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There have been many superstars throughout WWE history who have at one point donned a mask. Whether it be a staple of their gimmick such as with the luchador legend Rey Mysterio, or to conceal their identity as a “Conquistador” like Edge and Christian, or even to hide the shame of having a shaved head like with CM Punk, there have been countless wrestlers to have worn one. The Miz is someone who is a member of that list, though many fans may have forgotten all about the time that he wrestled underneath a mask on an episode of Monday Night Raw, especially since it came over a decade ago and was for one night only.
The Miz’s Feud With John Cena Led To Him Wearing A Mask
Back in 2009, The Miz was enjoying his time in a tag team alongside John Morrison, with the pair winning the Tag Team Championships and becoming quite a popular act despite beginning their path to Tag Title glory on the less-watched ECW program. In the 2009 draft, the pair were split up with Miz getting drafted over to Raw. He would then attack and lay out Morrison, ending their tandem and begin his ascent as a singles star for the first time in several years.
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At the time, The Miz still sported the same look he had during his tag team run, with three-quarter length shorts and long gloves. Even though he had split up with Morrison, he still felt very much like a tag team wrestler. WWE began giving him some mic time, and he used that to try and develop himself as a singles star in the best way possible - by targeting John Cena. At the time, Cena was ruled out with an injury, but that didn’t stop The Miz challenging him and claiming forfeit victories. Finally, Cena returned and he essentially squashed The Miz in a match at The Bash PPV.
The feud didn’t end there, as they did battle once again on the August 3rd edition of Monday Night Raw. This was a Lumberjack Match with the added stipulation that The Miz would get fired from Raw if he lost, in addition to missing SummerSlam too. The Miz did indeed suffer a defeat and was let go from his Raw contract. However, it wasn’t long until The Miz was back, though fans wouldn’t know it immediately due to him wearing a mask.
A Masked Miz Won Back His WWE Raw Contract
The next week, a match was scheduled to determine the newest member of the Raw roster, as a contract was hung at the top of a pole, with the first competitor to retrieve it winning a contract. In a surprise, Eugene was one of the participants, making his first televised WWE appearance in two years. His opponent was revealed to be The Calgary Kid, and the audience in Calgary responded quite positively to him, giving him a decent cheer and trading him high fives during his entrance.
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The Calgary Kid wore basic red trunks and a red mask, donning the classic Canadian maple leaf. Eugene quickly gained an advantage, hitting a Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow, but the Calgary Kid would recover and fight back, throwing Eugene from the top rope and retrieving the Raw contract, in what was a surprise given that fans had no clue who he was. He celebrated, and helped Eugene to his feet, before delivering a very familiar move. The Calgary Kid would remove his mask to reveal his identity.
The Miz’s “Calgary Kid” Attire Influenced His WWE Attire Going Forward
The fans drowned The Miz in thunderous boos as he took the mask off and proceeded to correct the announcer by stating that the winner of the match was “The Miz”. In fairness, this was pulled off pretty well, and a big part of that was due to fans never seeing The Miz wrestle in classic wrestling trunks and boots, so exposing his legs and arms managed to keep the less eagle-eyed fans out of the reveal.
RELATED: Why CM Punk Temporarily Wrestled In A Mask In WWE, Explained
The look of the masked Calgary Kid would go on to influence The Miz’s attire going forwards, and he began wearing the trunks and boots consistently from that moment on, with that being his go-to attire for the next thirteen years and likely several more. The Miz has never returned to this persona and likely never will due to it being quite a forgotten one that only featured on one singular episode of Raw, but it was still a decent segment that was quite fun, and it would firmly kickstart The Miz’s time as a singles competitor, as it didn’t take him long to then win the both the United States Championship and the Undisputed Tag Team Titles.
