The Miz and John Cena have faced off before in some high profile matches, but none of this magnitude and none with The Miz in such firm control leading up to the bout.
Last time Cena and Miz properly feuded The Miz was nothing more than a cocky upstart desperately trying to break into the main event picture by singling out a beaten and broken down John Cena.
This time around though, he's the WWE Champion, he's got himself a pretty talented accomplice in the form of Alex Riley and he's all set to take the fight to John Cena at the top of the WrestleMania XXVII card.
The Miz's Road to WrestleMania XXVII
The Miz had barely stepped foot in the main event picture until winning the Raw brand's Money in the Bank match on July 18th 2010, which earned him a title shot whenever and wherever he wanted.
That's not to say that The Awesome One came from nowhere. Miz had a very successful first half of 2010, being both a Tag Team Champion (with The Big Show) and United States Champion at the same time.
However it was the Money in the Bank victory that really pushed him into the top tier and after holding onto the briefcase for over four months he finally cashed it in against a severely weakened Randy Orton to claim the WWE Championship for the first and to date only time.
Since then, along with help from Alex Riley and in one particular instance Michael Cole, The Miz has managed to fight off challenges from former champion Randy Orton and WWE Hall of Famer Jerry 'The King' Lawler to make it to WrestleMania with the gold.
John Cena's Road to WrestleMania
As 2010 became 2011 it looked like the WWE Creative Team were setting up rivalries between The Miz and Randy Orton, and John Cena and C.M Punk's New Nexus.
However, at The Royal Rumble C.M Punk and his newly acquired faction switched their focus from John Cena and instead interfered in Randy Orton's WWE Championship match, assisting The Miz in a successful title defence.
Less than a month later John Cena won Raw's #1 Contendership Elimination Chamber match and booked his place at WrestleMania against The Miz and the switch in feuds became complete.
Cena didn't have much time to focus on his WrestleMania opponent though, as The Rock had made a dramatic return just 6 days prior to Elimination Chamber and singled him out.
The Rock is WrestleMania's Guest Host
The big question mark in this bout revolves around WrestleMania's Guest Host; The Rock.
Mania having a guest host is unprecedented, and in the weeks following the big announcement there hasn't been any indication as to what The Rock's duties will be.
The one thing that has been apparent though, is The Rock's main focus is the WWE Championship match.
For weeks Cena and The Rock threw insults at each other, despite not actually coming face to face, with Cena even breaking out his old Rapping Heel gimmick to draw some big heat from the crowd.
Unfortunately for Cena, focusing all his attention on The Rock allowed The Miz to get the better of him on a number of occasions, even dressing as The Rock at one point to get the jump on the #1 contender.
The Miz Vs. The Rock Vs. John Cena
Eventually all three men came face to face in the middle of the ring, just 6 days prior to WrestleMania on Raw.
The trio traded insults before a fight broke out.
The Rock got the better of Alex Riley and The Miz, hitting the WWE Champion with a DDT and a People's Elbow, but didn't notice Cena sneak back into the ring behind him.
Cena seized his opportunity and hit The Rock with an Attitude Adjustment, leaving things up in the air going into WrestleMania.
What to Expect from John Cena Vs. The Miz at WrestleMania XXVII
The creative team have done a great job of keeping Miz and Cena apart in the run up to WrestleMania and the match is likely to benefit from this as it should be fresh yet with some real substance.
The last time Miz and Cena feuded it produced some very solid matches, albeit quite one sided affairs and at WrestleMania the fans will be hoping for more of the same, but it's likely Miz will have much more of a say this time, especially with Alex Riley in his corner.
The Rock HAS to show up at some point in this match, or the writers risk anarchy from the WWE Universe, but what exactly his involvement will be relies heavily on whether he is actually going to stay around as he has suggested.
If he is planning to stay on then a slice of revenge for the Attitude Adjustment he tasted on Raw would be the most likely cause of action for The Great One, either during the match to assist The Miz, or afterwards to keep himself distanced from the heelish champion while still setting up a feud with Cena.
If he isn't planning on staying a swerve to help Cena seems more likely, with a handshake and a 'well done' after the bell.
Prediction:
Almost every member of the WWE Universe is likely to want The Rock to stick around, so the perfect outcome would be anything that kept him involved and set up a rivalry with John Cena.
While a Miz victory would cement him as a true main eventer, the word from the top is that WWE owner Vince McMahon still isn't convinced he's ready to be so high up the card and if he's run out of chances this could be the end of the road for the Awesome One's first WWE Championship run.
Jay Davies - Jay Davies is a 25 year old graduate of the University of Lincoln's School of Journalism, currently residing in South Yorkshire, ...
