The Miz vs. Sami Zayn: Winner and Reaction for WWE Survivor Series 2016

The Miz defeated Sami Zayn Sunday at Survivor Series to retain the Intercontinental Championship and keep it on SmackDown Live.

WWE described the finish: 

Zayn had The Miz in a figure-four leglock when Maryse rang the bell, tricking Zayn into thinking he won. With the match still in progress, The Miz snuck up on a celebrating Zayn to get the pin.

Maryse's clever tactics ultimately helped The Miz retain the belt, per WWE:

Kevin Berge of Bleacher Report and Robert Littal of BlackSportsOnline provided their takes on the match:

Maryse would share an Instagram photo of her and The Miz after the match: 

Sunday's match was originally scheduled to feature Zayn challenging Dolph Ziggler, but that changed on the 900th episode of SmackDown when Miz defeated The Showoff in his rematch for the IC title.

Ziggler fell short in his attempts to capture the Intercontinental Championship on several occasions before putting his career on the line and coming through in the clutch against The Miz at No Mercy.

Every indication was that Ziggler and Zayn would compete in an inter-brand match at Survivor Series with the potential to steal the show, but thanks to help from Maryse once again, The Miz became IC champ for the sixth time in his illustrious career.

That shifted the responsibility to Miz in terms of successfully defending the title and preventing it from moving to Raw.

Despite The Miz's veteran savvy and underhanded tactics, The Underdog from the Underground displayed the utmost confidence entering Survivor Series:

In keeping with his villainous persona, Miz was dismissive of his opponent and had no doubt that he would leave Survivor Series with the title in tow:

The Survivor Series theme is fantasy warfare featuring crossover matches between Raw and SmackDown Superstars, but it can be argued that the bout between Miz and Zayn was the most important of all.

The Intercontinental Championship is among the longest-running and most prestigious titles in WWE, and having ownership of that belt is a major coup for either brand.

Miz winning it prior to Survivor Series created an awkward situation for SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan, though, due to his disdain for the A-Lister.

Bryan called Miz cowardly on several occasions, questioned his toughness and doubted that he was a fighting champion in the same vein as Ziggler.

The Miz went into battle for the blue brand at Survivor Series despite that, and the resourceful Superstar once again found a way to keep the IC title in his possession.

While Miz's long-term future with SmackDown remains unclear due to constant trade talks, his win likely means he will remain on the blue brand for now, and it ensures that he will continue to be one of the main highlights on Tuesday nights moving forward.

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