15 Exact Moments Failed WWE Ruthless Aggression Gimmicks Actually Got Over
4. The Miz | February 8, 2008
The Miz was flat-out awful at first. You could argue that he never did improve in the ring - judging by the many terrifying dives launched at him, he has literally never caught up - but over time, he finely-tuned his natural charisma to become one of the most tenured and oddly respected midcard-level performers in modern WWE history.
In 2006, he was a hyperactive try-hard who attempted to get a zillion bits over at once. His “hoo-rah!” catchphrase was meant to be dumb jock cheap heat, but since he lacked anything even adjacent to intensity, he just came off as a goof. A wrestler can only be cocky if they can back it up. The Miz could not back it up. He had nothing to show off. He was virtually incompetent, unable to do anything remotely impressive between the ropes, and he was lacking in composure on the mic. He improved (and plateaued) to a respectable enough level towards the end of 2007, at which point fans started to connect with his douchebag schtick.
He was awarded with a digital vehicle alongside fellow SmackDown Tag Team champion John Morrison. ‘The Dirt Sheet’, a burial festival in the style of the gossip shows popular at the time, aired on WWE’s official website from February 8, 2008 - and was an immediate cult hit. (As with far too much WWE material, a lot of it is quite unpleasant in retrospect).
In the very first episode, Miz and Morrison took an old bit - Kurt Angle repurposing old interview footage to make the Rock look bad - and made it their own. They buried Jesse and Festus, using footage of Jesse looking like a totally over-enthusastic geek in a state of pure wonder as the perfect contrast to the vicious editing joke.