WWE Capitol Punishment 2011: Five Superstars with the Most to Prove

The June 2011 pay-per-view event, Capitol Punishment, is five days away. With recent news that pay-per-view buy rates are approaching all-time lows, many wonder whether or not Capitol Punishment will be able to create a buzz that encourages fans to purchase it and future WWE pay-per-views. A movement to create fresh matches and storylines, however, has led to a main event picture with fewer major stars and more up-and-coming talent than one would anticipate for a company coming off what can only be considered embarrassing buyrate numbers.

For the sake of future pay-per-view numbers, it is important that several key WWE Superstars put in impressive performances. Some of those Superstars are established main event attractions, and others are newcomers to the top of the card. Whatever the case, if they fail to impress, the numbers associated with event buys could very well crash before the end of the summer.

Wade Barrett

There are few WWE Superstars who started their careers as hot as Wade Barrett did, only to fall into near obscurity just twelve short months later.

The former leader of Nexus, Barrett immediately became the most visible main event heel on Monday Night Raw. He was featured in several high-profile pay-per-view main events, including a WWE Championship Match with Randy Orton at Survivor Series and a Chairs Match with John Cena at TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. Unfortunately for Barrett, following his loss to Cena in December, he quickly became lost in the shuffle on Friday Night Smackdown.

For whatever reason, Wade Barrett and the Corre have been like fish out of water on Friday nights—hardly the entertaining, refreshing faction that they were on Mondays. With the group recently disbanded and Barrett now left on his own, one can only wonder if Wade can regain the confidence and momentum he has lost in recent months and make a push towards the main event, World Heavyweight Championship picture on Friday nights.

At Capitol Punishment, Barrett must remind WWE fans and the creative team of just what they saw in him that resulted in his place at the top of the card. It is absolutely imperative that he carry, drag even, Ezekiel Jackson to, at the very least, a passable match. A bad outing for either man could result in the death of any push Barrett could hope for coming out of this June pay-per-view event. It is easier said than done but Barrett has surprised in the past, pulling decent matches out against lesser opponents.

Alex Riley

The push for Alex Riley as a featured babyface on Monday Night Raw is, arguably, something few imagined they would see.

When Alex Riley split from the Miz on the May 23, 2011, he immediately became one of the more popular Superstars on the Monday night program. Few could have expected the reaction the NXT Season 2 alumnus received and continues to generate from the WWE Universe. The apprentice of the self-absorbed, cocky former WWE Champion, Riley had enough of the Miz and his attitude and did what every fan wished they could: took out his frustrations with hard rights and lefts to the side of Miz's skull.

Capitol Punishment is the most important match of Alex Riley's career. There is no questioning or denying it. Riley's career will either evolve or become stagnant based on what he does Sunday night with the Miz. If Riley cannot prove himself capable of stepping up to the plate and hitting a home run in his first major singles bout as the company's fresh new fan favorite, he may very well find himself wasting away in the mid- or under-card on Raw for the rest of the year. If he can, in fact, escape this Sunday's event with a quality performance against Miz, Riley may step forward in establishing himself as a future WWE Championship-quality competitor.

R-Truth

Credit: WWE.com

R-Truth is the most unlikely main event heel in the last six years. Not since John Bradshaw Layfield broke out of the curtain-jeriking undercard of the Smackdown brand in 2004 has a Superstar risen to prominence as quickly as R-Truth.

Since turning heel in May, Truth has arguably become the most entertaining performer in the entire company. A former mid-card act that played to the crowd, rapping "What's Up," Truth's act became stale. Unable to capture the crowd's imagination, many wondered whether or not the former NWA Heavyweight Champion would find himself unemployed come Spring of 2011.

Instead of being unemployed, R-Truth has reinvented himself. He is now one of the top Superstars in the entire company and a fresh, new, interesting main event addition. His nearly-psychotic character has been responsible for some of the more interesting and intriguing moments in recent weeks, and his constant speaking of "Little Jimmy" has already caught on in a way that "What's Up" never did.

R-Truth is in the position to truly break free from the chains of the mid-card and permanently take his place in the WWE Championship picture on Monday Night Raw. For him to do that, he must prove to the creative team, to the fans, and most importantly, to Vince McMahon, that he is capable of handling the pressure that comes with such a high-profile spot on the card. If he cannot hang with John Cena during their match at Capitol Punishment, if he cannot provide the in-ring work to back up his stellar microphone work over the last two months, then the entire experiment of elevating Truth would have been for naught.

John Cena

Credit: WWE.com

There is absolutely no doubt that John Cena is "the guy" in the WWE.

With that said, Cena will have to remind people just why he is "the guy" and why he is often trusted with the main event, final match position on WWE pay-per-view events. Let's face it: Cena's pay-per-view offerings this year, especially in singles competition, have been less than stellar. For a Superstar that typically delivers in the main event spot, Cena's matches on pay-per-view this year have been disappointing. This month, not only must Cena prove he can rebound from previous showings to provide a quality WWE Championship match, he must do so with a talent who has only sniffed the main event since arriving in the company.

As detailed in the previous slide, R-Truth's stay in the main event depends on his performance at Capitol Punishment. It also depends on the job John Cena does to help get him over as a threat to him and the WWE Championship. If Cena cannot help pull Truth to his level, if he cannot break out of his slump and craft a main event that will immediately force fans to sit up and take notice of the new heel that is chasing after his gold, then Truth will cease to be relavent.

Christian

Unlike last month at Over the Limit, when Christian had to prove he was capable of performing at a main event level, this month, he must prove that he can grow into his role as main event heel and craft a completely different match with Randy Orton than his two previous, Match of the Year candidates.

Christian's heel turn has officially made him the second biggest star on the Smackdown brand and one of the hottest performers in the entire company. He has become the anti-Cena, with males 18+ cheering him and the women and children chanting "Christian sucks" at his every move. Almost self-intitled, he believes his World Championship was taken from him unjustly only five days after he won it at Extreme Rules. Not quite whining, the fans have shown an intolerance for his new attitude.

Christian's mic work has been spectacular in two appearances since officially turning heel on the June 3 edition of Smackdown. What Christian must prove at Capitol Punishment is that he can dig into his bag of tricks and once again pull out his heel in-ring work that WWE fans have not been exposed to since 2005. Through parts of 2007 and 2008, Christian played an effective heel in TNA but he has yet to be portrayed as a "bad guy" since returning to WWE.

Christian's situation is more delicate than that of any other Superstar on this list. It is well-documented that Vince McMahon does not trust Christian as a main event performer in his company. If Christian cannot successfully adapt his in-ring work to his new status as a heel, McMahon will not likely hesitate in yanking him from the title picture on Smackdown. With Sheamus, Wade Barrett, and potentially Mark Henry waiting in the wings, Vince will plug someone else against Orton if he feels as though Christian cannot perform to his expectations.