Analyzing Last Night's Overrun

Miz's cash-in wasn't easy... and that's a good sign
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Earlier, I had my mark hat on celebrating The Miz's title win. I think now, it's time to look at it with an analyst's hat on, y'know, like any other good blogger would do. If you're looking for a comedown of excitement and doom and gloom up in this piece, well, you're looking in the wrong place. Looking at it from an objective point of view, it still bodes well for little Mikey Mizanin of Cleveland, OH.

First up, look at the nature of his win. Miz didn't come out when Orton was barely conscious and unable to do anything but stagger around the canvas. Yes, he had just defeated RED BELLY after sustaining a 6-on-1 beatdown from Nexus prior to the match. He had a gimpy knee. But look at the last four cash-ins. Kane cashed in on Rey Mysterio, who had just gone through a tough match with Jack SWAGGAH~! to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Given the size difference, it wasn't anything more than academic that Kane was winning. Prior to that, SWAGGAH~! himself cashed in on Chris Jericho with a briefcase sneak attack, not giving Jericho any time to get prepared. Jericho was also coming off severely damaged ribs from his WrestleMania match against Edge. CM Punk's second cash-in came on a prone Jeff Hardy right as he had won a hardcore match against Edge. He had some offense, but the match was way more brutal than the one that Orton had with Barrett. Finally, Punk's first cash-in came after Batista ridiculously brutalized Edge.

Miz's match was the longest of the five samples, and it was also the most competitive. In fact, the only other cash-in I can remember that was as competitive was RVD's "honorable" cash-in against John Cena at One Night Stand 2. Orton got in two of his big "move" spots, and Miz had to cleverly counter a RKO with the Skull Crushing Finale to win. He had the toughest route to the title since RVD, and it wasn't like it was against, say, SWAGGAH~!, Barrett or some other sub-tier Champion. It was against Randy Orton... a weakened Randy Orton but Randy Orton no less. Orton is in the WWE's elite tier. There's a reason for that.

According to Bryan Alvarez, he's heard some things about how they want Miz to be perceived, via this week's Figure 4 Weekly~! Newsletter:

When the Miz vs. Orton discussions were taking place, the belief was that when Miz got the big push he was going to get the push all the way to the very top, no half-assed booking, and that's one of the main reasons he made the cover of the new Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 video game.

So, at least according to his sources, we are less likely to see the same stumbling blocks former cash-in winners ran into after their wins, i.e. SWAGGAH~! losing non-title match after non-title match or Punk only retaining via countouts and DQs on a PPV stage. Of course, while Alvarez and his cohort Dave Meltzer are the best at reporting the news, the company chatter stuff can often be just hearsay. Still, being on the cover of the video game is a good sign.

The follow-up to last night is going to be huge. If his first title defense comes at TLC, it'll depend on what kind of match he's booked in. If they give him a tables match, then it might mean trouble. Ladder match or anything else, and we might be good. If his first title match is on RAW though, we might get a clearer read sooner than the PPV. However, I think the read is that Miz is going to be just fine. He may not make it to WrestleMania with the title, but his first reign is not going to be a disaster. They believe in the Miz, and for good reason.

He's AAAWWWWESOMMMME!

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!