WrestleMania 35 preview: The Miz vs. Shane McMahon

The Miz vs. Shane McMahon

Falls Count Anywhere Match

WWE gets flack for not being able to tell a coherent long term story. And rightfully so. Have you seen how they built to their main event of WrestleMania? They took a hot storyline and made it so convoluted that it much most of the excitement right out. They had six months to tell it and had to just keep messing around with it.

That’s prime evidence on why some even think WWE does better telling a story on the fly. They don’t have as much time to overthink it. They had to book Kofi’s championship story as an audible given crowd reaction. While the argument that Vince was too involved in the story is a legit one, with limited time, they didn’t have much time to screw it up. And they did a very good job overall.

But there is one match on this card that is proof that WWE can actually tell a story over an extended period of time and not bungle it. That’s the the Shane McMahon vs. the Miz match.

It started back in November at Crown Jewel in what seemed like a throwaway Best in the World tournament. It was a tournament involving members of both brands where the winner got a random trophy. Representing SmackDown, Miz made it to the finals when he tweaked his knee and couldn’t continue the match. Shane McMahon randomly inserted himself to take his place (because he can do that?) and won it.

It was a random moment on a random show that was best soon forgotten. But it actually blossomed into quite the story.

Miz started calling himself “two thirds” Best in the World and insisted that he and Shane eventually team up since together, they won that tournament. The A-Lister was still technically a heel at the time, but his pleads to Shane were charming and both men had a good comedic chemistry.

Miz had to get a bit serious to convince Shane to team with him. He felt Shane was a kindred spirit, two men who lived their lives trying to earn favor from their closed off fathers. Shane agreed to the tag team and Team Daddy Issue, McMiz, Team Best in the World was born.

Their comedic chemistry continued as a team, giving us this very entertaining segment involving Miz trying to come up with team outfits with Shane, who didn’t really care.

Shane and Miz defeated the Bar to win the the tag team championships. They were a fun team together and it was a nice moment to see Miz win the titles. Unfortunately, their reign was not long. They lost the titles to the Usos, which upset the Miz a bunch, feeling he let his partner down, and in a sense, let his father down.

The Usos goaded them into a rematch, which would take place in Cleveland, he Miz’s home town. Plus, his father would be in the crowd watching on. Once again, the Usos proved too much for the Best in the World.

That was it for the team. Shane McMahon had enough of all of it and attacked Miz in front of his father George. He even put his hands on Mr. Miz.

This set up the match at WrestleMania, which will be No Holds Barred. Miz’s first promo after the betrayal was full of babyface fire without losing that Miz attitude.

This has been a well told story that’s taken place the better part of six months. It had multiple stops so it never felt like it dragged. They hit the right beats to successful take Miz from a heel who was just feuding with then fan-favorite Daniel Bryan to a sympathetic babyface.

The match itself is not going to be any five star classic. We’re talking about a 49 year old Shane McMahon and Miz, who is definitely solid in the ring but more about character. However, the story they told should help carry the weight. Miz is sympathetic and Shane is a bastard. We want to see Shane get his ass kicked.

Maybe it’s because this wasn’t a top story like the women’s triple threat that allowed it to do its thing without getting over booked. Whatever the reason, it’s proof that they CAN tell a good story over a long period of time. Which actually makes it more disappointing when they so often screw it up.

The Miz and Shane McMahon will face off in a Falls Count Anywhere match, which will be the culmination of their six months story, at WrestleMania 35 tonight, which airs at 7 ET on the WWE Network. And as per usual, keep it to CagesideSeats.com for all of your WrestleMania coverage.