10 WWE Superstars Randy Orton Has Actually Helped Elevate
2. The Miz
WWE did a terrific job of building The Miz up into a viable main event player from 2009 to 2010, but no one was more crucial to his rise than Randy Orton.
Long before they feuded over the WWE Championship, it was Orton who Miz shoved off the top of the ladder at the first-ever Money in the Bank pay-per-view to capture the opportunistic briefcase. Much to everyone's surprise, he then cashed in that contract successfully on Orton four months later to capture his very first WWE title.
Much like Jinder Mahal, Miz scored several victories over Orton throughout his reign as WWE champion, which more than solidified him as Raw's top heel. Their Tables match at TLC 2010 resulted in a win for The Awesome One, and when they collided for a third time at Royal Rumble, Miz again escaped with his title intact.
By 2010, Orton already had his time on top and was beginning to pay it forward for up-and-comers such as Miz, who went on to headline WrestleMania XXVII and defeat John Cena. He has of course won countless championships since then and been valuable to the company in every role he's been slotted in.
Miz may have very well remained in midcard purgatory forever had he not been given that extra boost by Orton.