Why The Miz Failed As A Babyface In WWE

The Miz is one of the more unheralded WWE superstars of the last decade or so, with nearly unmatched consistency and countless championship reigns which has garnered him a lot of respect in the last few years. Over the course of his career, he has cemented himself as one of the best heels in the business, working well as a cocky and arrogant villain, a cowardly heel, and at times, a vindictive and vicious manipulator. WWE has twice tried to push The Miz as a babyface, and both times it has ended poorly, and this is down to several reasons.

The Miz Is One Of The Best Heels In WWE

From the moment The Miz walked into WWE, he was an outsider due to his background in reality television, leaving him with an uphill battle to make it in the business. However, he managed to grow and improve, with his heel run alongside John Morrison producing a great tag team, where the pair were goofy and cocky. It was a fun alliance, but The Miz eventually became more aggressive and serious, getting rid of his three-quarter length shorts and opting for classic wrestling tights. From there, he would win more gold, including Tag Titles, a United States Title, and the WWE Championship, main eventing WrestleMania against John Cena as the top heel at the time.

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After several years of not doing too much of note, The Miz reinvented himself as the Hollywood A-Lister, which kickstarted a run where he was flashy, egotistical, and more of a full package. He brought prestige to the Intercontinental Championship through great promo work, proving himself to be one of the most reliable individuals on the roster. During his time as a heel, he mixed comedy and seriousness perfectly, and whilst WWE may have failed with the booking afterward, his strength as a heel helped the likes of Damian Sandow, Alex Riley, and The B-Team to receive a lot of popularity when working alongside him. He has done tremendous work as a heel, which has seen him become the success he is today.

The Miz Became Boring During His First Babyface Run

In late 2012, The Miz was turned face for the first time, but it came out of nowhere, which was an issue in itself. On a whim, he just turned, and that was that. Over the next few months, he would defend America against Cesaro, he inherited the Figure Four Leglock from Ric Flair, he teamed up with the Brooklyn Brawler on PPV, and he even stood up to Brock Lesnar one time. All these things just didn’t suit The Miz at all. He continued the MizTV segments, which were sucked dry of all energy due to The Miz now being a babyface.

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The problem was that The Miz had no character. His arrogance as a heel was what made him so good, and WWE took that away, leaving him bland and bare. His in-ring style became a bit faster paced, but he isn’t a flashy technician or high-flyer, so his style didn’t really suit that of a babyface at the time, especially when the likes of Daniel Bryan were running wild as a popular hero with a much more infectious personality and wrestling technique. After over a year as a babyface, WWE had no choice but to turn him heel.

The Miz’s Second Babyface Stint Started Well, But The Same Issues Occurred

The Miz’s next face run started in 2019, and to begin with, it was much more successful. After Shane McMahon replaced him in the finals of the WWE World Cup, Miz became infatuated with McMahon, trying to court him into being his tag team partner. The Miz was very funny in these segments with McMahon, and his goofiness got him over with the audience. This time around, he was given a personality, and it worked. This led to a feud with McMahon at WrestleMania, in which the fans were on Miz’s side. However, he would lose, and things went downhill once again.

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Without McMahon to bounce off, Miz became bland once more, falling into the same trap that he had done several years prior. MizTV was once again a boring segment, and he had few notable feuds to speak of. He would do battle with Bray Wyatt, but the short rivalry was over-the-top and unconvincing, with Wyatt invading The Miz’s home. Once again, WWE found themselves in a corner, with Miz turning heel eventually. The Miz as a babyface was worth a try, but WWE should not try it again. He is quite simply too natural as a villain, and unless he retains all those qualities that make him such a good heel, and uses that in a babyface character, then he has no chance of becoming a top babyface, as proven multiple times by this point.