WWE: Why the Time for the Miz to Turn Face Is Now

To the surprise of no one, The Miz took the pin again on last night's episode of Friday night SmackDown after eating a viscous brouge kick by the No. 1 contender for the World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus in the main event. 

If my calculations are correct, that makes 12 consecutive television defeats for Miz whose sole purpose for even being in the match was to take the pin since all of the other men in that match will be in main-event type matches at WrestleMania and could hardly afford to get pinned with just nine days remaining before the event.

Just a year ago, Mike "The Miz" Mizanin was at the peak of his professional career, getting set to defend his WWE Championship (which he did) at the grandest stage of them all WrestleMania against the company's top star—John Cena. But now, Miz is nothing more than an afterthought. As of this point in time, he doesn't even have a match as WrestleMania which he has made a point of for the last several weeks in his promos.

Many wrestling fans are divided on the Miz and where his place in the company should be. Some think his average to below-average skills in the ring, as well as his lack of physically demanding presence means he should be nothing more than a "Miz" carder.

Others (like myself) are huge fans of what The Miz brings to the company. He's an excellent mic worker, easily in the top three to five right now and really knows how to draw a reaction out of the crowd. Also his in-ring work, while still admittedly nothing special, is improving every year, and he's more than capable of holding his own in a high-profile match. 

So what's the reason of this burial of the Awesome one? Many believe it has to do with the supposed heat he has been gaining backstage. Although Miz had solid showings at the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber pay-per-views, he has been declining on the card for a while now, mostly since he and R-Truth broke up their awesome truth tag team.

Vince McMahon reportedly blamed the lack of Survivor Series PPV buys on The Miz (for some reason), and recently, he severely botched a move with R-Truth on Raw which both have given him plenty of heat backstage. Others, however, believe it is all part of a larger plan that creative has planned out for Miz. That could come to fruition at WrestleMania, or after it, and could lead to him getting back up the card and back into the title picture at whatever show he ends up at after April's draft. 

For me, the choice is easy on what to do with The Miz. It's time for him to ditch his heel character whom he has had in his entire tenure in the WWE and turn face. Make no mistake, Miz is a great heel. He knows how to draw heat, and his cocky persona fits more with a heel character than a face. But there have been plenty of successful cocky face characters before (The Rock anyone?) and turning Miz here would be the right way to make sure he stays relevant.

Face Miz would do many of the same things he does now—same catchphrases, same theme music, same move-set—except now, he's doing it all with the fans on his side. I have little doubt that if the Miz was to turn face, he could easily become one of the most popular superstars in the company.

Even now as a heel, Miz is the guy you always see promoting the company in interviews and appearances, and if he were to turn face, it would be even more successful. For those who doubt that Miz could be a successful face, just look at Sheamus, a guy who has been a heel his entire career and now, is one of the most popular crossover babyfaces in the entire company.

So if the WWE does plan to do this, as they should, when and how should it happen? Many are speculating that The Miz could join team Teddy at WrestleMania, thus turning face in the process. This would be the perfect time and place for the Miz to go about turning face. Miz is so buried, that him coming back to the title picture as a heel seems extremely unlikely.

After being denied time and time again by John Laurinaitis, imagine how cool it would be for Teddy Long to hold out the final selection for his team until the time of the event only to hear AWWWESOME get blasted at WrestleMania. And think, Miz coming out to become the final member of team Teddy, giving Miz his deserved match and turning him face would be a huge pop. 

From there, Miz could be a top babyface on whatever brand he gets moved to and challenge the next heel champion for their respective title. There is still time for The Miz to be a top superstar in the WWE once again, but it's time for a change.

What better place for it all go to down, than Miami Florida, April 1st, at WrestleMania XXVIII.