10 Wrestlers Who've Suffered Most From The WWE Brand Split
1. The Miz
The Miz set the internet ablaze with his explosive rant on this week’s Talking Smack. Aiming his crosshairs at Daniel Bryan and the SmackDown administration, the Intercontinental Champion delivered a passionate, fiery diatribe that shook Bryan to the point where he dropped his microphone and walked off the set. Angry and frustrated with his position in the company, Miz spat his words out like he’d been waiting years to say them, and he was so convincing that fans were left wondering whether it was for real or scripted.
What made Miz so convincing wasn’t just his fervent delivery, but his drawing-on real-life incidents. The Intercontinental Champion has been devalued and dragged through the mud since winning the belt, and things have worsened significantly since the Brand Split.
WWE have made a hash of making their midcard belts feel important in the past few years, but even as his IC reign nears the half-year mark, Miz has rarely been lower on the totem pole. Since the Draft, Miz has been beaten-up and embarrassed by Randy Orton, used as a lowly prop in the Dean Ambrose/Dolph Ziggler feud, and wrestled a lifeless match with Apollo Crews that had little-to-no build. Miz featured only as an extra in Heath Slater’s tag partner quest on this week’s SmackDown Live, when, as Intercontinental Champion, he should be one of the brand’s biggest stars.
WWE must now capitalise on the incredible momentum built by Miz’s Talking Smack promo. He has fallen to an immeasurable low, and the IC Title has rarely felt this unimportant, but the company are in an ideal position to completely turn it on its head. Here’s hoping they don’t drop the ball, because they’ve done that enough with Miz lately.