The Miz and Damien Sandow vs. The Usos: Winner and Reaction from 2014 WWE TLC

In their first pay-per-view title defense since winning the Tag Team Championships at Survivor Series, The Miz and Damien Mizdow successfully retained the straps in defeat against The Usos Sunday night at TLC.

The Miz and Mizdow hit The Usos with their Slammy Awards, picking up the disqualification. Although they lost, they kept their tag titles, per WrestlingInc.com:

Corey Graves noted that Slammys can serve a multitude of uses:

WWE posted an Instagram photo of the new champ:

The Miz and Mizdow won the belts in a Fatal 4-Way last month when Mizdow pinned Goldust. Despite the fact that his stunt double scored the winning fall, The Miz proceeded to carry the real titles, while Mizdow was forced to lug around toy championships.

With the tag division in a state of flux, a Tag Team Turmoil match was held on Raw to determine the new No. 1 contenders. The Usos won that match, which put them in position to potentially regain the titles that they held for over 200 days.

The Miz and Mizdow didn't have any issue with The Usos previously, but that changed almost immediately after they became No. 1 contenders. In what one can only assume was a tactic to get in Jimmy Uso's head, The Miz complimented his wife—Naomi—backstage and gave her his agent's business card.

After learning of this, Jimmy came to ringside, while The Miz was serving as a guest commentator and essentially slapped the taste out of his mouth.

According to WWE's official Twitter account, the Samoan Superstar had a very stern message for his newfound rival:

Following Jimmy's assault of The Miz, The Usos tried their hand at getting in the heads of their TLC opponents:

Based on his comments, The Miz was obviously shaken by Jimmy Uso's attack:

Even so, that didn't stop him from continuing to poke and prod The Usos and Naomi on Twitter:

While WWE doesn't always commit to good storytelling in the midcard, it has obviously put a lot of time and effort into everything The Miz and Mizdow have done. Aside from building tension between them, the writers also found an effective way to get them heat with The Usos as well.

With that in mind, their match at TLC had pretty much everything a fan can ask for. The Miz and Mizdow provided a certain comedic feeling due to their entertaining interactions, while The Usos continued their trend of putting on excellent in-ring performances.

The Usos are undoubtedly WWE's top team from a pure wrestling standpoint, but it is tough to argue with the notion that The Miz and Mizdow are the most captivating duo.

It is undeniable that The Miz and Mizdow garner big reactions from the crowd whenever they come through the curtain, which is why their reign as tag team champions is likely just getting started.

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