main events. During this time, he got in a storyline where the Jung Dragons stalked him and tried to attack him, but Miller usually fended them off. In July 2000, Miller outlawed WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Scott Steiner's finisher, the Steiner Recliner, with the pretext of being too dangerous. Miller continued interfering in Steiner's reign, helping Mike Awesome during their fight in Bash at the Beach by disqualifying Steiner and stripping him of the title. Miller then feuded with yet another Japanese wrestler, The Great Muta, leading to a match at New Blood Rising. Although Muta used his Asian mist to blind Miller at one point, Ernest's ally Tygress interfered to hit Muta with a chair, which allowed Miller to land his finishing move for the victory. After this match, he started to slowly turn into a fan favorite due to the high fan reaction he was getting whenever he entered an arena, coming to a rivalry with Mike Sanders from the Natural Born Thrillers stable, who sought to be the new commissioner. Miller offered Sanders a kickboxing match for the role, something which naturally had Mike afraid, but he agreed. During the match, Miller dominated three rounds, but at the last one he was attacked by Sanders's partner Shane Douglas, who pulled him out of the ring and made him being counted out. Angry at losing the commissionership, Miller kept chasing Douglas for the next months, enlisting Miss Jones as his valet to counter Douglas' Torrie Wilson. Ernest and Douglas fought at Mayhem, where Miller won after Jones overpowered Wilson and gave Miller his old loaded red shoe, which he used to knock Shane out. Miller then became an enemy of Lance Storm, the leader of Team Canada, wrestling at Starrcade. The former karate champion had to endure many interferences from Major Gunns and Elix Skipper, but although he and Miss Jones kept them at bay, she accidentally knocked the referee out with a misguided kick, which allowed a reluctant Hacksaw Jim Duggan to attack Miller, making him lose. Right after, Team Canada turned on Duggan and beat him down, until Miller saved him. Ernest turned again to get the commissioner's spot and challenged Sanders for it, but Mike wanted none of it, bringing KroniK as mercenaries to take him down and putting the role on the line only if Miller accepted to give him Miss Jones's services.