WWE Opinion: Kelly Kelly, Sin Cara and the 20 Worst Pay-Per-View Matches of 2011

2011 had its moments, but it definitely saw its share of low points in terms of the quality of in-ring matches.  As part of a saturated business model as it pertains to wrestling content, many matches suffered from poor build-up, the absence of novelty for marquee matches and flat-out poor execution.

While good to great wrestling matches were few and far between, last year also saw its share of mediocre performances in the ring, making losers out of performers, paying customers and their bank accounts. 

20. Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger: Capitol Punishment

This wasn't a bad matchup on paper, and the in-ring work was serviceable, but this unadvertised match between two midcard with zero momentum was a shining example of how crowd interest—or lack thereof—can severely hurt a wrestling match. 

Bourne and Swagger performed admirably in the filler role, but by the end of their forgettable tilt all that can be heard was the flushing of stadium toilets as fans prepared for what they actually paid to see. 

19. Ezekiel Jackson vs. Wade Barrett: Capitol Punishment

Wade Barrett's head-scratching de-emphasis for the first half of 2011 included a lackluster feud against Ezekiel Jackson as the two big man tried their best to put forth some semblance of chemistry in the ring. 

Barrett and Jackson's matches as a whole weren't as bad as advertised, but they weren't particularly good and did little to further the career of either individual in the grand scheme of things.

18. John Cena vs. the Miz: Over the Limit 2011

John Cena and the Miz had a hit-or-miss feud designed to elevate the Miz as a top star, but in hindsight this feud hurt the Miz more than it helped. 

Miz was the forgotten man as WWE Champion going into WrestleMania 27 with Cena and Rock exchanging a war of words over his head.  Following a borderline meaningless WrestleMania win, Miz's credibility as a legit WWE Champion would only continue to degenerate until he eventually lost the title at WWE Extreme Rules. 

The Miz did all he could to look tough in his Passion-of-the-Christ-like match "I Quit" match against John Cena.  Everybody in the building knew the finish of the match as Miz dominated throughout on offense with Cena refusing to quit. 

A pre-recording of Cena saying he quit was then played over the PA as Miz seemingly regained the WWE Championship, however the referee overturned the decision leading to a quick Cena comeback for the win. 

It was a typical finish for a match that was difficult to watch as Miz's extended offense seemed to take the air out of the KeyArena.

17. Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett: Tables, Laders, Chairs

Randy Orton and Wade Barrett had a solid rivalry that has since helped restore credibility for Barrett.  Their tables match at the TLC pay-per-view, however, was not one of their bright spots.  

The forced tables stipulation did little to make this match any better as the two brawled their way to a slow, so-so contest saved by a strong finish. 

16. Eve vs. Beth Phoenix: Survivor Series

Beth Phoenix's legacy in the WWE will always be compromised by the lack of elite women's wrestlers in the WWE Divas division. 

While Eve is actually the lesser of many evils within that division, the two struggled through a quick Lumberjill match. 

The highlight of their match came at the finish where Phoenix connected with a never-before-seen Glam Slam from the top rope. 

15. John Cena vs. R-Truth: Capitol Punishment

R-Truth's career as a reliable midcard babyface saw a renaissance following a heel turn where he would evolve into an entertainingly delusional villain whose actions were dominated by an allegorical 'Lil' Jimmy' Character.

Unfortunately, Truth's entertaining heel run earned him a match with Cena that seemed to go through the motions as Cena took the brunt of Truth's offense only to come back at the match's conclusion. 

14. Kane & Big Show vs. Wade Barrett & Ezekiel Jackson: Extreme Rules

This match was everything it was billed to be on paper, which wasn't much. 

The match was kept short, one of its few highlights, however it figured to be a waste of the talents of all four principles involved. 

To make matters worse, lumberjacks were littered along the ring who had little to do with the outcome of the match itself.  This supported the popular theory that otherwise floundering talent were simply being afforded a pay-per-view payday.

13. Triple H vs. Kevin Nash: Tables, Ladders, Chairs

The feud between Triple H and Kevin Nash featured a shotty build-up period as both former world champions were in and out of television leading up to their match. 

While both men worked hard in their eventual showdown, the match was compromised by two slow-moving individuals who had limited in-ring competition in 2011. 

Triple H finally started to show signs that of physically wearing down as he attempted to carry his longtime friend to a passable match. 

12. Triple H vs. CM Punk: WWE Night of Champions

There was very little wrong with match between CM Punk and Triple H as the two worked well together in a brawl-friendly contest. 

However the finish was so bad that it dragged down the overall quality of the match to the point of ridiculousness.

Outside interference conspired to ruin an otherwise good match as Triple H was able to finally defeat Punk following a revolving door of run-ins—a door that may as well have belonged to a Denny's as it never quite seemed to close.  

With every run-in, more confusion ensued as the match quickly became a microcosm of how it was booked with far too many cooks in the kitchen and too many egos. 

11. Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase: Night of Champions

This Intercontinental title defense was not only poorly received by the fans in attendance, but DiBiase and Rhodes surprisingly struggled to find chemistry in the ring despite their history with one another. 

The feud between the two seemed rush following a brief alliance on SmackDown between the former Legacy Members before DiBiase was unceremoniously defeated. 

10. Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly: Over the Limit

Given the lack of depth in the WWE Divas division in terms of talent, the combination of bad matchups are almost endless, and Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly was no exception. 

Little time was given to this buffer of a match, but it was especially hurt by Kharma's seemingly inevitable arrival cast an ominous shadow of the match's brief duration. 

Fans sat on their hands waiting for that moment where the imposing Diva would finally make her appearance after weeks of terrorizing the Divas division, but surprisingly Kharma was nowhere to be seen as it would later be revealed that her surprise pregnancy would keep her out of action indefinitely.  

9. Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler: WrestleMania XXVII

The build-up between Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler's WrestleMania match was brilliant, which is probably why the match disappointed so many as it was overshadowed by a strong lead-in. 

Cole spent the majority of the build-up period being obnoxious and unlikeable like only he could, leading up to a marquee WrestleMania match where fans lined up to see him finally get what was coming to him. 

The stage was set for Cole comeuppance, however the Georgia Dome was instead treated to a confusingly competitive match that drew 'boring' chants at one point. 

Cole's ill-advised offensive assault slowed the match down, and even when Lawler was able to recover and eventually win, the decision was reversed in what proved to be an overbooked ripoff. 

8. Michael Cole and Jack Swagger vs. Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross: Extreme Rules

Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler's feud dragged on to Extreme Rules as Jim Ross and Jack Swagger joined the fun with a Country Whippin' match. 

With two non-wrestlers now in the mix, the match was twice as bad as Lawler and Cole's WrestleMania match.

Of course, paying customers once again had to wait for Michael Cole comeuppance as Cole would score a cheap rollup victory for his team. 

7. Alex Riley vs. the Miz: Capitol Punishment

Alex Riley and the Miz were properly broken up with the Miz growing increasingly frustrated with Riley's miscues on a weekly basis. 

Fans were initially behind Riley as a babyface, but he was exposed as somewhat green and stiff in the ring and the crowd had a tough time getting behind it just two matches into the show.  Riley and Miz had a rough match at what may have been the worst pay-per-view of 2011 as Riley scored a victory.

6. Kane, Big Show, Santino, and Kofi Kingston vs. the Corre: WrestleMania XXVII

This match didn't even do its job in giving fans the proper amount of time to hit up concession stands and bathrooms. 

With a run time of 1:35, the match was pretty much over before it started as an unnecessary and crowded WrestleMania tag team match was settled quickly. 

5. Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly: Tables, Ladders, Chairs

Beth Phoenix tried her best but could not overcome Kelly Kelly's shortocomings in the ring as the feud between the two blondes continued to be mired in mediocre matches. 

Phoenix was able to retain her Divas Championship however Kelly Kelly's inability to run the ropes and poor selling curbed any potential this match had. 

4. Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero: Over the Limit

Sin Cara came into the WWE with a head of steam but was quickly cooled off as he struggled to adapt to the North American wrestling style, leading to multiple botches in his matches. 

Sin Cara was said to have cured his botch problem through a series of matches with Chavo Guerrero—whose handle on the Spanish language helped communication between the two—as the two reportedly received rave reviews for their work together at live events. 

Unfortunately, their match at Over the Limit contained familiar Sin Cara miscues, including a shaky finish as whispers began to develop of Sin Cara, a highly sought after Mexican sensation, being a bust. 

3. Alberto Del Rio vs. the Big Show: Capitol Punishment

Alberto Del Rio and the Big Show had a tough go of it in their Capitol Punishment match.  Del Rio was beginning to restore momentum as a WWE Championship contender, and seemed to be on pace for a victory over the Big Show however the Big Show rarely loses by pinfall so a sketchy finish was to be expected. 

Mark Henry would be the centerpiece of the inevitably sketchy finish as he attacked the Big Show, hitting the World's Strongest Slam through a table. 

After less than five minutes, Del Rio would go on to earn a victory after show was unable to continue due to leg injury.  Huh? 

2. Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara: Hell in a Cell

Sin Cara's quick fall from grace took an especially painful face plant as the Mexican sensation battled against an evil clone in yet another match that was supposed to get him on track, but instead continued his derailment. 

The 'evil' Sin Cara was played by WWE developmental wrestler and fellow Lucha Libre Hunico, which should have facilitated the chemistry that was missing with most of Sin Cara's WWE opponents.  However the fans quickly turned on the match as the original Sin Cara continued to flub his key moves right up until the match's merciful ending. 

1. The Miz vs. John Cena: WrestleMania XXVII

The Miz and John Cena's disappointing match at WrestleMania XXVII was magnified in that it closed the biggest show of the year. 

Leading up to last year's WrestleMania main event, the Miz was big footed by the return of the Rock as a possible Cena-Rock showdown had much more intrigue than the Miz-Cena main event that was being advertised.

The Rock's involvement on the card meant fans were waiting for his impending involvement in the Miz-Cena main event, which curbed fan interest in the match itself. 

Cena's apparent concussion early caused the match to suffer a downward spiral, and the double-disqualification at WrestleMania was just plain abysmal.

As expected the Rock would make his presence felt as the WrestleMania guest host restarted the match only to cost John Cena the WWE Championship with a Rock Bottom. 

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