7 Ups & 9 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (April 2)

4. The Miz Is Not A Badass

The Miz Eric Young
WWE.com

Nothing about this new "badass" side to The Miz's character is believable. Nothing at all.

This man has spent the vast majority of his career running from conflict, taking shortcuts, and generally behaving like a cowardly chickensh*t heel. Even during his original babyface singles run (which bombed, by the way), Miz wasn't an ass-kicker. He's not that guy, but a reality TV transplant who has admittedly paid his dues, but lacks the background, look, style, and literally everything else required to play a hardman.

Yet WWE continue taking 'The A-Lister' down this route. Last night saw him beat Sanity in a three-on-one Falls Count Anywhere handicap match. Read that sentence again. If someone had told you such a thing four weeks ago you'd have keeled over laughing, and yet it went down on last night's SmackDown.

Mike Mizanin is a wonderful sports entertainer with an uncanny ability to get almost anything over, but this is a step too far, even for him. It's impossible to suspend disbelief for this character. While he can be a compelling babyface in 2019, he can't play this specific kind of babyface. At all.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.