An "Awesome" Argument

It has been a rough couple of months for The Miz. The man who once referred to himself as "The Most Must-See WWE Champion of All Time" has indeed fallen from the lofty peaks of his championship reign and ended up in a rut. These days, he's mostly alternating between a state of desolation and desperation, issuing open challenges in the hopes of securing a roster spot on Team Johnny at WrestleMania XXVIII, losing after a hard-fought effort and getting no response from the higher-ups from whom he demands satisfaction. All the while, Miz laments that it's unheard of for a Superstar to go from main-event winner of one WrestleMania, to being entirely left off the card of the next.

And you know what? We at WWE.com agree with him. There are no two ways about it: a slump is a slump. Even so, when you look at things a bit more closely, it's hard to deny: Miz deserves his match. The main event is out of his reach at this point, but his recent run of dour luck aside, we're convinced the former champion has more than earned his encore at The Showcase of the Immortals. Here are a few reasons why John Laurniaitis would be well-advised to acknowledge The Awesome One and "Give Miz a Match!"

1: He's staying competitive in big matches

True, an out-and-out win in the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber Matches would have bolstered The Miz's case. Then again, Miz was the longest-lasting competitor in the 2012 Royal Rumble Match, logging more than 45 minutes in the contest despite drawing the accursed No. 1 entry. ( PHOTOS) In the same vein, The Awesome One lasted longest of all the challengers to CM Punk's WWE Championship in the 2012 Raw Elimination Chamber Match, including current No. 1 contender Chris Jericho. Miz seems to have found a niche, for all his troubles, in multi-Superstar matches where he can make an impact by joining the fracas. It would be wise for Big Johnny to consider such a Superstar for the last free spot on his roster.

2: He's a dangerous Superstar

It seems like a lifetime ago now, but it was only a few short months back that "The Awesome Truth" terorrized the WWE locker room to such a degree that they had to be led out of the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in handcuffs. The Miz is a ruthless individual when he feels he has been slighted, as his vicious beatdowns of CM Punk (both at Hell in a Cell and in the weeks leading up to WWE TLC: Tables Ladders and Chairs) prove. Miz has arguably never felt more slighted in his entire career than he does right now. Pairing him with the freight train that is Mark Henry could make for a potent one-two punch of brutality in the clutch moments of the WrestleMania 12-Man Tag Team Match. ( PHOTOS: THE AWESOME TRUTH ATTACK AT HELL IN A CELL)

3: He brings prestige to the team

Of the five current members of Team Johnny - David Otunga, Mark Henry, Christian, Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler - four are former World Champions. Of Team Teddy's three recruits thus far - United States Champion Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth - there are none. It takes a special breed of Superstar to become World Champion (Miz, incidentally, would be the only one on Team Johnny to have ever been WWE Champion), and with the future of WWE on the line, Team Johnny really can't collect enough Superstars of that caliber if its figurehead really means to secure control of Raw and SmackDown. ( PHOTOS: THE MIZ UNVEILS HIS CUSTOM CHAMPIONSHIP)

4: He "Future-Endeavored" John Morrison

The Miz doesn't just win matches; in the right set of circumstances, he can end the career of a WWE Superstar. Ordinarily, this would be something of a heinous attribute, but John Laurinaitis does have an affinity for issuing pink slips to Superstars who irk him. Given The Miz's decimation of John Morrison this past winter, it's fair to say he could give the Raw GM a walking weapon to rid the roster of his enemies without having to actually get his hands dirty in the process. ( PHOTOS: MIZ VS. JOHN MORRISON)

5: He's tenacious

The Miz does not take no for an answer. We have seen The Awesome One whittle away his opponents' resolve - physically and verbally - time and again. At a certain point, his opponents typically relent in the face of his attack. He is as proud, arrogant and entitled as any Superstar who has ever come before him, and he's a man who brought himself up from some truly humble beginnings to the top of the mountain. We won't say he's "AAAWWWEEESSOOOMMMEEE" exactly, because like we said: a slump is a slump. Yet there's no reason, given the opportunity, that he won't be again. We're pretty sure he would say the same. Please don't Future Endeavor us for saying so.