The program between Smackdown general manager Daniel Bryan and Intercontinental Champion The Miz has been a strange one over the last few weeks. It started with a worked-shoot promo between the two on Talking Smack, that saw Bryan walk off set after being angered by comments questioning his passion for pro wrestling, and his desire to wrestle another match after being forced into an early retirement.
Reports surfaced after the controversial segment, claiming that WWE wanted to keep the two separate; some even claimed that they weren’t allowed to work together, as WWE couldn’t control what may happen.
Last Sunday at WWE Backlash, The Miz went on yet another tirade against his Smackdown GM prior to retaining his championship against Dolph Ziggler in an excellent, show-stealing match. Miz then stated that he wanted to reevaluate his contract, and enter into new negotiations that better reflected his “value” to the brand.
In story, WWE.com noted that the two had entered into said negotiations following comments from Bryan.
It is important for the #ICTitle & its champion to remain on #SDLive. It is true, @mikethemiz and I have begun contract renegotiations.
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) September 16, 2016
In an update to that story, it appears that talks have broken down between the two sides.
.@mikethemiz “terms” are not realistic, they are utterly delusional. While he does hold the #ICTitle, he is not the ONLY #SDLive Champion.
— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) September 17, 2016
Know how much you are worth…and put a price tag on it. If @WWE and @WWEDanielBryan can’t see that, I will not say #YES to their terms.
— The Miz (@mikethemiz) September 17, 2016
It would appear that WWE has been planting seeds for an angle that might see The Miz, with or without the Intercontinental Championship, traded to Monday Night Raw. In return for who, we have no idea, but if this plays out as expected it could be an interesting story for a new WWE culture that sees its two shows as different, competing products vying for the best talent in the organization.
