10 Classic WWE Matches (That Nobody Remembers As Classics)
8. The Miz Vs. Kevin Owens Vs. Sami Zayn Vs. Cesaro - Extreme Rules 2016
As all four men stood in their respective corners, Sami Zayn immediately ran the length of the ring to smash eternal rival Kevin Owens' face in with the Helluva Kick the second the bell rang - a mission statement for both the frenetic pace of the match and its second-most absorbing subplot.
Cesaro, doubling down the opening babyface shine, sent Miz flying out of the ring with a dynamic running uppercut before broadening the tone with a Cossack dance escape from Zayn's arm lock. The most absorbing subplot centred around The Miz; in a match crammed with jaw-dropping spots and convoluted multi-man sequences, it was his purposefully deflating heel work that drove the narrative and drew the heat. Every time, say, Owens and Zayn traded shots in the ring, Miz was there to break up the action just as the match-within-a-match was getting really, really good.
Rightly or wrongly, the truly hated modern heels are those perceived as terrible workers. Miz, handily the least spectacular performer in this Fatal 4-Way, understood that perfectly. Ironically, in cutting off the action and slowing the pace with immaculate timing, he underpinned it with a gripping psychology elevating it well above a mere spot fest.
This brilliant heel performance arguably did as much as his incendiary Talking Smack appearances to restore his career.