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Credit: WWE.com

Dolph Ziggler and The Miz's battle over the Intercontinental Championship on WWE SmackDown shouldn't be this good.

On paper, it's a tired midcard rivalry. Fans had seen Ziggler vs. The Miz 13 times on pay-per-view and TV before this year, per CageMatch.net. It was a clash of a Superstar many had given up on in Ziggler and a perennially underappreciated showman in The Miz.

But superior storytelling and put-it-all-out-there performances have transformed this feud into a blueprint for what wrestling rivalries should look like.

It's surreal how much of a hit this has been for SmackDown. PWSteam tweeted, "Continues to blow my mind how WWE have managed to make a Miz-Ziggler feud in 2016 absolutely unmissable."

WWE has achieved that surprise result by sticking to booking basics, finding ways to up the stakes and leaning on hungry, talented stars.

Ziggler and The Miz stole the show at No Mercy on Oct. 9, creating the night's most compelling bout. The enemies delivered a strong match at the Backlash PPV in September before that.

And Ziggler and The Miz's bad blood has been the best thing going on SmackDown for weeks.

There is no mystery why this has all clicked so much. Unraveling the narrative reveals how WWE laid Ziggler vs. The Miz atop a foundation of fundamentals.