WWE Survivor Series 2011: Why Alberto Del Rio Needs to Beat CM Punk and Retain

The WWE Championship will be on the line at Survivor Series when Alberto Del Rio takes on CM Punk.

Del Rio is in the midst of his second WWE title reign in the last few months, and Punk is looking to win the strap back from the same man who cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and beat him for the gold at SummerSlam.

On paper, this looks like a money match. You have one of the fastest-rising heels in WWE history (ADR) taking on one of the most popular wrestlers in the business (Punk).

Unfortunately, Punk vs. Del Rio has been watered down a bit because they’ve already faced each other in a singles match twice on episodes of Monday Night Raw since August, and they’ve also competed against one another in a couple of Triple Threat matches. 

I’m still looking forward to this bout, though, because the WWE has a chance to do something unheard of in today’s era, and that’s actually keeping the title on Del Rio at Survivor Series.

Look, I’m as big a Punk fan as anybody. But for the sake of the WWE, Del Rio and the prestige (or lack thereof) of the WWE Championship, Del Rio has to get the victory over Punk.

I know this will upset those who want to see Punk holding the WWE Championship for the first time since this summer, but do you really want to see the title change hands again?

In 2011 alone, the WWE title has been held by five different wrestlers—The Miz, Punk, Del Rio, John Cena and Rey Mysterio—for a total of eight reigns.

That’s absolutely ridiculous.

We know that the WWE brass doesn't value lengthy title reigns like they once used to, but the WWE Championship is beginning to have about as much value as a napkin. It means little to nothing when it’s treated like the easy college freshmen.

Still, I don’t think anyone in the WWE really cares about Del Rio having a long run with the strap just because they need to have a champion hold onto it for more than a month or two every once in a while. 

But if you’re not going to do it for the sake of the WWE title, then do it for the sake of Del Rio.

ADR’s first title reign lasted roughly a month, and it was 30-something days of horrendous booking. But the WWE put the strap back on him at Hell in a Cell seemingly to give him another chance as the main man on Raw.

So, then what do they do?

They have Del Rio face Cena in a Last Man Standing match at Vengeance and need the help of four men—The Miz, R-Truth, Ricardo Rodriguez and the referee—to get the victory.

But, oh, it gets worse.

The creative team then decided that it would be a brilliant idea to have Del Rio lose clean to The Big Show—an established veteran who’s been around since 1999—on this Monday’s episode of Raw.

I just don’t get it. I really don’t.

The guys in the WWE have this notion that it’s purely the superstar’s fault if he flops as a World champion. It’s usually not—nine times out of 10, it’s the fault of the booking.

You book Del Rio like a douchebag of a champion, then guess what he’s going to be. Yep, a d-bag champion.

I can’t for the life of me understand why the WWE insists on portraying World champions who are relatively new to the World title scene like morons. Yet, that’s what the company continues to do.

And, to top that off, they keep flip-flopping the World titles—more specifically, the WWE Championship—from one wrestler to another like it’s no big deal. Well, news flash: It’s a very big deal.

The way you are treating what is supposed to be the most sought-after title in the WWE is quickly turning it into the biggest joke of a title. There’s a very easy solution to fixing that problem, however.

You give a superstar a lengthy title reign (at least four or five months) and you have him actually look good during it. It’s really not that hard, and it can start at Survivor Series by having Del Rio beat Punk to retain the strap.

Have him do it clean, too.

I promise that Del Rio will look better than he’s ever looked as WWE Champion, Punk will eventually rebound and the WWE as well as the WWE title will be better off because of it.

How can you lose in that situation? Oh yeah—you can't.