Mike Mizanin: You Are Awesome!

On Oct. 5, 2009, history was made. A superstar who never seemed to see light at the end of the tunnel finally made it out of there. It wasn't too long ago people doubted Mike Mizanin, due to his MTV reality show background.

I mean, I've seen MMA fighters turn pro wrestlers. We've all seen NFL players become wrestlers if only for one time (Lawrence Taylor and Steve McMichael come to mind). Hell, we've even seen chairmen and CEOs step inside the squared circle at one time or another (the McMahon family).

Yet reality TV stars? Jonny Fairplay doesn't count.

Enter Mike Mizanin, better known to wrestling fans as The Miz. Now I'm not going to pretend I actually liked The Miz at first because I didn't. Well I did, but wasn't sure what to make of his skills. He seemed like a cool guy and I dig MTV, but was never into The Real World or Road Rules stuff he was apparently on.

But hey, it helped him get a spot on Tough Enough 4 (aka The Million-Dollar Tough Enough) back in 2004.

For those that don't know or remember, Tough Enough was a reality show (Miz's specialty) that was like the American Idol show of professional wrestling, where a number of hopefuls would compete until one (or in some cases two) competitors remained, winning the grand prize—a World Wrestling Entertainment contract.

The Miz came up short against eventual winner Daniel Puder, however, as the first runner-up, he certainly gained valuable exposure and was signed to a developmental (minor league) deal with WWE in 2005.

After a number of dark (untelevised) matches throughout 2005, The Miz finally debuted for WWE on their Smackdown! brand in 2006. Unfortunately for the Cleveland, Ohio native, he would serve as more of a host or on-air personality rather than doing what he always wanted to do—wrestle.

The Miz finally got that chance in the Fall of 2006, having a nice streak of wins until coming across the beyond-weird presence of The Boogeyman. Needless to say, it was tough to take the pretty boy seriously when Smackdown! commentator John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) constantly bashed him.

Then again, it's normal to have doubts about any new superstar. Those that doubted The Miz should have known better, considering his past TV experience only strengthened his preparation for his wrestling career. At least entertainment-wise. That's the key word—should.

After floundering in midcard limbo on Smackdown! for months, The Miz was drafted to the ECW brand in the Summer of 2007, where he was able to truly flourish. A feud with Balls Mahoney and a stint as a self-proclaimed chick magnet, complete with the Divas, brought back memories of The Godfather and his special train, albeit with a twist.

It wasn't until The Miz crossed paths with John Morrison that the magic really happened (not that magic, sickos). Following a brief feud with then-ECW Champion CM Punk (capped off with an impressive showing at Cyber Sunday 2007), The Miz started interacting with another up-and-comer in John Morrison.

Sure, Morrison had a sudden stint as ECW Champion prior to their interactions, but he was definitely not ready to carry the extreme brand. The two styles clashed. One was a handsome, over-the-top Hollywood-esque star with abs of steel. The other being The Miz, a self-proclaimed chick magnet who made fedoras look good.

The unlikely duo became WWE Tag Team Champions in November 2007 and their chemistry strengthened, as did their reign, until it ended in July 2008 at The Great American Bash.

Throughout their reign as WWE Tag Team Champions and later on as World Tag Team Champions of the RAW brand, the two provided fans with great comedy and entertaining matches. A majority of the comedy came via their hit WWE.com show The Dirt Sheet.

Started in late-2007, the show still runs on the Web site semi-regularly, even after the team's split. It's tough to sum up The Miz and Morrison in a nutshell, but they were the best tag team to come along since the days of Edge and Christian, Dudleys, Hardys, and APA. And that's saying something for present-day WWE tag teams.

Their run together led to one of the longest WWE Tag Team Championship reigns in recent memory, the highest rated show on WWE.com, and two Slammy awards. Most importantly, it gave both men great exposure and showcased their potential as singles stars.

When they were split up via the 2009 WWE Draft, many predicted John Morrison would be on a collision course to main event status sooner rather than later, while The Miz would have a harder time plying his singles craft.

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