WWE/TNA Mark Madness 2011: Round Two Underway Highlighted by Sting V. Miz

Round one of the 2011 Mark Madness Tournament has come to a close, with the only real shocker coming by way of a monumental upset of arguably the greatest in-ring performer of all time.

Ric Flair (No. 21 overall seed) was bounced from the tournament in a first-round blowout, compliments of the upstart 44th seeded Ezekiel Jackson. 

Flair's early exit is clearly indicative of the fact that he's lost his legendary luster with today's Internet crowd, as he continues to sully his legacy with bloody street fights and other unnecessary matches. 

15th-seeded Jeff Jarrett survived a scare from 50th-seeded James Storm, edging TNA's Cowboy with 51.4 percent of the vote, which is an alarming sign for someone seeded as high as Jarrett. 

Jarrett's win creates a very interesting matchup between him and 31st-seed Matt Hardy, who survived his own war against 34th-seeded R-Truth and also has gained a measurable amount of online detractors over the past year. 

Trends 

Favorites dominate.  The favorites rolled in round one as expected.  Triple H (12) and Kofi Kingston (23) had a bit of trouble getting out of the gate, but both would go on to enjoy comfortable victories. 

With the exception of Ric Flair's aforementioned loss to Ezekiel Jackson, every favorite won their match, usually in a blowout.  The biggest blowout belonged to (six) Randy Orton who devoured Orlando Jordan (59) in a matchup that probably would have looked similar to the late Chris Benoit's 25.5 second victory over Jordan at SummerSlam 2005.

WWE over TNA.  Of the 32 first round matchups, 18 pitted a WWE wrestler against a TNA wrestler.  In those 18 contests, WWE wrestlers went 14-4.  WrestleMania season is in full swing and WWE is receiving mainstream buzz for appearances from the Rock and (soon to be) Snooki. 

Meanwhile, TNA aired a pay-per-view tonight that few knew was even booked until the go-home show.  The striking contrast accounts for at least part of the reason as to why WWE wrestlers have excelled in their inter-promotional matches. 

Notable Matches for Round Two

With the first round relatively anti-climactic, expect more fireworks starting in round two.  Round two features a handful of intriguing matchups pitting both fan favorites and Internet pariahs against one another. 

Round two will be highlighted with a salivating matchup between the Miz and Sting, as the WWE and TNA world champions do battle for the right to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.  Here's a list of some other matchups to keep an eye on:

(1) John Cena vs. (17) John Morrison.  Both Morrison and Cena won their first round tilts decisively.  Now the number one overall seed will face John Morrison, who is very popular in online circles and could be dangerous. 

(9) Alberto Del Rio vs. (25) Daniel Bryan.  Bryan is a certified dark horse in this tournament with his Internet following, but Del Rio is white-hot on his way to WrestleMania and as the No. 9 overall seed, he'll be a force. 

(8) A.J. Styles vs. (24) Samoa Joe.  How many great matches have these two had in some variation?  Now, two of TNA's most popular stars will meet in round two looking to further represent a brand that has been wounded thus far in this tournament. 

(14) RVD vs. (30) Christian.  Another match between two wrestlers who are about equal in the popularity department on the Internet.  Christian has overachieved thus far as the 30th overall seed, but RVD will be a significant step up in competition compared to Abyss.

Round 2 is currently underway!  Voting ends at Midnight EST tomorrow, March 14.  Click here to vote and follow Big Nasty on twitter, @ThisIsNasty, for up-to-the-minute updates and analysis on Mark Madness.