It was a very out-of-nowhere sequence of events that led to The Miz picking up his 5th Intercontinental Championship. Zack Ryder won the ladder match at WrestleMania in a miraculous moment. He knocked Miz off of the top of the ladder while he posed for the crowd before grabbing for the title, the (alleged) 101,763 people went wild, and he became IC Champ for the first time. He agreed to a match the next night on RAW against The Miz, who felt robbed. The returning Maryse got involved, distracting Ryder and slapping his father across the face. It allowed The Miz to pick up the win and stopped Zack Ryder’s second singles title reign before it could even get started.

Ryder failed in his attempt to regain the title that week on SmackDown, again thanks to Miz’ wife interfering. He is still in the picture, but for the immediate future, he has been supplanted by Cesaro, who will be taking on The Miz at the next PPV, Payback. The name of the show (and the way the two matches played out) would lead you to believe that Ryder would get another shot, but maybe they will try to go with a bit of a slow build with him. Or he’s dead in the water. I’m hoping for a cage match at Extreme Rules at the end of May, but we’ll see what happens.

I posited before WrestleMania that The Miz should win the Intercontinental Championship back when it looked like they were going to run with a four-way match with Miz, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Chris Jericho. Miz played his role as instigator and alternate in-ring opponent during the early stages or the Styles-Jericho rivalry to absolute perfection, proving that he still has what it takes to be featured in a premier role. He didn’t win the title at ‘Mania and it was instead a 7-man ladder match, but he came darn close and then did take the belt the next night.

Now, not only does he have the title and a bit of revitalization thanks to his participation with AJ Styles and Chris Jericho, but he has his wife, who has been off TV and out of the WWE spotlight since she left the company back in late 2011. After nearly five years away, her surprise return and role as on-screen wife of her real-life husband is a big deal for The Miz, who has a partner that complements him very well, and she now has somebody with charisma to play off of (remember when they tried to put her with Ted DiBiase and it was miserably horrendous?).

The team of Miz and Maryse is a great mid card pairing, and if he can continue gaining momentum Miz might find himself as a veteran amongst a new crop of stars in the main event. I’d even say that he could end up with another short run with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship before all is said and done. Miz vs. babyface Seth Rollins would have the kind of energy that the Miz vs. John Morrison feud did 5 years ago.

Even if it doesn’t go that far, putting Miz in the role of Intercontinental Champion is actually a refreshing change of pace. Kevin Owens was a great and deserving champ, but he and Sami Zayn don’t need a title to fight over. There are so many great opportunities: Miz vs. Cesaro, Miz vs. Zack Ryder, Miz vs. Sami Zayn, Miz. vs. Neville (when he is healthy) and so on and so forth. I’d love to see Ryder pick the title back up to get some redemption, but at the same time a long-term title reign for The Miz could do big business.