The Miz made an unexpected face turn on WWE RAW tonight. The A-lister cut a babyface promo against Gunther during their segment on the latest edition of the red brand. The duo went back and forth on the mic while Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser watched.
Miz claimed to have made the Intercontinental Championship the most prestigious title in WWE. The Ring General fired back by saying Miz may be the greatest sports entertainer of all time, but Gunther is one of the greatest wrestlers and the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time.
The verbal confrontation turned into a brawl. Miz initially had the upper hand but was eventually ganged up on by all three members of Imperium. He took a big boot from Gunther and exited the ring all the way to the back.
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With that being said, let’s take a look at five possible reasons as to why The Miz turned babyface on WWE RAW:
#3. The Miz has been a heel for a long time
The Miz has been a heel for the majority of his WWE career. He was a heel when he won the WWE Championship from Randy Orton in 2010. He was a heel when he main-evented WrestleMania 27 against John Cena. He was a heel when he had the critically acclaimed Intercontinental Championship program with Dolph Ziggler in 2016.
The WWE RAW superstar has reached his saturation point when it comes to his heel turn. He’s feuded with almost every established name and rising star as a heel. His most recent noteworthy program was with LA Knight. A face turn for Miz has been a long time coming. It just remains to be seen how effective the A-lister will be as a face, especially at this point in his career.
#2. Gunther needs a babyface opponent
Gunther has reached the point in his career where he’s being considered the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time by many fans. The Ring General has restored the prestige of the workman’s title with his stellar work rate and incredible defenses.
The Imperium leader has taken on all opponents – heels and babyfaces – in his quest to make the Intercontinental Championship one of the greatest titles in WWE. Turning an established veteran in Miz a babyface against the heel Gunther will give much more credibility to the title.
#1. DIY is short one ally against Imperium
Word on the internet in the lead-up to WWE RAW this week was that the creative team was looking to turn The Miz babyface in order to pair him with DIY. Seeds of the partnership were seemingly planted after The Miz crossed paths with Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa just before their match against Kaiser and Vinci.
This is interesting because The Miz was the heel during his feud with both members of DIY. Their goals didn’t align at the time, but they do now, as all three of them have common enemies in Gunther, Kaiser, and Vinci. It remains to be seen if Miz and DIY will get on the same page on WWE RAW after Crown Jewel 2023.