The Miz Unexpectedly Wins Rolling Stone's "Wrestler of the Year"

TheSportster

By Alex Hoegler

Published Dec 20, 2017

The Rolling Stone has named their wrestler of the year, and it didn't go to a name many would expect— The Miz. Still, it's hard to argue.

Via WWE.com

Rolling Stone Magazine has given The Miz the honor of "Wrestler of the year".

2017 was a great year for main event superstars like Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and others. We also saw the unexpected rises of Jinder Mahal, who went from forgotten mid-card wrestler to the WWE Champion.

It's safe to say that the names mentioned above are all worthy of being named "Wrestler of the Year," especially Styles and Reigns. However, Kenny Herzog of Rolling Stone didn't name any of them as his "WWE Wrestler of the Year."

Rather, Herzog gave the honor of "Wrestler of the Year" to The Miz, with Braun Strowman being listed as his runner-up for Male Superstar of the Year. Here is a brief summary of how Herzog justified his choice:

"In fact, he's been the de facto leader of Raw for most of the past several months, stepping up when others were hurt or stuck in storyline limbo, taking his licks against the biggest names in the biz and coming out scathed but frequently hoisting Intercontinental gold above his shoulders...

He was executing innovative offense that rebuked (John) Cena's accusations of derivative skills, while staying 100 percent in character as a sneering, sneaky, smart and underappreciated worker."

Herzog also praised his matches against Reigns, John Cena, and Finn Balor, calling them "absolutely dynamic."

That being aid, choosing The Miz was definitely a surprise in many ways to be "wrestler of the year." For one, he was the Intercontinental Champion, not the more prestigious WWE or Universal Champion. He didn't win the Royal Rumble, nor did The Miz headline any major pay-per-view events.

Miz has taken time off to film The Marine 6 and has relied on Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas to fill in for him and speak on his behalf. He continued to flourish as a mid-card heel, but The Miz definitely didn't accomplish as much as other superstars like Reigns and Styles.

Nonetheless, Miz has been one of the most loyal and hard-working WWE superstars over the past decade. In a way, it's hard to dispute him being named Wrestler of the Year, even if others were more deserving.