28 Days of 'Mania: The Miz's Drastic Fall from Grace in the WWE

Disclaimer: This will be an ongoing series for the next 28 days leading up to the biggest event in sports entertainment, WrestleMania 28.

The idea behind the piece is to build more momentum for the event and give you, the Bleacher Report fan a chance to read, comment and weigh in with opinions about the WWE, the business and the event.

It is my hope this becomes something positive and we all enjoy the ride for the next four weeks to Miami and the biggest event of the wrestling year. Enjoy.

What happened? Where did he go? Why has his fall from grace been so drastic and why is it possible we will not see The Miz at WrestleMania 28?

Just a year ago, he was the hottest thing in wrestling. First the WWE Champion. Then a member of the most successful tag team in the company and part of a "conspiracy" theory that finally fell apart.

And then, the ultimate slap in the face, after TLC, he is discarded like a bag of trash so his colleagues like Dolph Ziggler and then Chris Jericho can have a crack at the WWE Title.

It's been a long tough road for The Miz, and when he speaks about being the headliner at WrestleMania 27 with John Cena just a year ago in Atlanta, you can almost hear the faint sounds of truth in the fact he is angry and sad his fall has been so sudden.

And that is only half the battle for the once-popular reality star turned wrestler.

There have been others who have fallen from "grace" like The Miz, (Ahmed Johnson, Kerry Von Erich) both those cases did not involve a former world champion who at the age of 31 is truly at a crossroads in his life.

Now, wouldn't it be ripe for Mike Mizanin to turn "face" and challenge the likes of Kane, Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio (when Del Rio returns from injury) and again capture the WWE Universe. Remember, he is "The Miz" and he is "AWESOME" in his own mind.

When CM Punk captured the WWE Title from Alberto Del Rio and then faced Del Rio and Miz at TLC, there was talk about Punk dropping the belt because WWE brass was worried Punk, although the best in the business at the time, could not carry ratings. But the title was secured and the fan support continued when Punk retained the title.

The Miz was blamed for poor buy rates at the Survivor Series PPV, and his character was punished for it by being the first to enter the Rumble PPV and the former champion lasted over 40 minutes in the ring, battling with his former tag team partner, R-Truth and Cody Rhodes.

His character also showed its mettle in the Elimination Chamber when he fought with Punk, Jericho, Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler but there was still no love.

What's a guy to do?

While this is part of an angle that the fall from grace happens, it may in fact be a real hard fall in the end. While the company has also hurt the "draft stock" of Dolph Ziggler after the Royal Rumble match with CM Punk, and has held Cody Rhodes in purgatory for months with the Intercontinental Title, should someone as established as The Miz get another shot?  

Maybe the creative team lost its mind and taken a great talent (and other talents) and wasted them because of greed, veteran "courtesy" and the fact they really don't see a good thing in front of their noses?

The Miz deserves a better fate than this.