Due to injury, yeah.
He also lost in the WWE Championship match at the Rumble, then proceeded to get jobbed out for the next 5 months. He's stuck in this stupid cycle of "here's a big push, show us what you got", then "lol nope."
A win at MitB establishes him as a main eventer for years to come. Something the WWE desperately needs with a roster so thin right now. Nobody will take him seriously if they sweep him under the rug yet again.
Yes, because the wins by Swagger and Miz set then up as MEs for years to come. In fact it ended Swaggers career. Same thing it would do to Dolph or Cody.