John Cena was right, Miz is not a main event level star

SmackDown Live has been receiving a lot of criticism lately for putting on a lackluster television product. But things are far from perfect on Raw. With Samoa Joe and Kane off television right now, the top two heels on Raw are Miz and Elias.

That’s a pretty big problem for the red brand, because neither Miz nor Elias is a credible main event level star on pay-per-view (PPV).

Last week on Raw, John Cena completely dismissed the idea that Miz could ever be a serious threat to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34. And Cena was right, Miz would have no chance to win that match.

Miz has done very well for himself as a star on weekly WWE television, but the real top guys are also presented as important stars on PPV. The Miz hasn’t had a breakout performance on PPV since his SmackDown feud with Dolph Ziggler ended in December 2016.

Here’s a quick list of PPV results for the Miz ever since then:

• Royal Rumble 2017: The Miz was eliminated from the rumble match in 32:41
• Elimination Chamber 2017: Miz was eliminated from the chamber match in 5:15
• WrestleMania 33: John Cena and Nikki Bella defeated Miz and Maryse
• Extreme Rules 2017: Miz defeated Dean Ambrose
• Great Balls of Fire 2017: Miz defeated Dean Ambrose
• SummerSlam 2017: Miz & Miztourage defeated Hardy Boyz & Jordan (pre-show)
• No Mercy 2017: Miz defeated Jason Jordan
• TLC 2017: Olympic Shield defeated The Bar, Kane, Miz, & Strowman
• Survivor Series 2017: Baron Corbin defeated Miz
• Royal Rumble 2018: Miz was eliminated from the rumble match in 5:02

So, where exactly in this list of matches did the Miz ever come off like a top star on PPV?

Royal Rumble 2017 might be the best answer to that question, as he lasted over 30 minutes and was an anchor of the match. But after that, the pickings are slim.

Miz was close to a non-factor in the 2017 Elimination Chamber match. He got a quick pin on Dean Ambrose, thanks to the dirty work of Baron Corbin, and then Miz was disposed of with ease by an Attitude Adjustment a few minutes later.

The A-Lister certainly looked like a top star on television in the buildup to his mixed tag team match with John Cena and Nikki Bella at WrestleMania 33, but Miz was just a chew toy for Cena’s team once the bell actually rang on PPV. This is arguably John Cena’s worst WrestleMania match of all-time, perhaps only edging out Cena’s other WrestleMania match with Miz in 2011. Miz was exposed as someone that we shouldn’t take seriously in a top spot on PPV.

Miz defeated Dean Ambrose in his next two PPV matches, but there was nothing in these matches from the Miz that came anywhere close to signaling he should be pushed higher on the card. The first of these matches went 20 minutes and was pretty boring throughout. Thankfully WWE cut the time for the rematch down to 11 minutes. These two matches felt strictly like mid-card affairs to me where neither guy shined.

Then there’s SummerSlam, where Miz was stuck in the typical Cruiserweight spot very early on the pre-show when the building isn’t even half-filled. I can’t think of any WWE main event star who would ever be relegated to this spot. Miz is not a main event star, so he fit into this spot just fine.

Miz then took out Jason Jordan in a low card match at No Mercy 2017. This was one of the least relevant matches of the night.

TLC 2017 can probably join Royal Rumble 2017 as another plus in favor of Miz being presented as a star on PPV, because Miz was the leader of a heel team opposing the Olympic Shield in the main event. Miz was an integral part of the story on Raw when the Shield reunited. I would still argue though that once the PPV came and the talking was over, the Miz hardly stood out in this match. This match was primarily about seeing Kurt Angle wrestle again, seeing The Shield sort of reunited, and the blowup on the heel team between Braun Strowman and Kane that led to garbage truck homicide. At best Miz was given the third biggest spotlight on his own team in this match. And because the Miz isn’t really a main event star, he needed lopsided numbers with 4 other teammates on his side to have any believable chance at victory.

If SummerSlam is the biggest counterpoint to the idea that the Miz is presented as a big star on PPV, Survivor Series is a close second place. Miz lost a singles match against perpetual screw-up Baron Corbin. The match was awful, though WWE didn’t provide these guys any kind of a proper build to give them a chance to make it worthwhile. But that’s partially because Miz (and Corbin) isn’t a top level star, so sometimes his PPV matches are going to get lost in the shuffle and have no build.

We finally come to Royal Rumble 2018, where Miz was a non-factor and tossed out in 5 minutes. He was absolutely not presented as a top star in this match.

So looking back on what Miz has done on PPV since the start of 2017, I fail to see any compelling case for why I should take this guy seriously as a main event star on PPV. And John Cena’s dismissive words from Raw regarding Miz are a reflection of this history. There is just no way I can take Miz seriously as a threat to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34. I’m sure the promos between Heyman and Miz would be amazing in the buildup to the match. But just like last year at WrestleMania 33 with John Cena, as soon as the bell rings it will be an instant reminder that there’s only one actual top level star in the match.

This isn’t a problem for Elimination Chamber 2018, because Miz and Elias are surrounded by at least 4 babyfaces who are regularly presented as legit stars on PPV. But once these multi-man main events go away and the part-timers disappear after WrestleMania 34, Raw better have a different top heel in the story besides Miz. Because when it comes to PPV, Miz is simply not a credible main event level performer.