Top 10 WWE Storylines from 2011

The WWE year is just about over, and it is time to start looking back. While there is still plenty of time for great matches and moments, there is no time left for a great story to play out in the next three weeks.

That is why I feel comfortable doing an "end of" list now. No more stories can evolve enough in 16 days to make a splash. Matches and moments still have time. With that being said, here are my best storylines from Raw and Smackdown of 2011.

10. Cole vs. Lawler

I can already tell you that the promo I posted is in the running for "Promo of the Year." It was that good!

The feud between Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler began over a year ago, but the main story was carried over into 2011. Not only that, but they had a match at Wrestle Mania 27. It may not be a popular opinion, but I feel strongly Cole added greatly to the huge buy rate of that show.

Yes, The Rock will get most credit. Yes, Triple H, Undertaker, John Cena, Miz and others deserves credit. However, people wanted to see Lawler get his hands on Cole at any costs.

Sadly, the story continued past WrestleMania. If it had ended there, this would have been ranked a lot higher. It continued and continued and continued, and it still is going on in some parts.

Amazing story. Not a good finale.

9. Kharma vs. the World

Again, I would love to rank this higher, but I just can't. There was never an official conclusion, and it still is up in the air for the future.

Kharma was coming to WWE and was going to destroy every diva in the company. Surely, somebody was finally going to stand up to her, and she would compete in her first official WWE match.

That never happened.

8. Orton vs Nexus

I am adding in Nexus, but it was mostly CM Punk. Randy Orton had an amazing year for this company, and it all began back in January with Punk getting involved in his business.

He cost Randy Orton the WWE title, and their feud from many years ago was picked up in a heart beat. They had great matches together every single time they fought, and the addition of a few Nexus members only made it better.

Some were not happy about Orton winning at Mania, but he should have. Others will mention their Extreme Rules match, but again, Orton winning was the right call.

The faces overcome the heels. That is the story and how nearly all of them should end.

7. Del Rio's Destiny

This isn't much of a story, but I will count it.

Alberto Del Rio has stated from day one about how his destiny was the WWE/World Champion. That was known from the beginning.

Well, he stared showing up randomly on Raw in January, and we all soon found out why. He was going to win the Royal Rumble and face the champion at WrestleMania.

After falling short there, he once again wanted to fulfill his destiny against Christian at Extreme Rules. He did not seize the opportunity that night either.

Then he got his chance at Money in the Bank to earn a guaranteed title match, and he won. The following month, his moment had finally arrived when he beat CM Punk to become WWE Champion.

Alberto Del Rio had finally achieved his goal, and he even added another title reign to his resume in October.

6. John Cena vs. the Rock

This is almost sure to win many awards in 2012.

Sadly, we are still in 2011, and I can't rate this too highly. There just wasn't enough to warrant a higher spot. Yes, we saw The Rock's grand return. Yes, we saw the big announcement of their match next year. Yes, Rocky even had a tag match at Survivor Series.

Even with all of that, I just can't bring myself to going any bigger than this. It was a good start to their long-term feud, but there is plenty more to come next year.

5. Triple H vs. Undertaker

This is how you build up a match.

There was very little contact between the two, and not a single word was even spoken in their first confrontation. On 2-21-11, Wrestle Mania was officially purchased by many fans.

Everybody saw The Rock return a week earlier, but the staredown between Triple H and Undertake sealed the deal. In that one segment, money was made. Period.

You add in Shawn Michaels as the middle man. You add in the Streak. You add in both guys returning to the ring after a long break. You add in them delivering a great match at WrestleMania.

It was only a month long, but it was easily one of the top feuds in 2011, and I expect to see more in 2012.

4. Little Jimmy

I am not sure if this qualifies as a "storyline," but R-Truth transforming was excellent. It began during a match with John Cena on Raw, where he needed a water break.

It continued with a match against John Cena on PPV. It evolved into joining up with The Miz (who had a great feud with Cena, as well). Awesome Truth was officially born, and it was a fun ride while it lasted.

Truth will have an interesting 2012.

3. CM Punk vs. Authority

Did this story ever have a conclusion? What was the payoff here? That is my only problem with the entire past few months with Punk.

Was him winning the WWE title and being in the main events the end game to his worked shoot promo months earlier? If it was, I am fine with it. That makes sense!

Sadly, I just can only take so much of the insider terms on WWE TV. Ratings have not moved (actually decreased a little). Buy rates for PPV shows went up for a month before plummeting. His shirts are selling at least. Yippee?

Fans are confused half the time. Nobody cares about the little jabs at Johnny Ace wrestling nearly 20 years ago.

None of that caters to the PG audience. Even more so, it wears off real quick. It was great in June. It was fun in July. It got stale in August, and it has fallen off a cliff since.

Again, it was a phenomenal beginning, but there has not been much to it in months.

2. Christian vs. Randy Orton

Excellent feud.

It had a beginning. It had twists and turns in the middle, and it had a fitting conclusion. That is exactly what I want in this business.

No talk of "vanilla midgets," "breaking the fourth wall" or mentioning the "Dynamic Dudes" that is answered by crickets and the sound of a pin drop.

These two deserve all the credit in the world for having a fantastic story play out over a couple of months. It brought a great heel turn by Christian, one that made sense. It also solidified Randy Orton as the new top face on the Blue Brand.

Both were needed changes, and every single week was down to perfection. From Christian losing the title in a few days to Orton winning to Christian spitting in Orton's face to the awesome match at Summerslam.

The icing on the cake was their cage match on the live Smackdown special. Again, the start was great. The middle portions were even better. The finale? Epic.

1. Mark Henry's Hall of Pain

Was there any other choice?

Mark Henry has been the best man on WWE TV for months now, and it is all because of his inductions to the Hall of Pain.

Kozlov. Great Khali. Kane. Big Show. John Morrison. Johnny Curtis. The list goes on and on...

For the past eight months, Henry has been on a roll and was set to prove all of his critics wrong. All the doubters, all the haters, all the cynics. Where are they now?

He took out every man in his way, including Randy Orton in September. The ultimate prize was finally his, the World Heavyweight Championship.

The one disappointing side of this entire story? Some people still do not want to give this man his props. He still has detractors, and that is just a shame. I suppose they are still washing the crow down their throats from the summer. Maybe they are still cleaning the egg off their faces? I don't know!

Love who you want, hate who you want, but you have to respect talent. Mark Henry is a future WWE Hall of Famer, and the praise this man gets is far and few between.

As good as 2011 was for Mark Henry, the next year can only be better. His rise to the top has been the best told story from the past year, and he is NEVER, ever losing the World title!

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