EXCLUSIVE: High praise for new Intercontinental Champion The Miz from Steve Austin, what he likes about his approach (w/Keller’s Analysis)

As Mauro Ranallo pointed out on Smackdown last night, The Miz joined Rob Van Dam and Jeff Jarrett as a six-time Intercontinental Champion. Just a couple years ago, Miz’s character appeared lost. He has revived his character and stands out as one of the true effective heels on the roster right now, getting the reaction he intends to get and that good heels traditionally seek. Steve Austin told me on a recent episode of the PWTorch Livecast (click HERE to listen to the full 75 minute interview) that he sees Miz as a role model for the rest of the roster.

“Look at what The Miz has done,” he said. “That guy, imagine if you had two-thirds of your crew that worked as hard as The Miz at trying to reinvent himself dress to the nines, work on his promos. He’s a good looking guy, but he’s not the best looking guy in the world. He’s got a decent body, but he’s not the biggest guy the world. He’s a pretty good wrestler, but he’s not the best wrestler in the world. But man, his commitment and the way he approaches the product and who and what he is and what he’s trying to accomplish, that guy is so hungry. After all the years he’s been in the business, this kid continues to redefine, refine, change himself. I’ve got a lot of respect for that guy. When I’ve said the things that he’s not, I wasn’t trying to undercut him. I think this kid is working above and beyond the talent he has because he hustles so much and he wants it so much. I don’t see the guys with the same hunger or the same desire that Miz has. I gotta give that kid a lot of credit. I think half the dressing room is missing the boat. If you’re missing the boat, look at what the Miz is doing. Look at how hungry the cat is.

Miz is known to hustle behind the scenes, even sometimes to the detriment of his locker room reputation because he’s seen as a “teacher’s pet” of sorts, always chit-chatting with management when he has a chance, and always volunteering to do media appearances. Those are traits management values. He also has shown that he’s not a head case, and he’ll be a good company man and not flip out on management or break from their corporate structure and character narrative. In other words, he’s not Ryback.

Austin also praises Miz for being proactive when it comes to his on-air character. “He presented ideas, options, or alternatives to their ideas,” he said. “He was very engaged and very active. You could see that he cared. He’s wonderful in media. He’s always got a smile on his face. He works his ass off. He’s everywhere. He’s great when he does media because if you give that guy a microphone, that’s all you gotta do. So, I’m not just blowing smoke up Miz’s ass all day. When you look at what that guy has done in that climate and the world that we know as WWE on Raw and Smackdown, to me, he’s your all-star in terms of being the hardest working guy to try to springboard himself forward. If you don’t look out for yourself, ain’t nobody gonna look out for ya’. Look at Cena, look at Brock, look at the bad asses that are super over guys, they each do things in their own way. I’m talking about these other guys who haven’t found their way yet in the main event picture, and you look at what Miz has done. And this goes from the bottom of the card to the top of the card. You see how hungry that guy is, how hard he tries, I really respect that.”

Keller’s Analysis: I’m impressed, if not a bit shocked, at where Miz is today compared to a couple years ago when he appeared to be sucking on lemons before he spoke and was in a major rut. In the ring, he’s having really good matches with better athletes, such as Dolph Ziggler. As he told Daniel Bryan on “Talking Smack,” he can keep wrestling this style for many more years and contribute to the shows without needing injury breaks. There’s maybe nobody higher on the card who has received fewer “This is awesome!” chants than Miz, and that’s a good thing. If a heel gets a “This is awesome!” chant, they should see that as a failure, because it’s a sign that fans are engaged in the match on a different, and less money-drawing level. They’re evaluating the excitement and effort in the match in a detached way, rather than just immersing themselves in wanting to see the heel lose and the babyface win. Miz is as on-track in that regard as anyone. If Seth Rollins, with all of his talents, modeled himself more on Miz in terms of his ring-style, Finn Balor might not be hurt, he might not have missed a huge stretch of time with his injury, and he would have been a main event heel foundation that fans were actually invested in seeing lose rather than just hoping for “entertaining matches.” 

NOW CHECK OUT THIS PREVIOUS STORY WITH STEVE AUSTIN’S INSIGHTS INTO GOLDBERG: EXCLUSIVE: Austin pinpoints what worked with Goldberg’s return promo, and pressure is on to connect tonight in the same way (w/Keller’s Analysis)

OR LISTEN TO THE FULL STEVE AUSTIN LIVECAST INTERVIEW HERE.