15 hours Ago By Josh Prost, Last Word On Sports
WrestleMania 41 was filled with lots of great matches and standout performances that will be talked about for years to come. However, a glaring omission on the card was The Miz. On the April 25, 2025 episode of Monday Night Raw, he cut a promo complaining about not wrestling at this year’s event.
He namedropped Joe Hendry and Rey Fenix for taking spots that should’ve been his. The lights dimmed, with a familiar theme song starting to play. Aleister Black emerged for the first time since 2021 and walked to the ring.
After taking everything all in, his moment was ruined by The Miz attempting to confront him. That’s when he hit Black Mass, knocking The Miz off his feet. This confrontation led to a match happening on Friday.
Having The Miz be Aleister Black’s first opponent back is a great decision for a variety of reasons. The Miz Has Entered a New Phase in His Career There’s no doubt that The Miz is a future WWE Hall of Famer. Since his main roster debut in 2006, he has won 21 championships, earning a place as one of WWE’s most successful wrestlers.
But in WWE, there’s always a change in terms of the roster. When someone returns or debuts, they need someone to take a loss to make them look good. For years, that man was Dolph Ziggler until he was released in 2023.
It seems like The Miz has taken over the role of veteran jobber. The last time he won a singles match was against JD McDonagh on the February 5, 2024 episode of Monday Night Raw. Since then, he’s 0-8 with one disqualification in singles competition.
Even though he is most likely going to lose, his reputation and overall wrestling ability will help Aleister Black have a great first match back in WWE. Carmelo Hayes Will Be Watching the Match Closely For the past couple of months, The Miz has formed a partnership with Carmelo Hayes. The crafty veteran teaming with the hungry rookie is something we’ve seen hundreds of times.
It might be predictable, but the pairing does have an advantage. No matter if he’s ringside or in the back, Hayes will be watching the match. The great thing about wrestling is that even in defeat, you can learn from your mistakes.
It doesn’t matter that The Miz will likely lose to Aleister Black. Hayes will definitely take away a lot of things from the match that will make him better in the ring. If Black is made aware of their partnership, it’ll only be a matter of time until he faces Hayes as well.
Watching the match will make Carmelo Hayes familiar with Black’s move set and wrestling style, allowing for a potential victory if the match happens. Aleister Black Will Be in Good Hands One thing that’s been noticeable over the past few months is the treatment of debuting and returning wrestlers. Penta beat Chad Gable, Rey Fenix beat Nathan Frazer, and Fraxiom beat Los Garza.
All four of them won, but the losers made them look strong and took their moves as best as they could. It wasn’t a beatdown, but rather a showcase of both men and tag teams. Their new strategy pits evenly talented wrestlers against each other.
That’s why The Miz is a great choice to face Aleister Black. He’s been in the ring with every type of wrestler imaginable, so he’ll make anyone look good. He’ll also have a young partner watching in Carmelo Hayes, who will hopefully pick up some things to make himself better.
Aleister Black’s return opponent being The Miz, will help all three men move their careers forward in a big way. You can check out WWE programming on Netflix (Raw), USA Network (SmackDown), The CW (NXT), Tubi (WWE Evolve), A&E (WWE Superstar Sunday – Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments) and Peacock (WWE Main Event as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on YouTube , and catch fast-paced action on X ( WWE Speed ).
This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission..
