page_title: The Miz
section_title: Alliance with Maryse (2016–2017)
hierarchical_section_title: The Miz / Professional wrestling career / World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE / Alliance with Maryse (2016–2017)
caption_attribution_description: English: Maryse posing with her real-life husband The Miz after winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship the night after WrestleMania 32 in April 4, 2016.
context_page_description: Michael Gregory Mizanin is an American professional wrestler, actor and media personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz.
  Mizanin first gained fame as a reality television participant. He was a cast member on MTV's The Real World: Back to New York in 2001 and subsequently appeared in its spinoff series, Real World/Road Rules Challenge from 2002 to 2005, where he won Battle of the Seasons and The Inferno II. Furthermore, he reached the final in Battle of the Network Reality Stars and won a 3-part Reality Stars-themed episode of Fear Factor in 2006. After becoming the runner-up in the fourth season of Tough Enough and subsequently launching his WWE career, Mizanin appeared on Diva Search, Total Divas and Tough Enough and hosted several seasons of The Challenge. He and his wife Maryse also starred in their own reality show titled Miz & Mrs. that premiered in 2018. He has also come to star in several films produced by WWE Studios, portraying Jake Carter in The Marine franchise as well as starring in Christmas Bounty and Santa's Little Helper.
context_section_description: On the Raw episode post-WrestleMania 32, Miz won the Intercontinental Championship for the fifth time, after his wife Maryse made her return to WWE and distracted Ryder by slapping his father, thus becoming his manager in the process, where the two then became an on-screen power couple. In the weeks following, Miz and Maryse then began to cut various promos during the Miz TV segments, while calling themselves the "it" couple. At Payback on May 1, Miz defeated Cesaro to retain his championship after Cesaro was distracted by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn brawling on the apron, leading to a feud over the Intercontinental Championship between the four men. At Extreme Rules on May 22, Miz successfully retained the championship against Cesaro, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in a highly acclaimed fatal four-way match, when Miz pinned Cesaro. The following night on Raw, Miz failed to qualify for the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match when he was defeated by Cesaro, setting up another championship match between the two set for the week's SmackDown, which Miz won. Following this, he and Maryse began filming The Marine 5: Battleground, taking them out of action. Both returned on the June 27 episode of Raw, where he lost to Kane in a championship match via countout. At Battleground on July 24, the Intercontinental Championship match between Miz and Darren Young ended in a double disqualification after The Miz pushed Bob Backlund (Darren Young's mentor) and Young attacked him. On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, Miz along with Maryse was drafted to SmackDown, with the Intercontinental Championship becoming exclusive to that brand. At SummerSlam on August 21, Miz successfully defended the championship against Apollo Crews.
  On the August 23 episode of Talking Smack, The Miz went on a highly praised tirade against SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan for calling him a coward, with Miz calling Bryan a "coward" for not returning to the ring when he promised the fans he would, before telling him to "go back to the bingo halls with your indie friends". At Backlash on September 11, Miz successfully defended the title against Dolph Ziggler after Maryse sprayed an unknown substance at Ziggler while the referee was distracted. Afterwards, The Miz continued to blame Bryan and vowed not to defend his Intercontinental Championship on any show until he was granted a contract "renegotiation". At No Mercy on October 9, Miz lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ziggler in a title vs career match after Maryse and The Spirit Squad (Kenny and Mikey), were ejected from ringside, ending Miz's reign at 188 days. 
  On the 900th episode of SmackDown on November 15, Maryse helped Miz to win the championship for the sixth time. Miz successfully defended the title against Raw's Sami Zayn at Survivor Series on November 20 after Maryse prematurely rang the bell, causing a distraction. Miz faced Ziggler once more in a ladder match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 4 which Miz won to end their feud.
  On December 6 episode of SmackDown, Miz successfully defended the title against Dean Ambrose after interference from Maryse and distraction from James Ellsworth. Two weeks later on SmackDown, Miz successfully defended the championship against Apollo Crews. After the match, Miz was interviewed by Renee Young, where Miz sarcastically responded by revealing Young and Ambrose's real life relationship, prompting her to slap Miz. On the January 3, 2017 episode of SmackDown, Miz lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ambrose despite interference from Maryse. On January 29, Miz entered the 2017 Royal Rumble match at number 15 and lasted 32 minutes until he was eliminated by The Undertaker.
  On January 31 episode of SmackDown, Miz was revealed as one of the participants of the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship which took place on February 12, where Miz lost after John Cena eliminated him. On the February 21 episode of SmackDown, Miz participated in a ten-man battle royal to determine the challenger for the Bray Wyatt's WWE Championship, but was eliminated
caption: The Miz celebrating along manager Maryse after winning his fifth Intercontinental Championship in April 2016
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