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The year was 2006 and on the big screen, movie-goers were flocking to the theaters to watch The Da Vinci Code, radio stations were playing Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back" in heavy rotation and The Boogeyman, Viscera, JBL Chris Benoit were all on the card for Wrestlemania 22.
Something else happened in 2006 that not too many people think about. 2006 was the year that The Miz burst onto the scene, making his WWE main roster debut on the June 2nd edition of SmackDown.
Early on in his career, there was a lot of trial and error as WWE creative powers-that-be, worked tirelessly to figure out which direction to take. But The Miz kept plugging away, giving it his all and eventually, he would come into his own, everything seemed to simply come as second nature for The Miz.
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Fast forward to around 12 years later, The Miz is undoubtedly one of the most prolific Superstars in the entire world. In fact, some have even begun comparing him to Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. That brings us to the theme of this column. Today we take a look at both careers and I give you 5 reasons why The Miz will be the next Rock.
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#5 Championship Pedigree
The Miz has been around for roughly 15 years now. During his WWE tenure, The Miz has had his fair share of ups-and-downs. His run has been very similar to the course that The Rock took during his career.
One of the most obvious similarities between The Rock and The Miz is their love and desire of being on top and being on top of the wrestling world usually accompanies championship gold. Here's a look at The Miz' title resume.
The Miz has been a 6-time WWE Tag Team Champion. He has won the WWE United States Championship twice and of course, he has won the Intercontinental Title 8-times, which is also the title he currently holds. The one prize above all that he has obtained during his career was the WWE Championship. The Miz has had one run for the top prize.
It's also worth mentioning that The Miz is also the 25th WWE Superstar to become a Triple Crown Champion. He is also the 5th Superstar to become a Grand Slam Champion.
#4 Premier talker
It takes a special type of individual to stand in front of an audience of millions of complete strangers and, deliver a promo. Both The Miz, as well as The Rock are among two of the very best talkers of all-time.
Yes, I feel confident enough in what The Miz has done up to this point in his career, when it relates to promo skills, that I absolutely consider him to be among the most elite talkers the sport has ever known. With that said, I am certainly not comparing Miz to the likes of Jake Roberts, or Kevin Sullivan or even Arn Anderson, when it comes to his mic work. But, he is better than the average-to-above-average talker.
The Miz has that unique ability which very few have, that allows him to control an audience with words. It's not always the actual words he speaks, but instead, it's his delivery that makes his work so good.
#3 Proven Leader
When The Miz first made his way onto the professional wrestling scene, he certainly didn't come across as a leader. But my oh my have things changed since the early 2000's when The Miz was fresh off of Tough Enough and still best known for being a castmate on MTV's Real World.
Over the past decade or so, The Miz has truly come full circle and his career has truly evolved into what many, including this writer, consider to be a living legend. While such a statement may be difficult for some readers to digest, I would encourage you to take a step back and examine his career, along with the many accolades as a whole.
The Miz proved his ability to lead in several major storylines. For instance, the run he had with Alex Riley was really something that enabled fans to see Riley in a different light and while his career never truly got over with the WWE Universe, it is because of The Miz that people even began to acknowledge Riley's existence.
The Miz also had a massively successful angle with Damien Sandow. In fact, Sandow would eventually begin to steal the spotlight when he morphed into his infamous "MizDow" persona.
#2 A-Lister
One of the most obvious characteristics that The Miz shares with The Rock, is their success on the big screen. Sure, Miz has a few more big breaks to go before he possibly lands a roll on a major film as big as the Fast and the Furious franchise, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Miz has landed his fair share of quality roles as well.
Some of the films Miz has been a part of included The Marine series, Santas Little Helper, The Campaign and, quite a few others. His involvement in mainstream entertainment has helped funnel fans in from outside the wrestling world. This is also what happened when The Rock began his acting career as well.
There have been plenty of professional wrestlers who have tried their hand at acting, but only a select few have been as successful as The Miz and The Rock. What makes things even more exciting for fans of The Miz, is the fact that he has plenty of good years ahead of him, which will allow for many more movie roles and acting opportunities.
#1 Charisma and confidence
There is a fine line between being arrogant and being confident. We, as wrestling fans, have all seen plenty of wrestlers come along, get a small taste of fame and then turn into egotistical maniacs, which are very hard to get behind and support.
However, there are a select few who hone their skills, get a feel for the fan base and as they get better, their confidence rises. The Miz and The Rock are both prime examples of the later.
Both Rocky and The Miz had humble starts in the WWE. Early on, it appeared they both may have some trouble getting to the top. But as they continued to improve, their confidence grew and that would eventually help them grow into top-tier Superstars.
The Miz is one of the most charismatic Superstars in the world right now. He knows his worth as a performer in this era and he lets us, the WWE Universe know that he is well aware of that. However, he still doesn't cross the line as far as allowing his ego to over-inflate. The Miz has developed a strong following, even as a heel. His confidence has a lot to do with that.
