| John Morrison and The Miz | |
|---|---|
 John Morrison (left) andThe Miz (right) in December 2008 | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | John Morrison The Miz |
| Name | John Morrison and The Miz |
| Billed heights | Morrison: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Miz: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Combined billed weight | 436 lb (198 kg) Morrison: 215 lb (98 kg) Miz: 221 lb (100 kg) |
| Debut | November 16, 2007 |
| Disbanded | August 23, 2021 |
| Years active | 2007–2009 2020–2021 |
John Morrison andThe Miz were anAmericanprofessional wrestlingtag team inWWE.
The duo originally performed on theECW brand, but also appeared on the Raw andSmackDown brands due to ECW's talent exchanges with those brands during their tenure as a team. The team had no official name, although they had been referred to as "the In Crowd" or "the Dirt Sheet Duo", after the name of theirSlammy Award-winning online webshow,The Dirt Sheet. Both were formerWWE Tough Enough contestants, with Morrison winning the show'sthird season and Miz being the runner-up of itsfourth season.
They first began teaming together in November 2007. Originally rivals, John Morrison and The Miz became partners as a result of winning theWWE Tag Team Championship and making the title exclusive to the ECW brand, for a brief time. They held the championship for 250 days, before eventuallydropping the title in July 2008. During their title reign, Morrison and Miz developed a gimmick that resulted in the duo being given their own webshow,The Dirt Sheet, and their own in-ring interview segment of the same name on ECW. In December 2008, they won the Slammy Award in the category for Tag Team of the Year and won theWorld Tag Team Championship. The team split in April 2009, after Miz was drafted to the Raw brand and Morrison was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the2009 WWE draft.
After the team disbanded, Morrison and Miz sporadically feuded with each other until Morrison's departure from WWE in November 2011. They reunited in January 2020 after Morrison returned to WWE. They won theSmackDown Tag Team Championships shortly thereafter, becoming only the second team (afterthe Hardys) to win WWE's original World Tag Team, the 2002 established WWE (now Raw) Tag Team, and SmackDown Tag Team Championships, making them overall three-time tag team champions in WWE.
The team of Morrison and Miz was critically acclaimed, especially during their first run when they were recognized as Tag Team of the Year by WWE,Wrestling Observer Newsletter, andThe Baltimore Sun in 2008.
Before they formed a partnership,John Morrison andThe Miz were enemies, competing for theECW Championship in October 2007.[1][2][3][4] On the November 16, 2007, episode ofSmackDown!, then-rivals Morrison and Miz were paired together to faceMatt Hardy andMVP in a match for theWWE Tag Team Championship, which they subsequently won after MVPturned on Hardy.[5][6] After winning the title, Morrison and Miz brought the titles to theECWbrand. Soon after winning the WWE Tag Team Championship, the two were no longer portrayed as enemies, but rather as trusting friends. They would defend the title on numerous occasions on bothECW andSmackDown! as well as multiple pay-per-views against opponents likeShannon Moore andJimmy Wang Yang,[7][8]Jesse and Festus,[9] andTommy Dreamer andColin Delaney.[10][11] In February 2008, Morrison and Miz were given astreaming segment on WWE.com namedThe Dirt Sheet in which they mocked other wrestlers and facets of pop culture. Morrison and Miz co-wrote each episode ofThe Dirt Sheet each week, and Morrison credits his time in college studying film with contributing to the success of the show.[12] After being forced to wrestle vs. Miz (in a Money in the Bank qualifying match) on the March 14 episode ofSmackDown in which he subsequently beat him in, Morrison competed in theMoney in the Bank ladder match, which was won by CM Punk, atWrestleMania XXIV. Despite being unsuccessful, Morrison had a standout performance in the match, in which he performed a moonsault from the top rope to the outside of the ring while holding onto a ladder.[13]
During the sixth annualWWE Draft on June 23, 2008, onRaw, the duo defeatedSmackDown's theHardys (Matt andJeff) which earnedECW its only draft pick, which turned out to be Matt Hardy, bringing hisWWE United States Championship to the brand.[14] AtThe Great American Bash in July, Morrison and Miz lost the tag team titles in a four team tag match toCurt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, ending their reign at 250 days; however, neither Miz nor Morrison were pinned during the match.[15][16]
After losing the titles, Morrison and Miz entered a feud with ECW newcomersEvan Bourne andRicky Ortiz, who they had previously mocked (and continued to do so) on theDirt Sheet.[17][18] They also had an Internet-centered feud withRaw'sCryme Tyme (Shad Gaspard and JTG) based on which WWE.com online show was better: theDirt Sheet or Cryme Tyme'sWord Up.[19][20][21][22] Morrison and Miz won a match between the two teams atCyber Sunday, which was voted for by fans over a World Tag Team Championship match.[23]
Throughout October, the team mockedD-Generation X (DX) (Triple H andShawn Michaels), using phrases such as "Are you 50?" instead of DX's usual catchphrase "Are you Ready?" to mock their ages due to DX being formed in 1997, when both Morrison and Miz were in high school.[24][25][26][27] On the October 28 episode ofECW, their feud with DX continued as they mocked them after a liveDirt Sheet and then proceeded to attacktwo impostors playing Michaels and Triple H.[26] On the800th episode celebration ofRaw, Morrison and Miz competed in a match against DX, and were defeated.[27] During the match, they mocked DX's signature moves, with Morrison successfully performing asuperkick (mocking Michaels'Sweet Chin Music) on Triple H as well as Miz attempting aPedigree on Triple H.[27] Following their feud with DX, they continued to feud with Cryme Tyme.[28] Morrison and Miz were part ofJohn "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL)'s team at the annualSurvivor Series but they lost to a team led by Shawn Michaels.[29][30]
On the December 8 episode ofRaw, Morrison and Miz won the 2008Slammy Award for Tag Team of the Year and also for the Best WWE.com exclusive, for their show,The Dirt Sheet.[31][32] On December 13, at ahouse show inHamilton, Ontario, Morrison and Miz won theWorld Tag Team Championship for the first time, defeatingKofi Kingston andCM Punk. The duo then engaged themselves in a feud with the WWE Tag Team ChampionsThe Colóns (Carlito andPrimo). They later defended the World Tag Team Championship against The Colóns but lost in a match for The Colóns' WWE Tag Team Championship. On the pre-show ofWrestleMania 25, Morrison and Miz lost the World Tag Team Championship to The Colóns in aLumberjack match to unify the World Tag Team and the WWE Tag Team Championships.[33]
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On the April 13 episode ofRaw, The Miz lost a match toRaw'sKofi Kingston after John Morrison accidentally got him disqualified, which gaveRaw a draft pick in the2009 WWE draft. The pick was then revealed to be Miz, and he subsequently attacked Morrison, ending their partnership.[34] Two days later on April 15, Morrison was drafted to theSmackDown brand as part of the2009 Supplemental Draft.[35]
In October 2009, WWE premiered a new pay-per-view event based around inter-brand matches. At the time, The Miz was the second-tier champion onRaw after winning theUnited States Championship and was subsequently booked againstSmackDown'sIntercontinental Champion, John Morrison.[36] In the build up to their first match since splitting, the two hosted a one-off edition ofThe Dirt Sheet on the October 16 episode ofSmackDown where the two compared themselves to '80s tag teamThe Rockers, debating over which is more comparable to the successfulShawn Michaels and which was the less successfulMarty Jannetty.[37] AtBragging Rights, Miz pinned Morrison to become the only member of theRaw roster to win an interpromotional match.[38] The following month atSurvivor Series, Miz captained a team of five wrestlers against Team Morrison in afive-on-five Survivor Series elimination match and once again bested his former partner.[39] At theTribute to the Troops in December, Miz rolled up Morrison for the win in a singles match. The two had another match the following March, when John Morrison and his new partnerR-Truth challenged for the Unified Tag Team Championships held by The Mizand theBig Show. Morrison was finally able to defeat The Miz in a singles match, however Morrison could not pick up the victory for the titles atWrestleMania XXVI.[40]
In 2011, after The Miz won theWWE Championship, he retained the title against Morrison in a Falls Count Anywhere match on the January 3, 2011, episode ofRaw. At May'sExtreme Rules, Cena won the title in a triple threat steel cage match against The Miz and Morrison.[41] Later that year in November, The Miz and Morrison had another Falls Count Anywhere match, in which Miz caused Morrison a scripted injury; this was used to write Morrison off WWE television as he decided not to renew his contract.[42][43]
On September 26, 2019, it was reported by Mike Johnson ofPro Wrestling Insider that Morrison had re-signed withWWE, being confirmed on December 3 onWWE Backstage.[44][45][46] He made his return on the January 3, 2020 episode ofSmackDown and was paired with The Miz.[47][48] On the January 31 episode ofSmackDown, the duo teamed together for the first time in nearly 11 years, defeating Heavy Machinery (Otis andTucker),Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik andLince Dorado), andthe Revival (Dash Wilder andScott Dawson) in afatal four-way tag team match, thus earning an opportunity to facethe New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) for theSmackDown Tag Team Championship atSuper ShowDown, winning the titles on February 27.[49]
On March 8, the duo had their first title defense against five other teams in the second-ever tag teamElimination Chamber match at theElimination Chamber event, eliminating theNew Day andthe Usos themselves at the end of the match to retain the title.[50] AtWrestleMania 36, after The Miz's absence due to illness, Morrison defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championships by himself in aladder match against Kofi Kingston and Jimmy Uso, in which he was successful.[51][52] On the April 17 episode ofSmackDown, the duo lost the titles back to the New Day after Miz unsuccessfully defended the titles by himself in a triple threat match against Big E and Jey Uso, ending their reign at 50 days.[53] AtMoney in the Bank the following month, Morrison and Miz unsuccessfully attempted to regain the championship in a fatal four-way tag team match.[54]
Both participated in a handicap match against theUniversal ChampionBraun Strowman atBacklash for the title, but they were defeated.[55] Then, they started a storyline with the Money in the Bank contract holder Otis and Tucker ofHeavy Machinery, culminating with a match atHell in a Cell where Miz won the briefcase.[56][57]
Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank contract at theTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event during a TLC match between Drew McIntyre andAJ Styles, but was unsuccessful as McIntyre retained his title.[58] On the December 28 episode ofRaw, Miz had the contract returned to him as the cash-in at TLC was ruled invalid due to Morrison cashing in the contract on his behalf (as only the contract holder himself can cash it in).[59] AtElimination Chamber, Miz would successfully cash in on McIntyre and win the WWE Championship for the second time in his career but lost it eight days later against Bobby Lashley.[60] Miz and Morrison started a feud againstBad Bunny andDamian Priest at the end of January which led them to a match atWrestleMania 37, in a tag team match, in which they lost.
On the August 23, 2021 episode of Raw, The Miz was defeated byXavier Woods after an unintentional distraction from Morrison. After the match, Miz attacked Morrison, disbanding the team and setting up a feud between the pair.[61] However, the feud would abruptly end after The Miz took time off to compete on theDancing with the Stars.[62] On November 18, as part of budget cuts stemming from theCOVID-19 pandemic, Morrison was released from his WWE contract before The Miz would return to WWE programming.[63]
