The miz

**Michael Gregory "Mike" Mizanin** (born October 8, 1980)[1] is an American professional wrestler, reality television star, and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name **The Miz**.

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*,

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a televised competition which awarded the winner a WWE contract, and

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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 in independent/developmental territories Ultimate Pro Wrestling, Deep South Wrestling, and Ohio Valley Wrestling prior to appearing in 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 for three months, but his winning streak ended when he was later defeated by the Boogeyman at Armageddon. In 2007, Miz was drafted from SmackDown to the ECW brand, where he formed a partnership with John Morrison, and as a team would go on to win both the WWE Tag Team Championship and 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. In July 2010, he won the Raw 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, which he held for six months. In 2011, The Miz was ranked number one on *Pro Wrestling Illustrated'*s annual PWI 500 list. The Miz has main-evented several pay-per-view events in WWE, including WrestleMania XXVII.

In total, The Miz has won 13 championships in WWE (one WWE, four Intercontinental, two U.S. and six Tag Team), is the 25th Triple Crown Champion in company history, and (along with John Morrison) won the 2008 Tag Team of the Year Slammy Award.

## Early life

Mizanin was born in Parma, Ohio. He was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended Normandy High School and was the captain of its basketball and cross country teams.[1][2] He also participated in swimming, and was a member of the student government and the editor of his high school yearbook.[1] 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. He started to date fellow sophomore Karissa Long before he was cast as a member of "The Real World" (1992).[6]

## Television career

Mizanin dropped out of college, where he was pursuing a degree in business in order to appear on the 10th season of MTV's reality television program *The Real World* in 2001.[7][8] went on to appear in multiple seasons of its spin-off series, *Real World/Road Rules Challenge*,[8] along with contestants from both *Road Rules* and *The Real World*, including *Battle of the Seasons*,[9] *The Gauntlet*,[10] *The Inferno*,[10] *Battle of the Sexes 2*,[11] and *The Inferno 2*.[12] 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.[13]

It was during an episode of *The Real World* that Mizanin first displayed an alter ego known as "The Miz".[1]
 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.[1]

In 2004, he appeared on the Bravo reality show *Battle of the Network Reality Stars*,[8][14] where his team finished second. Mizanin was also a contestant in the "Reality Stars" episode of *Fear Factor*.[8][15]
 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.[16] In 2008, Mizanin appeared on the Sci Fi reality series *Ghost Hunters Live* as a guest investigator.[17] In 2009, Mizanin appeared on two episodes of *Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?*, which were both aired on September 29.[18][19] He appeared on an episode of *Destroy Build Destroy* on March 3, 2010.[20][21] 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. In 2012 Miz appeared on Disney XD show Pair of Kings as a guest star. In 2013 Miz along with Francia Raisa were in a movie together called Christmas Bounty.

## Professional wrestling career

### Ultimate Pro Wrestling (2003)

Pursuing the goal of becoming a professional wrestler, Mizanin joined Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), where he trained in the Ultimate University.[1] He made his in-ring debut in 2003 as The Miz.[1] 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.[1]

### World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE

#### *Tough Enough* and training (2004–2006)

The Miz debuted in WWE as a participant of the 2004 Tough Enough.

In October 2004, Mizanin entered the fourth season of *Tough Enough*, a televised competition which awarded the winner a World Wrestling Entertainment contract and US$1,000,000.[1][22] Despite coming last in an arm wrestling tournament on November 25, 2004, Mizanin outlasted six other wrestlers, and made it to the final round.[23] 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.[24] On the December 16, 2004, episode of *SmackDown!*, Puder was announced as the winner of *Tough Enough* by head trainer Al Snow.[25]

Despite losing the *Tough Enough* contest, Mizanin had piqued the interest of WWE, and he was eventually offered a developmental contract.[1] Mizanin was sent to Deep South Wrestling (DSW) to train under Bill DeMott,[1] 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.[1][26]
 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.[27]

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.[1] 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.[28]

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.[1][29]
 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.[30] 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).[1][31]

#### Debut and teaming with John Morrison (2006–2009)

Main article: John Morrison and The Miz

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.[1][32] 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.[33]

From late 2007 to early 2009, Miz spent the majority of that time as either WWE or World Tag Team Champion, teaming with John Morrison.

The Miz debuted as *SmackDown!'*s "host" on June 2, 2006,[34]
 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 on both *Raw* and *SmackDown!*.[35][36][37]

After the end of the Diva Search competition, The Miz returned exclusively to *SmackDown!* and as a heel, starting his in-ring competition with win over Tatanka in September 2006 episode of *SmackDown!*.[38] After this win he, along with commentator Michael Cole,

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began to note whenever possible that he was "undefeated", though he

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only wrestled five matches over the next two months, defeating such
superstars as Matt Hardy,[39] Funaki,[40] and Scotty 2 Hotty.[41] At the same time he began a feud with Diva Search winner Layla El, who spurned his advances on more than one occasion,[42][43] leading to Miz helping Kristal defeat her in various competitions.[44][45] 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.[46]

Following a brief absence from television, The Miz returned to *SmackDown!* to host an interview segment called *Miz TV*.[47]
 After the unsuccessful segment, The Miz returned to in-ring competition
 with a more intense style and began to pick up wins once again.[48][49] On the June 11, 2007 episode of *Raw*, Mizanin faced off against Snitsky in a match to determine a draft pick for SmackDown!.[50] Snitsky easily defeated The Miz to give ECW

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the draft pick, but after constantly assaulting The Miz after the

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match, the referee reversed the decision and awarded the match to Miz,
thus allowing SmackDown! a draft pick.[51] SmackDown!'s pick was then revealed to be Chris Masters.[51]

Miz was drafted from SmackDown! to ECW on June 17, 2007, as part of the 2007 Supplemental Draft.[52] 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.[53][54] He made his debut on the July 10 episode of *ECW* in a match against Nunzio, which he won.[55]

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".[56] Extreme Exposé then became managers for The Miz.[57] He then began a feud with Balls Mahoney, after Kelly Kelly began to fall in love with Mahoney on screen.[58][59][60] 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.[61] He was voted at Cyber Sunday to face CM Punk, for the ECW Championship but lost the match.[62]

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.[63][64]

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.[65] Morrison and The Miz co-wrote each episode of *The Dirt Sheet* each week.[66]
 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.[67] Neither Miz nor Morrison were pinned, as Hawkins pinned Jesse to win the titles.[67] 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". They were voted into a match with, and defeated, Cryme Tyme at Cyber Sunday.[68] 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.[69] 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.[70] 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.

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The pick was then revealed to be The Miz, and retaliated by

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subsequently attacking Morrison, ending their partnership and thus
turning John Morrison face.[71]

#### Championship reigns and ShoMiz (2009–2010)

Main article: ShoMiz

After his split from Morrison, Miz's first singles feud was against John Cena.

Miz challenged John Cena to a match on the April 27 episode of *Raw*,

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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

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Cena defeated him in a singles match at The Bash.[72] 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.[73] The following week, on August 10, Miz competed under a mask as "The Calgary Kid", and won a Contract on Pole match against Eugene,

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earning a contract in storyline, and revealing himself by removing his

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mask afterwards. He then created the Skull Crushing Finale and used it
on Eugene.[74] After removing the mask to reveal himself, he cut a promo and debut his catchphrase "Because I'm The Miz and I'm Awesome."

On the edition of August 17 of *Raw*, The Miz announced his intention to challenge for the WWE United States Championship, and also debuted new ring attire and defeated Evan Bourne.[3][2] 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.[75][76][77] On the October 5 episode of *Raw*,

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the night after Hell in a Cell, The Miz received a rematch for the

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championship, and defeated Kofi Kingston to win the United States
Championship and his first singles championship in WWE.[78][79] The following pay-per-view event, Bragging Rights,

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was themed with interpromotional matches and now that The Miz was the

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second-tier champion on Raw he was booked against SmackDown's Intercontinental Champion, his erstwhile tag team partner John Morrison.[80] 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.[81] At Bragging Rights, Miz pinned Morrison to become the only member of the Raw roster to win an interpromotional match.[82] 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 surviving with Sheamus and Drew Mcintyre.[83]

The Miz as one half of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania XXVI as a member of ShoMiz. Miz was also United States Champion at this time.

In 2010, The Miz began a rivalry with MVP that began with a critically well-received verbal exchange between the two.[84] 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.[85] 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).[86][87][88]

Miz appeared on the *WWE NXT* show as the storyline mentor of Daniel Bryan.[89] At WrestleMania XXVI, Show and Miz defeated John Morrison and R-Truth to retain the title again.[90] 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.[91]

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.[92] 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.[93] 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.[94][95]

The Miz returned as a Pro for the second season of *NXT*, to mentor Alex Riley, the only Pro to return.[96][97] On the June 14 episode of *Raw*, The Miz defeated R-Truth, John Morrison, and Zack Ryder

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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.[98][99][100]

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#### WWE Champion and Awesome Truth (2010–2011)

The Miz as the United States Champion and Money in the Bank contract holder in August 2010.

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 and
the second superstar after Rob Van Dam to hold a MITB contract and a title at the same time.[101] Over the next few weeks, The Miz attempted to cash in his Money in the Bank contract on the WWE Champion Sheamus,

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but was continually interrupted by other wrestlers before the matches

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could occur, which meant that he retained the contract for future use.[102][103] Daniel Bryan returned to WWE at SummerSlam, taking The Miz's place on Team WWE, causing The Miz to attack him.[104] 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.[105] 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.[106]

On the November 22 episode of *Raw*, following a successful WWE Championship defense by Randy Orton against Wade Barrett,

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he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to become the new WWE

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Champion making him the first person from Tough Enough to win the WWE
Championship.[107][108] 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.[109][110]
 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.[111][112]

The Miz (right) as the WWE Champion with Alex Riley at WrestleMania XXVII.

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.[113][114] This made their reign the shortest in the championship's history.[115] The following week, The Miz lost Riley as his apprentice after Cena defeated Riley in a steel cage match

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with the stipulation that if Cena won, Riley was fired from his job,

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but The Miz hired Riley back, this time as his VP of Corporate
Communications, in mid-March.[116][117] On April 3 in the main event of WrestleMania XXVII, The Miz successfully defended the WWE Championship against Cena, following interference from The Rock.[118] At the Extreme Rules

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pay-per-view on May 1, The Miz lost the WWE Championship to Cena, in a

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triple threat steel cage match, also involving John Morrison.[119] The following night on *Raw*,

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The Miz failed to regain the championship from Cena in a singles match

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when he lost by disqualification, and failed to regain the championship
again in an "I Quit" match at Over the Limit .[120][121]

The following night on the May 23 episode of *Raw*, The
Anonymous Raw general manager announcement that The Miz's request for
another WWE Championship match was denied, and ended the feud with John
Cena. The Miz blamed Riley for not being able to regain the WWE
Championship because of Riley not being at ringside at Extreme Rules
when Miz lost the championship. The following night on *Raw*, Riley

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raised the hand of Miz with the WWE Championship with leading to his

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disqualification and at the Over the Limit. Riley left his phone behind
that he used to trick the referee into thinking that Cena said "I Quit".

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Riley attacked him, sending him crashing into a barricade at ringside

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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*,

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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

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various singles and tag team matches. It was later announced that Miz
lost Raw's Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank after leaving with a knee injury kayfabe, then returning but being stopped from claiming the briefcase by Rey Mysterio.

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The next night on Raw, Miz made it to the final of the WWE Championship
tournament, defeating his former NXT rookie, Alex Riley, in the first

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round. The next week on Raw, Miz lost to Rey Mysterio.[122] At Summerslam,The Miz teamed with R-Truth and Alberto Del Rio to lose to Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston and John Morrison.[123]

Miz started in 2011 a short lived tag team with R-Truth (right), being known as Awesome Truth.

On the August 22 episode of *Raw*, Miz and R-Truth attacked
Santino Marella before his match. They then cut a promo agreeing there
was a conspiracy in the WWE keeping both of them out of the main event
picture, and declared they would, together, seize any future
opportunity.[124] They began referring to themselves as "The Awesome Truth".[125][126] On the August 29 episode of *Raw*, Truth interfered in Miz's match and the duo attacked CM Punk. At Night of Champions, after the referee was distracted while The Miz attempted a pin, Miz assaulted him, causing Awesome Truth to lose a WWE Tag Team Championship match to Air Boom (Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne) by disqualification.[127] Seeking retribution, Miz and Truth later attacked both Triple H and CM Punk during their No Disqualification match in the main event.[128] 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*.[129][130] At the conclusion of the main event match at Hell in a Cell,

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R-Truth and The Miz jumped the barricade wearing black hooded

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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

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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.[131] 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.[132] 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.[133] At Survivor Series, The Awesome Truth were defeated by John Cena and The Rock.[134] On the November 21 episode of *Raw*,
Cena instigated an argument between R-Truth and Miz, which resulted in

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Miz hitting his finisher on Truth as they were heading up the steel
ramp, signaling the end of their alliance.[135] This was a pretext to explain R-Truth's absence during his suspension as a result of his violating of the Wellness Policy.[136]

#### Intercontinental Champion (2011–2014)

The Miz at a WWE live event in 2011.

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 their 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 the TLC pay-per-view for the WWE Championship after a win over Randy Orton via count out, but was unsuccessful.[137][138] Throughout January and February 2012 Miz feuded with R-Truth, which included a WWE Championship match at Elimination Chamber, which was won by CM Punk.[139][140][141][142] During this time Miz lost to R-Truth in a singles match with a stipulation that the loser would enter the Royal Rumble match first; in the Rumble match, Miz lasted longest, over 45 minutes, before he was eliminated by Big Show.[143] Desperate for a spot on the card for the upcoming WrestleMania XXVIII event,[144] Miz later joined John Laurinaitis' team for the 12-man tag team match after saving Laurinaitis from Santino Marella.[145][146] 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.[147] At Over the Limit, 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.[148]

After a two-month absence, The Miz returned at Money in the Bank, as a last-minute participant in the WWE Championship Money in the Bank contract match, won by John Cena.[149] At *Raw 1000*, Miz defeated Christian to win his first Intercontinental Championship, becoming the 25th Triple Crown Champion in the process.[150] Miz successfully defended his championship against Christian four days later on *SmackDown*,[151] against Rey Mysterio at SummerSlam,[152] and in a Fatal Four Way match against Cody Rhodes, Rey Mysterio, and Sin Cara at Night of Champions, before losing the championship to Kofi Kingston on the premiere episode of *WWE Main Event*.[153] Miz failed to regain the title from Kingston in two rematches, at Hell in a Cell and on the November 6 *SmackDown*.[154][155]

After his loss to Kofi Kingston,[156] The Miz turned face for the first time in his career when he joined Mick Foley's team at Survivor Series after confronting Paul Heyman on the November 18 *Raw*.[156][157] At Survivor Series, The Miz eliminated Wade Barrett before being eliminated by Alberto Del Rio.[158]
 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".[156][159][160][161]

The Miz is a four-time Intercontinental Champion, with his reigns coming between 2012–2014.

The Miz then began a feud with United States Champion Antonio Cesaro, after Cesaro insulted America.[162][163] During the *Raw* 20th Anniversary special, Miz hosted *Miz TV* with guest Ric Flair.

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They were interrupted by Cesaro but Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale

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on him and Ric Flair gave The Miz the honor of applying his submission
move, the figure-four leglock, on Cesaro. Miz subsequently adopted the figure-four from Flair and used it as a new finisher.[164] The Miz faced Cesaro for the United States Championship at 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.[165]
 Miz continued his rivalry with Cesaro, losing a shot at the United
States Championship via disqualification after he accidentally hit
Cesaro in the groin at Elimination Chamber.[166] 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.[167] The title rematch took place the following week on *SmackDown* in a two-out-of-three falls match, where Miz once again failed to capture the title from Cesaro.[168] On the March 11 episode of *Raw*,

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The Miz faced Chris Jericho in a number one contenders match for Wade

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Barrett's Intercontinental Championship, but the match was ruled a no
contest after Barrett interfered and attacked both men.[169] As a result, both men were entered into the title match the following week on *Raw*, where Barrett retained his title after pinning Miz.[170] The next week on *Raw*, Miz defeated Barrett in a non-title match via submission to earn another shot at the Intercontinental Championship.[171] During the WrestleMania 29 pre-show, Miz defeated Barrett via submission to win his second Intercontinental Championship.[172] He lost the title back to Barrett the following night on *Raw*.[173] After over a month of inactivity, Miz returned on the May 13 *Raw*, defeating Heath Slater.[174] At Payback, Miz again failed to recapture the title from Barrett in a Triple Threat match which was won by Curtis Axel.[175] Miz unsuccessfully challenged Axel for the Intercontinental Championship at Money in the Bank.[176]

On August 18, The Miz was the host of SummerSlam, during which he had a run-in with Fandango, beginning a feud between the two.[177] Miz went on to defeat Fandango both on the September 2 episode of *Raw* and on September 15 at Night of Champions.[178][179] The following night on the September 16 episode of *Raw* in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, Miz was assaulted by Randy Orton in front of his parents, resulting in a storyline injury.[180] When Miz returned in October, he lost to Orton again. On the November 18 episode of *Raw*, Miz and Kingston lost to The Real Americans, after Miz walked out on Kingston during a tag team match. Miz went on to defeat Kingston on the Survivor Series

```
pre-show. After the match Miz offered a handshake, but Kofi retaliated

```

with a slap to face. Miz tagged with Kingston again on the December 2
episode of *Raw*, but Kingston once again slapped him across the face after the match. On the December 13 episode of *SmackDown*, Miz attacked Kingston before his match with Alberto Del Rio. On December 15 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Miz lost to Kingston in a No Disqualification match to end their feud.

On the January 27 episode of *Raw* in his hometown of Cleveland, Miz lost a 'Battle of Cleveland' match against fellow Cleveland native Dolph Ziggler (who is billed from Hollywood, Florida, but was born in Cleveland). On the February 3 episode of *Raw*, Miz stormed out during a match between Zack Ryder and Titus O'Neil

```
to complain about his lack of screen time, calling Ryder a "wannabe"

```

and claiming that he should be in matches instead. The following week on
 *Raw*, Miz once again came to the ring to complain, this time during a match between Fandango and Santino Marella. Four days later on *Smackdown*, The Miz faced Fandango and won the match after Fandango was distracted by Santino and Emma. Miz participated in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX, but was eliminated by Santino. After WrestleMania, The Miz took a hiatus from WWE.

#### "Hollywood A-Lister" (2014–present)

Main article: The Miz and Damien Mizdow

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 would win the WWE Tag Team Championship in late 2014.

After a two-month hiatus filming *The Marine 4: Moving Target*, The Miz returned to WWE on the June 30 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.[181] Miz lost the title to Ziggler on August 17 at SummerSlam, ending his reign at 28 days.[182] 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".[183]

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*.[184] On the edition of September 29 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 Naomi, offering to connect her with a Hollywood producer to distribute her music video.

At TLC, The Usos defeated Miz and Mizdow by disqualification after Miz hit Jimmy Uso with a Slammy Award. On the December 29 edition of *Raw*, Miz and Mizdow lost the titles to The Usos.[185] On the January 9th episode of *SmackDown*, Miz and Mizdow were given a tag team championship opportunity against The Usos and Gold and Stardust,

```
but The Usos ended up retaining. 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
entering at #1, but was eliminated by Bubba Ray Dudley and Mizdow entering at #21. Miz would try to take Mizdow's spot, only for Roman Reigns to push him off the apron, allowing Mizdow to enter, where he would be quickly eliminated by Rusev.

On the February 9 episode of Raw, Miz would fire Mizdow as his stunt
double after Mizdow began to gain more attention from fans, though he
would quickly rehire Mizdow as his personal assistant. On the Fastlane
pay-per-view The Miz had a pre show segment of MizTV with Paul Heyman.

## Other media

Mizanin played a small role in the film *The Campaign*. On April 30, 2012, it was announced that The Miz would star in WWE Studios film *The Marine 3: Homefront*.[186] Mizanin replaced fellow wrestler Randy Orton who was dropped of the role due to his past with the USMC.[187] That day, it was also announced that Mizanin will be featured in the WWE Studios and Kare Prodproject *Les reines du ring* (*Queens of the Ring*) alongside Eve Torres and CM Punk.

He has featured in WWE video games *WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009*, *WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010*, *WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011*, *WWE All Stars*, *WWE '12*, *WWE '13*, *WWE 2K14*, and *WWE 2K15*. Mizanin starred in the ABC Family TV movie *Christmas Bounty*,[188] which premiered in December 2013.[189]

## Personal life

When Mizanin was 11, his parents divorced. He has a step-father named Donnie and two half-siblings, Jimmy and Tonia.[190][191][192][193][194] Mizanin passionately roots for his hometown Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Cleveland Indians. Prior to the Cleveland Indians vs. Los Angeles Angels game on July 26, 2011, he fulfilled one of his lifelong goals when he threw out the first pitch.[195] Mizanin got married to his longtime girlfriend and former WWE Diva Maryse Ouellet on February 20, 2014, in a private ceremony at the One and Only Ocean Club in the Bahamas.[196][197] The couple live together in Los Angeles.

## In wrestling

The Miz applying a figure-four leglock on Antonio Cesaro.

* **Finishing moves**
	+ Figure-four leglock,[198] sometimes while standing[199] – 2013–present; adopted from and used in tribute to Ric Flair
	+ *Mizard of Oz* (Swinging inverted DDT) – 2005–2007[200]
	+ *Reality Check* (Running knee lift followed by neckbreaker) – 2007–2009[200]
	+ *Skull-Crushing Finale* (Full nelson facebuster)[3][5] – 2009–present
* **Signature moves**
	+ *Awesome Clothesline*[201] (Modified running corner clothesline)[202][203][204][205]
	+ Big boot,[206] sometimes to a seated opponent
	+ Discus punch[207] – late 2005–early 2006
	+ Diving double axe handle[208]
	+ Dropkick[203][209] – 2012–2013
	+ Half nelson facebuster[205][210] – 2009
	+ Flapjack[203][204][211][212]
	+ Inverted facelock backbreaker followed by a neckbreaker[206][213][214]
	+ Running knee lift[203][205][206][215]
	+ Slides through the opponent's legs and performs a roll-up[216]
	+ Snap DDT to a kneeling opponent[215][217]
	+ Snapmare driver[218] – 2011
	+ Springboard bulldog[207] – late 2005–early 2006

* **Managers**
	+ Alex Riley[207]
	+ Ric Flair[207]
	+ Roni Jonah[207][219]
	+ **Damien Mizdow**[183]
	+ Layla[207]
	+ Nikki Bella[207]
	+ Kelly Kelly[207]
	+ Brooke[207]

* **Nicknames**
	+ "Mr. Money in the Bank"[220][221]
	+ **"The Awesome One"**[5]
	+ "The Chick Magnet"[5]
	+ "The Cleveland Screamer"[5]
	+ "The Grand Miz-ard of Lust"[5]
	+ **"The Most Must-See WWE Superstar** / Champion **of All Time"**[222]
	+ **"The Cross-Platform Multi-Media Superstar"**
	+ **"The A-List Movie Star"**
	+ **"The A-Lister"**

* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Reality" by Jim Johnston[223] (2006–2009)
	+ "Rock Activator" by Jim Johnston (used once as the Calgary Kid in August 2009)
	+ **"I Came to Play"** by Downstait[224] (January 4, 2010 – present; **w/ Hollywood Intro**, June 30, 2014 – present)
	+ "The Awesome Truth" by Jim Johnston[225] (August 22, 2011 – November 21, 2011; used while teaming with R-Truth)

## Championships and accomplishments

The Miz is a former WWE Champion.

* **Deep South Wrestling**
	+ DSW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

* **Ohio Valley Wrestling**
	+ OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chris Cage

* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2011)
	+ PWI ranked him #**1** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the "PWI 500 in 2011

* **World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE**
	+ WWE Championship (1 time)[226]
	+ WWE Intercontinental Championship (4 times)
	+ WWE United States Championship (2 times)
	+ WWE Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with John Morrison (1), Big Show (1), John Cena (1) and Damien Mizdow (1)
	+ World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with John Morrison (1) and Big Show (1)
	+ Money in the Bank (Raw 2010)
	+ Slammy Awards (two times)
		- Tag Team of the Year (2008) – with John Morrison
		- Best WWE.com Exclusive (2008): "The Dirt-Sheet" – with John Morrison
	+ 25th Triple Crown Champion

* **Wrestling Observer Newsletter**
	+ Most Improved Wrestler (2008, 2009)
	+ Tag Team of the Year (2008) – with John Morrison