Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: The Miz Remains One of WWE's Most Underrated Superstars

1. The Miz Is Having One Hell of a 2016

In all the excitement about the new era ushered in with WWE's welcoming names like AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, don't overlook The Miz. The self-proclaimed A-lister is having one of the best years of his career, flourishing as a heel, showing off improved in-ring work and elevating others around him.

The Miz, though, often doesn't get the credit he's due.

Cesaro, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens all first made their names on the independent circuit. The Miz is still seen by some as "the reality TV guy." Zayn and the other men chasing Miz's Intercontinental Championship are fresh, emerging additions to WWE, while The Miz has been around for a decade.

So it's natural to focus on Miz's foes. New blood is inherently exciting.

But one can't discount Miz's work as a heel. He's superb as an arrogant irritant, a megalomaniac and a coward. Bringing in wife Maryse has only amplified his character.

He's always been a strong mic worker, but the IC champ has truly found his voice as the man who believes that he's too big a star for WWE. 

In the ring, he's still not a top-tier performer but has evolved into a dependable worker. That's been on display with strong TV bouts all year. It's no coincidence that when WWE wanted to introduce Styles, it chose Miz as one of his first foils.

Styles and The Miz flourished in their many matches. The Miz expertly sold The Phenomenal One's offense, making kicks look like they dizzied him and the Calf Crusher like it was ripping his flesh apart.

At Payback, The Miz performed well against Cesaro in their IC title clash. Miz had helped Cesaro gain momentum by making fans want so badly to see The King of Swing punch him in his cocky face.

For some, that didn't matter. Some of the audience can't wait to see The Miz drop the title and Cesaro, Zayn or Owens take over as champ. 

Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net pointed out, though, that The Miz has earned his recent spotlight:

That may not be a popular opinion considering how long The Miz has been the butt of jokes and a guy fans have tired of seeing. But it's getting harder to deny that The Miz isn't playing his part to a tee, that he's not a valuable part of the WWE puzzle.

As Mick Foley posted on Facebook, "It's about time that guys like me—and people like you—started giving Miz his props."

2. After the Battle Royal

As Baron Corbin is finding out, there is no set pattern for how WWE books the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner. 

Credit: WWE.com

That triumph is only partially catapulting Corbin. In the past, the company had Cesaro rolling after winning that match, while Big Show stumbled after claiming the trophy.

Big Show lost five in a row after becoming the second man to win the annual WrestleMania Battle Royal. He then went 3-7 in his first 10 bouts afterward, including a loss in his first pay-per-view bout (against Roman Reigns).

Cesaro fared much better. He went 8-2 in his first 10 outings after the inaugural edition. Things flattened out later, but he defeated Rob Van Dam and Jack Swagger at Extreme Rules and knocked off both Big Show and Mark Henry.

WWE is having Corbin follow Cesaro's lead more than Big Show's, but the company isn't building as much momentum for him as it could be. The Lone Wolf's win-loss record after WrestleMania is 5-2-1. But two of those wins came on Main Event, and his first PPV bout after WrestleMania saw him lose to Dolph Ziggler. That's hardly dominant.

Whatever happened to letting a newcomer tear through the bottom of the roster, to introducing a monster by letting him devour jobbers?

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Eric Young

In a surprise move, former TNA world champ Young debuted for NXT last week. His first match with that brand won't be his first with WWE, though.

Back in 2003, Young and Bobby Roode teamed up in a bout on Velocity. F.B.I. (with Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli) steamrolled the duo. 

Looking at Young taking a beating almost a decade ago, it's amazing to think that he grew from a no-name jobber to one of TNA's best all-around talents. 

4. Perfect Fit for Cruiserweight Tournament 

Noam Dar is the kind of performer WWE surely had in mind when it came up with the Global Cruiserweight Series.

At 5'10", 185 pounds, getting a spot on the WWE stage would have been an uphill climb. But the company now has a vehicle to showcase his electric energy and his combination of athleticism and technical skill.

He'll thrive in bouts with guys like Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr., as WWE both appeals to its diehard fans and likely entices casual fans to discover another side of wrestling. Dar is a wrestler with some buzz on the independent circuit. However, many fans don't know anything about him.

The upcoming cruiserweight tourney is set to change that.

5. Poking Fun at Roman Reigns

An old promo photo surfaced of Reigns in jeans. It wasn't long before comedians appearing on @midnight took turns mocking his fashion and expression.

The Usos weren't thrilled with their cousin being the butt of the joke, but all the buzz Reigns' pic caused is just a sign of his star power. You don't see anyone talking about dug-up photos of Adam Rose.

6. Chris Jericho's Faulty Shovel

Is Jericho burying young talent? The numbers say no.

Each time Jericho scores a victory over an emerging star, the Internet is filled with claims of Jericho ruining their momentum. Y2J has actually worked that into his gimmick, proudly proclaiming that he will bury his opponents.

But that's all born from a misconception. Jericho is losing more than he wins, often to up-and-coming talents. 

His loss to Dean Ambrose at Payback on Sunday makes Jericho just 3-7 in singles PPV bouts since 2013.

Event	Opponent	Result
WrestleMania XXIX	Fandango	Loss
Extreme Rules 2013	Fandango	Win
Payback 2013	CM Punk	Loss
Money in the Bank 2013	Ryback	Loss
Battleground 2014	Bray Wyatt	Win
SummerSlam 2014	Bray Wyatt	Loss
Night of Champions 2014	Randy Orton	Loss
Fastlane 2016	AJ Styles	Loss
WrestleMania 32	AJ Styles	Win
Payback 2016	Dean Ambrose	Loss

Fandango, Bray Wyatt, Ryback, Ambrose and AJ Styles all have PPV wins over Y2J. Yes, WWE too often falls into the trap of 50-50 booking, but the stars of tomorrow are beating Jericho.

And having him lose every bout isn't an option. How much value does a victory over him have for a guy like The Lunatic Fringe if Y2J is 0-10 heading into the contest?

7. Bullet Club Overlap

If you can't get enough of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson on Raw and SmackDown, you can also see them battle on Ring of Honor TV.

With their ROH bout against The Briscoe Brothers taped before their WWE arrival, a unique situation emerges. The former Bullet Club members will appear on both WWE and ROH programming in the same week. 

That just adds to a surreal year that has seen AJ Styles compete at both WrestleMania and New Japan Pro Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom and go from headlining a Revolution Pro Wrestling show in January to main eventing a WWE PPV in May.

8. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens: The Beginning

The refrain has become that Owens and Zayn may fight forever.

Theirs is a saga that stretches back to when both men wrestled for Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as Kevin Steen and El Generico. Their chemistry and the excellence they produce together will certainly tempt WWE to revisit the feud time and time again.

Those unfamiliar with the pre-WWE chapters of this story should be sure to seek these matches out:

• Steen vs. El Generico: ROH Death Before Dishonor VIII
• Steen vs. El Generico: ROH Final Battle 2010 (Fight Without Honor)
• Steen vs. El Generico: ROH Showdown in the Sun (Last Man Standing)
• Steen vs. El Generico: PWG Steen Wolf (Ladder)
• Steen vs. El Generico: ROH Final Battle 2012 (Ladder)

Seeing these two thrive in No Disqualification matches on the ROH stage, WWE officials have to be thinking about how to align their narrative so that they end up colliding in a similar battle at Tables, Ladders & Chairs or Hell in the Cell in the future.

9. The Golden Truth 

What began as a humorous display of tag team recruitment has become an odd sideshow centered on gyrations.

Bitterness about their refusal to be each other's partner has R-Truth and Goldust now trying to make each other jealous. Goldust has partnered up with Fandango. R-Truth has tried to make Tyler Breeze his new wingman. 

Constant "Hey, look at me!" exchanges and lots of hip-thrusting have now become the foundation of this story. As Miami Herald writer Scott Fishman pointed out, this feels a lot like something from shows like Dawson's Creek:

Considering the underwhelming climax that it's sure to lead to, WWE sure has let the storyline stretch on for a long time. If only the company were this committed to the undercard of the women's division.

10. On the Enzo Amore Injury

Early in the finals of the tag team tournament, Amore crashed into the ring ropes and bounced his head off the mat. He was out cold on the floor, having suffered a concussion.

Some fans have tried to point the finger at Simon Gotch for the injury, as he was the one flinging Amore toward the ropes.

Bubba Ray Dudley wasn't having any of that:

Amore's spill was a freak accident. And with all the diving, slamming and smashing these wrestlers do to each other, it's amazing that things like this don't happen more often. 

All match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.