WWE Survivor Series 2016: 10 Things We Learned
8. Replacing Dolph Ziggler With The Miz Was The Right Call
Despite not making an appearance at all come Survivor Series, it was actually Dolph Ziggler who sent out the challenge to Monday Night Raw for the WWE Intercontinental Title. At that point just a few short weeks ago, Ziggler was the reigning champion. By losing the belt to The Miz on last week's SmackDown, he also forfeited his pay-per-view slot.
Sami Zayn was established as Raw's main hope for the secondary strap when Dolph still held it, and there were some crying foul when Miz won the title on SmackDown shortly before Survivor Series. Watching the pay-per-view, that decision must be considered a good one.
An expert at coming across as smarmy and working well in his current heel guise, The Miz was a better opponent for Zayn. His villainous persona added more intrigue to the bout than Dolph Ziggler's plain babyface character would have.
A strong heel, Miz still made use of his wife Maryse to hold onto the Intercontinental Title. Going close to 15-minutes, he and Zayn had an easier job than Sami and Ziggler may have had. That all-babyface affair would have been a tough sell.