Post by James Phoenix on May 1, 2011 1:15:34 GMT -5
James: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the first edition of The Wrestling X-Pound! I’m James Phoenix and together with my co-host Valo Gunn we'll be bringing you a weekly in-depth analysis of the elements that go into World Wrestling Entertainment's product, which include the Superstars themselves, current Storylines, and much more!
Valo: That's right Jim! We're going to discuss exactly what makes WWE tick! We'll be breaking these elements down and thinking about them so you don't have to! And, as with anything else here on the X-pound, these are our opinions and nothing more.
James: For the record, it’s James, not Jim, if you don’t mind. I’m not over here in a black cowboy hat hocking barbeque sauce, dude. Now then, on to today’s column! For our premiere breakdown, we’ll be dissecting WWE Champion The Miz. Not literally of course because that would be murder, but we'll be looking at our standard five superstar breakdown categories: gimmick, in-ring ability, feuds, entrance, and future prospects.
Valo: The Miz? Sure. Why not? There's no better place to start than at the top! Except... we're not.
James: *palm* let’s just get on with it
GIMMICK
Valo: Fair enough Jimbo. So our first category is Gimmick. Hmmm... does The Miz even have one? Honestly, it seems to me that WWE can't decide where they want to go with his gimmick. He's just some smart-mouthed asshole who thinks he's God's gift to wrestling.
James: Or, as I like to refer to it, WWE Heel Template #03. While I agree with the fact that his gimmick is barely there, clearly something is working or the fans wouldn’t be chanting “Awesome” every week. This gimmick has been effectively used in the past, albeit with alterations, by many superstars, such as The Rock during his Corporation days. I think the problem is that Miz doesn’t have anything backing the gimmick up aside from being WWE Champion.
Valo: I have to agree with you there. I think one thing that kinda gave Miz a boost, in terms of fan popularity, was his feud with John Cena. I don't think it's that a lot people necessarily like The Miz, but more that they absolutely hate John Cena. But that topic is for another discussion. By the way, since we're on the topic of his Gimmick, I should probably mention his catch phrase... or lack thereof. I'm The Miz and I'm Awesome? Really? As The Rock said, if he has to go around saying how awesome he is, is he really that awesome?
James: That’s a good point, but I honestly think WWE could really use the catch phrase to build the character. Whenever I think of the Miz saying he’s awesome, I can’t help but remember Curt Hennig saying he was perfect. If they were to air some vignettes showing The Miz actually doing some Awesome things, such as picking up women at a club, hanging out with famous people, or buying expensive stuff. They could even have him complete some feats in the ring like beating Big Show cleanly one on one. The gimmick would go from “I’m Awesome because I said so” to “I’m Awesome because I did all these things,” which would legitimize it.
IN-RING ABILLITY
Valo: Yes that would be better. In fact, doing stuff like that would bring legitimacy, not only to his gimmick, but also his in-ring ability. In all honesty, The Miz isn't that bad of a wrestler, but most, if not all, of his important wins were not clean. In fact, he “won”' the WWE Title by cashing in his Money-In-The Bank Briefcase when Randy Orton was half-dead and on only one leg. How does that foster any kind of legitimacy in The Miz?
James: A valid point my friend. I think WWE is trying to use the cheating as part of his gimmick, in typical heel fashion. The problem is that they are pushing it way too much which completely undercuts not only his character, but makes him look like he lacks wrestling ability. We know for a fact that this isn’t true however, because when they let him, he puts on some great matches such as any of the matches he’s had with Daniel Bryan over the last year and a half.
Valo: Indeed. Using cheating as a Heel's gimmick is fine... once he's been established and we know he can wrestle. Like Edge, for instance. But when you're coming out of the gate and making a bid for the World Title and trying to make a name for yourself, being billed as a cheating bastard is definitely not the way to go. A case in point is newcomer Alberto Del Rio, who will be the topic of a later discussion. When a relative newcomer to the scene and, certainly, to the World Title situation is billed as a cheating heel, it really makes him seem like a pansy that can't win a match.
James: That’s true, and having Alex Riley in his corner doesn’t help much either. I was so glad when they fired him and so pissed when he came back. But back to In-Ring ability, The Miz definitely has some skills using his brawler/grappler style, and his “Skull-Crushing Finale” certainly looks painful, even if the name no longer makes sense to his gimmick. Overall I’d say that if WWE let him wrestle without cheating or having Riley interfere five minutes in he could put on some great matches. Though, looking at the main event of WrestleMania 27 has even me doubting that statement a little.
Valo: Well this leads into the trickiest part of the business, in my opinion; matching up compatible wrestler types. In Wrestling there are what I like to call 'Leaders' and 'Followers.' A 'Leader' is a wrestler who can ‘take charge’ of the match, hit all the points, and is technically sound enough to give his opponent something to work off of. Triple H, for instance.
A 'Follower' is someone who reacts to what the 'Leader' does and is usually an exceptional move seller, like Randy Orton for instance. If you were to put two 'like' wrestlers in a match together, it would be pretty boring, which brings us to Wrestlemania 27. In my opinion, both The Miz and John Cena are 'Followers’, hence why the match kinda sucked. Nobody took charge of the match and said, "This is the direction we're going to go."
FEUDS:
James: I agree with you there, and that’s why it’s important to know which superstars will work well together in feuds both in-ring and in promos. The Miz’s most recent feud has, of course, been with John Cena and is been generally well received as their characters work together at a basic level. Miz is the chickenshit heel while John Cena is the upstanding babyface. The only problem is that Cena is on such a fence that half the fans hate him and are cheering for Miz, which really confuses things. Top it off with the point you made about them in-ring and it makes for one clusterfuck of a feud.
Valo: Agreed. It's kinda sad because, while I don't much like The Miz and consider him mid-card at best, he's actually pretty funny. Like when he spoofed The Rock on RAW... that was hilarious. The problem lies with the fact that, again, you have two people of similar personalities feuding with each other. Both The Miz and John Cena, in my opinion, are people who thrive on making fun of people. But against each other, Miz is always going to lose and seem boring because Cena is just that much better than he is at making fun of people. The best feuds are always ones where you have someone, usually the Face, making fun of his opponent, usually the Heel and the Heel takes it like a little bitch. Or their idea of retaliation is to beat the Face's face in, but when the opponent is trying to make fun of you and failing miserably at it... that's just boring.
James: That’s true, and Miz has more then expressed the “beat people’s face’s in” sentiment over the last year, but he just uses it to talk himself up and make fun of people some more. This is why Miz had a better feud with Randy Orton because he let Miz do the talking while he handled the in-ring aspects which worked out well. The same goes for his minor feud with Daniel Bryan, which I think could have been better if they had built it and kept it going for a while.
Valo: Agreed. And that's the problem I see with WWE as a whole these days. They don't know what to do with their Superstars. They're constantly changing directions with storylines and, quite frankly, it's disorienting and off-putting. With respect to The Miz, you really saw that leading up to Wrestlemania 27. They were all over the place with him and allowed him to get buried by Cena and Rock. When it comes to Feud Longevity, consistency is the key. If you're not going to be consistent with your Superstars, the Feud will fall apart. The Miz vs. John Cena is a prime example of that.
ENTRANCE:
James: I totally agree with that. As our dear Mr. Canton often points out in the Raw Deal, it’s extremely obvious that the WWE writers book this stuff on a napkin 20 min before the show airs and then change it as they go. I mean, you want to talk about buried; The Miz is the WWE Champion and basically had a normal entrance while, for no damn reason at all, John Cena had a childhood video package AND a fucking choir singing his theme song. Talk about burying a guy. Speaking of entrances, while it may not be much, The Miz has a solid entrance himself.
Valo: While I don't like The Miz, I can agree with you on that. His Entrance, while kinda generic, works. His Entrance Music, I like as well. Catchy song.
James: The song is “Came to Play” by Downstait, and it is very catchy. It’s one of my favorite things about The Miz. The lyrics of the song actually fit his character because it talks about how the person singing, or in this case The Miz, is badass and is going to defeat anyone who gets in his way. Lines like “There’s a price to pay, Time for you to get down on your knees and pray” really show the cockiness of The Miz. His entrance itself is slow and methodical, showing his arrogance, but it’s not slow to the point of dragging. All and all I’d say he has an effective entrance for his character.
FUTURE PROSPECTS:
Valo: Indeed it does, Jim. Indeed. It. Does. *looks at watch* Well it looks like our time is running out, so I think we should wrap this up. Tell me, what do you think the future holds for our current WWE Champion?
James: Well Valo, I think that The Miz is going to go places in this business. While he definitely needs work, I think most of his problem is the fault of the writers and bookers rather then Miz himself. His gimmick needs to be altered or changed or its going to be driven into the ground. There’s only so long a guy wan talk around doing the exact same thing week after week before the fans get tired of it *cough*JohnCena*cough*. As for his in-ring ability he’s definitely got talent, though it could use a bit of polishing, which really shines through when he has talented opponents like Daniel Bryan or John Morrison. Personally, I’m hoping Miz gets drafted to Smackdown this Monday, bringing the WWE Title with him. Chris Jericho’s return is imminent following Dancing with the stars, and he already trash talked The Miz in an interview, so I think a feud between them is planned, and that should be great.
Valo: I, too, agree that Miz has potential. To echo your sentiments, Vince needs to change Miz's gimmick. To be brutally honest, his current gimmick sucks. He's also being put into positions that are more detrimental to his growth than helpful. Drafting him to Smackdown would be an interesting move and, probably, would serve to further his career. However, if they did that, what would they do with the World Heavyweight Title? With the way they, supposedly, have the Draft set up where the Draft Results won't take effect until after Extreme Rules, there would have to be some fancy jockeying with the roster and draft choices to keep everything ambiguous through Extreme Rules. And, no offense to people at WWE, but if recent shows are accurate, they aren't smart enough to pull something like that off.
James: That’s a good point, they may not, but given the situation they may not care much, as they have pretty much been in panic mode ever since Edge had to retire. But I digress, either way I think if Miz stays on Raw, he’s keeping the title. However, I feel that a Smackdown run would be to his benefit, especially a feud with either Christian or a returning Chris Jericho. Well, that’s just about going to do it for this column. Any final thoughts Valo?
Valo: It'll be interesting to see where Miz goes from here. Wherever that may be, whether it’s an ascension into stardom or descent into obscurity and epic failness. Either way, I'll be watching... and making fun of him until the end.
James: And I’ll be watching and hoping for the best. No matter what happens, one thing remains true: He’s the Miz! And heeeeeeeeee’s….. AWWWEEEEESSSOOOOOMMMEEEE!
Valo: *palm* Well, that's all we have for this week. Tune in next week when we tackle our first in-depth analysis of a WWE Storyline. Which one, you ask? The Nexus versus John Cena! Until then, I'm Valo Gunn...
James: …and I’m James Phoenix…
Valo & James: See you on the next... X-Pound!
Valo: That's right Jim! We're going to discuss exactly what makes WWE tick! We'll be breaking these elements down and thinking about them so you don't have to! And, as with anything else here on the X-pound, these are our opinions and nothing more.
James: For the record, it’s James, not Jim, if you don’t mind. I’m not over here in a black cowboy hat hocking barbeque sauce, dude. Now then, on to today’s column! For our premiere breakdown, we’ll be dissecting WWE Champion The Miz. Not literally of course because that would be murder, but we'll be looking at our standard five superstar breakdown categories: gimmick, in-ring ability, feuds, entrance, and future prospects.
Valo: The Miz? Sure. Why not? There's no better place to start than at the top! Except... we're not.
James: *palm* let’s just get on with it
GIMMICK
Valo: Fair enough Jimbo. So our first category is Gimmick. Hmmm... does The Miz even have one? Honestly, it seems to me that WWE can't decide where they want to go with his gimmick. He's just some smart-mouthed asshole who thinks he's God's gift to wrestling.
James: Or, as I like to refer to it, WWE Heel Template #03. While I agree with the fact that his gimmick is barely there, clearly something is working or the fans wouldn’t be chanting “Awesome” every week. This gimmick has been effectively used in the past, albeit with alterations, by many superstars, such as The Rock during his Corporation days. I think the problem is that Miz doesn’t have anything backing the gimmick up aside from being WWE Champion.
Valo: I have to agree with you there. I think one thing that kinda gave Miz a boost, in terms of fan popularity, was his feud with John Cena. I don't think it's that a lot people necessarily like The Miz, but more that they absolutely hate John Cena. But that topic is for another discussion. By the way, since we're on the topic of his Gimmick, I should probably mention his catch phrase... or lack thereof. I'm The Miz and I'm Awesome? Really? As The Rock said, if he has to go around saying how awesome he is, is he really that awesome?
James: That’s a good point, but I honestly think WWE could really use the catch phrase to build the character. Whenever I think of the Miz saying he’s awesome, I can’t help but remember Curt Hennig saying he was perfect. If they were to air some vignettes showing The Miz actually doing some Awesome things, such as picking up women at a club, hanging out with famous people, or buying expensive stuff. They could even have him complete some feats in the ring like beating Big Show cleanly one on one. The gimmick would go from “I’m Awesome because I said so” to “I’m Awesome because I did all these things,” which would legitimize it.
IN-RING ABILLITY
Valo: Yes that would be better. In fact, doing stuff like that would bring legitimacy, not only to his gimmick, but also his in-ring ability. In all honesty, The Miz isn't that bad of a wrestler, but most, if not all, of his important wins were not clean. In fact, he “won”' the WWE Title by cashing in his Money-In-The Bank Briefcase when Randy Orton was half-dead and on only one leg. How does that foster any kind of legitimacy in The Miz?
James: A valid point my friend. I think WWE is trying to use the cheating as part of his gimmick, in typical heel fashion. The problem is that they are pushing it way too much which completely undercuts not only his character, but makes him look like he lacks wrestling ability. We know for a fact that this isn’t true however, because when they let him, he puts on some great matches such as any of the matches he’s had with Daniel Bryan over the last year and a half.
Valo: Indeed. Using cheating as a Heel's gimmick is fine... once he's been established and we know he can wrestle. Like Edge, for instance. But when you're coming out of the gate and making a bid for the World Title and trying to make a name for yourself, being billed as a cheating bastard is definitely not the way to go. A case in point is newcomer Alberto Del Rio, who will be the topic of a later discussion. When a relative newcomer to the scene and, certainly, to the World Title situation is billed as a cheating heel, it really makes him seem like a pansy that can't win a match.
James: That’s true, and having Alex Riley in his corner doesn’t help much either. I was so glad when they fired him and so pissed when he came back. But back to In-Ring ability, The Miz definitely has some skills using his brawler/grappler style, and his “Skull-Crushing Finale” certainly looks painful, even if the name no longer makes sense to his gimmick. Overall I’d say that if WWE let him wrestle without cheating or having Riley interfere five minutes in he could put on some great matches. Though, looking at the main event of WrestleMania 27 has even me doubting that statement a little.
Valo: Well this leads into the trickiest part of the business, in my opinion; matching up compatible wrestler types. In Wrestling there are what I like to call 'Leaders' and 'Followers.' A 'Leader' is a wrestler who can ‘take charge’ of the match, hit all the points, and is technically sound enough to give his opponent something to work off of. Triple H, for instance.
A 'Follower' is someone who reacts to what the 'Leader' does and is usually an exceptional move seller, like Randy Orton for instance. If you were to put two 'like' wrestlers in a match together, it would be pretty boring, which brings us to Wrestlemania 27. In my opinion, both The Miz and John Cena are 'Followers’, hence why the match kinda sucked. Nobody took charge of the match and said, "This is the direction we're going to go."
FEUDS:
James: I agree with you there, and that’s why it’s important to know which superstars will work well together in feuds both in-ring and in promos. The Miz’s most recent feud has, of course, been with John Cena and is been generally well received as their characters work together at a basic level. Miz is the chickenshit heel while John Cena is the upstanding babyface. The only problem is that Cena is on such a fence that half the fans hate him and are cheering for Miz, which really confuses things. Top it off with the point you made about them in-ring and it makes for one clusterfuck of a feud.
Valo: Agreed. It's kinda sad because, while I don't much like The Miz and consider him mid-card at best, he's actually pretty funny. Like when he spoofed The Rock on RAW... that was hilarious. The problem lies with the fact that, again, you have two people of similar personalities feuding with each other. Both The Miz and John Cena, in my opinion, are people who thrive on making fun of people. But against each other, Miz is always going to lose and seem boring because Cena is just that much better than he is at making fun of people. The best feuds are always ones where you have someone, usually the Face, making fun of his opponent, usually the Heel and the Heel takes it like a little bitch. Or their idea of retaliation is to beat the Face's face in, but when the opponent is trying to make fun of you and failing miserably at it... that's just boring.
James: That’s true, and Miz has more then expressed the “beat people’s face’s in” sentiment over the last year, but he just uses it to talk himself up and make fun of people some more. This is why Miz had a better feud with Randy Orton because he let Miz do the talking while he handled the in-ring aspects which worked out well. The same goes for his minor feud with Daniel Bryan, which I think could have been better if they had built it and kept it going for a while.
Valo: Agreed. And that's the problem I see with WWE as a whole these days. They don't know what to do with their Superstars. They're constantly changing directions with storylines and, quite frankly, it's disorienting and off-putting. With respect to The Miz, you really saw that leading up to Wrestlemania 27. They were all over the place with him and allowed him to get buried by Cena and Rock. When it comes to Feud Longevity, consistency is the key. If you're not going to be consistent with your Superstars, the Feud will fall apart. The Miz vs. John Cena is a prime example of that.
ENTRANCE:
James: I totally agree with that. As our dear Mr. Canton often points out in the Raw Deal, it’s extremely obvious that the WWE writers book this stuff on a napkin 20 min before the show airs and then change it as they go. I mean, you want to talk about buried; The Miz is the WWE Champion and basically had a normal entrance while, for no damn reason at all, John Cena had a childhood video package AND a fucking choir singing his theme song. Talk about burying a guy. Speaking of entrances, while it may not be much, The Miz has a solid entrance himself.
Valo: While I don't like The Miz, I can agree with you on that. His Entrance, while kinda generic, works. His Entrance Music, I like as well. Catchy song.
James: The song is “Came to Play” by Downstait, and it is very catchy. It’s one of my favorite things about The Miz. The lyrics of the song actually fit his character because it talks about how the person singing, or in this case The Miz, is badass and is going to defeat anyone who gets in his way. Lines like “There’s a price to pay, Time for you to get down on your knees and pray” really show the cockiness of The Miz. His entrance itself is slow and methodical, showing his arrogance, but it’s not slow to the point of dragging. All and all I’d say he has an effective entrance for his character.
FUTURE PROSPECTS:
Valo: Indeed it does, Jim. Indeed. It. Does. *looks at watch* Well it looks like our time is running out, so I think we should wrap this up. Tell me, what do you think the future holds for our current WWE Champion?
James: Well Valo, I think that The Miz is going to go places in this business. While he definitely needs work, I think most of his problem is the fault of the writers and bookers rather then Miz himself. His gimmick needs to be altered or changed or its going to be driven into the ground. There’s only so long a guy wan talk around doing the exact same thing week after week before the fans get tired of it *cough*JohnCena*cough*. As for his in-ring ability he’s definitely got talent, though it could use a bit of polishing, which really shines through when he has talented opponents like Daniel Bryan or John Morrison. Personally, I’m hoping Miz gets drafted to Smackdown this Monday, bringing the WWE Title with him. Chris Jericho’s return is imminent following Dancing with the stars, and he already trash talked The Miz in an interview, so I think a feud between them is planned, and that should be great.
Valo: I, too, agree that Miz has potential. To echo your sentiments, Vince needs to change Miz's gimmick. To be brutally honest, his current gimmick sucks. He's also being put into positions that are more detrimental to his growth than helpful. Drafting him to Smackdown would be an interesting move and, probably, would serve to further his career. However, if they did that, what would they do with the World Heavyweight Title? With the way they, supposedly, have the Draft set up where the Draft Results won't take effect until after Extreme Rules, there would have to be some fancy jockeying with the roster and draft choices to keep everything ambiguous through Extreme Rules. And, no offense to people at WWE, but if recent shows are accurate, they aren't smart enough to pull something like that off.
James: That’s a good point, they may not, but given the situation they may not care much, as they have pretty much been in panic mode ever since Edge had to retire. But I digress, either way I think if Miz stays on Raw, he’s keeping the title. However, I feel that a Smackdown run would be to his benefit, especially a feud with either Christian or a returning Chris Jericho. Well, that’s just about going to do it for this column. Any final thoughts Valo?
Valo: It'll be interesting to see where Miz goes from here. Wherever that may be, whether it’s an ascension into stardom or descent into obscurity and epic failness. Either way, I'll be watching... and making fun of him until the end.
James: And I’ll be watching and hoping for the best. No matter what happens, one thing remains true: He’s the Miz! And heeeeeeeeee’s….. AWWWEEEEESSSOOOOOMMMEEEE!
Valo: *palm* Well, that's all we have for this week. Tune in next week when we tackle our first in-depth analysis of a WWE Storyline. Which one, you ask? The Nexus versus John Cena! Until then, I'm Valo Gunn...
James: …and I’m James Phoenix…
Valo & James: See you on the next... X-Pound!