By Rick Gardner, PWTorch specialist

There's an old saying in the wrestling business: "if it didn't happen on television, it didn't happen." This was ignored by the WWE on Saturday night when The Miz and John Morrison became World Tag Team Champions, defeating the underwhelming combination of C.M. Punk and Kofi Kingston on a house show in Ontario.

Vladimir Kosloz may have won "Break Out Star" at the Slammys this week, but Morrison and The Miz have had an outstanding 2008 without the protection from creative that the Moscow Mauler is accustomed to. Indeed, that the young team has become a fixture on all three WWE brands speaks volumes about their worth to the WWE.

John Morrison and The Miz formed their alliance in November 2007, winning the WWE Tag Team Championship from MVP and Matt Hardy. In subsequent weeks it became obvious that the two of them had the required chemistry to last over the long term. Their title run lasted all the way to The Great American Bash in July, but in losing the championships they gained the freedom to appear on Raw, Smackdown and ECW on a weekly basis.

In an age where WWE television is meticulously scripted by a team of writers, creative freedom is offered to wrestlers looking to hone their characters in the form of WWE.com. John Morrison and The Miz use this platform to broadcast their weekly video show called "The Dirt Sheet," in which they mock their fellow WWE superstars.

The humor is hit and miss, but the show has enabled them to develop their on-screen personalities and has been a key factor in their ascent toward the upper mid-card. The show garnered so much attention that it made the move to television, becoming a semi-regular segment.

John Morrison and The Miz are the epitome of a team whose worth together is greater than the sum of their individual parts. Morrison held the Intercontinental and ECW titles prior to the formation of the team, but he had become the victim of a stop-start push. It seemed that The Miz would never be considered a true contender by WWE management.

As a team they have been involved in some high-profile feuds, including a rivalry with D-Generation X. They mocked Shawn Michaels and Triple H about their age and dress sense, and were made to look like stars during the mini-feud. However, they were defeated on the 800th Episode Celebration Raw, as expected.

On Monday night, the WWE recognized John Morrison and The Miz as their tag team of the year. The duo has truly had a remarkable 2008, capped off by the title win in Ontario. If the WWE continues their push, and resists the temptation to split the team up, 2009 promises to be even better.

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