The Miz fires back at his critics and the next generation shines: WWE happenings for the week

More big happenings in the WWE this week, as Raw tries to pick up the pieces following Finn Balor's SummerSlam injury and the Smackdown brand debuts two new title belts: the Smackdown Women's Championship and their very own tag team titles.

Smackdown was the superior wrestling show this week with AJ Styles winning a helluva match with Dolph Ziggler to become the #1 contender to Ambrose's title, but the best bit of action occurred on the WWE Network's Talking Smack post-game show.

After Daniel Bryan accused the Miz of working a cowardly style in the ring, the Intercontinental Champ spat some serious venom in a promo reminiscent of C.M. Punk's infamous "pipe bomb" promo from 2011.

This is the kind of thing I like to see. Blending reality and fantasy in a way that actually has fans wondering if they went off the script (Spoiler alert: It's all a work, man), The Miz showed he has some legit fire in his belly. I don't know exactly what a feud with Bryan will lead to in the ring, but if it launches Miz into the top heel spot for a bit, I'm all for it.

I can't believe I'm about to type this . . . but . . . I think we've been taking The Miz for granted.

Moving on to NXT for this week, we were treated to some matches that were taped during the Brooklyn show. Tye Dillinger and his sweet new jacket got a huge reaction from the live crowd as he put away former tag teamer Wesley Blake. Then, The Mighty Don't Kn--uh, I mean TM-61 faced The Authors of Pain in a hard-hitting match. The Authors simply overpowered their foes, positioning them as the new Ascension for NXT.

(Let's hope they don't get booked as poorly as The Ascension did once they made it to the main roster.)

Meanwhile, the Cruiserweight Classic marches on, with Rich Swann taking on Lince Dorado. This was a medly of high spots and strange holds. Swann picked up the win after a big splash right onto Dorado's face. Ouch. Following that, Zack Sabre Jr. took on Drew Gulak. Gulak played a classic disrespectful heel here, even slapping Zack's handshake away at the start of the match. Gulak kept up the heelish tendencies with lots of slaps and shoves. ZSJ unleashes an entire arsenal of submission holds, some of which you don't see on this side of the Atlantic that often; I love the different styles that are emerging in this tournament. ZSJ used a strange pinning bridge to put Gulak away, and the bad guy made good by finally accepting that handshake. Aww, shucks!

Johnny Gargano vs. T.J. Perkins was the last match of round two. Johnny Wrestling earned his nickname "Johnny Wrestling" by displaying a plethora of grapples and strikes. The match devolved into a superkick party (Don't tell Matt and Nick Jackson!) until Perkins made Gargano tap with a heel hook. Great match, but no one has topped that Kota Ibushi showcase from a few weeks ago.

With Smackdown adding two new titles and the crowning of a cruiserweight champion on the horizon, there's plenty of gold to be sought in the 'E. But what do you think, dear reader? Are the brands distinct enough yet? Are their respective rosters strong enough? Howabout that Miz promo?

Thanks for reading and hit me up in the comments or via Twitter (@ChrisBComics).