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| "No, you're the coolest!" |
That should probably be Damien Mizdow. That’s the name
Sandow trades under since being taken on as Miz’s stunt double, a natural (for
wrestling) progression from the generic imitation gimmick he’d been lumbered
with for months. You’ll probably have seen Mizdow in action, so you don’t need
me to tell you that he mimics everything Miz does backstage, in the ring, and
at ringside, or how funny it is.
As Mizdow, Sandow has taken something that sounded like
nothing more than filler material and turned it into one of the highlights of
WWE’s TV output. That’s quite the achievement and he deserves all the praise
he’s had for it.
Miz hasn’t been a slouch in this time either. Since
returning from his latest sabbatical filming a straight-to-the-bargain-bin DVD
movie ‘The Awesome One’ has done some of the best work of his career. Promos
have always been more his forte than wrestling, and he’s overhauled his
approach with them, playing the mostly oblivious babyface who doesn’t realise
how contemptible he is. The gurning and frat boy attitude are gone, replaced by
a character clearly modelled on genuine Hollywood A-listers.
He’s also tightened up his in-ring offerings. Miz is
never going to be the greatest wrestler but he’s improved his already good selling
and concentrated on making his signature moves mean more. He’s also making
better use of the Skull-Crushing Finale and the figure four leg lock. It’s made
for far more enjoyable matches from him.
Miz and Mizdow are great together. I’ve previously
advocated a gradual split for them, the logic being that WWE should capitalise
on the popularity of the Mizdow character. But after thinking on it more I
don’t think that’s necessarily the best move. The appeal of Mizdow is seeing
him hamming it up while copying Miz. Yeah it’d be great to see him stand up for
himself and turn on his egotistical boss but once that feud were over there’d
be nothing for him to do.
Not literally, of course. The natural thing to do with
Sandow if he became a singles babyface with the Mizdow gimmick would be to have
him imitate the moves of guys he’s feuding with while they’re wrestling. It
would give people what they want from the character without having to have him
linked to The Miz. But we all know WWE’s current booking approach wouldn’t
allow for that. Sandow would become just another mid-card babyface being used
like everyone else within a month of his programme with Miz finishing.
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| This man is a natural bodyguard call-up. |
So, as I say, they’re better together. There’s actually
potential in them as the basis of a larger faction. As a male model Tyler
Breeze would be a natural stablemate for a supposed movie star. He could be
introduced as an allegedly A-list pal of Miz’s. A security guard character
would also be a natural fit. Bull Dempsey would be ideal for that role, and
there are probably other suitable candidates yet to be used on the NXT show.
This stable would allow WWE to build on the popularity of
Miz and Mizdow by associating newcomers with them. Breeze and Dempsey would
debut in high profile spots but wouldn’t be under as much pressure to
immediately succeed. It would also be a readymade feud. After a few months of
the group getting along Breeze and Dempsey could turn on Miz and Mizdow,
creating a tag match people would care about (largely because of Mizdow’s
involvement) and setting up a new pairing that could be spun off into the
mid-card: Tyler Breeze and his bodyguard Bull Dempsey.
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