“I apologize in advance for my language. You’re fucking awesome.” – CM Punk at the AAW Scars and Stripes event on July 23, 2011.
CM Punk was talking to 24 year old independent pro wrestler Gregory Iron, who has cerebral palsy, in the above quote but I would say the same thing to The Miz if I was ever lucky enough to meet him. So I will now apologize in advance for my language. The Miz is fucking awesome. The Miz has been awesome for a while but the reason I am writing this now is because on July 25, Stu Saks, the publisher of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, announced on the PWI Blog that Mike “The Miz” Mizanin was named number one in the 21st annual “PWI 500”. The “PWI 500” is an annual list made by Pro Wrestling Illustrated that ranks the top 500 professional wrestlers in the world. The evaluation period for the list was from June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011. The Miz lost his WWE Championship on May 1, 2011. Pro Wrestling Illustrated was created in 1979 and is considered to be the best professional wrestling magazine. I know some people are saying, “Who cares what a magazine says,” but I think this is a big accomplishment for The Miz. PWI isn’t just a random wrestling magazine. PWI is a respected magazine so being named the number one wrestler in the world by PWI should be like being named Man of the Year by TIME Magazine. Other wrestlers that were named number one in the PWI 500 in the past include “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Bret Hart, John Cena, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H. Wrestlers like The Rock, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, Edge, and Rey Mysterio have never reached number one in the PWI 500.