Payback (2017) is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for the Raw brand. It will take place on April 30, 2017 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. It will be the fifth event in the Payback chronology.
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Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoaʻi is an American professional wrestler and former professional gridiron football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the current and longest reigning WWE Universal Champion in his second reign. He is part of the Anoaʻi wrestling family, which also includes his father Sika Anoaʻi, brother Rosey, and cousins Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Rikishi, The Tonga Kid, and the late Yokozuna and Umaga. Highly regarded by industry veterans, his heel run has been regarded as one of the greatest character arcs of professional wrestling. After playing college football for Georgia Tech, Anoaʻi started his professional football career with brief off-season stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) in 2007. He then played a full season for the Canadian Football League's (CFL) Edmonton Eskimos in 2008 before his release and retirement from football. He then pursued a career in professional wrestling and was signed by WWE in 2010, reporting to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). Under the ring name Roman Reigns, he made his main roster debut in November 2012 alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as The Shield. The trio teamed together until June 2014, after which Reigns entered singles competition. Reigns is a five-time world champion in WWE, having held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWE Universal Championship twice. In 2022, he became the longest reigning Universal Champion at 581+ days, which is recognized as the sixth-longest world championship reign in the promotion's history. He is also a one-time WWE United States Champion, a one-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Rollins), the 2015 Royal Rumble winner, and the 2014 Superstar of the Year. He tied the WWE record for most eliminations in a Survivor Series match with four in the 2013 event and also previously held the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match with 12 in the 2014 event. Upon winning the Intercontinental Championship, he became the twenty-eighth Triple Crown Champion and the seventeenth Grand Slam Champion. Reigns has headlined numerous pay-per-view events, including WWE's flagship event WrestleMania five times (31, 32, 33, 34, and 37). Additionally, Reigns was ranked number one in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual PWI 500 list of the top 500 singles wrestlers in 2016. From 2014 onwards, WWE attempted to establish Reigns as their next "face of the company", positioning him as a heroic character, which was met with intense disapproval by audiences and critics. However, following his return in August 2020, Reigns was repackaged as a new villainous character, "The Tribal Chief", which has generally been met with acclaim by fans and critics alike. His revamped persona was named Best Gimmick by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 2021
Adam Scherr is an American professional wrestler and former strongman, currently known under the epithet The Titan. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Braun Strowman. In WWE, he is a one-time Universal Champion, a one-time Intercontinental Champion, and a two-time Raw Tag Team Champion (with Nicholas and Seth Rollins, respectively). He is also the winner of the 2018 Men's Money in the Bank contract, the winner of the titular match at the Greatest Royal Rumble event, and the winner of the 2019 André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (making him the only wrestler to win both a Rumble and an André Battle Royal). Strowman headlined many pay-per-view events for WWE. He is tied with Shayna Baszler for the most eliminations in a single Elimination Chamber match with five, tied with Brock Lesnar for the most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match with 13, he holds the record for most eliminations in a single André the Giant Memorial Battle Royale with 14, and he is tied for the most eliminations in a single Survivor Series elimination match with four. Upon debuting on the main roster, Strowman was associated with the villainous stable, The Wyatt Family, wearing a black sheep mask and being physically dominant. Throughout his appearances with WWE, Strowman was portrayed as an unstoppable monster, earning the moniker "The Monster Among Men.
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa, better known by the ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former AEW TNT Champion and AEW World Champion. Debuting in 1999, Joe joined Ring of Honor (ROH) soon after its formation in 2002, going on to hold the ROH World Championship for a record 21 months from March 2003 to December 2004 as well as holding the ROH Pure Championship. At Slammiversary in June 2005, he joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he embarked on a 19-month-long undefeated streak that ended in a critically acclaimed feud with Kurt Angle. During his 10-year stint in TNA, he held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship once, the TNA X Division Championship five times, the TNA World Tag Team Championship twice, and the TNA Television Championship once.
Colby Daniel Lopez is an American professional wrestler, signed to WWE under the ring name Seth Rollins. He was one-third of the stable The Shield, former WWE Tag Team Champions with Shield member Roman Reigns, former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and was the inaugural NXT Champion. Lopez previously performed under the ring name Tyler Black. Lopez also was a former FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion, FCW 15 Champion and FCW Florida Tag Team Champion with Richie Steamboat and is the first FCW Grand Slam Champion, the most decorated FCW star in its history. He first gained notoriety in Ring of Honor, where he is a former ROH World Champion. He has competed in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (where he is a former World Tag Team Champion), Scott County Wrestling, AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined, Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, the National Wrestling Alliance, and Wrestling Society X. In several promotions, Black was the tag team partner of Jimmy Jacobs, with the team known as Doin' It For Her. He was once a member of The Age of the Fall along with Jacobs, and several other wrestlers.
Kevin Steen is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently working for the American professional wrestling promotion WWE under the ring name Kevin Owens. Prior to joining WWE in 2014, Steen wrestled on the independent circuit under his birth name for 14 years, appearing for promotions including Ring of Honor (where he held the ROH World Championship and ROH World Tag Team Championship), Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (where he held the PWG World Championship and PWG World Tag Team Championship), and Combat Zone Wrestling (where he held the CZW Iron Man Championship). Prior to debuting on the main WWE roster in May 2015, Owens wrestled in WWE's developmental territory NXT, where he held the NXT Championship.
Christopher Keith Irvine, better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the stable known as Jericho Appreciation Society. Noted for his over-the-top rock star persona, he has been named by journalists and industry colleagues as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. During the 1990s, Jericho performed for American organizations Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), as well as for promotions in countries such as Canada, Japan, and Mexico. At the end of 1999, he made his debut in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). In 2001, he became the first Undisputed WWF Champion, and thus the final holder of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (then referred to as the World Championship), having won and unified the WWF and World titles by defeating Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock on the same night. Jericho headlined multiple pay-per-view (PPV) events during his time with the WWF/WWE, including WrestleMania X8 and the inaugural TLC and the Elimination Chamber matches and the shows itself. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2010. Within the WWF/WWE, Jericho is a six-time world champion, having won the Undisputed WWF Championship once, the WCW/World Championship twice and the World Heavyweight Championship three times. He has also held the WWE Intercontinental Championship a record nine times and was the ninth Triple Crown Champion, as well as the fourth Grand Slam Champion in history. In addition, he was the 2008 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner and (along with Big Show as Jeri-Show) won the 2009 Tag Team of the Year Slammy Award—making him the only winner of both Superstar and Tag Team of the Year. After his departure from WWE in 2018, Jericho signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he became a one-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, and becoming the first man to have held both the WWE and IWGP Intercontinental Championships. Jericho joined AEW in January 2019 and became the inaugural holder of the AEW World Championship in August of that year. All totalled, between ECW, WCW, WWE, NJPW and AEW, Jericho has held 36 championships (including seven World Championships, and 10 Intercontinental Championships). In 1999, Jericho became lead vocalist of heavy metal band Fozzy, who released their eponymous debut album the following year. The group's early work is composed largely of cover versions, although they have focused primarily on original material from their third album, All That Remains (2005), onward. Jericho has also appeared on numerous television shows over the years, including the 2011 season of Dancing With the Stars. He hosted the ABC game show Downfall, the 2011 edition of the Revolver Golden Gods Awards, and the UK's Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards in 2012 and 2017.
Windham Lawrence Rotunda was an American professional wrestler who is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Bray Wyatt. Rotunda was a third-generation professional wrestler following in the footsteps of his grandfather Blackjack Mulligan, his father Mike Rotunda, and two of his uncles, Barry and Kendall Windham. His younger brother Taylor Rotunda performs in WWE under the ring name Bo Dallas.
Randal Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time he is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand and is one half of the current Raw Tag Team Champions with Riddle in their second reign. Orton is a third generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Bob Orton, father Bob Orton Jr., and uncle Barry Orton were all wrestlers. Before being signed by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), he trained in and wrestled for the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association and Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling. He was then signed by the WWF and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he held the OVW Hardcore Championship twice. He became a member of the stable Evolution shortly after his WWE debut, which quickly led to an Intercontinental Championship reign, his first championship with the company. He also acquired the moniker "The Legend Killer" during a storyline where he began disrespecting and then physically attacking WWE Hall of Famers and wrestling veterans. At the age of 24, Orton became the youngest world champion in WWE history after he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. With this win, he departed from Evolution and a feud with his former stablemates began. In 2006, Orton joined forces with Edge in a tag team known as Rated-RKO. Together, they held the World Tag Team Championship. After Rated-RKO disbanded in mid-2007, Orton gained two WWE Championship reigns in one night, becoming the second youngest two-time WWE Champion at the age of 27. He formed the group The Legacy with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. in 2008. They disbanded in 2010, and Orton returned to singles competition. From 2013 to 2015, he was aligned with The Authority, who named him the "face of the WWE". In 2016, he joined The Wyatt Family, winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championship with Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper before turning on them in 2017. He won his first United States Championship in 2018, becoming the 18th overall Grand Slam Champion after already having been the 17th Triple Crown Champion. Orton has held the WWE Championship 10 times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship four times. He was the final holder of the World Heavyweight Championship, which he unified with the WWE Championship to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in 2013. Orton is recognized by WWE as having the third-most world championship victories in history at 14, behind John Cena and Ric Flair (both 16) and tied with Triple H (also at 14). All totaled, Orton has won 20 championships in WWE. He is also the winner of the 2013 Money in the Bank ladder match, as well as a two time Royal Rumble match winner (2009 and 2017) and has headlined multiple WWE pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania 25 and WrestleMania XXX. Following his match at the 2021 Survivor Series, he broke Kane's record for wrestling the most PPV matches in WWE history.
Pamela Rose Martinez, better known by her ring name Bayley, is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand. From 2008 to 2012, she wrestled on the independent circuit under the ring name Davina Rose. She signed with WWE in 2012, and was assigned to the NXT brand where she adopted the ring name Bayley. She captured the NXT Women's Championship in 2015, and subsequently won the 2015 NXT Year-End Awards for Female Competitor of the Year and Match of the Year for her confrontation with Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. Bayley debuted on the main roster in 2016. Since her debut, she has won the WWE Raw Women's Championship, the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship and the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, making her the first women's Triple Crown Champion and Grand Slam winner in WWE history. She currently holds the record for the longest-reigning SmackDown Women's Champion. Additionally, she won the 2019 Money in the Bank ladder match and was the first woman to defend a WWE title in Saudi Arabia.
Alexis Cabrera (née Kaufman) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Alexa Bliss. In 2013, Bliss signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to their Performance Center and developmental brand NXT. She made her main roster debut on the SmackDown brand in 2016, later becoming a two-time SmackDown Women's Champion and the first woman to hold the title twice. Bliss was transferred to the Raw brand in 2017 and would go on to become a three-time Raw Women's Champion, with her initial reign making her the first woman to win both the Raw and SmackDown Women's titles. She and Nikki Cross are also the first two-time Women's Tag Team Champions in WWE history, making Bliss the second Women's Triple Crown Champion. In 2018, she won both the second women's Money in the Bank ladder match and first women's Elimination Chamber match.
Jeffrey Nero Hardy is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former three-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion and a former two-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. He is known for his tenures in WWE and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time as well as one of the most daring high flyers and risktakers throughout his career. Together with his brother Matt Hardy, the tag team The Hardy Boyz are widely regarded as one of the major teams that revived tag team wrestling during the Attitude Era and one of the greatest tag teams in professional wrestling history.
Matt Hardy is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand, and he is one half of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions with his brother Jeff Hardy Along with his real-life brother Jeff, Matt gained notoriety in WWF's tag team division due to the Hardys' participation in tables, ladders, and chairs matches. As a tag team wrestler, he is a 14-time world tag team champion, having held six WWF/World Tag Team Championships, three WWE/Raw Tag Team Championships, one SmackDown Tag Team Championship, one ROH World Tag Team Championship, one WCW Tag Team Championship and two TNA World Tag Team Championships. Wrestling in three separate decades, Hardy has managed to keep himself relevant through a variety of different gimmicks, character changes as well as his use of social media. In 2002, Hardy began a solo career in WWE and his subsequent "Version 1" persona was named Best Gimmick by Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Hardy's eccentric "Broken" gimmick, which he debuted in 2016, earned him multiple awards and praise from wrestling critics, including a second Best Gimmick award (in 2017, the character was renamed "Woken" within WWE). As a singles wrestler, Hardy is a three-time world champion, winning two TNA World Heavyweight Championships and one ECW Championship. In 1999, Matt, along with his brother Jeff, appeared as an uncredited wrestler on That '70s Show episode "That Wrestling Show". Matt and Jeff also appeared on Tough Enough in early 2001, talking to and wrestling the contestants. He appeared in the February 25, 2002 episode of Fear Factor competing against five other World Wrestling Federation wrestlers, including his brother. He won $50,000 for the American Cancer Society. Hardy also appeared on the October 13, 2009 episode of Scare Tactics, as a mental patient who threatens to attack the prank's victim. Hardy's first WWE video game was WWF Wrestlemania 2000 in 1999 on the Nintendo 64 shortly followed by WWF SmackDown! in early 2000 on the PlayStation. He made several appearances later in WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role, WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It, WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain, and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw. He later returned to the series in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, which was his last WWE video game before his departure to TNA. Following his return to WWE in 2017, he was revealed as a DLC character in WWE 2K18 on September 25 that year alongside tag team partner and brother, Jeff Hardy. Hardy was revealed as a playable character in WWE 2K19 on August 30, 2018.
Claudio Castagnoli is a Swiss professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Cesaro (shortened from Antonio Cesaro). Prior to signing with WWE, Castagnoli wrestled under his real name in Ring of Honor (ROH) and various independent promotions, including Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), and Pro Wrestling Noah (NOAH). Castagnoli is an accomplished tag team wrestler, being a two-time ROH World Tag Team Champion with his partner Chris Hero (as "The Kings of Wrestling;" their 364-day reign as champions was the longest in ROH history up to that time). As Cesaro, he held 7 tag team titles in WWE: a two-time WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion, and a five-time WWE (Raw) Tag Team Champion. Castagnoli has also held various independent tag team titles, such as the Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas, the JCW Tag Team Championship, and the CZW World Tag Team Championship. The Kings of Wrestling (the tag team he had with Chris Hero) were voted the 2010 Tag Team of the Year by Wrestling Observer Newsletter readers. He has additionally had success as a singles wrestler, being a one-time WWE United States Champion, the winner of the inaugural André the Giant Memorial Trophy at WrestleMania XXX, and a one-time PWG World Champion. When playing a villainous character, particularly in the United States, Castagnoli has been known to emphasize his European origin as part of his gimmick, proclaiming a superior intellect and fashion sensibility while regularly using moves such as the European uppercut. He gained a reputation for impressive in-ring feats of strength, and was called one of WWE's best and most underrated performers for much of his time there. He was even voted Most Underrated Wrestler in the world, for a record four years in a row (2013–2016), by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Stephen Farrelly (Irish: Stíofán Ó Fearghaile) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, where he performs under the ring name Sheamus (pronounced /ˈʃeɪmʌs/) shortened from his previous ring name Sheamus O'Shaunessy. He currently appears on the Raw brand. Prior to joining WWE, Farrelly wrestled on the European circuit and was a two-time International Heavyweight Champion during his tenure in Irish Whip Wrestling (IWW). After becoming part of the WWE main roster in 2009, he would go on to be a four-time world champion in WWE, having held the WWE (World) Championship three times and the World Heavyweight Championship once. He is also a two-time United States Champion. In addition to these championships, he has won the 2010 King of the Ring tournament, the 2012 Royal Rumble match and the 2015 Money in the Bank ladder match, making him only the second wrestler (after Edge) to achieve all three accomplishments.
Benjamin Satterley is an English professional wrestler currently working under the ring name PAC for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in the United States and Dragon Gate in Japan, where he is a former Open the Dream Gate Champion. He also currently works on the international independent circuit as a freelancer. Satterley is perhaps best known for his six-year tenure in WWE, where he competed under the ring name Neville (previously Adrian Neville).
Daniel Healy Solwold Jr., better known by his ring name Austin Aries, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the Control Your Narrative wrestling promotion. He is best known for his time with Impact Wrestling, where he is a three-time Impact World Champion and a six-time Impact X Division Champion, and Ring of Honor (ROH) where he was the first multi-time ROH World Champion. He is also known for his time with WWE, where he competed in the cruiserweight division as well as doing color commentary. Between TNA/Impact and ROH, Aries has held 14 total championships and has also held numerous international and U.S. independent championships. Aries began to work with ROH in 2004, joining the Generation Next faction. He won the ROH World Tag Team Championship with his teammate Roderick Strong, and at Final Battle 2004, ROH's biggest event, defeated Samoa Joe to win the ROH World Championship, ending the latter's 645-day reign. He would regain the title in 2009, becoming the first multi-time champion. After moving on to Impact Wrestling, then known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Aries won the X Division Championship six times. His first reign is the longest of the title's history at 301 days and created the "Option C" clause, trading the title for a TNA World Heavyweight title opportunity at Destination X, winning the title. He also won the TNA World Tag Team Championship and the Impact Grand Championship, becoming a Grand Slam Champion in Impact Wrestling.[1] After a short hiatus from the wrestling industry from 2019 to 2021, he is currently making appearances for the National Wrestling Alliance and other independent wrestling companies.
Yuvraj Singh Dhesi is currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Jinder Mahal. Having started his career on the independent circuit, Mahal joined WWE in 2010 and made his debut on the company's main roster the following year. After a short-lived alliance with his kayfabe brother-in-law The Great Khali, he formed the stable 3 Man Band (3MB) with fellow wrestlers Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre, before he and McIntyre were released from the company in 2014. Mahal returned to WWE in 2016 with a drastically improved physique and received a push, culminating in him capturing the WWE Championship from Randy Orton in April 2017, making him the 50th WWE Champion and the first of Indian descent. His reign lasted six months, and he would then go on to win the WWE United States Championship at WrestleMania 34 in 2018 and the WWE 24/7 Championship twice in 2019.
Andrew William Hankinson is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Luke Gallows. He is a member of The O.C. stable and a former member of Bullet Club.
Chad Allegra is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name "The Machine Gun" Karl Anderson. He is currently signed to WWE and is best known for his work as a tag team wrestler, particularly in Japanese promotions like Pro Wrestling Noah and New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a former four-time IWGP Tag Team Champion.
Eric Arndt is an American professional wrestler who performs on the independent circuit under the ring name nZo. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed under the ring name Enzo Amore. In WWE, he came to prominence for his partnership with Big Cass, whom he teamed with from 2013 to 2017. Together, they won the NXT Year-End Award for Tag Team of the Year in 2015. He was later moved to the 205 Live brand, where he was a two-time Cruiserweight Champion. Since leaving WWE, he has also embarked on a rap music career initially under the name Real1, but now goes under the same name he uses on the independent circuit.
William Morrissey is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Big Bill. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed under the ring name Big Cass, a shortened version of his previous name Colin Cassady. In WWE, he came to prominence for his partnership with Enzo Amore, whom he teamed with from 2013 to 2017. Together, they won the NXT Year-End Award for Tag Team of the Year in 2015. He was brought up to Raw alongside Enzo Amore the day after WrestleMania 32. He was later moved to the SmackDown brand, where he had a brief feud with Daniel Bryan, before being released by the company in June 2018. After leaving WWE, he resumed teaming with Amore (now known as nZo) on the independent circuit. He worked in Impact Wrestling under the name of W. Morrissey.
Fergal Devitt is an Irish professional wrestler widely known for his tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as Prince Devitt, where he is a three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. Devitt has wrestled for numerous promotions, including NWA UK Hammerlock, NWA Pro Wrestling, New England Championship Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, as well as having founded NWA Ireland with Paul Tracey. Devitt is currently signed to WWE performing on the NXT brand under the ring name Finn Bálor.
Michael "Mike" Gregory Mizanin is an American professional wrestler, reality television star, media personality, and actor better known by his nickname and ring name The Miz. He is currently signed to WWE where he is the reigning Intercontinental Champion. Mizanin first gained fame as a cast member on MTV's The Real World: Back to New York, which first aired in 2001, and its spinoff series, Real World/Road Rules Challenge. He later entered the fourth season of Tough Enough, a televised competition that would award the winner a WWE contract, and became the first runner-up. Mizanin has also made appearances on television shows including Battle of the Network Reality Stars, Fear Factor, Identity, Ghost Hunters, Dinner: Impossible, Psych and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. Mizanin trained and wrestled with Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Deep South Wrestling, where he became the first Deep South Heavyweight Champion. Mizanin was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), working in tag team matches and winning the tag team title, the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship, on one occasion. After signing with WWE, Mizanin became host of the annual WWE Diva Search competition in 2006. Following his hosting duties, Mizanin made his wrestling debut in September 2006, as a villain who went undefeated. In 2007, was drafted from SmackDown to the ECW brand, where he formed a partnership with John Morrison, in which the two held both the WWE Tag Team Championship and the World Tag Team Championship. He was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2009 WWE Draft, and won the WWE United States Championship on two occasions. He also won WWE Unified Tag Team Championship with The Big Show and the WWE Tag Team Championship with John Cena. In July 2010, he won a Money in the Bank ladder match at the first WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view, earning a contract for a WWE Championship match, which he used in November to win his only WWE Championship. In 2011, The Miz was ranked number one on Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual PWI 500 list.
