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The art of the shoot promo has seen many wrestlers trying to blur the lines between fiction and reality. Any wrestler cutting a legitimate shoot promo is doing this without a script to execute it. There are many mixed scenarios where wrestlers deliver worked shoot promos that have been booked for them to convince fans they’re breaking the script, but the real ones have some unexpected moments.
The Miz’s infamous promo on Talking Smack to Daniel Bryan changed his career at the time. Fans were stunned to watch Miz showing that much intensity for the first time in many years. WWE saw this promo contributing many positive things in the long and short term. An argument can be made that this is the greatest promo of the shoot genre.
The Promo Showed A New Side To The Miz
WWE always put value in The Miz with a consistent spot on television for nearly fifteen years now. However, a failed WWE Championship reign hurt Miz’s reputation and saw him moving back to the mid-card to experiment with different things. WWE tried turning Miz face with Ric Flair as his mentor before moving back to the heel role for the rest of his tenure in between the title loss and this infamous promo.
The brand split of 2016 created more opportunities for both new stars getting their first chance and talents like Miz who craved another chance. Miz was the top Intercontinental Championship early into the brand split and felt disrespected at being left off television. Renee Young and Daniel Bryan interviewing Miz on Talking Smack gave him a platform to express his frustration.
Miz showed more emotion than ever before in WWE cutting a promo on Bryan for disrespecting his contributions. The past few years of heel work from Miz worked, but it always felt like a wrestler playing the same heel character we’ve seen for decades. Miz legitimately losing his cool and running down Bryan to defend himself showed a deeper passion. Fans got to see a real insight into a real part of Miz’s personality that showed he was tired of the disrespect.
It Felt Real
The most important part of a shoot promo in wrestling is the talent making fans believe something real is happening. Wrestling has evolved to the point where most viewers are old enough to know and accept the sport is fixed with more entertainment than an athletic competition. The Miz’s promo was perfect due to his ability to make fans suspend their disbelief during the most unexpected time, and it came on a show with more unscripted moments.
Daniel Bryan has recently revealed that he and Miz came up with the plan to have a confrontation on Talking Smack without upper management knowing. The original plan was for Bryan to punch Miz after the verbal back and forth to create a scenario where WWE would either release him or set up their match in his eventual return when clearing him.
Those plans changed when Bryan decided to walk off-screen and let Miz continue his promo when it was going well. Miz unleashed a verbal rant about Bryan and others discrediting his accomplishments since he didn’t wrestle a high-risk style. Bryan calling Miz “soft” as the Smackdown General Manager angered Miz enough to cut a promo showing his emotional side and making it feel real was why it worked.
it Helped Short And Long Term Programs
Daniel Bryan not getting physical as he and The Miz first planned out meant he wouldn’t get fired or cleared. WWE continued using Miz in the heel role getting more momentum after the Talking Smack clip went viral. Fans talked more about Miz’s promo on the talk show than anything that happened during the actual episode of Smackdown that week.
Dolph Ziggler entered a feud with Miz shortly after for the Intercontinental Championship that became more important. The idea of two of the longest established mid-carders having yet another feud for a mid-card belt that early into the brand split could have failed. Miz adding new energy to his heel character led to fans caring more to root against him and rally behind Ziggler.
WWE eventually cleared Bryan to compete almost two years later when enough doctors stated he was no higher risk than any other wrestler. Bryan feuded with Miz in the latter half of 2018 where they exchanged wins, cut more intense promos, and even had their wives join them for a mixed tag match. Many shoot promos just confuse the audience, like with Vince Russo’s entire booking history. Miz showed the best-case scenario of making fans believe and creating a moment with his shoot.