WWE Extreme Rules 2012: Why the Miz Must Lose US Championship Match vs. Santino

When it was announced on RAW that The Miz would challenge Santino Marella for the United States Championship in a pre-show YouTube match at Extreme Rules, the initial reaction of many was that a win could help get The Miz back on track. I maintain that a loss would be far more effective for his character, however.

The Miz had an excellent United States Championship reign in late 2009 and into 2010 which eventually led to him capturing the WWE Championship, but winning that title again would be a step back at this point. The WWE puts so little emphasis on mid-card championships currently that I have a hard time believing it would lead to anything.

Although The Miz isn't the best in-ring competitor, he continually improves by leaps and bounds in that area. Aside from that, though, his charisma and mic skills support the notion that he is a main-event-caliber talent. All winning the United States Championship will do is prolong his return to that level.

From a storyline perspective, however, losing to Santino at Extreme Rules could spark something in Miz. Aside from scoring the winning pinfall for Team Johnny at WrestleMania, Miz has continually lost matches for the past couple months, and he hasn't even been seen on RAW in two weeks.

Santino has been made to look legitimate since winning the United States Championship, but he is still largely viewed as a comedic character who lacks true wrestling ability. Because of that, heels look particularly bad when they lose to Santino, especially when he knocks them out with The Cobra.

Losing to Santino could serve as a last straw for The Miz and lead to something much bigger. In a realistic sense, you would have to think that if somebody were to lose over and over again, they would eventually snap and do something big to put a stop to it. That will be the case for The Miz provided the creative team does the right thing and has him lose.

The most likely step for The Miz following a loss would be for him to attack one of John Cena, CM Punk or Sheamus on the ensuing RAW. Miz can say that despite the fact that he was responsible for John Laurinaitis becoming general manager of both shows, Laurinaitis hasn't helped him out one bit, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Who Miz targets will depend a lot on what happens at Extreme Rules. If Punk retains the WWE Championship against Chris Jericho then that feud will likely be over, so it opens the door for Miz. Also, there hasn't been any indication as to how involved Brock Lesnar will be following Extreme Rules, so perhaps Miz can kick Cena while he's down so to speak by preying on him in the midst of his losing streak.

Failing that, Miz could challenge for Sheamus's World Heavyweight Championship if he retains the belt against Daniel Bryan as expected. It appears as though Sheamus is set up to feud with Alberto Del Rio next, however, so that may not be the best option, but Miz could be the third wheel in a triumvirate of heels vying for Sheamus's title.

On the flip side, if Miz were to win the United States Championship, he would likely be relegated to feuds with Santino, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth and Brodus Clay. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with that, but when you consider Miz's status at this time last year, he belongs much higher on the card than being US Champion would allow.

As a supporter of The Miz, it has been tough to watch his demise in recent months, but I continue to remain confident that there is a true plan. Too often that type of optimism ends in disappointment, but I get the impression that the company loves The Miz as an entity, so he should be back on the main-event radar soon enough.

It all starts with a loss at Extreme Rules.