The Vegas Hangover and the A-Lister’s Truth

We are officially in the post-WrestleMania 41 hangover period. The neon lights of Allegiant Stadium are dimmed, the glitter has been vacuumed out of the turf, and we’re all sitting around trying to piece together our lives before Backlash hits France on May 9. But while the rest of the world is arguing about whether Cody Rhodes is the greatest babyface of the modern era, The Miz decided to drop a truth bomb that has the internet wrestling community in a collective tailspin. The Miz claims that Maryse never gets the credit she deserves for her WWE contributions, and for once, the most annoying man in sports entertainment is actually telling the truth.

Look, I get it. To a certain segment of the fanbase, Maryse is just a relic of the Divas Search era—a time when the wrestling was questionable and the spray tans were lethal. But if you think Maryse was just a pretty face in a French hood, you haven't been paying attention for the last twenty years. She didn't just survive that era; she dominated it, and then she came back years later to save The Miz’s career from the midcard graveyard. That isn't just luck. That is a specific brand of professional wrestling genius that we usually only attribute to the guys with five-star match ratings in Japan.

The 2016 Resurrection was the Maryse Show

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: The Miz was essentially dead in the water before Maryse returned the night after WrestleMania 32. He was the guy who did the movies nobody watched and the guy who got beat up by the flavor of the month. Then Maryse showed up on that April night in 2016, slapped Zack Ryder’s dad, and suddenly The Miz was the hottest heel in the company. He went from being a joke to being the Intercontinental Champion for 188 days in a run that redefined the title. That wasn't because Miz suddenly learned how to wrestle better; it was because Maryse gave him back his aura.

The peak of this, of course, was the 2017 run leading into WrestleMania 33. If you don't remember the Total Bellas parodies, go back and watch them on YouTube right now. Maryse dressed as Nikki Bella was some of the most scathing, hilarious, and effective character work we have seen in the last decade. She took the reality TV personas that everyone was already whispering about and turned them into a weapon. She wasn't just a valet standing there looking decorative; she was the architect of the most entertaining feud on the card. While John Cena and Nikki were trying to play it straight, Maryse was out there doing character assassination with a wig and a fake diamond ring.

The Diva Search Stigma is a Lie

The problem with the Maryse conversation is that people use the word "Diva" like it's a slur. We’ve been conditioned by the Women’s Evolution to think that if you weren't doing 30-minute iron-man matches in 2008, you didn't matter. But Maryse was a two-time Divas Champion who held the title for over seven months in her first reign. She was the first woman to win that specific title twice. In a world where she was competing with Michelle McCool and Beth Phoenix, she carved out a niche as the ultimate mean girl. She didn't need to do a moonsault to get heat; she just needed to flip her hair and say "Merci" in a way that made you want to throw your remote at the screen.

We talk about managers like Sensational Sherri or Miss Elizabeth with hushed reverence, but Maryse belongs in that exact same conversation for the modern era. She pioneered the role of the "co-star." She wasn't just managing The Miz; they were a double act. You can't have one without the other. When they are together, Miz becomes a main event threat. When they aren't, he’s a very talented guy who sometimes hosts segments where he gets hit in the nuts. The chemistry is the engine of the entire brand. It is the reason they have a reality show that has lasted for years while other wrestlers can't even get a second season on a streaming service.

The Harsh Reality of the In-Ring Work

Now, I’m not going to sit here and tell you Maryse was the second coming of Manami Toyota. If we’re being honest, her in-ring work was often clunky. The French Kiss DDT was a solid finisher, but the actual transitions between moves could be as awkward as a middle school dance. There was a match against Eve Torres back in 2010 where the timing was so off it felt like they were wrestling in different time zones. She wasn't a technician, and she wasn't someone you’d want leading a fifteen-minute clinic on the mat. That is the one valid criticism of her career—she was a character first and a wrestler a distant second.

But since when did that become a disqualifier for being a legend? Hulk Hogan has a three-move repertoire and we gave him the keys to the kingdom for thirty years. Bobby Heenan couldn't take a back bump without looking like he was falling out of a tree, and he’s the greatest of all time. Maryse understood that wrestling is about making people feel something. Whether she was screaming at a referee or using her hair as a distraction, she knew how to manipulate an audience. That is a skill that is becoming increasingly rare in an era where everyone is obsessed with being a "good worker."

Maryse is the bridge between two eras. She had the look of the old school and the business savvy of the new school. She didn't just survive the transition; she made herself indispensable.

The Legacy of the A-List Couple

If you look at the current WWE roster, you see her influence everywhere. Every time a woman is allowed to be more than just an athlete—every time they are allowed to be a personality, a villain, or a business mogul—they are walking the path that Maryse helped pave. She showed that you could be a mother, a wife, a manager, and a champion without losing your edge. She didn't fade away into the background after having kids; she came back and got into a program with Edge and Beth Phoenix that was one of the highlights of 2022. That Mixed Tag match at the Royal Rumble was a masterclass in how to use legends correctly.

The Miz is right to be defensive because the wrestling world has a short memory. We tend to celebrate the people who are currently holding the gold or the people who have been retired for thirty years. We ignore the people who are doing the work right now in the middle. Maryse has been a consistent presence in WWE for nearly twenty years. That kind of longevity doesn't happen by accident. You don't stay on TV that long unless you are providing value that the company can't find anywhere else. She is the glue that keeps the A-Lister gimmick from becoming a parody of itself.

So, next time you see her on screen, stop worrying about her workrate. Stop comparing her to the Four Horsewomen. Instead, appreciate the fact that she is one of the last true heels who understands that being hated is a lot more fun than being respected. She has earned her spot in the Hall of Fame ten times over, and if The Miz has to shout it from the rooftops every time he does an interview, then so be it. The man is just tired of seeing greatness go unacknowledged while we all obsess over the next shiny new thing from the indies.

We’ve got Backlash coming up in a week, and I’m willing to bet that whatever Miz and Maryse are doing—whether they are on the card or just walking the red carpet—it will be more memorable than half the matches we see. That is the Maryse effect. It’s loud, it’s expensive, it’s probably a little bit annoying, and it is exactly what professional wrestling needs. So, give her the credit. Or don't. She probably doesn't care anyway, as long as the check clears and the lighting is good. But the rest of us should know better.