10 Greatest Pure WWE Wrestlers

10. The Miz

To say Mike “The Miz” Mizanin exceeded all expectations is to put it lightly. A thoroughly modern wrestling story, Mizanin first gained minor fame on reality show The Real World, then transitioned into the inaugural season of WWE’s Tough Enough. Miz finished second, but clearly had a flair for the business, and was sent to developmental.

From there, his rise has been, if not meteoric, then incredibly consistent, clearly as the result of real effort and grit. From being hazed out of locker rooms and dismissed by his peers, Miz eked out a career coming up to 20 years, gaining dozens of championships, a handful of genuinely excellent matches and angles, and a WrestleMania headline berth (which admittedly was probably a mistake).

Equally importantly, though, Miz has been a priceless tool in WWE’s media empire. He is their go-to for publicity outside of wrestling; the man’s a total pro, built in their image to sell the product on morning TV, Dancing With The Stars, movies, and more.

Is he many fans’ favourite wrestler, or an in-ring innovator? Not really, no. But as far as the WWE powers that be are concerned, he’s indispensable.