The Miz - Professional Wrestling Career - World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) - Intercontinental Champion (2012-Present)

Intercontinental Champion (2012-Present)

After a two-month absence, The Miz returned on July 15 at Money in the Bank, as a last-minute participant in the WWE Championship Money in the Bank contract match, sporting a new haircut that replaced his signature fauxhawk; he would be unsuccessful as the match was won by old rival John Cena. On July 23 at Raw 1000, Miz defeated Christian to win his first Intercontinental Championship. With this, Miz also became the 25th Triple Crown Champion in WWE history. Four days later on SmackDown, Miz successfully defended his title against Christian in a rematch. At SummerSlam, Miz defeated Rey Mysterio to retain the Intercontinental Championship. At Night Of Champions, Miz successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship in a Fatal Four Way match against Cody Rhodes, Rey Mysterio, and Sin Cara. From September, Miz started hosting the "MizTV" talk show. On the October 17 episode of WWE Main Event, Miz lost the Intercontinental Championship to Kofi Kingston. Miz failed to regain the title from Kingston in two rematches, the first on October 28 at Hell in a Cell, and the second on the November 6 episode of SmackDown.

After his loss to Kofi Kingston, The Miz started a face turn by offering Kingston a handshake. Miz's face turn was cemented by him joining Mick Foley's team at Survivor Series. On November 18 at Survivor Series, The Miz eliminated Wade Barrett before being eliminated by Alberto Del Rio. In the months to come, Miz's turn was not well received by critics, who commented that Miz as a babyface was too similar to his heel character because he was "still cocky, arrogant, and egotistical" while "pivoted toward calling out established heels". Other criticisms were that Miz was "juvenile", lacking of depth, "grating and not endearing to the audience" and that "there was not that moment when he officially turned and aligned his values with the audience's". At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, The Miz hosted Miz TV with 3MB as guests. After 3MB assaulted the Spanish announcers, he, along with Alberto Del Rio and the Brooklyn Brawler defeated them in a six-man tag match. The following night on Raw, Miz and Del Rio teamed with Tommy Dreamer to defeat 3MB in another six-man tag match.

The Miz then feuded with United States Champion Antonio Cesaro, after Cesaro insulted America. On January 14, 2013 during the Raw 20th Anniversary special, Miz hosted Miz TV with guest Ric Flair. They were interrupted by Cesaro but Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale on him and Ric Flair gave The Miz the honor of applying his submission move, the figure-four leglock, on Cesaro. Miz adopted the figure-four from Flair and used it as a new finisher. The Miz faced Cesaro for the United States Championship on January 27, during the the Royal Rumble pre-show, but was unsuccessful. Later that night, Miz entered the Royal Rumble at number twenty-eight but was eliminated by Ryback. Miz continued his rivalry with Cesaro on Raw Roulette the following night when he was placed as the special guest referee in Cesaro's match with Randy Orton. Cesaro went on to lose the match due to a distraction from Miz and received a Skull-Crushing Finale afterwards. On the February 11 episode of Raw, Cesaro attacked Miz and repeatedly swung him into the barricade with a giant swing during Miz's match with Cody Rhodes, thus injuring Miz's shoulder. Six days later at Elimination Chamber, Miz lost his shot at the United States Championship via disqualification after he accidentally hit Cesaro in the groin. The following night on Raw, Miz defeated Cesaro in a non-title No Disqualification match via submission to earn another shot at the United States Championship. The title rematch took place the following week on SmackDown in a Two-out-of-Three Falls match, where Miz failed again to capture the title from Cesaro.

On the March 11 episode of Raw, The Miz faced Chris Jericho in a number one contenders match for Wade Barrett's Intercontinental Championship, but the match was ruled a no contest after Barrett interfered and attacked both men. As a result, both men were entered into the title match the following week on Raw, where Barrett retained his title after pinning Miz. The next week on Raw, Miz defeated Barrett in a non-title match via submission to earn another shot at the Intercontinental Championship. On April 7, during the WrestleMania 29 pre-show, Miz defeated Barrett via submission to win his second Intercontinental Championship, however, he would lose the title back to Barrett the following night on Raw.