WWE Survivor Series 2011: CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio Stole the Show

All aboard! The Alberto Del Rio credibility ships is about to go on it's long trip to possibly never return.

Fresh off the heels of the much anticipated show from the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York City, Survivor Series was full of twists and turns. 

One of the most interesting events of the show, however, culminated in a great match between champion Alberto Del Rio and challenger CM Punk for the WWE Championship.

With so much at stake already before the night began, Punk gave fans watching another reason to be pumped up for the match, as it was announced Punk had personally requested that he, too, get his own personal ring announcer. Howard Finkle emerged much to the delight of the crowd. Finkle was so touched at the reaction he got from the crowd, be began to tear up. So much so, he almost forgot what he was supposed to say and had to fight to speak with the lump in his throat, keeping him from being able to speak clearly at first.

Except, much to the surprise of this journalist, this was not the most memorable part of the match.

The match itself was a great spectacle between two more-than-capable performers—Del Rio and Punk. We all know how great Punk is at genuine wrestling, but Del Rio is proving time and time again that he deserves to be that discussion as well. 

Both men put their hearts into the match at it showed. Punk came out with the energy we have all come to know and love about his new and improved personality; Del Rio came with his usual swagger and arrogance. 

It was quite evident from the start the Ricardo Rodriguez would be a factor in the match at some point, as every time Punk went for the cover on Del Rio, Rodriguez would attempt to make his way into the ring in hopes of breaking up the count. While he never did succeed at doing so, it was quite clear Ricardo would play some role in the outcome of the match. 

Throughout the entire match, Del Rio did  a great job of softening up the left arm of Punk for his signature cross-arm breaker. It was apparent that Punk was in pain throughout the match, as we would see him trying to gain blood flow back into his left arm, signifying that it had been injured. 

With both men being experts in the art of submission wrestling, Punk and Del Rio used multiple ways to attempt to apply their respective holds, Punk's anaconda vice and Del Rio's arm breaker. Each used their cunning and athletic ability to get out of each others hold, making it for a very back-and-forth contest. 

Every person watching this match could see the fire in the eyes of the combatants, each looking to be known as the alpha dog in the contest. 

Punk and Del Rio once again put on great match in prototypical fashion of back-and-forth battling. Neither men really had the upper hand for most of the match, making it for a genuine "Guess Who's Going to Win?" mind game for the fans. 

It all came down to a moment where Del Rio shoved Punk into the ropes, where Ricardo was waiting to strike Punk. Except Punk wasn't going to have any of that, delivering a boot to Ricardo, knocking him off the apron, allowing to Del Rio to roll up Punk and pull his trunk attempting to get the dirty win. 

Punk managed to kick out and deliver a quick kick to Del Rio's head. Del Rio kicked out, but Punk immediately slapped on the anaconda vice, causing Del Rio to be in extreme pain. Del Rio tried to claw Punk's nose and eyes, forcing Punk off of him. But knowing Punk's willingness to fight throw pain, he fought throw the clawing and forced Del Rio to tap out, meaning Punk is now the new WWE Champion.

Punk celebrated by crowd surfing and partying it up with the crowd. 

Now that Del Rio has once again lost the WWE Championship, his credibility has gone down the drain. He's lost his title twice already, each time in singles competition. The only time he's been able to win his title or hold on to it has been throw trickery and outside help from Ricardo and Awesome Truth. 

While he has gained my respect as a wrestler, one has to start to question whether or not he is going to remain a major player on Raw. 

At this point, it would appear that Punk will hold on to the title for a while. Having Del Rio win his title back at TLC doesn't make plausible sense, considering that would be his third WWE title reign his August. That's more than Sheamus, Punk and even Miz have, and all three of them are better workers and more over with the crowd than Del Rio. 

Right now, Del Rio should obviously get his rematch at TLC, but there is no way he should regain the title any time soon. Until he can accomplish something meaningful without outside help or his lackee Rodriguez around, Del Rio needs some sort of transformation in character. He's a great in-ring worker but his promos are bland, as mentioned by Punk a few weeks ago, and has yet to gain any sort of real heat from live audiences.

Del Rio and Punk put on a great match at Survivor Series. Punk winning the WWE title was a great moment, especially with his celebratory crowd surfing. It was something that needed to be done in order to save us from boredom among the WWE title scene.

Although Berto has gained respect for his wrestling ability, his character hasn't caught up with him quite yet. Now that he doesn't have the WWE title around his waist, don't expect it to be there for a few months.