The Miz Michael Gregory " Mike " Mizanin ( October 8 , 1980 ) , better known by his ring name The Miz , is an American professional wrestler , reality television star , media personality , and actor signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Intercontinental Champion in his sixth reign . 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 matches 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 his only WWE Championship . In 2011 , The Miz was ranked number one on " Pro Wrestling Illustrated " ' s annual PWI 500 list . Early life . The Miz , a native of Parma , Ohio , 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 . Television career . Mizanin dropped out of college , where he was pursuing a degree in business , in order to appear on the tenth season 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 all the " Challenges " on which he competed and won both " Battle of the Seasons " and " The Inferno 2 " . After a seven year long absence from " The Real World / Road Rules Challenge " , Mizanin returned to the reality show on April 4 , 2012 as the host of " The Battle of the Exes " season finale Reunion special . It marked the first time The Miz appeared on the series since becoming a main event " WWE " superstar . 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 also appeared as a guest star in a March 2012 episode of " Psych " . On March 31 , Miz appeared in the first ever Slime Wrestling World Championship at the Nickelodeon Kids ' Choice Awards , losing to the Big Show which resulted in him being thrown into a tub of slime . On October 1 , Miz appeared on Disney XD show Pair of Kings as a guest star . Professional Wrestling Career . Ultimate Pro Wrestling ( 2003 ) . 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 Stradlin . World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE . " Tough Enough " and training ( 2004 – 2006 ) . 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 US $ 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 match es 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 . Ohio Valley Wrestling . 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 " Miz " , with a " Miz TV " segment , where he was shown talking backstage . On the January 28 , 2006 episode of the OVW television show , The Miz wrestled his first singles match against Rene Dupree , but lost by countout . At the February 8 , 2006 TV taping , 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 Miz in a singles contest to win the championship for his team The Untouchables ( Deuce Shade and Domino ) . SmackDown ! host ( 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 storyline 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 as a villainous persona , starting his in ring competition with win over Tatanka in 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 . Teaming with John Morrison ( 2007 – 2009 ) . 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 . Championship reigns ( 2009 – 2011 ) . Miz challenged John Cena to a match on the April 27 episode of " Raw " , but as Cena was out due to injury , Mike " 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 . " On the August 17 edition of " Raw " , The Miz announced his intention to challenge for the WWE United States Championship , and also debuted new ring attire and a new finishing move and defeated 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 buildup 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 , making Miz a triple champion ( U . S . , World Tag Team , and WWE Tag Team Champion ) . On February 16 , it was announced that he would be on the " WWE NXT " show as the storyline mentor of Daniel Bryan . At WrestleMania XXVI , Show and Miz defeated John Morrison and R - Truth to retain the title again . 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 choose 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 and became the first superstar to win money in the bank while being a champion . 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 pay - per - view in December by defeating Orton in a Tables match following interference from Alex Riley . The Miz defeated Morrison to retain the championship in a Falls Count Anywhere match on the first Raw of 2011 . 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 , 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 . On the May 23 episode of " Raw " , The Miz fired Riley , blaming him for not being able to regain the championship because of Riley not being present at the Extreme Rules PPV when Miz lost the title , the following night on Raw when Riley held up the arm that Miz was holding the belt with leading to his disqualification and at the Over the Limit PPV when he left his phone behind that he used to trick the referee into thinking that Cena had said " I Quit " . This led to Riley attacking his former mentor , sending him crashing into a barricade at ringside and then head first over the announce table and which turned Riley a fan favorite for the first time in WWE . On the May 30 episode 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 following a knee injury kayfabe and then returning but stopped from claiming the briefcase by Rey Mysterio . The following night on Raw Miz made it to the finals of the WWE Championship tournament defeating his former NXT rookie , Alex Riley in the first round . The following week on Raw Miz would be defeated by Rey Mysterio . At Summerslam , The Miz teamed up with R - Truth and Alberto Del Rio in a losing effort to Rey Mysterio , Kofi Kingston and John Morrison . Awesome Truth ( 2011 ) . 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 WWE 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 . At the pay - per - view , following the referee being distracted while The Miz was attempting a pin , 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 episode 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 , the Referee and camera men 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 10 episode of " Raw " . At Vengeance , Miz and R - Truth defeated CM Punk and Triple H in a tag team match , after interference from Triple H ' s long time friend Kevin Nash . Later that night they assaulted John Cena during his WWE Championship match with Alberto Del Rio . On the October 24 episode of " Raw " , Awesome Truth attacked John Cena and Zack Ryder . On the November 7 episode of " Raw " , Miz and R - Truth defeated Cena and Ryder . At Survivor Series , The Awesome Truth were defeated by John Cena and The Rock . On the November 21 episode of " Raw " , 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 . Losing Streak and Intercontinental Champion ( 2011 – 2012 ) . On the November 28 episode of " Raw " , Miz defeated John Morrison in a Falls Count Anywhere match after he , once again , hit his finisher on there steel ramp . On the December 5 , episode of " Raw " , Miz qualified for a Triple Threat Tables , Ladders , and Chairs match against Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk at for the WWE Championship after a win over Randy Orton via count out , but was unsuccessful . On the December 26 episode of " Raw " , R - Truth returned only to viciously attack Miz after a match and promised this will continue week - after - week . The following " Raw " , Truth would hide in the audience and attack Miz again during his match with Sheamus . On the January 9 episode of " Raw " , Miz would retaliate by attacking R - Truth until Truth turned the tables and chased him out of the ring . On the January 16 episode of " Raw SuperShow " , " R - Truth defeated Miz , Wade Barrett , and Sheamus in an Over The Top Rope Challenge . " The following Raw , Miz was defeated by R - Truth in a singles match with a stipulation in place where the loser of the match would enter the Royal Rumble match as the first entrant . In the Rumble match , Miz was the longest lasting participant , lasting over 45 minutes before being eliminated by former tag team partner , Big Show . At Elimination Chamber , Miz failed again to capture the WWE Championship after being eliminated last by CM Punk . Desperate for a spot on the card for the upcoming WrestleMania XXVIII event , Miz joined John Laurinaitis ' team for the 12 - man tag team match after saving Laurinaitis from Santino Marella . Miz picked up the win for Team Johnny after pinning Zack Ryder with the help of Eve , which ended his 20 match losing streak dating back to 2011 . He again defeated Ryder the following night on Raw , thus ending his losing streak in singles matches . In the pre - show of Extreme Rules , Miz unsuccessfully challenged Santino Marella for the United States Championship . The following night on Raw , Miz was part of a Beat the Clock challenge to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship match at Over the Limit ; he defeated Marella in 4 : 18 before being beaten by Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan . At the pay - per - view , Miz was the last man to be eliminated in a 20 - man " People Power " battle royal to battle for either the WWE United States Championship or the WWE Intercontinental Championship , being eliminated by the winner Christian . Later on in the PPV , he was defeated by Brodus Clay in a singles match . After a two - month absence , The Miz returned on July 15 at the Money in the Bank pay - per - view , as a last - minute participant in the WWE Championship Money in the Bank contract match sporting a new haircut that replaced his signature fauxhawk . However , he would be unsuccessful as the match was won by old rival John Cena . On July 23 at " Raw 1000 " , Miz defeated Christian to win his first Intercontinental Championship . With this , Miz also became the 25th Triple Crown Champion in WWE history . Four days later on " SmackDown " , Miz successfully defended his title against Christian in a rematch . At SummerSlam , Miz defeated Rey Mysterio to retain the Intercontinental Championship . At Night Of Champions , Miz successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship in a Fatal Four Way match against Cody Rhodes , Rey Mysterio , and Sin Cara . From September , Miz started hosting the " MizTV " talk show . On the October 17 episode of " WWE Main Event " , Miz lost the Intercontinental Championship to Kofi Kingston . Miz failed to regain the title from Kingston in two rematches , the first on October 28 at Hell in a Cell , and the second on the November 6 episode of " SmackDown " . Intercontinental Champion ( 2012 – 2014 ) . After his loss to Kofi Kingston , The Miz started a face turn by offering Kingston a handshake . Miz ' s face turn was cemented by him joining Mick Foley ' s team at Survivor Series . On November 18 at Survivor Series , The Miz eliminated Wade Barrett before being eliminated by Alberto Del Rio . In the months to come , Miz ' s turn was not well received by critics , who commented that Miz as a babyface was too similar to his heel character because he was " still cocky , arrogant , and egotistical " while " pivoted toward calling out established heels " . Other criticisms were that Miz was " juvenile " , lacking of depth , " grating and not endearing to the audience " and that " there was not that moment when he officially turned and aligned his values with the audience ' s " . At TLC : Tables , Ladders & Chairs , The Miz hosted " Miz TV " with 3MB as guests . After 3MB assaulted the Spanish announcers , he , along with Alberto Del Rio and the Brooklyn Brawler defeated them in a six - man tag match . The following night on " Raw " , Miz and Del Rio teamed with Tommy Dreamer to defeat 3MB in another six - man tag match . The Miz then feuded with United States Champion Antonio Cesaro , after Cesaro insulted America . On January 14 , 2013 during the " Raw " 20th Anniversary special , Miz hosted " Miz TV " with guest Ric Flair . They were interrupted by Cesaro but Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale on him and Ric Flair gave The Miz the honor of applying his submission move , the figure - four leglock , on Cesaro . Miz adopted the figure - four from Flair and used it as a new finisher . The Miz faced Cesaro for the United States Championship on January 27 , during the Royal Rumble pre - show , but was unsuccessful . Later that night , Miz entered the Royal Rumble at number twenty - eight but was eliminated by Ryback . Miz continued his rivalry with Cesaro on " Raw Roulette " the following night when he was placed as the special guest referee in Cesaro ' s match with Randy Orton . Cesaro went on to lose the match due to a distraction from Miz and received a " Skull - Crushing Finale " afterwards . On the February 11 episode of " Raw " , Cesaro attacked Miz and repeatedly swung him into the barricade with a giant swing during Miz ' s match with Cody Rhodes , thus injuring Miz ' s shoulder . Six days later at Elimination Chamber , Miz lost his shot at the United States Championship via disqualification after he accidentally hit Cesaro in the groin . The following night on " Raw " , Miz defeated Cesaro in a non - title No Disqualification match via submission to earn another shot at the United States Championship . The title rematch took place the following week on " SmackDown " in a Two - out - of - Three Falls match , where Miz failed again to capture the title from Cesaro . On the March 11 episode of " Monday Night Raw " , The Miz faced Chris Jericho in a number one contenders match for Wade Barrett ' s Intercontinental Championship , but the match was ruled a no contest after Barrett interfered and attacked both men . As a result , both men were entered into the title match the following week on " Raw " , where Barrett retained his title after pinning Miz . The next week on " Raw " , Miz defeated Barrett in a non - title match via submission to earn another shot at the Intercontinental Championship . On April 7 , during the WrestleMania 29 pre - show , Miz defeated Barrett via submission to win his second Intercontinental Championship . In a rematch the next day on Raw , Wade Barrett defeated The Miz , ending his reign of one day . During the following weeks and months , The Miz feuded with Barrett , expanding into a joint feud with Fandango . He participated in a tag match with Chris Jericho against Wade Barrett and Fandango during " Monday Night Raw " on May 20 . On the May 24 episode of " Friday Night Smackdown " , Fandango and Summer Rae were guests on The Miz ' s " Miz TV " segment during the opening hour of the show . After being addressed about his conduct during his tag match , Wade Barrett came to the ring , warning Fandango that if they crossed paths again , he would ensure that no one would remember the name of Fandango . This sparked a fight between the Miz and Barrett prior to their match for the Intercontental Championship . Fandango joined the ringside table to serve as a commentator during the match between The Miz and Barrett . He interferred with a kick to The Miz ' s head calling for DQ and the two assaulted The Miz . However , Wade Barrett knocked out Fandango with his " Bull Hammer " elbow . On May 27 , during the Memorial Day edition of " Monday Night Raw " , The Miz refereed a match between Barrett and Fandango . He delivered his " Skull - Crushing Finale " on Barrett allowing Fandango to pick up the pin . After the match The Miz knocked out Fandango causing Summer Rae to land on him . The Miz mockingly counted a pin by Summer Rae on Fandango before exiting the ring . On the June 10th episode of " Monday Night Raw " , The Miz faced Cody Rhodes in a generic singles match with his rival Wade Barrett sitting at ringside for sparsely - rendered commentary . Afterwards , The Miz and Barrett appeared to want to confront each other when Paul Heyman made a surprise announcement that his newest " " Paul Heyman Guy " " Curtis Axel would fill in for an injured Fandango in the triple threat match for Barrett ' s Intercontinental Championship at Payback . At " Payback " , The Miz wrestled an unsuccessful title match , losing to Axel who went to on to pin a weakened Barrett . During the opening hour of the June 28 episode of " Friday Night Smackdown " The Miz hosted " Miz TV " with Paul Heyman as his guest . Halfway through the show , Heyman called out Axel to the ring and proceeded to deliver a " neckbreaker " to The Miz after The Miz declared he would reclaim the title . Leading towards his match at Money in the Bank against Axel for the Intercontinental Championship , The Miz wrestled Ryback on " Raw " , winning by Ryback forfeiting the match due to an alleged leg injury . On " Smackdown " July 12 , Ryback played on his injury to score a victory over The Miz . On the August 26 episode of Raw , The Miz appeared on stage with Rosa Mendes in mock - dress as impersonating Fandango and Summer Rae during the opening minutes of the Fandango vs Cody Rhodes match . This caused Fandango to be beaten by Rhodes and led to an attack by Fandango and Damien Sandow who was seated at ringside for commentary . The Miz joined the fray to help Rhodes , causing Raw GM Brad Maddox to immediately announce an impromptu match tag match between the opposing sides . Fandango eventually left Sandow during the match , watching the defeat from the stage area . During the September 13 episode of Smackdown , The Miz joined a dance contest held by Vickie Guerrero between Fandango and R - Truth . Dressed with a giant Afro wig and flamboyant dance attire , The Miz announced himself as " " Mizco Inferno " " . Joined by a fourth contestant , The Great Khali , the competition ended with The Miz winning the fans ' vote . The disgusted Fandango attacked The Miz briefly before R - Truth assisted The Miz in ejecting Fandango from the ring . During the midst of the Daniel Bryan feud against the McMahon regime ( specifically WWE C . O . O Triple H and Stephanie McMahon ) , and their company " face " Randy Orton , The Miz joined Team Bryan and joined in feuding against Randy Orton . This resulted in an attack from Orton on The Miz during the Raw show held in The Miz ' s hometown of Cleveland . The feud continued with The Miz getting a measure of revenge when he attacked Orton on the opening hour of the October 14 , Monday Night Raw . The Miz and Orton had an official match already scheduled after Orton ' s confrontation with Michaels and during the closing moments of the match , The Miz fell prey to a distraction by The Wyatt Family , allowing Orton to pick up the pinning win . The Miz now is engaged in feud with The Wyatts after they began targeting him during the month of October 2013 . " Hollywood A - Lister " ( 2014 – present ) . In 2014 The Miz adopted an arrogant movie star persona , bringing in Damien Sandow as his " stunt double " ( now known as Damien Mizdow ) . The duo won the WWE Tag Team Championship in late 2014 . After a two - month hiatus filming " " , The Miz returned to WWE on the June 30 , 2014 episode of " Raw " and immediately began to insult the crowd , and taking on the gimmick of an arrogant movie star , and turning heel for the first time since 2012 . He was interrupted by the returning Chris Jericho . A week later , on the July 7 episode of " Raw " , Miz was defeated by Chris Jericho in his return match . On July 20 at Battleground , Miz won a battle royal by lastly eliminating Dolph Ziggler to win the Intercontinental Championship for a third time . Miz lost the title to Ziggler on August 17 at SummerSlam , ending his reign at 28 days . Later that month , Damien Sandow began appearing with Miz as his ' stunt double ' ( mimicking all of Miz ' s moves and mannerisms ) , and was subsequently billed as " Damien Mizdow " . At Night of Champions , Miz defeated Ziggler to regain the Intercontinental Championship , however he lost the title back to Ziggler in a rematch the following night on " Raw " . On the September 29 episode of " Raw " , Miz once again unsuccessfully challenged Ziggler for the Intercontinental title in a triple - threat match also involving Cesaro . After defeating Sheamus several times with the help of Mizdow , Miz challenged him for the United States Championship at Hell in a Cell , but was unsuccessful . At Survivor Series , Miz and Mizdow won the WWE Tag Team Championship by winning a Fatal - 4 - Way match against defending champions Gold and Stardust , The Usos and Los Matadores . The following night on " Raw " , Miz and Mizdow retained the titles against Gold and Stardust . Miz and Mizdow entered into a feud with the Usos on the December 1 episode of " Raw " after the Usos won a Tag Team Turmoil match to become number one contenders to the tag team titles . Miz interacted with Jimmy Uso ' s wife , offering to connect her with a Hollywood producer to distribute her music video . At , The Usos defeated Miz and Mizdow by disqualification after Miz hit Jimmy Uso with a Slammy Award . On the December 29 episode of " Raw " , Miz and Mizdow lost the titles to The Usos . On the January 9 episode of " SmackDown " , Miz and Mizdow were given a tag team championship opportunity against The Usos and Gold and Stardust , but were unsuccessful . At Royal Rumble , Miz and Mizdow challenged The Usos for the titles once again in a losing effort . Later that night , both Miz and Mizdow competed in the Rumble match , with Miz as the first entrant , but was eliminated by Bubba Ray Dudley . Mizdow entered at number 21 , where Miz tried to take Mizdow ' s spot , only for Roman Reigns to push him off the apron , allowing Mizdow to enter before quickly being eliminated by Rusev . On the February 9 episode of " Raw " , Miz fired Mizdow as his stunt double after Mizdow began to gain more attention from fans , though he quickly rehired Mizdow as his personal assistant . Mizdow then ceased being his assistant during WrestleMania 31 . On the April 20 , 2015 edition of Monday Night Raw , Miz defeated Mizdow in a match where the winner gets to retain the Miz brand . After Big Show and Miz interfered in each other ' s Intercontinental Championship matches against Ryback , all three wrestled for the title at SummerSlam , where Miz was defeated . At the 2016 Royal Rumble , Miz competed in the Royal Rumble Match , also providing commentary before being eliminated . Miz wrestled in a six - man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 32 , which was won by Zack Ryder . On the post - WrestleMania " Raw " , Miz won the championship for a fifth time , after his wife Maryse made her return and distracted Ryder . Three days later on " SmackDown " , Miz retained his championship by defeating Ryder in a rematch , with Maryse interfering once more . Miz then faced Cesaro for the Intercontinental Championship at WWE Payback , which he retained due to interference from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn . As a result , Miz faced all three contenders in a Fatal 4 Way Match at Extreme Rules , which he retained by pinning Cesaro Miz would be drafted to Smackdown at the night of the Draft . After defeating Darren Young and Apollo Crews at Battleground and Summerslam , Miz then caught a worked shoot promo against Daniel Bryan , calling him out for leaving . Miz was soon entered a feud with Dolph Ziggler , defeating him twice to retain the title . Miz would put the belt on the line again at No Mercy at the expense of Ziggler ' s career . Personal life . He passionately roots for his hometown Cleveland Browns , Indians , and Cavs . Prior to the Indians vs . Angels game on Tuesday , July 26 , 2011 Mizanin fulfilled one of his lifelong 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 the Cleveland area . Mizanin is currently engaged to former WWE Diva Maryse . Quotations . " I ' m the Miz . . . And I ' m AWESOME ! " " Really . . . Really . . . Really ! "