WWE Vengeance 2011 Results: Lack of Title Changes Confuses but Entertains

The usual script for the WWE on their PPVs is a couple memorable spots, a few good matches, a title or two changing hands, and call it a day. 

Last night, though, they did something rather audacious.  

No titles changed hands. 

I realized this while I was typing up my recap last night.  The United States, Tag Team, Divas, World Heavyweight, and WWE Championships were all up for grabs. 

Par for the course would have been to target Dolph Ziggler, the reigning US Champ and longest running title-holder of the group, for pinfall and have Ryder reign for a while.

But none of that happened.

Ultimately, for the sake of the current story lines, this was the right call overall.

In the case of the Tag Team titles, putting the straps on Ziggler and Swagger would have been a sure sign that Dolph would lose the US Title.  While the WWE is currently high on Ziggler, I doubt they were high enough on him to pull double duty with the US and Tag Team belts

Kofi and Evan have done a good job thus far, reinvigorating a tag division that had fallen by the wayside in recent years.  Their enthusiasm and pride for the belts is infectious, their in-ring work is enjoyable, and the titles have meaning again.

Stripping them of the belts would have undone all the work.  

Dolph "Don't call me Malfoy" Ziggler pulled double duty in an impressive performance last night, ultimately taking the pin in the Tag Team match, then putting up the US strap against Zack Ryder.  This was a good match, but the title change here would have been the wrong call as well.

Ryder is a great underdog babyface and a burgeoning star for the WWE.  The "Long Island Perfection" feud is a good and unique one. The depth of the feud has been provided entirely over the Internet through the use of Twitter and YouTube. 

It's been enjoyable as hell.  However, to give the feud a bit more length, it was necessary for Ziggler to defeat Ryder. 

The Divas have a good feud!  I know this is weird, but stay with me. 

Beth and Eve put on a strong performance last night and built a rather heated feud through the use of social media.  Ultimately, the promo segment on SmackDown came off better then I was hoping, and the girls had been at it since it was announced Eve would challenge Beth for the title. 

That being said, Beth retaining was the right call.  Dropping the strap in favor of Eve would have eliminated any and all work they've done to build the "Sisters of Salvation".   With that, as noted above, this feud is not done.

The World Heavyweight Championship could not have changed hands last night.  Why?  Well, Big Show is a Raw brand talent for one.  The other is they are in a holding pattern with Henry until they execute the Sheamus-Henry feud. 

That said, this was a good match by the big men.

Finally, the WWE title had changed hands every few weeks since the summer, so Del Rio keeping the strap was needed to solidify the situation and stop the "Hot Potato" syndrome. 

The match between Alberto and Cena was a great one and helped to reassert the prestige of the title.  With Cena out of the title picture, things should open up for Punk to challenge the Aristocrat for the title.  

The WWE deviated from the normal formula last night, and it should pay off in the future. 

The last PPV that did not have a title change was Wrestlemania 27, so this isn't common.  A few folks noted they felt ripped off by the lack of title changes.

Keeping the titles with their current holders was the correct way to book the straps, however, and builds an investment to make the title changes, when they happen, all the more special.