8 Ups and 7 Downs From WWE Raw (June 27)

4. The A-Lister Returns

miz ic title
WWE.com

Miz made his return to Raw Monday night with wife Maryse, and they picked up where they left off, demanding that Stephanie McMahon roll out the red carpet to welcome a movie star home.

That didn’t sit well with Stephanie, who (along with Corporate Kane’s suggestion) put Miz in a title match later in the night. Sure, the surprise challenger (Demon Kane) was a letdown, but the Miz’s return and ability to irritate everyone – and still escape with his title thanks to Maryse feigning and injury – only served to make him even more hated. And that’s a good thing.

You’ve got to believe there’s more in store for Miz as Intercontinental Champion, especially with the Mizanins under Stephanie’s skin a little. It’ll be interesting to see who steps up to be Miz’s first challenger for the IC title and whether he’s able to curry favor with Stephanie, or if he and Maryse are “too Hollywood” for everyone.

If so, that would be a nice wrinkle, having a heel authority figure not get along with someone simply because they’re also a villain. And besides, who doesn’t love to hate the Miz?

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Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.