The Miz vs. Baron Corbin Feud Is the Blueprint for Future Social Media Feuds

Away from the cameras, free from the tight constraints of WWE scripts, The Miz and Baron Corbin are trading blows in an innovative feud.

Corbin took a shot at The Miz on Twitter. The A-Lister tore into his foe with an iPhone promo of his own. As this unfolds, fans are getting a peek at a storytelling method the company could turn to more often down the road.  

The intercontinental champ and the U.S. titleholder are set to meet at Survivor Series in a non-title, brand-against-brand battle.

The chances for them to cross paths before the Nov. 19 pay-per-view are minimal as they exist on different planes of WWE existence. The Miz is a member of the Raw brand. Corbin is a SmackDown talent. So the wrestlers themselves have felt compelled to build toward that bout themselves.

The Lone Wolf fired first, boasting about SmackDown's recent violent invasion of Raw in a video he posted to Twitter:

Corbin's most notable line was his final one. He told The Miz: "You should just stay home and keep playing dress-up with your little wife." 

The intercontinental champ got wind of Corbin's comments and used the same format for his rebuttal. The Miz verbally kidney-punched his Survivor Series opponent in the process:

He called Corbin a "Twitter tough guy" and a "generic big man who will be gone in two years."

Corbin swung back with a mock apology that again referenced The Miz's wife, Maryse.

And with that, an underwhelming matchup upped its appeal. It doesn't matter nearly as much that these are two heels going at it. The lack of TV time for this narrative isn't hurting the bout, either.

As Brent Brookhouse of Flo Slam wrote: "They're finding a way to stoke some good fire out of this pairing."

The back-and-forth on Twitter has given this rivalry a heightened sense of realism. It gives the appearance that these aren't wrestlers acting on TV but two men using their social media accounts to spout their true feelings.

Credit: WWE.com

There's an easy-to-digest nature to these promos as well.

They're less than a minute. These are bite-sized moments that beg to be shared and discussed. They are easy, quick ways to create buzz, even for midcard fare like Corbin vs. The Miz.

And they're good. 

Jeff Hawkins from Voices of Wrestling, for one, is a fan. He wants to see WWE air these videos on TV: 

Corbin looks more comfortable in these Twitter rants than he often does on SmackDown. Given a chance to perform without being micromanaged, to freestyle some insults and not to mention do more than one take, has clearly allowed him to thrive.

This is something that would be great to see more of for that very reason.

Everyone from Kalisto to Roman Reigns would benefit from using this format. The live promo can't be replaced, but the product can certainly be supplemented by putting Superstars on a stage built to let them shine.

And for the wrestlers involved in rivalries WWE doesn't pay much attention to, this is a go-to method to get their story going independently. One doesn't have to wait to be put on TV. Enemies can simply grab their phone, get to work and expand beyond the limitations of airtime. 

We've seen similar scenarios in the past.

The Miz and Tye Dillinger looked to smack each other around on Twitter beginning late last year. Becky Lynch and Cris Cyborg tried to get WWE to book them against each other at SummerSlam by way of internet bad blood.

These won't be the last examples of feuds developing on social media. The Miz vs. Corbin won't be an anomaly. More enemies will strike in this fashion.

In an age where people have their phones glued to their hands and WWE looks to satisfy even the most insatiable fans with a constant flood of content, titans tangling on Twitter is the no-brainer way to supplement what happens on screen.