The Miz once pitched a WrestleMania match designed to end with him losing.
Speaking to TMZ Sports on Inside The Ring, The Miz laid out an idea he took to WWE during one of his Intercontinental Championship runs, built on the fact that he had run out of opponents.
I pitched for WrestleMania because at the time I had the IC title for a while and I’ve beaten everybody. Like everybody. And so I pitched the fact that I wanted to beat every single Intercontinental Champion so I can be the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time.
The format was the practical part. A gauntlet takes time, and WrestleMania does not have much of it, so he wanted the former champions at ringside rather than walking out one by one.
I pitched a gauntlet, lumberjack match, WrestleMania, I beat them all. I’m the ultimate champion and then the Ultimate Warrior’s music plays and he runs down, hits three clotheslines, splashes me one, two, three, beats me. Because it was like every Intercontinental Champion. Well, I never beat the Ultimate Warrior. And so, yeah, that was my pitch.
The claim behind it is one WWE has entertained before. The Miz is an eight-time Intercontinental Champion, one short of Chris Jericho’s record, and his eight reigns total 592 days against Jericho’s 319. WWE billed his Survivor Series 2023 match with Gunther as a meeting to settle who the greatest Intercontinental Champion was.
The Ultimate Warrior is the gap in the résumé. He took the title from the Honky Tonk Man in 31 seconds at the first SummerSlam in August 1988, lost it to Rick Rude at WrestleMania V, then won it back at SummerSlam 1989 and held it until he beat Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania VI.
Warrior died in April 2014, days after his WWE Hall of Fame induction. The Miz’s last Intercontinental reign ended at WrestleMania 34 in 2018.
