WWE Extreme Rules 2012 Highlights: Miz in Deep Trouble After Loss to Santino

Is this it for The Miz?

With the US Championship belt on the line at Extreme Rules, Santino was clearly the better wrestler beating Miz with relative ease.

Miz could be seen whining about how he went from the main event last year to the pre-show event this year before the match, further exhausting the point that this guy is a has-been.

After about five minutes of roughing him up pretty badly, the Cobra came out for Santino. A Big Pop finished The Miz off and the Chicago crowd loved it.

The Miz has become a complete after-thought in the WWE universe and you really have to wonder if this is the final straw for him.

How can he come back from a loss to Santino? He has now lost 21 of 22 matches with the only pin-win coming in a 12-person tag team event at WrestleMania. Clearly WWE’s creative team is either planning for him to completely go away, or have an extremely reduced role in the company.

It’s shocking considering how popular he was at this time last year, but it just goes to show you that wrestlers should never feel completely safe with their position within the WWE universe.

As for Santino?

His star is beginning to shine brighter and it’s time to step up the competition level. A feud against Jack Swagger or Dolph Ziggler makes sense to me. He clearly has a passionate fanbase that continues to grow, but needs to start creating more memorable moments in the ring.

Sunday was a big step.

The dark match before Extreme Rules resulted in two wrestlers heading in compete opposite directions. 

Follow Eric Ball on Twitter.