Ranking Every Raw Vs SmackDown WWE Survivor Series Match From Worst To Best

15. The Miz Vs Sami Zayn (2016)

Bray Wyatt Dean Ambrose Chris Jericho
WWE

Back again in an unfavourable position precisely because he can so often make lemonade from Vince McMahon's limes, The Miz' Intercontinental Championship was on the line against Raw Superstar Sami Zayn. 'The A-Lister' wasn't just defending his title, he was fighting for the very soul of it! Or, what night of the week it (sometimes) got defended on, anyway.

'The Underdog From The Underground' hadn't had the best year following the culmination of his programme with Kevin Owens earlier in the year (in as much as those two can really have anything that actually culminates), but fighting to bring back a belt that only would have placed him lower down the pecking order than his Universal Champion former 'Prizefighter' friend probably wasn't on his end-of-year wishlist.

This had stakes in name alone, and was worked at the exact pace it warranted as a result. Miz held on to the thing he'd spent months getting over at least - only in WWE could a Sami Zayn babyface win be borne of such spite.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett