The Miz had defeated Roman Reigns and he was on to the next round in the Breakout/Gateway Tournament. His next opponent was a young man that was gaining a fair amount of momentum in the EBWF in Finn Balor. Balor was fresh off a victory against Miz' long time friend/enemy- AJ Styles. Miz was just two wins away from capturing the Gateway Championship and taking one step further towards becoming the EBWF Champion for a 5th Time. He seemed focus, locked in, and hell bent on destroying any narrative that he was no longer "the same guy" that he once was. Miz was always adept at proving people wrong the second you write him off, and this situation would hopefully be one of those scenarios if you were a fan of the most "Must See" superstar in the EBWF.
The scene opened to the EBWF Logo, we faded in to a shot of The 4 time EBWF Champion, The Miz. He wore a black sweater with a white scarf around his neck, and he had a pair of large Aviator sunglasses that covered his eyes. He had a blank expression on his face as he grabbed some grapes from the table that he was sitting by, and popped a couple of them into his mouth. He chewed them dramatically slow, and finally swallowed them. He looked into the camera almost annoyed that there was a crew in this particular room. He titled his head to the side, and then sat up in his large black leather chair. He put both of his arms on the sides of the chair and spoke into the camera.
The Miz: You know something, there's one thing that always makes me laugh about this business, and that is just how FAST things can change. Rewind a few months back, and people thought that I was done, finished, washed up, ready to settle into a life of marital bliss and leave the business that made me "THE MIZ" behind, and kick back into a life of being just plain Mike. A few months back, so called EXPERTS, thought that the best days of one of the most decorated and illustrious careers in EBWF HISTORY.. were a thing of the past. Fortunately, I have never been one to listen to any of the naysayers.. I've never been one to let anyone's words cut me down, I've never cared at ALL about people who told me that I wasn't big enough, good enough, strong enough to be successful in this business.. because I was too busy PROVING. THEM. WRONG. The fact is, I am NOT and will never just BE MIKE.. I am the mother effing Miz.. I am a four time EBWF Champion, but most importantly.. I am NOWHERE... NO. WHERE. Close to being finished. I took a look at this Gateway Championship tournament, and I saw exactly that.. a GATE WAY.. a path.. to dare I say it.. glory. I saw an opportunity. Throughout my career, even when I was doubted or counted out.. one thing that I've always done is seized opportunity. You don't get to where I am, do what I've done in this company, without being able to get the job done when the stakes are the highest. I am a BIG MATCH PERFORMER.. I AM someone who has ALWAYS done whatever it TAKES to get the job done when it matters the most. Many people may look at this tournament as a way to springboard their career. Or to make a name for themselves in the EBWF, but what I saw it as, is a way to MAKE SURE that nobody.. NOBODY.. would ever doubt my name.. ME.. THE MIZ.. EVER again. It started with me dismantling that overgrown, overrated, overbooked, overdiscussed, over my dead body would I ever lose to him, doof of a human Roman Reigns.. and now it moves to my next road block.. in Finn Balor.
The Miz confidently smirked.
The Miz: Finn Balor- and the Balor Club. Oh for god sakes. How many times can the EBWF put different color lipstick on the same pig.. before people realize it's all just the same bacon. Like honestly- has anyone listened to this guy? I mean really listened to him? It's like he's running for freaking student council every time he talks on camera. I've never in my entire life wanted to hurl a spit ball at someone more than I do Finn Balor. The fact that both Raven and Finn both beat AJ Styles, pretty much tells me AJ is more than likely back on drugs harder than weed.. because he's obviously forgotten how to be talented. So all week when people have come up to me and they've said "Miz- you gotta be taking Finn seriously.. he beat AJ last week" to those hyper active imbeciles.. I say.. "PFFT."
The Miz put his shook his head.
The Miz: I can't take anyone serious- who literally sounds so lame. "I'm going to BEAT YOU" "I'm going to be in the EBWF for the long haul" "I'm a wrestler! I'm going to Wrestle better than you.. with my Balor Club. I care about them..and only them.. as well as the other wrestlers in the back.. and the people that buy a ticket to the show." "I have an accent and I say the word lads.. so even though I'm as entertaining as a wet carrot.. I'm still on TV." Honestly, when is someone going to shut this poor guy up. Why is EBWF consistently matching me up with the Hooked on Phonics club. Thinking is hard Finn, I get it, it's hard to think of things to say when you're just not all that smart. I can just picture this guy like in his room trying to think of insults for future opponents, and cringling up the paper time and time again. Before finally just deciding to wing it.. and pass the time by doing crunches instead. Finn- I'm going to give you a hint.. a spoiler.. a news flash. Don't worry about thinking of anything to say about me. Like really, don't, because when you talk.. a loud "irrelevant alarm" buzzes in my ears and it radiates around my face right into my moneymaker. I can't hear anything you're saying, and even if I could, I don't care. The fact is so simple.. it's so cut and dry.. it's so black and white. You're a wannabe.. and I don't mean the amazing Spice Girls Song. I mean that despite your affinity to core exercises, and the fact that your accent makes you sound like a bond villian, you aren't cut out to be a success story here. You can literally allign yourself with tanga and tama loa, whatever the heck they are.. you can allign yourself with Raven.. the wrestler.. the Baltimore Ravens.. The One Tree Hill Ravens.. quite literally anyone or anything.. and at the end of the day.. when it comes down to it.. you're still you.. and YOU just aren't good enough to be a big star.. and you know why I know that? Because I AM THE BIG STAR. I know what it means to be the real deal, I know what it means to be the MOST MUST SEE, the MOST CAPTIVATING, THE MOST ENTERTAINING, THE MAN WHO PUTS THE SUPER in SUPERSTAR, YOUR FAVORITE WRESTLER'S FAVORITE WRESLTER.. I know what it's like to be a champion.. and as much as that is an amazing feeling.. what I find.. EVEN MORE amazing.. is making sure.. SEEING TO IT.. that posers like you.. NEVER get a chance to experience THAT feeling. That's what still drives me.. that's what still motivates me.. even after all this time, all that I've done, all I've accomplished, Is the feeling I get.. when I drive little punk upstarts like you face FIRST into the mat.. and feel that hope.. that desire.. that DREAM of being SOMEBODY in this company.. get DRIVEN the HELL OUT of you.. in one loud.. KABOOM. One instant POOF.. and you go from being someone who sits in front of the camera, and claims to be the next GUY to MAKE it here..to being the NEXT GUY.. to REALIZE.. in that moment.. that you do not..and will NOT ever have what it takes to BEAT someone that's as GOOD as I am. That moment when you realize that as LONG as I'm here.. you're ALWAYS going to be looking up at the Best Wrestler on the planet.. KNOWING that there's a LEVEL.. that you just won't ever reach. HASHTAG.. FACTS.
The Miz looked extremely intense in this moment.
The Miz: Finn Balor, I honestly don't care one bit whether you want to act more like yourself, or get your little carnival face paint back out.. and paint your face like a demon, or a tiger, or a choo choo train.. it honestly doesn't matter.. because ANY version of Finn Balor.. is so severely inferior to The Miz. NO version of Finn Balor is good enough to move on in this tournament. I will say.. this is a feel good story that you've even made it this far. It's a feel good story, that you think beating a quite honestly pathetic version of AJ Styles, means that you can put yourself in the same sentence as someone like me. I mean not to keep harping on AJ, but honest to god.. open your eyes Finn. AJ Styles literally gets high and then begs for a return to TV. By the time he gets to TV.. he forgets why he wanted to come back in the first place. He doesn't care.. and that's why I DON'T CARE that you beat him.. and neither does anyone else. You can't even begin to truly believe you can be mentioned in the same breath as me.. you just can't.. unless in that breath that sentence is "Did you see the Miz beat the hell out of that human celery stick Finn Balor?" Because you see Finn, unlike AJ.. I do CARE.. I'm literally OBSESSED with this business.. and that is why it is my aim.. NAY.. my MISSION to SQUASH this idea.. that I no longer am as motivated to be on top of it. I am DESTINED to wear the EBWF Championship for a fifth time.. which means I'm destined to make sure that this little pipe dream of the Balor Club, comes to a sudden, painful, and abrupt hault. As you listen to these words come out of my mouth, I know your Lame-O-Meter is going off and you're ready to hit me back with a sharp zinger like "you may have had success in the past.. but now.. you're running into the future of this company."
The Miz thought for a second.
The Miz: Honestly that's probably too clever for you. Yours would be more like "You can brag.. but I'm going to win this match against you.. I'm going to win.. in wrestling.. so roar."
The Miz smirked.
The Miz: Finn, you're not the future here.. in fact you HAVE no future here. The Miz is the past.. The Miz IS THE PRESENT.. and the MIZ damn sure is the future.. and NONE of those time periods have ANY room for you. So you might as well take your little Balor club.. go to an actual club.. and drink your sorrows away.. because quite honestly this is AS GOOD.. and AS BIG as it gets for a jamoak like you. When you are back wrestling Johnny The Firefighter in American Legions where people are throwing nacho cheese sauce into the ring.. you're going to be able to tell everyone that you once faced The Miz in the Semi Finals of The Gateway Championship Tournament. You're going to be able to tell all Salami Steve.. and Jimmity Glimmity.. and Scuba Sam.. that you got to lock up with the BIGGEST ICON.. that the EBWF has ever put on it's freaking TV screen. YOU FINN, got to grapple with the MEASURING STICK.. the STANDARD.. THE MAN.. you were bestowed upon, the HONOR.. of losing.. mercilessly.. To THE MIZ. It's not going to feel good on Warfare, Finn- but down the line.. this loss that you're about to suffer.. will end up being the first page in your once upon a time.. 15 minutes of fame.. scrapbook. So my advice is to soak it all in. Remember the sights, the sounds, even remember the pain that I'm going to put you through, because THIS MATCH Finn, is the one people are going to ask you to recount, more than any other match you've been in to this point, or will ever be in again. The reason? There's two. One.. people are fascinated by greatness. They are fascinated by gods among men.. by performers who are LITERALLY the PINNACLE of their craft. So people will ask you.. just what it was like to encounter that in opponet.. it's a given. The other reason they will ask about this match, more than any other Finn.. is because for you.. in this company.. it will BE. YOUR. LAST.
The Miz took off his glasses slowly. He stared a whole through the camera. His intense serious scowl, slowly formed into a classic Miz, arrogant douchebag smile. He then winked into the camera as the scene faded to black.
The scene reopened at The Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota the site of EBWF Warfare. Moments from the show going on the air, the crowd was starting to settle in, when all of a sudden they would be greeted by a very familiar sound.
"AWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESOMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
"I CAME TO PLAY- I CAME TO PLAY THERE'S A PRICE TO PAY- TIME FOR YOU TO GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AND PRAY"
"I Came To Play" by Downstait bellowed through the arena, as The Miz came through the curtain to a mixed reaction, but mostly cheers. He had a black trenchcoat on and a similar pair of sunglasses from his segment earlier that week. He was already dressed for in ring action underneath his coat. He made his way to the ring looking as confident as ever. He went through a classic "vintage" Miz entrance soaking in the reaction from the crowd. He requested a microphone.
The Miz: Have no fear Mizfits.. your HERO IS HEREEEEE!
Again mixed reaction, but the cheers outweighed the boos.
The Miz: You see tonight, I do something that I have been so good at over my career. Now I know what you're instantly all thinking.. "Gosh Miz that could literally be so many things. That could be anything from getting the girls.. to winning titles.. to playing checkers.. to winning Geography Bees.. to playing Ping-Pong.. You're just so good at so many things." To that I say... I know, right?
The Miz smiled but quickly got serious.
The Miz: No Mizfits, I'm not talking about any of those things right now. What I'm referring to, is of course MY inate ability to pop the balloon of any young whipper snapper that comes in and gets a litte too.. shall I say.. FULL. I have taken great pride and pleasure and sticking that pin in.. and POP..ending that noise before it can even get started. Tonight's victim of this shall I say "Special Skill" is Finn Balor.
The crowd reacted to Finn's mention. Miz smirked.
The Miz: Finn Balor- Mr. Undefeated. The thing, that good old Finn, doesn't seem to realize is that the higher you climb.. the futher you fall. In this business.. much like in life. If you experience success, you are going to ascend up the ladder of whatever your craft is. The more you experience triumph, the higher you can go. Unfortunately for Finn, the higher you go in THIS CRAFT.. on THIS ladder.. the HARDER things get.
The Miz was now pacing around the ring.
The Miz: You see Finn, it's cute when a new guy comes in and he wins a couple of matches and the people clap and they say "you know what this guy's got some potential.. he could really be something special." We've seen it SO many times in this company..but let me kick a fact at you that I want to sink in.. there's been WAY more FLASH IN THE PAN guys.. than there have been LEGENDARY MAINSTAYS.. you Finn.. are a FLASH IN THE PAN... I, FInn, am a LEGEND.. I am a MAINSTAY.. I am WHAT LASTS. I am what guys like you SAY they are going to be.. I am what the fans speculate.. that guys like you COULD BE.. but the fact of the situation is.. that SO RARELY do guys like you even achieve a FRACTION of the success that everyone says you have the "POTENTIAL" to achieve. I see it all over you Finn, I see a guy that is looking at tonights match like the CHANCE of a LIFETIME.. when really it's nothing but the match that ALL of those people who have labeled you as a "future star" .. all let out in unison the word "Nevermind" You should NOT be excited about tonight Finn, because all tonight is.. is the END of the LINE.. it's the end of your little fantasy land start that you've put together.. all tonight is FINN.. is your exit party both from this Gateway Championship Tournament.. and from the spotlight. All tonight is for YOU, Finn, is The Miz EXPOSING you NOT as a future star, NOT as a future Mainstay, but as JUST ANOTHER GUY.. who everyone thought could stick.. might stick.. WILL stick.. but INSTEAD has that HUMILATIING match against someone who is JUST THAT MUCH BETTER THAN HIM.. and then proceeds to FALL OFF the FACE OF THE FREAKING EARTH.. as far as this business is concerned. Tonight Finn, even though in your mind.. you may be at the beginning of your journey.. I am going to see to it.. PERSONALLY.. that our match.. MARKS THE END OF IT.
BECAUSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE I'MMMMMMM THE MIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
ANNNNNNNNND I'MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
AWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
The Miz confidently flipped the microphone to the mat, causing it to thud upon impact. He adjusted his sunglasses on his face that almost fell off with the ferocity of his tag line. He exited the ring and arrogantly made his way back up the ramp and through the curtain, as Warfare was set to go on the air.