For several decades, WWE has had an obsession with talk shows hosted by their very own superstars. The likes of Piper’s Pit, The Highlight Reel, and King’s Court have all become fan-favorite segments, even if the majority of those segments weren’t of the highest quality. In modern day WWE, MizTV has been a consistently used talk show segment to help build both The Miz’s feuds and other rivalries by giving them a place to sit down and talk. Whilst MizTV became a regular segment all the way back in 2012, that wasn’t actually the first time it had taken place on WWE’s main roster.

MizTV Has Been A Common Part Of WWE Programming For A Decade

When looking at the history of MizTV, many fans would likely point towards 2012 as being the birth of the talk show segment. On an episode of Raw in September of that year, the reigning Intercontinental Champion, The Miz, hosted MizTV for the first time on the red brand. The guest on that night was Booker T, though in what would become a classic trope for Miz TV, Ryback would crash the party and destroy the set.RELATED: Looking Back At The Brock Lesnar Superplex That Broke WWE SmackDown's Ring

From there, regardless of whether The Miz was heel, face, in a tag team, or alongside his wife Maryse, he would host MizTV fairly regularly. For example, in 2017 alone there were 15 editions of the talk show. It has been useful for developing feuds, giving superstars something different to do, and to keep The Miz busy. It isn’t always great, but it is now a staple of The Miz’s character and has become a big part of Raw and SmackDown over the years. However, five years prior to 2012, the first episodes of it on the main roster took place on SmackDown.

The Miz Welcomed Batista Onto MizTV In 2007

In 2007, The Miz was on the back of appearing in Tough Enough, hosting WWE’s Diva Search, and hosting SmackDown, among several other duties. These roles came about due to his previous forays into the reality TV world, with that defining his character going forwards. This is why he was given a spot on in March of 2007 to trial a new talk show. The first episode was a very quick and pointless Divas segment, but the second edition was more notable, as it featured the World Heavyweight Champion, Batista.

RELATED: Why Batista Left WWE In 2010, Explained

There were certainly some differences back then, with The Miz having a catchphrase of “Hoo-Rah!” to open MizTV with, which was quite weird. The Miz would proceed to poke and prod Batista, whilst also plugging WWE’s magazine in the process, as Batista was the cover star for that month. This segment came in the build up to WrestleMania 23, where Batista was set to defend his title against The Undertaker, to which The Miz completely doubted Batista’s chances of winning, with Taker being 14-0 at the time.

The Miz would proceed to trick Batista into thinking Taker was coming out. Batista laughed at this prank, though in an intimidating fashion, much to The Miz’s ignorance, who didn’t see how dangerous he had made Batista in that moment. The entire dynamic of the segment and their contrasting personalities was very entertaining. Batista stated that he found it funny and that he liked MizTV…he just didn’t like The Miz. This led to a huge Batista Bomb to end the segment.

MizTV Hasn’t Changed In Format Since 2007

After seeing this segment, it is surprising that WWE didn’t keep running with it. It didn’t set the world on fire by any means, but it was still a lot of fun for what it was, and it helped to bring out The Miz’s personality and talent on the microphone, whilst making Batista look great too. However, it was canceled until 2012, when it made a comeback. There were notable visual changes when it came to the presentation, such as a slightly altered logo and a cleaner looking set, and The Miz also being much more professional and smooth when cutting a promo, with him now being a veteran in the business.

RELATED: A Look Back At The Underrated WWE Career Of Tajiri

However, most of the format is pretty much the exact same. The Miz still winds up whoever his guests are, causing issues and poking fun, only to ultimately get beaten up 90% of the time with either he, his set, or both getting destroyed and laid out. Even in 2022, this is still the go-to formula with MizTV, despite it being fifteen years since the very first edition. It just goes to show that some things never change in WWE, which isn’t a bad thing in certain cases. MizTV has always been a harmless talk show that helps storylines along, even if it isn’t the most must-see segment, despite The Miz’s best efforts to convince fans that that is the case.