WWE: 7 Reasons The Miz Will Dominate the Rest of 2012

The Miz is back, and he's still awesome.

After a two-month absence to film the third installment of The Marine, the self-proclaimed "most must-see WWE Champion in history" returned at Money in the Bank as a surprise participant in the WWE Championship Money in the Bank match.

The Miz delivered a good performance in the match, and since that night, wrestling fans have been abuzz about what lies ahead for him in his immediate future.

After he won the Intercontinental title on Raw 1000, most seem to think that good things are actually in store for The Miz, even after his rough start to 2012.

We have to ask, though: Will The Miz still struggle like he did during the first half of 2012, or will he rebound with a great second half of the year?

I think it's the latter.

Here are seven reasons why The Miz will dominate the rest of 2012.

7. His Time Away Allowed Him to Rebound from His Slump in Early 2012

To put it simply, The Miz had an awful—rather than an awesome—first half of 2012.

After challenging for the WWE Championship at TLC in December 2011 and delivering a memorable performance in the 2012 Royal Rumble, it was all downhill from there.

The Miz was completely lost in the shuffle, found himself as an afterthought of the build to WrestleMania and even became a personal jobber for Brodus Clay at one point.

But time heals all wounds, right? Well, The Miz better hope that is true.

His nearly two-month long absence from the WWE came at a fantastic time, as he needed a break in order to come back as a refocused and refreshed character.

As bad as The Miz's first half of the year was and as bad as his struggles have been dating back to when he lost the WWE title in 2011, he's been given a great opportunity to make the fans and everyone else forget about that.

It's time for The Miz to put the past in the rearview mirror where it belongs and focus on the future, which is actually looking pretty bright.

6. The WWE's Lack of Main-Eventers

I say it all the time: The WWE simply does not have an overabundance of main-eventers.

The roster may not be as thin as I sometimes think it is, but it's certainly not a loaded one at this very moment, either.

Generally speaking, there are only a handful of superstars who are consistent main-eventers (John Cena, CM Punk, Sheamus, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton).

Most of the other ones come and go because they're either part-timers (Triple H, Brock Lesnar, etc.) or fluctuate between the main event and the midcard (Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Wade Barrett, etc.).

Therefore, just about every upper-midcard star has a chance to make it to the main event, and that includes The Miz.

The WWE undoubtedly needs to establish more guys as consistent main-event threats because outside of the usual four suspects (Punk, Orton, Cena and Sheamus), there aren't a ton of other guys with track records of being in the main-event and World title scenes for lengthy period of times.

Believe it or not, The Miz is actually one of the more seasoned main-event workers around, and he's coming back to the WWE at a time when the company needs more main-eventers.

I think The Miz will slide into an immediate role as an upper midcarder, but prove to be a main-event guy later in the year.

5. He's Rumored for a Big Main-Event Push

If you don't believe me when I say that The Miz will dominate the rest of 2012, then maybe you need to hear it (or read it) from someone else.

According to F4Wonlnie.com (via WrestleZone.com), The Miz is going to be working in the main event in the coming months:

"

Everyone backstage was pleased to see The Miz make his return to WWE at last night's Money in the Bank PPV. The feeling is that The Miz has improved his look while he was off TV shooting the Marine 3, and that he will be pushed as a top heel in the fall.

"

It's not just me who sees The Miz being pushed as one of the WWE's top stars in the fall.

Those within the company do, too.

With the WWE's lack of full-time main-eventers, and The Miz's seemingly re-energized character, all the dominoes are falling in the right direction. "The most must-see WWE champion in history" might actually get a chance to carry that coveted WWE Championship again.

At the very least, though, he should be challenging for one of the World titles down the road and getting a sizable push along the way.

4. His New Look and Demeanor

The Miz has been a different man since his return.

He didn't make any over-the-top or dramatic changes to his gimmick or even his look while he was away, but he has made a few minor tweaks that seem to be working pretty well for him so far.

Of course, The Miz has the new hairdo, which allows me to take him more seriously than I could when he had that fohawk of his.

One of the biggest problems I had with The Miz prior to his absence was that I often didn't view him as a serious main-event threat, but a simple change to his hairstyle has helped me view him as a more legitimate WWE star.

Along with that new hairdo seemed to come a new demeanor as well.

Again, no major change was made here, but something about The Miz's new look has also slightly changed the way he acts and comes across both in the ring and on the mic.

If he sticks with these changes and continues to separate himself (even if it's just slightly) from the annoying character he had prior to his absence, then he's well on his way to a successful run later this year.

3. The Reactions He's Been Getting Will Force the WWE's Hand

There comes a point in time when the reactions that a superstar generates will force the WWE creative team to take notice and eventually push that guy.

I think The Miz is going to do that and essentially make the creative team elevate him to the top of the card.

When he returned at Money in the Bank, he received a rather warm reception that included a "Miz is awesome!" chant, and he also got a pretty good reaction on Raw the next night.

Although it's hard to judge The Miz on just two appearances, it's clear that the fans have missed him.

Crazy, huh? Not in today's WWE.

We've seen plenty of heels generate these baby face-like reactions recently, including Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho.

And what's happened to each of those guys? They've all gotten pushed.

Bryan has been in the main-event scene all year long, so has Jericho, and now, Ziggler is Mr. Money in the Bank.

Will The Miz be the next to follow in their footsteps? Based on the reactions he's gotten so far, I'd say it's definitely possible.

2. The Possibility of a Face Turn

A potential face turn for The Miz has been a hot topic for the last six months or so.

When he was struggling and went on that lengthy losing streak earlier this year, many thought that he would eventually turn face and then be pushed as a main-event-caliber good guy from that point forward.

That obviously didn't happen, but every time I watch The Miz, the possibility never leaves my mind.

Especially since The Miz returned at Money in the Bank and received a baby-face pop, I've thought it would be a great creative move to turn him face and then just see what happens.

In fact, I've thought that The Miz would benefit from a baby-face turn for the better part of a year now.

He's been a heel for pretty much his entire career, and a face turn would freshen up his character in a major way.

While we can't be sure exactly where The Miz's character is headed, I think a baby-face turn is likely at some point in the near future. Make no mistake about it, when he does turn face, it's going to lead to a pretty big push.

I think The Miz could get over big time as a face, and if that happens like I expect it to, then the sky is the limit for him.

1. The Upcoming Promotion for the Marine 3

As we all know, The Miz was away filming The Marine 3: Homefront. 

Given that the first two Marine films weren't all that great, many won't think this is a big deal. But in the WWE's eyes, it will be, and The Miz will certainly benefit from it.

The WWE loves to push its movies down our throat with endless promotion, including previews and behind-the-scenes looks.

And what will all of these for The Marine 3 have in common? The Miz.

The Miz is the star of the movie, so the WWE is going to highlight him all the time whenever the movie does come out and prior to its release.

The flick isn't going to be released until 2013, but in all likelihood, the WWE is going to want to build The Miz up as a major star on TV so that more people will want to buy the movie that he stars in.

Makes sense, right?

A wrestling fan is much more likely to buy a WWE-produced movie if that movie features a major star, so expect The Miz to be pushed like one before, during and after the release of The Marine 3.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions on Formspring.