Opinion: Why Daniel Bryan and The Miz shouldn't face off at SummerSlam

So, it's the match everyone is desperate to see - and it looks like it's going to be happening very soon!

The Miz continues to be a thorn in the side of Daniel Bryan, to say the least, and it looks like Bryan has finally had enough. It looks like the Yes man will finally get his hands on the A-Lister at SummerSlam if rumours are to be believed - and after this Tuesday's SmackDown saw Bryan make a beeline for Miz following yet another mocking.

But I think it's the wrong move. Crazy, right? Well, I'm here to tell you why - and pitch what should happen instead...

In WWE right now, there is no better, longer-built story that Bryan vs Miz that could lead to the inevitable grudge match and ultimate pay-off, but SummerSlam is not the time, nor the place.

So, to say this one only goes back to 2016 would be wrong. It actually goes all the way back to 2010 when Daniel Bryan was on the first season of NXT and his mentor was... who else? The Miz. And it would be an understatement to say the pair didn't get along well then.

Bryan and Miz have a storied history

But for the sake of keeping this linear and sticking with the current story, let's fastforward to 2016, the start of this particular cycle. I'm sure not many people haven't seen the clip, but back when Daniel Bryan was the SmackDown Live General Manager and disqualified from in-ring competition - and essentially where all the comeback rumours started - Bryan touched a nerve on Talking Smack with The Miz when he called the A-Lister a coward, only for one of the most heated, kayfabe-questioning conflicts in WWE in what seems like an age.

So, months past and the pair would barb at each other, with The Miz developing a new move in ring, the It Kicks, a carbon copy of Bryan's Yes Kicks - and not an episode would go by without one of the two taking a shot at the other somehow. But Bryan was unable to compete in ring, so essentially, there was no possible pay-off.

Well, fast forward again to 2018, Bryan is cleared to return to in-ring action and, and while it's been incredible to see him back, he hasn't really been utilised to his full potential. We've seen some cool matches and a brief Team Hell No reunion, but I don't think anyone wanted a feud with Big Cass to be the former WWE Champion's big storyline after returning.

And it looks like that's a long forgotten memory now, with WWE going with something more substantial, and what we all want to see. This past week on SmackDown, Miz did what Miz does best - torment Daniel Bryan and play the ultimate heel!

From the pallbearers to shaking the WWE Universe members' hands in condolence, Miz turned what could have been a pretty awful segment into absolute gold to seemingly set up the start of what promises to be one of the hottest rivalries in WWE in years.

But, should it be happening? Well, of course, it should. The payoff is a must! But should it be happening now? Definitely not, and here's why.

This is a feud that's organically almost built itself. From what was essentially a post-show segment gone a bit too far, Miz vs Daniel Bryan turned into a monster of a rivalry - and as such, it deserves to be paid off on the biggest stage possible.

Miz and Bryan's rivalry is a dormant volcano

Now, SummerSlam is a big deal. Of course it is. And could this match main event? Of course it could, I can even picture the poster right now if it did. Will it main event? Well, probably not. There's talk of Bayley vs Sasha main eventing too, which is fitting due to the location and their history in Brooklyn, but that now also looks unlikely.

With Brock Lesnar defending his title against either Bobby Lashley or Roman Reigns, the main event looks set. John Cena vs Undertaker is also rumoured and, well, you'd have to imagine both of those matches bump anything down the card.

So, how do we book Daniel Bryan vs The Miz? It's simple really.

As the main event of WrestleMania 35. And for the WWE Championship.

Granted, this match doesn't need the title, but let's make it HUGE! Samoa Joe is rumoured to be AJ Styles' opponent at SummerSlam. Either interject Miz into the match, or have Styles win and Miz beat Styles at a later date. Miz works best when he has gold on his shoulder - and a run with the main strap is long overdue.

Then you kill two birds with one stone. Have Daniel Bryan finally win the Royal Rumble and then don't have the pair touch at all between then and Mania. Or better still, have Daniel Bryan move to Raw before then and only return to SmackDown after WrestleMania.

This is a match where the less contact between the pair, the better - and the ultimate pay-off at WrestleMania would be a fitting end to the programme - not least if Daniel Bryan comes out of it as a Royal Rumble winner who repeats his WrestleMania heroics and defeats the ultimate heel, The Miz, in the process.

Book it, WWE!