The Personal Rivalry of The Miz and Daniel Bryan

Sportskeeda Wrestling

Check out Sportskeeda's brand new game, BrainBuster! Can you become the undisputed quiz champion? Play now to find out - https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/brainbuster-wwe-player-guessing-game  Explore one of WWE's most heated rivalries: The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan. From their early days on NXT to their unforgettable clashes in the ring, this feud was personal from the start. The Miz, feeling disrespected as Bryan’s mentor, took every opportunity to belittle his counterpart. Daniel Bryan, with his underdog mentality, fought back with resilience and determination. Their intense war of words and brutal matches captivated fans, blending reality and storytelling. Relive the moments that made this feud legendary! You can also visit our site: https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe  #themiz #danielbryan #wwe #smackdown #wrestling #sportskeedawrestling

Transcript

00:00August 23rd, 2016, The Miz was being interviewed by Daniel Bryan and Renee Young on the Talking

00:08Smack post-show program that aired on the WWE Network following Smackdown for WWE.

00:15Bryan was the general manager of Smackdown at the time, during a period in his career

00:20when he was not medically clear to compete, and during this segment, he criticized The

00:25Miz's wrestling style, calling it soft, saying that he wrestles like a coward.

00:32Miz was irate upon hearing this.

00:35He responded angrily to Bryan's comments and launched into a fiery tirade of a promo,

00:41defending his style and his lengthy career at that point.

00:45He argued that his so-called cowardly style has allowed him to remain healthy and consistent

00:52as a performer at the highest level for over a decade, unlike Bryan, who had to retire

00:58due to injuries.

00:59He dared Bryan to leave WWE and go wrestle elsewhere, in front of the indie darlings

01:06in those little bingo halls, if he was so dissatisfied with the mega-million-dollar

01:12company he was currently in, and how people like The Miz performed at that level.

01:17He also called Bryan out for being unable to wrestle, not medically cleared, and implied

01:24that Bryan was using his role as a GM to criticize others out of bitterness.

01:31The segment felt real, it was jarring, and it led fans to wonder if it was legitimate

01:36or just something they took off the page and ran with it.

01:40Miz and Bryan do not like each other in this very real-life issue, and this segment blurred

01:46the lines between fiction and reality.

01:49It rejuvenated Miz's career, and sparked fan anticipation for Daniel Bryan's return,

01:54which would eventually happen in the not-too-distant future from that point.

02:00Let's get into one of the most personal and bittered storied rivalries of WWE in the

02:052010s.

02:06The Miz and Daniel Bryan are from two very different worlds in the universe of pro wrestling,

02:13and we're going to tell their story.

02:15Let us know what you think of Miz vs. Daniel Bryan.

02:18Do we need one more match to really close out this feud between these two?

02:23Let us know in the comments below.

02:24I'm Kevin Kellum, this is Sportskeeda Wrestling.

02:27Mike Mizanin gained fame as The Miz, getting that name out there and entering the public

02:32eye through reality television, and gained fame as a cast member on MTV's The Real World

02:38back in 2001.

02:40His genuine transition into pro wrestling began with WWE's Tough Enough competition

02:44show in 2004, where he was already working on the independent wrestling circuit.

02:49He was the runner-up.

02:50Despite not winning, The Miz signed a deal with WWE and worked his way up from hosting

02:54segments on Smackdown to becoming a full-fledged in-ring performer and one of the most despised

03:00villains of his time in WWE.

03:03We did an entire career retrospective on him.

03:06You should definitely check it out on our channel.

03:08On the opposite side, Bryan Danielson, aka Daniel Bryan, loved pro wrestling much like

03:13The Miz from a young age, but took a much more arduous and longer path to WWE superstardom.

03:20He created his name on the independent circuit, honing his craft in promotions like Ring of

03:25Honor, where he was a legitimate, badass world champion, and kicked ass across the world,

03:30earning the moniker of American Dragon, and becoming a big name in places like New Japan

03:36Pro Wrestling.

03:37His reputation as one of the best technical wrestlers in the world earned him a devoted

03:42following before he ever got on WWE's radar.

03:46He was already one of the best wrestlers on the planet before WWE recruited him.

03:51Stand back, there's a new wrestling quiz coming through.

03:55Check out Brain Buster, the daily quiz that tests your WWE knowledge with winning strengths,

04:01stats and more.

04:02It's time to see if you're up for the challenge.

04:05By 2010, The Miz had established himself as an effective heel for WWE in almost any

04:12level of the card, while Bryan was ready to come into the company and live up to all that

04:18hype he had before he ever got there.

04:20WWE decided to launch a reality-based competition on the premise of NXT.

04:27Yes, this was the original version of NXT.

04:31Long before it had its own championships, it was a competition show that had a format

04:36featuring eight rookies paired with established WWE names, known as pros, who served as mentors

04:42to their rookies.

04:44Daniel Bryan was anything but a rookie in the eyes of die-hard fans, but pairing him

04:49with The Miz, someone who was antithetical to his style, was interesting.

04:54The Miz was the United States champion at the time, Daniel Bryan hated the idea of someone

04:59being his mentor, let alone someone like The Miz from the reality show who wasn't,

05:05you know, just really earning it, someone who felt like the red carpet was rolled out

05:10for him before they, you know, even earned the shoes to walk on the carpet.

05:13Daniel Bryan was bread-bumping his ass in the indies to get there, and he even mentioned

05:18in his first promo, his first words on WWE television, that he wished William Regal was

05:24his mentor instead of The Miz.

05:27So the tensions were high from the get-go between the two, and Miz looked down on Bryan

05:32as someone who didn't have the look or charisma to be a superstar, prompting Bryan to rise

05:39with anger and showcase his emotions that brought out the best of his personality.

05:45Bryan often bristled The Miz's criticism, feeling that The Miz's success was more luck

05:52and less wrestling talent and fortitude.

05:55On his WWE debut match, Bryan faced Chris Jericho on NXT, and pushed Y2J to his limits

06:06in the first truly great match associated with the letters NXT.

06:10He was able to win the match, but that wasn't the point, he came out as a formidable competitor.

06:16He was truly a guy you didn't want to be in the ring with in any given situation, and

06:22tested Jericho.

06:24Miz was pissed at his loss, and decided to attack him.

06:27Yeah, that's how you mentor someone.

06:30The rivalry had begun, and it became one of the most entertaining parts of NXT.

06:35Despite Bryan's reputation and undoubtable skills, he struggled initially in WWE's

06:41odd environment, losing matches and being further mocked by The Miz, the A-lister who

06:47also attacked him on multiple occasions.

06:49What was WWE trying to do with this very hyped guy, break him down and then recreate

06:55him in their own mold?

06:56Yeah, it's something we've seen in the past.

06:59Bryan's time in NXT was not long, and he was eliminated way earlier than fans expected.

07:05He was one of the favorites to win the entire thing, but did not win any matches on NXT,

07:10leading to an early elimination.

07:13Despite this, he appeared on the following episodes of NXT, being interviewed by Matt

07:17Stryker.

07:18In the late 31st episode around this time of Monday Night Raw, guest host Ashton Kutcher

07:24booked a match between Daniel Bryan and The Miz, playing off of the elements from the

07:30other WWE TV show, and guess who won the match?

07:34Bryan.

07:35Yeah, in a shocking upset, after the match, he threw The Miz into Michael Cole at ringside.

07:41Along with The Miz, Michael Cole emerged as a critic of Daniel Bryan, saying he simply

07:47just didn't have it, and wasn't living up to the hype he had before he made it to

07:51WWE and trashed him at every chance he got.

07:55Yeah, this was heel Michael Cole.

07:58Things were about to change across the entire landscape of WWE in a drastic way.

08:03On the June 7th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Nexus would debut, a faction composed

08:09of NXT rookies from Season 1 who felt overlooked, including Daniel Bryan.

08:16They invaded the WWE ring, destroyed everything and everyone at ringside, and attacked the

08:22big dog in WWE, John Cena, wreaking havoc around everything they could get their hands

08:28on.

08:29The beatdown around the ring included Daniel Bryan choking out ring announcer Justin Roberts

08:35with his own tie.

08:36WWE saw this as a possible non-PG move, and maybe even some advertisers were speculatively

08:44upset about this, and they decided this non-PG move meant that Daniel Bryan had to be let

08:51go from WWE for being too violent.

08:55Yeah, in retrospect, that's still crazy to say out loud.

08:58Just as quickly as he made his mark in WWE, he was out of WWE.

09:04The Nexus faction continued to explain that Bryan was no longer with them, stating that

09:10Daniel felt remorse for his disruptive actions.

09:14Bryan was a fan favorite anyway, so aligning him with the Nexus may have been the wrong

09:19move in the first place, but it was still exciting to see him a part of that big moment,

09:24that big attack scene that helped propel the group right from the get-go.

09:28The group went on to attack many wrestlers on Monday Night Raw, including Cena, Edge,

09:33Jericho, John Morrison, and even WWE legends like Bret the Hitman Hart and Vince McMahon.

09:39They were seeking to destroy WWE as they knew it, and they were monsters on a warpath.

09:44Now, if you're getting into this and asking why are we talking about the Nexus in this

09:48video when it's supposed to be about The Miz and Daniel Bryan, well, it's important

09:51to cover this part because this is a part of their story, because John Cena was forming

09:58a team to defend the honor of WWE and face the onslaught of the Nexus at Summerslam 2010

10:06in the main event match.

10:08The team consisted of Cena, Edge, Jericho, Morrison, R-Truth, Bret the Hitman Hart, and

10:16a mystery man who would make his appearance known at the match itself.

10:20The ever braggadocious Miz, who had proved himself in the ring as a credible wrestler

10:25despite criticisms up until that point, was also the man who was holding the Raw Money

10:30in the Bank briefcase, allowing him to earn an anytime, anywhere WWE Championship opportunity.

10:36He announced at Summerslam itself that Cena and his team had approached him to be that

10:43mystery man.

10:44However, when he came out for the match, Cena announced that he wasn't going to be the

10:507th member of Team WWE, and that he was replaced by the returning Daniel Bryan.

10:57The pop for Daniel Bryan was pretty significant, WWE understood what mistakes were made letting

11:03him go so abruptly, and brought him back just a few months later.

11:07They understood that the credibility he had before WWE was still something they needed

11:12to cash in on.

11:17Bryan went on to have an amazing performance at Summerslam, and eliminated two members

11:22of the Nexus.

11:23He was also the final two members of Team Cena standing at the end of the night, along

11:28with Cena himself.

11:32However the Miz, who was seething from being snubbed, interfered in the match, attacking

11:39Bryan with his Money in the Bank briefcase, and allowing the Nexus to eliminate him.

11:44This simply reignited their feud right where they left off, which was already an intense

11:49one that had no resolved situation from their time in NXT.

11:55This set the stage for a series of confrontations in the following weeks.

11:59Bryan was now a member of the Raw roster, and the two continued screwing each other

12:04over in their matches.

12:05The Miz received help from his braggadocious and also NXT alumnus Alex Riley, his protege

12:11from the second season of WWE NXT.

12:15This led to The Miz defending his United States Championship against Daniel Bryan in Chicago

12:20at the Allstate Arena at the Night of Champions pay-per-view event.

12:24He managed to defeat his former mentor in a show-stealing performance, winning his first

12:30championship in WWE.

12:31The Miz, for his credit, proved he could hang with one of the best technical wrestlers in

12:36the world and allow his character work to propel the match to a new emotional level.

12:41The combination of Bryan and Miz was something special in WWE at the time.

12:46Miz once again seeking revenge wasn't done with Daniel Bryan, trying to win the title

12:51back, but he simply couldn't do it.

12:53Daniel Bryan was clearly the better wrestler.

12:56He went on to have a successful US title reign and dropped it to Sheamus on Monday Night

13:00Raw.

13:01However, despite losing the US title to Bryan, The Miz still gained momentum here.

13:07He was still red-hot and still the money-in-the-bank briefcase holder, cashing in that anywhere,

13:13anytime WWE title opportunity on a prone and vulnerable Randy Orton in December, winning

13:20the title in shocking fashion, his first world title of his career.

13:24You can criticize the WWE title run all you want, but you can't ignore the fact that The

13:29Miz winning it did it as the most hated man in WWE around this time and moved the needle

13:35in the process.

13:36He used underhanded tactics to win matches and made fan favorites look good as a villainous

13:42opposition.

13:43That's what you need.

13:45You need somebody you want to see lose when you want to see the other guy win.

13:49At WrestleMania 27, he headlined the show against John Cena as his challenger and successfully

13:55defended the title despite getting an injury and some wonky interference from the host

14:01of Mania, The Rock.

14:03However, he soon lost the championship to Cena and stayed near the top of the card for

14:08the rest of 2011.

14:09Bryan had moved to SmackDown after WrestleMania.

14:12He gained a loyal fanbase with his wrestling skills as a technical wizard and his fiery

14:19spirit.

14:20Yes, that fighting spirit that was undeniable that brought him to this next level.

14:24He would win the SmackDown Money in the Bank contract at the Money in the Bank event in

14:282011 in the better of the two latter matches and cashed in on the big show just moments

14:35after he won a title match that was very rough against fellow big man Mark Henry at the TLC

14:41event in December, turning heel for the first time during his years in WWE.

14:47It was just one year after The Miz won his first world title in WWE by cashing in a Money

14:53in the Bank briefcase, now Daniel Bryan was doing the same thing.

14:57On the same show, Miz fought in a different world title match but lost.

15:02This allowed Bryan to show more of a charismatic side outside of the ring, develop his character

15:07as a little bit more of a gravitating figure who simply was more than the match.

15:12Miz eventually dropped the title to Sheamus at WrestleMania 29 in a oddly booked 18 second

15:20long angle that was more than a match we were expecting from the guy who has great matches

15:25at the biggest show of the year.

15:27Miz and Bryan were kept apart for a few years as they focused on their own individual careers,

15:33with Miz winning the Intercontinental Championship a few times and Bryan becoming one of the

15:37more popular wrestlers in WWE, winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in an undeniably

15:44awesome fashion at WrestleMania 30.

15:47It was maybe one of the best WrestleMania main events where he was denied by WWE's ruling

15:52class only for Yesslemania to take over.

15:56Yeah, that's a topic for a whole other video, but let's get it back to Miz and Bryan.

16:03They interacted a few times here and there, alluring to the moments they had in the past

16:09and maybe the unresolved issues they could have in the future, but the rivalry truly

16:14resurfaced after Bryan's forced retirement.

16:18On the February 8th, 2016 episode of Money at Raw, Daniel Bryan came out to the ring

16:23and delivered a very, very special farewell speech, announcing his unplanned retirement

16:29from professional wrestling due to unfortunate injuries that he had suffered in his career.

16:35It was an emotional moment to say the least, and he was just in his 30s around this time.

16:40He was also one of the most popular names in WWE, irrefutably, the company decided to

16:45bring him back as a general manager on Smackdown to keep him a part of the mix.

16:51In 2016, WWE reintroduced the brand split between Smackdown and Raw.

16:56The Miz was the Intercontinental Champion at the time, drafted to Smackdown.

17:01As Bryan was an on-screen authority figure, The Miz was part of his active roster, and

17:06the conflict was bound to happen.

17:09The Miz was having some of the best matches of his career as an Intercontinental Champion,

17:14and he demanded respect that he didn't feel he was receiving.

17:17However, he wasn't booked prominently on the show.

17:20He complained about his status on the company to Bryan on the Talking Smack post-show on

17:26August 23rd, 2016, and it may be one of the best moments on a WWE post-show we've ever

17:34seen.

17:35With the show having little to no script, they were allowed to cut a little bit deeper

17:39than maybe what was allowed on the main shows of Smackdown and Raw.

17:44This got very personal though, Bryan called him a coward and criticized his in-ring style

17:51of wrestling.

17:52The Miz spoke about his hard work and dedication, the sacrifices he made to succeed in WWE despite

18:00the critics, contrasting it with Bryan's career and his status, and told Bryan to quit

18:06WWE and go wrestle on the indies if he loved wrestling so much.

18:12You could see in Miz's eyes a legitimate, seething resentment and that he meant every

18:18word he just said.

18:20Things got heated.

18:23Bryan had to walk away as the Miz yelled at him, later revealing in several different

18:28interviews if he didn't, it was going to get physical.

18:32Talking about the infamous segment on the Oral Sessions podcast with Renee Paquette,

18:36he said,

18:37So we went on Talking Smack and he called me a coward.

18:40But when Daniel Bryan called me it, it was so different than someone saying it in a promo.

18:46There was something underneath it.

18:49I knew what it was.

18:51I knew where he was going with it.

18:53It infuriated me.

18:55I was still able to do what I wanted to, and he wasn't.

19:00I'm in there, doing this day in and day out, and you're not.

19:04This was not intended.

19:05WWE probably had no plans to reignite this feud, but the segment went viral and gained

19:12a lot of fan interest.

19:14So WWE management around this time decided to go along with it.

19:18Over the next few months, tensions continued to rise between them, with teases of physical

19:23violence.

19:25Around this time, Miz began using Bryan's moves in the ring to mock him and gain a lot

19:31of heat from the fans.

19:34Yeah, those yes kicks became no kicks.

19:37You could hear the Daniel Bryan chants building in the arenas while Miz was in the ring.

19:43Fans were clamoring for Daniel Bryan to get back in the ring and be the wrestling star

19:48he once was.

19:49Yeah, and they were clamoring for it even more because they wanted to see him beat up

19:53on The Miz.

19:54But the knowledge that Bryan had retired through an injury left a sour taste in the mouth of

20:00fans.

20:01Unrequited wrestling love.

20:03Yeah, for an entire year, The Miz won and lost the Intercontinental Championship several

20:09times and mocked Bryan on many occasions.

20:13However, everything changed in 2018.

20:17Bryan was cleared to return to the ring and announced that he would be returning to in-ring

20:22competition shortly before WrestleMania, in a very special promo where he declared

20:30the line, If you fight for your dreams, your dreams will fight for you, and his wrestling

20:36dream was alive once more.

20:38He teamed up with fellow Smackdown General Manager Shane McMahon to face Kevin Owens

20:44and Sami Zayn in a tag team match at WrestleMania 34, which marked his first match back in more

20:50than two years.

20:52Miz was on Raw at this time and Bryan, who was the General Manager of Smackdown, used

20:57his power to bring the A-lister back to Smackdown and finally give him the beating that he deserved.

21:05After The Miz returned to Smackdown, the rivalry was on, this time with physicality on the

21:10table and fans could not have been happier.

21:14However, the payoff to this very storied and anticipated rivalry did not live up to the

21:21hype.

21:22A match between the two was set for Summerslam.

21:24The two put on a decent performance, but it did not have the intensity to the match several

21:29years worth all of this hatred and resentment.

21:33It acted as an opening chapter, with The Miz gaining a cheap, dastardly win.

21:45The second match between the two happened at Hell in the Cell, where Miz teamed up with

21:50his wife, Maryse, a fellow WWE superstar, while Bryan teamed up with his WWE superstar

21:57wife Brie Bella in a mixed tag team match.

22:01Yes, this wasn't what we were expecting, but it's what we got.

22:04There was enough personal animosity between the two power couples that WWE booked the

22:10Hell in a Cell match the same show, and that's not what happened.

22:13Yeah, we could have had a Hell in a Cell between Bryan and Miz, no, we got Miz and Maryse beating

22:18Bryan and Bella in an underwhelming match that just didn't live up to the standards

22:23of what fans were expecting in this very, very personal issue between these two superstars.

22:28The culmination of the rivalry came at the Super Showdown event in which Bryan would

22:33win in just over two minutes, ending their feud.

22:37This rivalry had so much fiery heat that it deserved a WrestleMania match, but for some

22:43reason WWE decided to go against it.

22:46But since the invasion angle which saw WCW stars come over to WWE, did we have a story

22:53where there was so much built-in anticipation that was simply not met, and expectations

22:59were not met here.

23:02Following this, Bryan would once again turn into an effective heel for WWE, winning the

23:08WWE Championship and starting his time as the planet's champion, which was incredibly

23:13entertaining and proved to have some outrageously awesome matches with him at the top of the

23:18card.

23:19As for The Miz, he turned into a babyface hero in 2019 after Shane McMahon attacked

23:25him.

23:26With this, there was another chance to reignite the feud, with Bryan being the bad guy and

23:30Miz being the good guy, a reversal of roles.

23:33It definitely could have worked, but as Bryan had a great heel run around this time, it

23:38simply was just a missed opportunity for something special and a generational pairing.

23:44Built over nearly a decade at this point, it didn't have an ending that it really deserved

23:49that the fans wanted to see.

23:51However, it helped Miz and Bryan establish their characters in WWE, motivating them to

23:57get even further up the card.

24:00Bryan's criticism allowed The Miz to work even harder.

24:03The Miz's comments made the fans rally behind Daniel Bryan and made him one of the

24:08most beloved stars in WWE.

24:12Despite the personal animosity, Bryan and Miz have a mutual respect for each other.

24:18Talking about the A-lister, Bryan said,

24:20Miz and I dislike each other.

24:23On a personal level, like, we don't like each other.

24:26Our wives don't like each other, right?

24:29It's the thing.

24:30But I do respect him, because he works very hard.

24:35He's also one of the best talkers in WWE as far as, like, if you were there, there has

24:41never been an opportunity where they've given Miz a microphone and all that kind of stuff

24:46where he hasn't gotten reactions from it because he's very good at it.

24:51He's like that.

24:52And isn't that how it should be in any kind of creative endeavor?

24:56You don't have to like someone, but you can respect the efforts they bring to the table.

25:02Bryan Danielson and The Miz are two very different kinds of pro wrestlers, two very different

25:07kinds of entertainers.

25:09Their contrasting styles and approaches to the art form of pro wrestling only highlight

25:15the diversity and richness of those that perform in pro wrestling.

25:21Will we ever get another big showdown between Mike Mizanin and Daniel Bryan?

25:28Will we ever get The Miz vs. Bryan Danielson on that big stage again?

25:34Yeah.

25:35Only time will tell.

25:36Yeah.

25:37Bryan Danielson may be winding down his career coming up here soon based on when we're recording

25:42this video.

25:43So let's just hope we get that match at some point in the future.

Category

Transcript

Recommended