Is the Miz Following a Similar Path to the Rock?

[Todd]

Just about everyone would agree that the Miz has been a breath of fresh air since his face turn. He seems to understand the mechanics of it very well which is invaluable. Playing a good face, particularly in WWE with such large crowds, is an exceptionally difficult thing to do. Few do it well, yet Miz seems to be doing it well already. I'm an outspoken critic of his in-ring abilities, but an admirer of many things about him including his infectious charisma and commitment. But thinking about Miz's new lease of life got me making comparisons with a certain WWE legend. Now I am not one for 'wrestler A is the new Austin' or 'wrestler B is the new Rock', simply because direct comparisons never seem to get anybody anywhere. Punk made it by being the first Punk and Cena made it by being the first Cena. But there are a few similarities between Miz and Rock. I'm sure I'm not the only person to have noticed the trends:

- Both were very good high school athletes
- Both were very young and inexperienced entering the wrestling business
- Both struggled to be accepted at first, with failed babyface runs, and had to be turned heel
- Both shortened their wrestling names to a single syllable definite article

- As a heel, Rock developed 'annoying' catchphrases that would later serve to define his legacy, can the same happen for the Miz?
- Promo styles are almost identical. I've always called Miz a brilliant mic worker, and people would call him one-dimensional. I wonder if that ever happens, when that one dimension is as brilliant as it is with Miz or Rock.
- The Rock is a clean cut poster boy dripping with charisma, and he got over in the mainstream. The Miz has the same attributes - can he do the same?

The only thing here is Miz is 32 years old, which suggests it may be too late for him to take over from Cena.

Does anyone else see a lot of similarites between Miz and Rock? And not just circumstancial similarities as I've noted above, but they just do everything very similarly IMO, wrestling style included.

[R.I.P ECF'NW]

The Rock and Miz both were born with Mic's in their hands. as far as wrestling abilities i think the Rock was a better in ring performer and i'm not taking anything away from the Miz. they both have similar backgrounds, but Miz had a rougher road to travel to get to where he is at today. Let's face it. The Rock had the Biz in his blood. between his Grandfather, dad and cousins how could he not be destined for greatness. Miz will always be second best to me compared to the rock, and that is nothing to be disappointed about. Miz will make his own mark in WWE history before it is all said and done.

[Emperor]

I definitely agree that both superstars are following similar paths, and The Miz, when he speaks, definitely has a captivating quality similar to that of The Rock. However I don't think they are as similar as you think.

I definitely wouldn't say their promo styles are almost identical. The Rock's promos are jovial, childish and cartoony, yet it works because of Rock's amazing delivery. The Miz's promos do have some aspects of childishness, "really? REALLY? REAALLLLYYY?" being the best example, but in general he is a rather serious speaker, more akin to serious-business Jericho than The Rock. Moreover, the content of The Rock's promos was largely insulting his adversaries with a bit of talking himself up. Miz is more about talking himself up than insulting his competition, although we are seeing Miz talk down his opponents more since his face turn. Still, their insulting styles are completely different. The Rock will make lame jokes, perform exaggerated impersonations and talk about turning things sideways, whereas The Miz just goes straight for the gut with personal attacks. And Miz does this extremely well, just look at his promo against Ziggler on the most recent Main Event.

I think their in-ring styles are different too, but not as dissimilar as their promo styles. The Rock is a far better face wrestler: his moves are more explosive, his comebacks are better and his punches don't suck ass. Of course, I am aware that The Miz has only just started wrestling as a face and he could quickly improve as a face wrestler, so it's quite unfair to compare him to Rocky at this moment in time.

[Todd]

I was thinking more about Rock pre-heel turn when I was talking about promo styles. Both kind of have that low, shouty, deprecating delivery.

I don't think they are very similar, as I said previously I don't really like the whole 'wrestler A is the next Rock' concept, there are just some obvious comparisons to be made between them and their characters, particularly the catchphrase thing.

[TheGodamnBatman]

One thing Miz has done very well so far since turning face has been his promo work. His ability to trade jabs and insults with heels like Ziggler set him apart from your average cookie cutter face. Alot of faces today seem to lack that edge and often times get destroyed on the mic by heels. The only thing that's holding him back now is he needs to learn how work better as a face. That should come with time.

[Bird Kid]

I've been waiting for this to happen for a long time.

How did Miz turn face though? I missed that.

[BaraaKhalaf92]

I've been waiting for this to happen for a long time.

How did Miz turn face though? I missed that.

He joined Team Foley for the Elimination 5 on 5 match at SS....

[mysteriofan]

I know people will disagree with me I've always thought Miz was alot like the Rock in a way

[Hooligan 3:16]

I agree with the OP to a certain point. Neither of them are the best technical wrestlers in the world, but what they do, they do well. The Miz is one of the most charismatic superstars in the company today, but he can't hold a candle to The Rock's charisma. The Rock had the ability to be absolutely adored by the fans as a face and also make us absolutely detest him as a heel.

I can't ever see The Miz going down as one of the all-time greats like The Rock has, but if he was to retire in the morning, in ten years I think it's safe to say that I'd remember him quite fondly.

[JACKNIFE]

also left off they also starting wrestling with stupid looking haircuts

[JoMo]

I really wish he would follow the path similar to Rob Conway and never been seen or heard from again.

[RT]

If Miz can sharpen his ring skills, there's no reason why he can't shoot to the top in the next couple years. Unfortunately, as Todd already stated, he's not getting any younger and the window is rapidly closing.

Similar path, sure. Same result? Probably not.

[Zeki]

If Miz can sharpen his ring skills, there's no reason why he can't shoot to the top in the next couple years. Unfortunately, as Todd already stated, he's not getting any younger and the window is rapidly closing.

Similar path, sure. Same result? Probably not.

That last part pretty much summarises my thoughts. There are unquestionable similarities between the two, however Miz just seems to lack that unbelievable charisma that will allow him to push up to anywhere near The Rock's level

[bizil]

I think the age thing is overrated when it comes to Miz. Many HOFers didn't win their first world belts until their early 30's or after. Look no further than icons like Austin, Flair, Savage, and Hogan. Let alone guys like Warrior, Edge, Benoit, Eddie, Angle, HHH, HBK, Bret, DDP, Goldberg, Nash, Vader, Sting.... I can go on and on. Miz at 32 has PLENTY of time to build his resume and then PLENTY of time to embellish it. Hell he has already been WWE champ and main evented WM. Miz has ten years left to go in his WWE career if he wants to go that long. Once again, there have been many legends doing great as world champs or main eventers in their 40's as well. We gotta remember this is PRO WRESTLING and not NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB. And with the advances we have made with medicine, guys will be able to hopefully last longer than back in the 70's, 80's. or even 90's.

[C-enation]

Miz is very good on the mic, and lately have been very good in the ring
but comparing him to the rock?
the rock is the best entertainer in history
he bits every single person on the mic including the top ones today, CM Punk and John Cena.

Miz have the ability to be a very good upper-card wrestler or World Heaveweight Champion, but to lead the company as its face, I cant see it happen, its to late for him, after like 5-6 years as a heel....

[TyrantT316]

I don't think some fans realize how different the world, media, and business is. Hogan came along when the WWF was still just "Rasslin" and led guys like Rude, Macho Man, Flair, etc in making it that era of Legends. Austin/The Rock/Triple H/McMahon family/Jericho came along when the WWF was "Superstars" and helped make it Attitude. Cena picked up and ran with what he was given in helping the WWE when the Attitude era and Ruthless Aggression had to fade out.

My point being that those eras came and became popular because they were so different and unexpected. We weren't overencumbered with internet news and having an idea of what's coming.

I just think it's going to take a lot more to surprise fans and that fans can't really enjoy the product as we used to due to changes in lives, generations, business, media, etc.

The Miz is great at what he does. However, he wasn't so different the way Hogan was, or Austin/Rock.

[HilaryFan]

Miz being compared to The Rock. Kill me now. Just kill me

[Todd]

Did you even bother to read the thread? There is no mention of Miz ever being as good as Rock. The similarities are in the way their careers have developed prior to their face turn.

[DAB]

The only similarities that both Miz and Rock share is their inability to actually wrestle. Not that it really matters, but anyone can say that their careers are similar to the Rock's, SCSA's, Hogan's, Taker's, etc... If you look hard enough you can see the similarities in careers between any two wrestlers - past & present. Also Miz started out as a heel and Rock started out as a face, or at least that's what Vince tried for. Most of the time without meaning to, people who want to see something there that is not will inadvertently twist things to fit in their perception of events instead of what the facts actually are. Just saying.

[The Champ]

No, they did try him as a face briefly before he was heel.

[HilaryFan]

I did read it, and it was this part in particular which made me want to kill myself:

The only thing here is Miz is 32 years old, which suggests it may be too late for him to take over from Cena.

Does anyone else see a lot of similarites between Miz and Rock? And not just circumstancial similarities as I've noted above, but they just do everything very similarly IMO, wrestling style included.



The fact that you and others are at least hinting at the fact that Miz could be the next Cena in terms of the top guy(age aside) makes me wanna puke. I like the guy more now as a face but I am still far from a fan. Its just how I feel about the guy


The similarities are there in how they were brought up and got to where they are sure, but the same wrestling style and promo style side of things? Not for me. Miz is extremely monotone and shouty and repetitive in his heel promo delivery, whereas Rock came off as a slick bastard.

In terms of in ring, Rock was 100x the athlete Miz is and didn't use the knee in the back facehold 5000 times.

The guy is growing on me a little bit though

[Todd]

What happened to 'I disagree'? Is declaring that you're going to puke or kill yourself the only way to present the opposite argument these days?

I am going entirely on Rock's career pre-face turn, when he was nothing but a pretty face and a loudmouth. Up to that point, they are very similar IMO. Stable aside, there is a lot to be compared between the two of them. They had similar promo delivery, cartoony wrestling styles and loudmouth gimmicks. When Rock turned face he turned the catchphrases and signature stuff to his advantage. Miz can do the same. I see the Miz following a similar path.

But really, it doesn't matter how much I say 'I don't think Miz is anywhere near as good as Rock', someone will still come in and post 'OMG MIZ COMPARD 2 ROCK YOU MUSTZ B JOKIN'. Not that you did that, but you see my point.

[DAB]

Most wrestler's debut is a tryout as a face, except those that left WWE previously and return as a heel. Even Jericho was a face when he debuted, same as Randy Orton, Test, Albert, etc... Granted there are exceptions to this. I vaguely remember Miz's debut as I think it was on RAW after winning TUF Enough, but not quite sure of that either. What I do know is that a person can find similarities between many past/present wrestlers today.

For example:

Dolph Ziggler - Mr. Perfect
Daniel Bryan - Chris Benoit/Dean Malenko
Cena - Hulk Hogan
Even Bourne - Billy Kidman
Bobby Roode - Rick Rude (TNA)

Just a few off the top of my head, the most successful wrestlers are those that find and define their own character/gimmick apart from the others, so that action/interaction and such come naturally and not forced. Rock found his in his mic skills, and I still see Miz struggling a little trying to find his groove that will separate him from the others.

[HilaryFan]

Although hes undoubtedly improving something about him just makes me think he will never be anything above decent in the ring. He just seems so stiff and unathletic when he moves, like his body structure is just terribly designed for wrestling or something. But then I guess Hulk Hogan himself tells me that this doesn't mean he won't become the top guy.

I just don't like the idea of Miz main eventing a huge portion of ppvs over a period of years like any top guy will do. It is not something I think about with glee, his heel run with the belt was bad to me.

And I am all about the hyperbole. Thats just my style, I do it when I am off the computer too if it makes you feel any better