50 Greatest WWE Raw Moments Ever
40. The Miz Cashes In (November 22nd, 2010)
Context is everything.
WWE was disasterpiece theatre in 2010. The Nexus had arrived to wreck shop (more on that elsewhere), but the only wreckages remaining by the end of the year were the careers of just about every member that had supposedly been given the opportunity of a lifetime. WrestleMania increasingly felt less of a prize for the regulars and more the Showcase Of The Mortals, thanks to older talents being routinely dusted off to ensure fans had starts big and/or over enough to suit the stadium stages.
The weeks and months passed by with absolutely nothing mattering. The occasional teases of something mattering made the end result of nothing mattering even worse. Meaning - as in, the concept of meaning - felt completely lost. Wins and losses being irrelevant was bad enough, but nothing was. Guest Hosts turned up once a week in plug mode, and often it was better when they had nothing to say than when they were trusted with having show-based material to work through.
In the context of all of that, The Miz was a bright burst of light in a main event scene fogged up by Randy Orton, John Cena and a floundering Wade Barrett. He'd talked a good game en route to winning the Money In The Bank briefcase in July, and was at long last being given a fleeting chance to back it up where it counted. Defeating 'The Viper' in a semi-competitive effort following Orton's headline victory over Barrett, the mood felt right to roll the dice. Something was actually happening. Something that mattered and something with meaning had actually occured.
'The A-Lister's open-mouthed expression as he lifted his newly-won WWE Championship aloft partially mirrored the response of a flabbergasted audience, save for one furious fan that became affectionately known as 'Angry Miz Girl' following his prosperous Money In The Bank cash-in.