WWE Vengeance 2011 Results: 10 Things I Loved and Hated

WWE Vengeance is in the books and, suffice to say, the pay-per-view lived past its modest hype. 

The wrestling-heavy pay-per-view had its share of twists, turns and unforgettable high spots that will leave many people talking about what was otherwise a low-profile offering from the WWE. 

Heading into Survivor Series, there was a series of things I felt the WWE did right and wrong during what was a mildly successful pay-per-view in terms of quality.  

Loved: Wrestling Featured Prominently During the Pay-Per-View

With eight matches announced on the card, it could have been safe to assume that many matches would be rushed throughout the card, but the WWE did a good job of pacing out each match so that it was afforded proper time to tell a meaningful story. 

Such a wrestling-heavy show made it easier to watch, even if the always inept commentary team of Booker T, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler weren't necessarily interested in getting their product over. 

Hated: The Announce Team/Commentary Throughout the Night

As always, Lawler, Cole and Booker T contributed commentary worthy of changing the channel to Sunday Night Football, even if it was a blowout (...a blowout that earned my fantasy team almost 200 points, mind you.)

When they weren't ironically arguing over who talks the most, Cole was taking unnecessary pot shots at Jim Ross as the WWE continues to undermind its own attempt at an anti-bullying message in petty efforts that are so subtle to the casual fan that their able to easily escape criticism from sucker, shell organizations like B.A. Star. 

Loved: The Emphasis on Dolph Ziggler

It has become quite apparent that the WWE is focused on building new stars on the RAW and SmackDown brands in Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes, respectively. 

Rhodes didn't have such a good night (we'll get to that later), but Ziggler was featured heavily as he competed in the first two matches and was able to pull off a victory despite working a 12-minute match with Air Boom. 

I've never been a huge fan of Ziggler, but he's growing on me by the week. 

Hated: The Placement of the Cody Rhodes-Randy Orton Match

Rhodes and Orton's match at Vengeance was one of the more soundly developed storylines heading into the pay-per-view, but not only did the match receive little to no fanfare, it was slotted in the comedown point directly after CM Punk and Triple H had lost to the Miz and R-Truth. 

This match did no favors for Orton, who's star has fallen considerably since losing the World Championship at Night of Champions, and would have made an otherwise huge would-be Rhodes win come off as inconsequential. 

By the time Orton pulled off the victory, it seemed like just another match. 

Loved: The Diva's Championship Match Between Eve and Beth Phoenix

Eve and Beth Phoenix worked very well together, and Eve utilizing Jiu-Jitsu maneuvers to compliment her background made the action that much better. 

There were points during that match where it legitimately seemed like Eve was going to pull off the victory, and this worked in getting the crowd emotionally invested in the match right up to a competent finish of Beth Phoenix hitting the glam slam after overcoming some serious offense from Eve Torres. 

Hated: Kevin Nash's Interference During the Triple H-CM Punk/Awesome Truth Match

Kevin Nash had strongly suggested in interviews that he would be returning to the ring sometime soon, and this past Sunday Nash made a return that was about as unheralded as the Vengeance pay-per-view itself. 

Following a sloppy-looking jacknife powerbomb that may have legitimately hurt Triple H, Nash was shown on camera struggling to get out of the ring, and then the arena.

This wasn't a brisk walk anymore, it was more of a turtle crawl as Nash moved slower than a love scene from a softcore adult film. 

Loved: The Match Between Sheamus and Christian

Christian looks so good in losing efforts that you almost forget the fact that he hasn't won a pay-per-view matchup since July. 

The two were given plenty of time for a back-and-forth match that once again showcased how well they work together.  

Sheamus' clean victory over Christian made Sheamus look like that much more of a contender, and despite the fact that Henry and Big Show may not have resolved their differences, I would have no problem seeing Sheamus re-enter the World Title Picture. 

Hated: CM Punk Being Pinned Again

Looking at this from the standpoint of a jaded wrestling analyst, if the plan is to have CM Punk battle Del Rio for the WWE Championship, the WWE has done a poor job heating up Punk for this "full-blown" push that I've been hearing about. 

After this Sunday's pay-per-view, CM Punk has now been pinned in three consecutive pay-per-view matches since winning the title in July, rendering him a rather weak challenger at this point regardless of the tainted finishes. 

Pair that with Del Rio as a relatively weak champion who is far from the focus of RAW and hardly goes over clean, and WWE will have tough sledding selling that program. 

Loved: The Broken Ring Spot from the Big Show-Mark Henry Match

Hardly anyone was looking forward to yet another matchup between the Big Show and Mark Henry, myself included, but I'll be the first one to say that those two stole the show and had arguably the best match on the card. 

Even before the show-stealing spot where they broke the ring with a superplex from Mark Henry, the two had a back-and-forth clash of the titans that saw well-paced nearfalls after the world's strongest slam and two chokeslams.

Henry and Show breaking the ring was the icing on the cake, and made for easily the biggest pop of the night. 

Loved: The WWE Championship Match Inside the Confines of a Broken Ring

An otherwise uninspiring match on-paper that already seemed to have been overdone was made more interesting as John Cena and Alberto Del Rio were forced to compete in the ring that had just been broken by Mark Henry and the Big Show.

The two used the broken ring for a handful of nifty spots like Cena throwing Del Rio from the ring into the barricade Ricardo Rodriguez' "crotched" spot on an abandoned steel post. 

The match itself was very well done, and even though Del Rio was aided by Miz and Truth in the end, he still came off relatively strong as he defeated Cena in a last man standing match.