WWE/TNA Mark Madness 2011: No. 1 Seed Falls, Angle Rallies to Knock Off CM Punk

The Sweet 16 has concluded, although the milestone round did not come and go without claiming its own set of upsets. 

The most notable upset came during the marquee matchup between CM Punk and Kurt Angle, a match that saw Punk claim an early lead through the first couple of hundred votes only to have the lead quickly evaporate en route to an impressive win by Kurt Angle. 

The field is now down to eight, with three of the four number one seeds still left standing and all four remaining matchups in the Elite Eight subject to 'pickem' status. 

Sweet 16 Headlines

Kurt Angle rallies to Knock off No. 2 seed (5th overall) CM Punk. The rather definitive victory of Kurt Angle (13) over CM Punk (5) can easily be considered an upset given Angle's status as an out of his prime (although still very good) veteran in a second string company up against an Internet darling who is also pushed as a top star in WWE. 

The early numbers of Punk-Angle were indicative of what would happen in any 5/13 matchup with CM Punk Controlling over 60% of the vote. However, Angle quickly came back, usurping a comfortable double digit lead and holding on it for the remainder of the contest. 

Cinderellas, Internet Icons, Bounced. Although a small handful of Cinderellas made it into the Sweet 16, each of these low seeded overachievers were bounced from the tournament in decisive fashion. The Pope (26), Sheamus (32), and Christian (30) were all eliminated from the 2011 Mark Madness tournament, with only Christian's late surge against Randy Orton showing any semblance of drama. 

As mentioned already, Internet stud CM Punk was also bounced from the tourney, which is peculiar considering the fact that Internet fans are the ones voting in this tournament. Meanwhile, John Cena, a frequent target of Internet tirades, continues his winning ways as he cruised past Alberto Del Rio. 

With Daniel Bryan, Christian, and CM Punk now gone from the tournament, this could be an instance of Internet fans being honest with themselves and doing right by the criteria of this tournament. That, or perhaps these fans don't hate John Cena (and, for that matter, love CM Punk) as much as they let on. To quote Mr. Ashley Morris, Just Sayin'.  

First No. 1 seed falls as Mr. Anderson gets handled by the Undertaker. Although Ken Anderson was a No. 1 seed (3rd overall) in this tournament, he definitely had to be considered the underdog against the Undertaker given Taker's prestige in professional wrestling lure. 

Over half of you predicted that Anderson was the most vulnerable No. 1 seed left in the tournament, and ultimate tournament votes validated this school of thought as the Undertaker rolled to an easy victory with 68.5% of the vote.   

A.J. Styles quietly putting together possible championship run. Lost in all the hype and hoopla of marquee matchups and tournament upsets, No. 8 overall seed A.J. Styles has put together a nice string of wins and is in prime position to seriously contend for the tournament championship. 

Styles handled former WWE Champion with 69.2% of the vote in the Sweet 16 round, but not before taking out longtime rival Samoa Joe in a similarly easy victory. Lying ahead is World Champion and No. 1 seed (4th overall) Edge, who has been equally (although not as quietly) impressive coming off of a solid win over Triple H.

Elite Eight Matchups to watch

All of them.  With so many strong seeds making it to the Elite Eight round, anything can and will happen. All Elite Eight opponents have previously met before in high profile feuds sometime during their careers, with the exception being an inter-promotional match between Edge and A.J. Styles. 

Jeff Hardy feuded with the Undertaker as part of his first real singles push with the fed.  Miz and Randy Orton just came off a WWE Championship feud that spanned over two pay-per-views and saw Miz capture the WWE Championship. Cena cut his teeth in WWE feuding with Kurt Angle both before and during his rapper gimmick.

Needless to say, the Elite Eight round has 'too close to call' written all over it. 

The Elite Eight Round is now live! Click here to vote for who you think should be in the Final Four now! Follow Big Nasty on twitter, @ThisIsNasty, for up to the minute analysis and coverage of the 2011 Mark Madness wrestling tournament.