The Miz has opened up about his love of the WWE Intercontinental Championship and the role he believes he played in restoring its prestige after a period of decline.
Speaking with Complex, Miz reflected on a title that has defined much of his WWE legacy, across eight reigns totaling 592 days, spanning from his first reign beginning in July 2012 through his final reign ending at WrestleMania 34 in 2018.
“That was the title I always loved as a kid growing up. And now to be able to hold that title, but bring it back to the relevance that it once had, because it fell apart. It fell apart for years on end. Then I feel like, and I want to pat myself on the back, I don’t want to, but I’m going to. I feel like when I took hold of that title we brought it back to where it was back in the 80s and 90s,” Miz said.
He also spoke about how the legacy of the championship has been maintained since his time with it, highlighting Gunther’s record-breaking reign as a defining example.
“And now, even to this day we’ve been able to keep it there with the Intercontinental Champions that we have. Gunther, I mean, think about his reign as the Intercontinental Champion. I mean, that was something truly special, and it brought him now to where he is today, where he’s just retiring legends, literally, John Cena, AJ Styles. It’s crazy to me,” Miz said.
Miz holds the most combined Intercontinental Championship reigns of any current WWE roster member. Should he win the title once more, he would equal Chris Jericho’s record of nine reigns. The current Intercontinental Champion is Penta, who won the title from Dominik Mysterio.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Complex Graps Wrestling Podcast with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
