10 Times WWE Tried (And Failed) To Make You Cheer For Former Heels

2. The Miz

Nia Jax Total Divas
WWE.com

Daniel Bryan's recent heel turn has flipped the script of many a fantasy booker recently.

The want for the 'YES!' man and his long-standing rival The Miz to make it to WrestleMania has resulted in many suggesting a babyface turn for 'The A Lister' following several critically acclaimed years as one of the organisation's most reliable heels. It could well be time too, though many will remember the horrors of the straight-to-DVD star's first take.

Following a WWE Championship run lost to the star power of The Rock and the thumb of John Cena in 2011, Miz suffered some atrocious booking in the 18 months that followed, but bizarrely turned face in November 2012 virtually without warning.

Though the bones of a babyface exist within Mike Mizanin, the skin on top of the skeleton was simply too slippery. His t-shirt may have posited that "Haters Loved [Him]" but the lack of reaction suggested they absolutely f*cking didn't.

In a borderline insulting last gasp effort, the company paired him with Ric Flair to form a student/teacher relationship as transparent as it was tepid. Fans hated the comparison, hated Miz' figure four leglock and crucially still hated The Miz. He thankfully returned as a hollywood heel in 2014.

In this post: 
Nia Jax
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett