
Mizanin dropped out of college, where he was pursuing a degree in business, in order to appear on the tenth seasonThe Real World: Back to New York
The Real World: Back to New York is the tenth season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships...
of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's reality television program
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
The Real World
The Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...
in 2001. He went on to appear in multiple seasons of its spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
series, Real World/Road Rules Challenge
Real World/Road Rules Challenge
The Challenge is a reality television game show on MTV that is both dependent on and spun off from the network's two flagship reality shows, The Real World and the now cancelled series, Road Rules. It is currently hosted by T.J...
, along with contestants from both Road Rules and The Real World, including Battle of the Seasons, The Gauntlet
Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet
The Gauntlet is the seventh season of Real World/Road Rules Challenge. It featured 28 castmates competing in missions with an immunity life-saver awarded to the best individual performer. Each team would then select a player from their team to go into the Gauntlet elimination challenge. This...
, The Inferno
Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno
The Inferno is the eighth season of Real World/Road Rules Challenge. It aired in 2004 on MTV, composed of twenty cast members, and took place in Acapulco, Mexico. In this challenge, the winning teams would receive a prize at the end of each mission. They would then nominate two players from their...
, Battle of the Sexes 2, and The Inferno 2
Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II
The Inferno II is the tenth season of Real World/Road Rules Challenge and the sequel to The Inferno. The show aired in 2005, and took place in Manzanillo, Mexico. This challenge was the same as The Inferno, except this time each team was allowed to choose only one "Inferno nominee" from the...
. Except for Battle of the Sexes 2, Mizanin made it to the end of the rest of the Challenges on which he competed, and won both Battle of the Seasons and The Inferno 2.
It was during an episode of The Real World that Mizanin first displayed an alter ego known as "The Miz". In contrast to Mizanin's usually placid demeanor, The Miz was angry, combative, and headstrong. Mizanin later realized that "The Miz" would make an excellent professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
gimmick.
In 2004, he appeared on the Bravo reality show Battle of the Network Reality Stars
Battle of the Network Reality Stars
Battle of the Network Reality Stars is a television series that aired on the Bravo channel in the US in August and September 2005. Based on the popular 1970s and 1980s television competition Battle of the Network Stars, the show consisted of thirty-three competitors from several different reality...
, where his team finished second. Mizanin was also a contestant in the "Reality Stars" episode of Fear Factor
Fear Factor
Fear Factor is an American stunt/dare reality game show. The original Dutch version was called Now or Neverland. When Endemol USA and NBC adapted it to the American market in 2001, they changed the name to Fear Factor. The show pits contestants against each other in a variety of stunts for a...
. His partner was his former girlfriend and cast mate, Trishelle Cannatella, and the two won the competition. In April 2007, he appeared on the game show Identity
Identity (game show)
Identity is a reality/game show, hosted by Penn Jillette and produced by Reveille where contestants could win money by matching 12 strangers one-by-one to phrases about their identities.-Format:A contestant is introduced to twelve strangers...
, where he appeared as a stranger, and contestant John Kim correctly identified his identity as a professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
by the odd way he added "Miz-" before most words. In 2008, Mizanin appeared on the Sci Fi
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
reality series Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on October 6, 2004, on Syfy . The program features paranormal investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson who investigate places that are reported to be haunted. The two originally worked as plumbers for Roto-Rooter as...
Live as a guest investigator. In 2009, Mizanin appeared on two episodes of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is a television game show format based on asking grade-school level questions to adults, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy...
, which were both aired on September 29. He appeared on an episode of Destroy Build Destroy
Destroy Build Destroy
Destroy Build Destroy was a live action program on Cartoon Network. It focuses on an unusual type of a game show, where two teams destroy a random object and build vehicles out of them, and then destroy the losers' creation...
on March 3, 2010. On October 5, 2011, Miz starred in an episode of H8R
H8R
H8R is an American television series for The CW Television Network. The hour-long series, hosted by Mario Lopez, premiered Wednesday, September 14, 2011...
. He's also confirmed to guest star in one episode of Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
.
Professional wrestling career
Pursuing the goal of becoming a professional wrestler which he had harbored from an early age, Mizanin joined Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), where he trained in the Ultimate University. He made his in-ring debut in 2003 as the Miz. During his time with UPW, the Miz competed in UPW's Mat War's tournament, making it to the finals before losing to Tony StradlinTony Salantri
Anthony "Tony" Salantri is an American Film and television actor and a former American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names Tony Santarelli or Tony Stradlin, who competed in North American independent promotions including Combat Zone Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance and...
.
Tough Enough and training (2004–2006)
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
contract and $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1,000,000. Despite coming last in an arm wrestling
Arm wrestling
Arm wrestling is a sport with two participants. Each participant places one arm on a surface with their elbows bent and touching the surface, and they grip each other's hand...
tournament on November 25, 2004, Mizanin outlasted six other wrestlers, and made it to the final round. At the pay-per-view event, Armageddon
Armageddon (2004)
Armageddon was the fifth annual Armageddon professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on December 12, 2004 at the Gwinnett Center in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, Georgia. Nine professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card...
, Mizanin faced the other remaining entrant, Daniel Puder
Daniel Puder
Daniel Puder is an American professional mixed martial artist, who is currently undefeated in MMA competition, holding a a record of eight wins and zero losses...
, in a three round "Dixie Dogfight" (boxing match). Neither man achieved a knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
, and the contest was awarded to Puder on the basis of crowd reaction. On the December 16, 2004 episode of SmackDown!, Puder was announced as the winner of Tough Enough by head trainer Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
.
Despite losing the Tough Enough contest, Mizanin had piqued the interest of WWE, and he was eventually offered a developmental contract. Mizanin was sent to Deep South Wrestling (DSW) to train under Bill DeMott
Bill DeMott
William Charles "Bill" DeMott II is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment as Hugh Morrus and Bill DeMott respectively and as Crash The Terminator in Extreme Championship Wrestling and Japan...
, relocating to McDonough, Georgia
McDonough, Georgia
McDonough is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. The population was 22084 at the 2010 census. Inclusion of the unincorporated neighborhoods surrounding McDonough, which are not part of a town/city, raises the population to approximately 30,000 from an estimate in 2008. The city is the...
in the process. In July 2005, he wrestled two dark matches for WWE, teaming
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
with former Tough Enough champion Matt Cappotelli
Matt Cappotelli
Matthew Lee "Matt" Cappotelli is an American professional wrestler, last working in Ohio Valley Wrestling, which was the primary developmental territory for World Wrestling Entertainment until February 7, 2008...
to face The Highlanders
The Highlanders (professional wrestling)
The Highlanders are a Scottish professional wrestling tag team consisting of storyline cousins Robbie and Rory McAllister who were best known for wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment on the Raw brand.-History:Couch and Murray were both born and raised in Oban, Scotland The Highlanders are...
(Robbie and Rory McAllister). On December 1, 2005, Mizanin defeated Mike Knox
Mike Knox
Michael Shawn Hettinga is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment as Mike Knox. He is also an avid fisherman, and fishes in his spare time.-Independent circuit :...
in the finals of a tournament to determine the inaugural Deep South Heavyweight Champion
Deep South Heavyweight Championship
-After WWE:The title was "held-up" after the agreement between WWE and DSW ended in March 2007, and another tournament was held in on July 12 to crown the new champion.↑Alexander the Great defeated Salvatore Rinauro by Coin Toss-Title history:...
. He continued his partnership with Matt Cappotelli throughout the second half of 2005 in WWE dark matches and house shows until Cappotelli, nominally of Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
(OVW), was diagnosed with a brain tumor after an injury at a taping in December 2005.
Ohio Valley Wrestling (2006)
On January 3, 2006, it was reported that Mizanin had been transferred to OVW. On the January 18, 2006, OVW TV show, Mizanin made his debut as "The Miz", with a Miz TV segment, where he was shown talking backstage. On the January 28, 2006, edition of the OVW television show, The Miz wrestled his first singles match against Rene DupreeRené Goguen
René Goguen better known by his ring name René Duprée, is a French Canadian professional wrestler. Goguen is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he is a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Sylvain Grenier as the tag team La Résistance and a one time WWE Tag Team...
, but lost by countout.
At the February 8, 2006 TV taping, The Miz and Chris Cage captured the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
The OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. As of 2011, the current champions are Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver, known as The Elite in their fourth reign...
, defeating Chet the Jett and Seth Skyfire. In what was deemed a "disciplinary move", WWE released Cage over the weekend of March 18, 2006, making it necessary for Miz and Cage to drop the titles. On March 19, 2006, Deuce Shade defeated The Miz in a singles contest to win the championship for his team The Untouchables (Deuce Shade and Domino
Cliff Compton
Clifford "Cliff" Compton is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Domino. He is signed with Ohio Valley Wrestling , where he is a former two–time OVW Heavyweight Champion...
).
SmackDown (2006–2007)
On March 7, 2006, WWE's official website featured a video of "The Miz" stating that he was headed to SmackDown! and throughout April, SmackDown! aired vignettes hyping his debut. When Mizanin actually attempted to make his debut on the April 21, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, however, he was, in storylineKayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
banned from entering the arena by "network executive" Palmer Cannon
Brian Mailhot
Brian Mailhot is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter, better known for his short stint in World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand under the ring name of Palmer Canon.-Early career:...
who told him that he had been "canceled" before having security escort him from the premises.
Ashley Massaro
Ashley Marie Massaro is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to World Independent Ladies Division Wrestling. She is best known for her work with World Wrestling Entertainment and her appearance on Survivor: China....
, became host of the annual Diva Search competition
WWE Diva Search
The WWE Diva Search is a talent competition held by World Wrestling Entertainment. The first winner was Jaime Koeppe, but she did not receive a contract like subsequent winners of the contest. Other winners included Christy Hemme, Ashley Massaro, Layla El, and Eve Torres. In addition to the winners...
appearing on both Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and SmackDown!.
After the end of the Diva Search competition, The Miz returned exclusively to SmackDown! and adopted a villainous
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
persona, starting his in-ring competition with a win over Tatanka
Chris Chavis
Christopher "Chris" Chavis , is a Native American professional wrestler best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment as Tatanka from 1991 to 1996 and from 2005 to 2007...
in a September 2006 episode of SmackDown!. After this win he, along with commentator Michael Cole
Michael Cole
Michael Sean Coulthard , better known by his ring name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE on both its Rawand SmackDown brands. Coulthard is a former news journalist....
, began to note whenever possible that he was "undefeated", though he only wrestled five matches over the next two months, defeating such superstars as Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, Funaki
Shoichi Funaki
is a Japanese/American professional wrestler best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one-time Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time Hardcore Champion.-Early years :...
, and Scotty 2 Hotty. At the same time he began a feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with Diva Search winner Layla El
Layla El
Layla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla...
, who spurned his advances on more than one occasion, leading to Miz helping Kristal
Kristal Marshall
Kristal Marshall is an American model, beauty queen, and former professional wrestler best known for her work in World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown! brand and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion working as Kristal Lashley the kayfabe wife of Bobby Lashley and his real life...
defeat her in various competitions. Soon, however, Miz and Kristal found themselves being stalked by The Boogeyman
Marty Wright
Martin "Marty" Wright is an American professional wrestler and actor best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name The Boogeyman.-Tough Enough:...
. This began a feud in which the Boogeyman ended the Miz's winning streak at December's Armageddon
Armageddon (2006)
Armageddon was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on December 17, 2006 at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. The event starred wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand.The main event was a tag team match, in which the team...
event.
Following a brief absence from television, The Miz returned to SmackDown! to host an interview segment called Miz TV. After the unsuccessful segment, the Miz returned to in-ring competition with a more intense style and began to pick up wins once again. On the June 11, 2007 episode of Raw, Mizanin faced off against Snitsky
Gene Snitsky
Eugene Alan "Gene" Snisky is a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Snitsky, who is best known for his time spent with World Wrestling Entertainment. He had played college football at the University of Missouri and was on the pre-season roster in 1995 for the Birmingham Barracudas...
in a match to determine a draft pick for SmackDown!. Snitsky easily defeated the Miz to give ECW the draft pick, but after constantly assaulting the Miz after the match, the referee reversed the decision and awarded the match to Miz, thus allowing SmackDown! a draft pick. SmackDown!'s pick was then revealed to be Chris Masters
Chris Masters
Christopher Todd Mordetzky is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Chris Masters. He is best known for his tenure with WWE.-Early career:...
.
ECW and teaming with John Morrison (2007–2009)
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
. He was absent from the first few weeks of ECW, though he was the subject of backstage mentions between matches and had several short Miz TV Crashes ECW video segments. He made his debut on the July 10 episode of ECW in a match against Nunzio
James Maritato
James Maritato is an American professional wrestler, of Italian origin, currently working on the independent circuit. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment and Extreme Championship Wrestling under the ring names Little Guido Maritato and Nunzio.-Starting out:While...
, which he won. Following this match, Extreme Exposé began expressing admiration in him and gave him a lap-dance, starting a new gimmick for him of a self-proclaimed "chick magnet". Extreme Exposé then became managers for The Miz. He then began a feud with Balls Mahoney
Balls Mahoney
Jonathan Rechner better known by his ring name Balls Mahoney , is an American professional wrestler...
, after Kelly Kelly began to fall in love with Mahoney on screen. On the October 2 episode of ECW, it was revealed that Miz owned the contracts of Kelly Kelly, Layla, and Brooke Adams
Brooke Adams (model)
Brooke Nichole Adams is an American model, dancer, and professional wrestler, currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brooke Tessmacher. She previously worked for World Wrestling Entertainment appearing with Kelly Kelly and Layla in the dance group Extreme Exposé...
, and used this excuse to stop Kelly from going out with Mahoney. He was voted at Cyber Sunday
Cyber Sunday (2007)
Cyber Sunday was the fourth annual Cyber Sunday professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on October 28, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C...
to face CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
, for the ECW Championship
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
but lost the match. On the November 16 episode of SmackDown, he became one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
with John Morrison when they defeated Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) in a title match, which gave the Miz his first title within the company.
In February 2008, Miz and Morrison were given a streaming
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
segment on the WWE website named The Dirt Sheet in which they mocked other wrestlers and facets of pop culture, showing off their promo skills. Morrison and The Miz co-wrote each episode of The Dirt Sheet each week. As the duo continued to hold the titles, WWE downplayed the angle of Miz and Morrison disliking each other, and portrayed them as friends. The team had many successful title defenses over the next few months, before dropping the championship to Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were a American professional wrestling tag team who appeared on the independent circuit and WWE under a variety of evolving names....
at the Great American Bash
The Great American Bash (2008)
The Great American Bash was the fifth annual Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
in a Fatal Four-Way match which also featured Jesse and Festus
Jesse and Festus
Jesse and Festus, also once known as The Dalton Boys, were an American professional wrestling tag team made up of Ray Gordy and Drew Hankinson . As of April 22, 2010, Ray Gordy was released by World Wrestling Entertainment...
and Finlay
Dave Finlay
David John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent...
and Hornswoggle. Neither Miz nor Morrison were pinned, as Hawkins pinned Jesse to win the titles. Miz and Morrison soon followed a feud with Cryme Tyme
Cryme Tyme
For animated series named Crime Time, visit Crime TimeCryme Tyme was a professional wrestling tag team that was signed to WWE.The team consisted of JTG and Shad , an over-the-top parody of stereotypical street thugs.-Early lives:Of Haitian and...
(Shad Gaspard
Shad Gaspard
Shad Chad Javier Romane Chittick Gaspard is an American professional wrestler of Haitian and Curaçaon descent, currently signed with Inoki Genome Federation...
and JTG) as a battle of their webshows, "Word Up" and "The Dirt Sheet". The two would be victorious against Cryme Tyme in a match at Cyber Sunday
Cyber Sunday (2008)
Cyber Sunday was the fifth and final Cyber Sunday professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on October 26, 2008 at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. It featured wrestlers from the Raw, ECW, and SmackDown brands...
where they were voted in. On December 13, 2008, Miz and Morrison defeated Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
and CM Punk to win the World Tag Team Championship during a WWE house show
House show
A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...
in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The team then engaged themselves in a feud with The Colóns
The Colóns
The Colóns were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of real-life brothers, Carlito and Primo. The team worked for World Wrestling Entertainment...
(Carlito
Carly Colon
Carlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Entertainment , but was released from his contract on May 21, 2010. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both...
and Primo
Eddie Colon
Edwin "Eddie" Carlos Colón is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is currently signed by WWE wrestling on its Raw brand as Primo. He is the son of Carlos Colón, Sr. and the younger brother of wrestlers Stacy and Carly Colón, better known as Carlito in WWE...
). In a dark match at WrestleMania XXV
WrestleMania XXV
WrestleMania XXV was the twenty-fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on April 5, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas...
, they lost the World Tag Team Championship to The Colóns in a Lumberjack match to unify the World Tag Team and the WWE Tag Team titles.
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
due to Morrison's inadvertent interference, which gave Raw a draft pick in the 2009 WWE Draft
2009 WWE Draft
The 2009 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft was the seventh Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The Draft took place over two days: the first day was televised live for three hours on April 13; the second part, the "Supplemental Draft", was held on April 15...
. The pick was then revealed to be The Miz, and he subsequently attacked Morrison, ending their partnership. He challenged John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
to a match on the April 27 episode of Raw, but as Cena was out due to injury, Miz claimed an unofficial win via forfeit and continued to do this over the following weeks, until Cena defeated him in a singles match at The Bash. On the August 3 episode of Raw, The Miz lost a match to Cena, which meant that, in storyline, he was banned from the Staples Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
, Raw and SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2009)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on August 23, 2009 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It was the 22nd annual SummerSlam event and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands...
. The following week, on August 10, Miz competed under a mask as "The Calgary Kid", and won a Contract on Pole match against Eugene
Nick Dinsmore
Nicholas "Nick" Dinsmore , better known by his ring names Eugene and U-Gene, is an American professional wrestler...
, earning a contract in storyline, and revealing himself by removing his mask afterwards. After removing the mask to reveal himself. he cut a promo and debut his catchphrase "Because I am The Miz and I'm Awesome."
Alliances and Championship reigns (2009–2011)
The following week on Raw, The Miz announced his intention to challenge for the WWE United States ChampionshipWWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
, and also debuted new ring attire and a new finishing move, the Skull Crushing Finale, to defeat Evan Bourne. He challenged for the United States Championship at the Night of Champions
Night of Champions (2009)
Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on July 26, 2009 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the second annual event to be promoted solely under the Night of Champions name and the...
, Breaking Point
WWE Breaking Point
Breaking Point was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on September 13, 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. The name of the event was voted by fans via...
and Hell in a Cell pay-per-views, but was unsuccessful. On the October 5 episode of Raw, the night after Hell in a Cell, The Miz received a rematch for the championship, and defeated Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
to win the United States Championship and his first singles championship in WWE. The following pay-per-view event, Bragging Rights, was themed with interpromotional matches and now that The Miz was the second-tier champion on Raw he was booked against SmackDown's Intercontinental Champion
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
, his erstwhile tag team partner John Morrison. In the build up to their first match since splitting, the two hosted a one-off edition of The Dirt Sheet on the October 16 episode of SmackDown where the two compared themselves to '80s tag team The Rockers
The Rockers
The Rockers were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty that teamed from 1985 to 1992. The team worked for Central States Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, Continental Wrestling Federation, Continental Wrestling Association and the World...
, debating over which is more comparable to the successful Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
and which was the less successful Marty Jannetty
Marty Jannetty
Frederick Marty Jannetty is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as part of tag team The Rockers with partner Shawn Michaels, and later as a singles competitor. While in the WWF, he became a one time Intercontinental Champion and a one time...
. At Bragging Rights, Miz pinned Morrison to become the only member of the Raw roster to win an interpromotional match. The following month at Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2009)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on November 22, 2009 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.. It was the 23rd annual Survivor Series event. It featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands...
, Miz captained a team of five wrestlers against Team Morrison in a five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match and once again bested his former partner.
In 2010, The Miz began a rivalry with MVP that began with a critically well-received verbal exchange between the two. The two met in an unadvertised match for the United States Championship at the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2010)
Royal Rumble was the twenty-third annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 31, 2010 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands...
event with Miz retaining his title, but in the Royal Rumble match itself MVP eliminated both himself and The Miz. During the rivalry with MVP, Miz began showing signs of an allegiance with The Big Show
Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
and on the February 8 episode of Raw, the two defeated champions D-Generation X
D-Generation X
D-Generation X was a professional wrestling stable in WWE . The group originated in the midst of the WWF's "Attitude Era" from 1997 to 2000...
(Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
and Shawn Michaels) and The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
and Luke Gallows
Drew Hankinson
Andrew "Drew" Hankinson is an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he appeared under the ring names Festus and Luke Gallows...
) to become the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions.
On February 16, it was announced that he would be on the WWE NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
show as the storyline mentor of Daniel Bryan
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
. During the 2010 WWE Draft
2010 WWE Draft
The 2010 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft was the eighth Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The Draft took place over two days: the first day was televised live for three hours on April 26, and the second part, the "Supplemental Draft", was held on April 27...
on the April 26 episode of Raw, ShoMiz lost the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship to The Hart Dynasty
The Hart Dynasty
The Hart Dynasty was a professional wrestling stable that appeared in World Wrestling Entertainment. The unit consisted of the tag team of Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith, and WWE Diva Natalya...
when Tyson Kidd made The Miz submit to the Sharpshooter
Sharpshooter (professional wrestling)
The Sharpshooter, originally named Sasori-gatame, Scorpion Hold in English, is a professional wrestling submission hold. The move is also known by several other names: cloverleaf leg-lace Boston crab, standing reverse figure-four leglock, and, the most commonly known alternative, Scorpion Deathlock...
. After the match, The Big Show knocked out The Miz, and was later drafted to the SmackDown brand, leaving The Miz on Raw. On May 10, Kidd defeated The Miz in a match, which earned any member of The Hart Dynasty a match for the United States Championship, and The Miz, who was allowed to chose his opponent, elected to face Bret Hart. On the following episode of Raw on May 17, Hart defeated The Miz to win the United States Championship, despite Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
, William Regal, and Vladimir Kozlov attempting to interfere on The Miz's behalf. The Miz had a tumultuous relationship with Bryan, who was eliminated from NXT on May 11, although he returned the following week to attack The Miz.
On June 1, The Miz announced that he would be returning as a Pro for the second season of NXT, to mentor Alex Riley
Alex Riley
Alex Riley is a TV and radio presenter.Born and brought up in Sheffield, Riley started performing with the city's Crucible Youth Theatre during which time he originated, and appeared in, dozens of sketches and devised pieces, as well as appearing in a number of plays and farces at the Library...
, the only Pro to do so. On the June 14 episode of Raw, The Miz defeated R-Truth
Ron Killings
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
, John Morrison, and Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder
Matthew Joseph Cardona, Jr. better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE and works on the Raw brand as a wrestler and the SmackDown brand as an assistant to SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag...
in a fatal four-way match to win the United States Championship for the second time, and successfully retained the championship against R-Truth at the Fatal 4-Way
WWE Fatal 4-Way
Fatal 4-Way was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on June 20, 2010 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York...
pay-per-view.
On July 18, at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, The Miz won a Money in the Bank ladder match
Money in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
to win a contract for a WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
match that he could utilize at any time over the next year. Over the next few weeks, The Miz attempted to cash in his Money in the Bank contract on the WWE Champion Sheamus, but was continually interrupted by other wrestlers before the matches could occur, which meant that he retained the contract for future use. Daniel Bryan returned to WWE at SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2010)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on August 15, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the second consecutive year...
, taking The Miz's place on Team WWE, causing The Miz to attack him. This began a rivalry between the two, with The Miz losing the United States Championship to Bryan at the Night of Champions
Night of Champions (2010)
Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on September 19, 2010 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the third annual event to be promoted solely under the Night of Champions name and the tenth...
event in September. The following month, Miz defeated John Cena to become the captain of Team Raw, but at the Bragging Rights
Bragging Rights (2010)
Bragging Rights was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on October 24, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the second and final Bragging Rights event. Seven matches took place at the event...
pay-per-view Team Raw—The Miz (with Alex Riley
Alex Riley
Alex Riley is a TV and radio presenter.Born and brought up in Sheffield, Riley started performing with the city's Crucible Youth Theatre during which time he originated, and appeared in, dozens of sketches and devised pieces, as well as appearing in a number of plays and farces at the Library...
), R-Truth
Ron Killings
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
, John Morrison, Santino Marella, Sheamus, CM Punk, and Ezekiel Jackson—were unsuccessful in defeating Team SmackDown.
On the November 22 episode of Raw, following a successful WWE Championship defense by Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
against Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett is a retired American soccer player. He is currently an assistant coach at Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo-College:...
, he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to become the new WWE Champion making him the first person from Tough Enough to win the WWE Championship. He successfully defended the championship against Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
A Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, often abbreviated as a TLC, is a type of professional wrestling match originated within WWE, but can be seen under different variations in other wrestling promotions....
on the following episode of Raw, due to help from Michael Cole
Michael Cole
Michael Sean Coulthard , better known by his ring name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE on both its Rawand SmackDown brands. Coulthard is a former news journalist....
and Riley, and again at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2010)
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on December 19, 2010 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. It was the second annual TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event...
pay-per-view in December by defeating Orton in a Tables match following interference from Alex Riley
Alex Riley
Alex Riley is a TV and radio presenter.Born and brought up in Sheffield, Riley started performing with the city's Crucible Youth Theatre during which time he originated, and appeared in, dozens of sketches and devised pieces, as well as appearing in a number of plays and farces at the Library...
. He defeated Orton again at the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2011)
Royal Rumble was the 24th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on January 30, 2011 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts....
, after interference from CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
, in January 2011 and Lawler the following month at the Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber (2011)
Elimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 20, 2011 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California...
pay-per-view to retain the championship.
The night after Elimination Chamber, The Miz and John Cena were paired together by the Raw General Manager to challenge The Corre
The Corre
The Corre was a professional wrestling heel stable that performed on WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The stable was formed after Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the Nexus and allied with Ezekiel Jackson.-Formation:...
(Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater) for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The Miz and Cena were successful in winning the titles (making Miz a double champion and seemingly turning him into a tweener
Tweener
Tweener may refer to:* Preteen, kids ages 10-12* David "Tweener" Apolskis, a character from the U.S. television series, Prison Break* "Tweener" , the ninth episode from season 1 of U.S...
), but lost them back to Corre immediately afterward in a rematch, after The Miz turned on Cena. This made their reign the shortest in the championship's history. The following week, The Miz lost Riley as his apprentice after Cena defeated Riley in a steel cage match with the stipulation that if Cena won, Riley was fired from his job, but The Miz hired Riley back, this time as his VP of Corporate Communications, in mid-March. On April 3 in the main event of WrestleMania XXVII
WrestleMania XXVII
WrestleMania XXVII was the twenty-seventh annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , held on April 3, 2011 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia...
, The Miz successfully defended the WWE Championship against Cena, following interference from The Rock. At the Extreme Rules
Extreme Rules (2011)
Extreme Rules was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 1, 2011 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida...
pay-per-view on May 1, The Miz lost the WWE Championship to Cena, in a triple threat steel cage match, also involving Morrison. The following night on Raw, The Miz failed to regain the championship from Cena in a singles match when he lost by disqualification, and failed to regain the championship again in an "I Quit" match at Over the Limit
Over the Limit (2011)
Over the Limit was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 22, 2011 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. It was the second Over the Limit event...
.
The night after Over the Limit, on Raw, The Miz fired Riley, blaming him for not being able to regain the championship. This led to Riley attacking his former mentor, sending him crashing into a barricade at ringside and then head first over the announce table which turned Riley a fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
for the first time in WWE. On the May 30 edition of RAW, The Miz assaulted Riley after an interview from Michael Cole
Michael Cole
Michael Sean Coulthard , better known by his ring name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE on both its Rawand SmackDown brands. Coulthard is a former news journalist....
, but Riley gained the upper hand and Miz escaped through the crowd. At Capitol Punishment
WWE Capitol Punishment
Capitol Punishment was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on June 19, 2011 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C....
, Riley defeated Miz in a singles-match. He went on to lose to Riley in various singles and tag team matches. It was later announced that Miz would be a participant in the Raw's Money in the Bank ladder match
Money in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
at Money in the Bank
Money in the Bank (2011)
Money in the Bank was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on July 17, 2011 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. It was the second annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view...
, though he was unsuccessful in winning the match.. At Summerslam
SummerSlam (2011)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on August 14, 2011. For the third consecutive year, SummerSlam was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and it was the 24th annual SummerSlam event...
,The Miz teamed up with R-Truth and Alberto Del Rio in an unsuccessful effort against Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
and John Morrison
John Morrison
-In politics:* John Morrison , politician in Manitoba, Canada* John Morrison , Canadian Member of Parliament* John Morrison...
.
On the August 22 episode of Raw, Miz and R-Truth attacked Santino Marella before his match. They would then cut a promo agreeing there was a conspiracy in the keeping the both of them out of the main event picture, and declared they would, together, seize any opportunity that came their way in the future. The duo would soon begin referring to themselves, on Raw and in other media, as "The Awesome Truth". On the August 29 episode of Raw, Truth interfered in Miz's match and the duo attacked CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
. The following week, Miz and Truth announced that they would challenge Air Boom
Air Boom
Air Boom is a WWE professional wrestling tag team consisting of Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston, both of whom compete on WWE's Raw brand where they are the current reigning WWE Tag Team Champions. Their team name "Air Boom" was voted upon by fans on WWE's website...
(Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
) to a match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
at Night of Champions
Night of Champions (2011)
Night of Champions was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on September 18, 2011 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. It was the 4th annual WWE Night of Champions event and the 11th in the WWE Vengeance overall timeline. Seven matches took...
. In that pay-per-view tag title match, Miz would assault the referee, causing his team to lose by disqualification. Seeking retribution, Miz and Truth later attacked both Triple H and CM Punk during their no disqualification match in the main event. Because of their actions from the previous night, R-Truth and The Miz were fired by Triple H on the September 19 edition of Raw.
At the conclusion of the main event match at Hell in a Cell
Hell in a Cell (2011)
Hell in a Cell was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on October 2, 2011 at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the third annual Hell in a Cell event. Like the 2009 and 2010 events, this event also featured the Hell in a Cell match...
, R-Truth and The Miz jumped the barricade wearing black hooded sweatshirts and entered the cell as it was being raised. They then used weapons to attack Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, John Cena, and several others while the cell was again lowered. After this, the entire WWE roster led by Triple H came out to find a way into the cell, before New Orleans Police Department
New Orleans Police Department
The New Orleans Police Department has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, while the city is divided into eight police districts....
officers were able to get the door open and arrest them. The two later posted a video on Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
apologizing to the WWE Universe for their actions. The Miz and R-Truth were reinstated by John Laurinaitis on the October 10th 2011 episode of Raw. At Vengeance
Vengeance (2011)
Vengeance was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on October 23, 2011 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. It is the 12th event under the Vengeance/Night of Champions chronology and the first event under the Vengeance name since the 2007 edition...
, Miz and Truth would go on to defeat CM Punk and Triple H in a tag team match, due to interference from Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
. Later that same night they assaulted John Cena during his WWE Championship match with Alberto Del Rio. On the October 24th edition of Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Awesome Truth attacked John Cena and Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder
Matthew Joseph Cardona, Jr. better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE and works on the Raw brand as a wrestler and the SmackDown brand as an assistant to SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag...
. Two weeks later on the 7th November edition of Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Miz and R-Truth defeated Cena and Ryder. At the 2011
Survivor Series (2011)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE that took place on November 20, 2011 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was the 25th annual Survivor Series event and the first one to take place in Madison Square Garden since the 2002 event...
Survivor Series
Survivor Series
The Survivor Series is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held in November by WWE. It is one of the "Big Four" events, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, as It is one of the original four pay-per-views produced by WWE....
PPV, The Awesome Truth were defeated by John Cena and The Rock.
Return to Singles Competition (2011-present)
On the November 21 edition of Raw Supershow, John Cena instigated an argument between R-Truth and Miz, which resulted in Miz hitting his finisher on Truth as they were heading up the steel ramp, signaling the end of their alliance. This was a pretext to explain R-Truth's absence during his suspension as a result of his violating of the Wellness Policy.The following week he injured John Morrison , then the next day WWE acknowledged the end of Morrison's WWE Contract .
Other media
Mizanin will co-star in 2012 crime drama Stainless Steel, alongside fellow wrestlers Matt Striker and Layla ElLayla El
Layla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla...
as CIA agent John Steel. Mizanin made an appearance at The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
's TV series H8R
H8R
H8R is an American television series for The CW Television Network. The hour-long series, hosted by Mario Lopez, premiered Wednesday, September 14, 2011...
, at episode 5 which aired on October 5, 2011.
Personal life
Mizanin is left-handed. He passionately roots for his hometown Cleveland BrownsCleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, and Cavs
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
. Prior to the Indians vs. Angels game on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 Mizanin fulfilled one of his life-long goals when he threw out the first pitch.
When Mike was 11, his parents divorced. He has a step-father named Donnie and two step-siblings, Jimmy and Tonia. His father, George Mizanin, owns several "Mr. Hero" sandwich shops in Cleveland, Ohio. Mizanin has been romantically involved with several female reality stars, including Trishelle Cannatella
Trishelle Cannatella
Trishelle Cannatella is an American reality TV contestant, Playboy model, and actress.-Early life:Cannatella was born on November 4, 1979, and raised in Cut Off, Louisiana. She is of French and Italian ancestry...
, Lauren Conrad
Lauren Conrad
Lauren Katherine Conrad is an American television personality, celebutante, and fashion designer. She came to prominence with her starring roles on the MTV reality series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and its spin-off series, The Hills, which at one point followed her personal and...
, and Kendal Sheppard. He is dating former WWE Diva Maryse.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Mizard of Oz (Swinging inverted DDT) - 2005-2007
- Reality Check (Running knee lift followed by a neckbreaker slam) - 2007-2009
- Skull-Crushing Finale (Full nelson facebuster) – 2009–present
- Signature moves
- Big boot
- Discus punch – OVWOhio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
- Diving double axe handle
- Half nelson facebuster
- Inverted facelock backbreaker followed by a neckbreaker slam
- Knee lift
- NeckbreakerNeckbreakerIn professional wrestling a neckbreaker is any throw or slam that focuses its attack on the opponent’s neck. One type of neckbreaker involves the wrestler slamming an opponent's neck against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee, head or shoulder...
- Swinging corner clothesline
- Snap DDT to a kneeling opponent
- Snapmare driver
- Springboard bulldog – OVW
- Turnbuckle bulldog
- With R-TruthRon KillingsRonald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
- Little Jimmy's Finale (Little Jimmy (Truth) / Skull-Crushing Finale (Miz) combination)
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Kenny BolinKenny BolinKenny Bolin is a professional wrestling manager, best known as the lead villainous manager in Ohio Valley Wrestling as the manager of Bolin Services. Hit podcast Radio show called "The Bolin Alley" he does with his son Chris...
- Roni JonahRoni JonahRoni Jonah is a Canadian professional wrestler and actress. She has worked for both Ohio Valley Wrestling and Women's Extreme Wrestling.-Ohio Valley Wrestling :...
- ODB
- LaylaLayla ElLayla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla...
- Kelly Kelly
- BrookeBrooke Adams (model)Brooke Nichole Adams is an American model, dancer, and professional wrestler, currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brooke Tessmacher. She previously worked for World Wrestling Entertainment appearing with Kelly Kelly and Layla in the dance group Extreme Exposé...
- The Bella TwinsThe Bella TwinsBrianna Monique Garcia and Stephanie Nicole Garcia are American twin professional wrestlers. The twins are a professional wrestling tag team under the ring names Brie Bella and Nikki Bella, collectively referred to as The Bella Twins, and work for WWE on the Raw brand.Before being promoted to the...
- Nikki BellaThe Bella TwinsBrianna Monique Garcia and Stephanie Nicole Garcia are American twin professional wrestlers. The twins are a professional wrestling tag team under the ring names Brie Bella and Nikki Bella, collectively referred to as The Bella Twins, and work for WWE on the Raw brand.Before being promoted to the...
- Alex RileyAlex RileyAlex Riley is a TV and radio presenter.Born and brought up in Sheffield, Riley started performing with the city's Crucible Youth Theatre during which time he originated, and appeared in, dozens of sketches and devised pieces, as well as appearing in a number of plays and farces at the Library...
- R-TruthRon KillingsRonald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
- Kenny Bolin
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "Mr. Money in the BankMoney in the Bank ladder matchThe Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
"
- "Mr. Money in the Bank
- "The Chick Magnet"
- "The Must See WWE Champion / Superstar In History
- "The Cleveland Screamer"
- "The Grand Mizard of Lust"
- "The Monk of Mojo"
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "getting away with murder"-Papa Roach (used when he was the host of SMACKDOWN!)
- "Reality" by Jim JohnstonJim Johnston (composer)James Alan "Jim" Johnston is an American music composer who has been working for WWE since 1985. His work is often accredited to the names Jim Johnston, James A...
(September 1, 2006–December 28, 2009) - "Ain't No Make Believe" by Stonefree Experience (November 16, 2007–April 13, 2009; Used while teaming with John Morrison)
- "I Came to Play" by Downstait (January 4, 2010–present; Used during singles competition)
- "The Awesome Truth" by Jim Johnston (August 22, 2011–November 21, 2011; Used while teaming with R-TruthRon KillingsRonald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
)
Championships and accomplishments
- Deep South Wrestling
- Deep South Heavyweight ChampionshipDeep South Heavyweight Championship-After WWE:The title was "held-up" after the agreement between WWE and DSW ended in March 2007, and another tournament was held in on July 12 to crown the new champion.↑Alexander the Great defeated Salvatore Rinauro by Coin Toss-Title history:...
(1 time)
- Deep South Heavyweight Championship
- Ohio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
- OVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipOVW Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. As of 2011, the current champions are Ted McNaler and Adam Revolver, known as The Elite in their fourth reign...
(1 time) – with Chris Cage
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2011
- World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
- WWE ChampionshipWWE ChampionshipThe WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
(1 time) - WWE Tag Team ChampionshipWWE Tag Team ChampionshipThe WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
(3 times) – with John Morrison (1), The Big Show (1) and John CenaJohn CenaJohn Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
(1) - WWE United States ChampionshipWWE United States ChampionshipThe WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
(2 times) - World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with John Morrison (1) and The Big Show (1)
- Money in the BankMoney in the Bank ladder matchThe Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
(Raw 2010) - Slammy Award for Best WWE.com Exclusive (2008) – with John Morrison
- Slammy Award for Tag Team of the Year (2008) – with John Morrison
- WWE Championship
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Most Improved (2008, 2009)
- Tag Team of the Year (2008) with John Morrison