WWE: Chris Jericho and The Miz, Who Will Have The Better Career?

Both The Miz and Chris Jericho were unlikely WWE Champions when they were coming through the ranks. We now look at The Miz as one of the top men in the business today, while Jericho is one of the greatest superstars in the last twenty years. Jericho turns 41 in November, but is eyeing a return to WWE soon. Meanwhile, The Miz turns 31 in October and already has one of the longest WWE Championship reigns in recent memory. When all is said and done, which of these men will have the greater career?

To understand the answer to this question, you need to know the backgrounds for both men. The Miz was a reality television star before fulfilling his aspiration of being a pro wrestler and giving it a chance. After years in the indie leagues, The Miz made it to $1,000,000 Tough Enough, finishing as runner-up. The Miz would go on to the developmental leagues before being the host of Smackdown and the Divas Search.

Eventually, The Miz began to have some matches, compiling a winning streak to start off before going to ECW for a better situation for himself. There The Miz aligned with John Morrison, and the two became one of the best tag teams of the last decade. After the WWE Draft brought him to RAW, The Miz was on his own, changing his attitude and telling everyone how awesome he was.

Now, The Miz is not only a former tag team champion, but he is a two-time United States Champion and owned a WWE Championship reign that lasted 160 days, the fourth-longest in the last five years.

Chris Jericho, on the other hand, has seemingly done it all and needed to do it everywhere. Jericho spent most of the 1990s making it through the independent scene, wrestling in various Canadian promotions before having a lot of success in Mexico and Japan. Jericho came to the United States in 1994 to wrestle in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, run by Jim Cornette. Eventually, with a recommendation by the late Chris Benoit, Jericho went to Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1996 and quickly gained popularity with those at World Championship Wrestling.

Jericho was a four-time Cruiserweight Champion and also held the World Television Championship while in WCW, but had a difficult time being taken seriously as a main event headliner by WCW brass, which prompted his move to WWE. On June 30, 1999, the Countdown to the Millennium clock hit zero and Jericho's place in WWE history began.

His career in WWE is one of the most impressive around. Jericho has won 23 championships in WWE, including the Intercontinental Championship a record nine times. Jericho was a four-time tag team champion and a five-time world champion. Jericho also has the honor of being the first Undisputed Champion in the promotion's history, defeating both The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the same night to earn the honor.

So while Jericho has the better career by far right now, and may return to WWE for some more gold, will the rising star of The Miz get anywhere close to Chris Jericho? It doesn't seem like The Miz would have ever been a singles champion, but that changed two years ago. It also seemed like Chris Jericho would never be a world champion, but we can see how much of a mistake that idea was.

In the comments section below, say who you think will have the better career when all is said and done. For added fun, put down what you think both men's championships will be when their careers are both over.