WWE: The 20 Best Interviews, Promos & Angles of 2011

Consider me to be more than happy with the WWE in 2011.

Though there are obviously things I would have liked to see the company do different, it was a great year overall for the biggest wrestling promotion in the world.

We got a ton of great matches, plenty of interesting storylines and some new-look champions as we move into 2012.

There were so many memorable moments in the WWE this year that it's hard to really pinpoint them all and put them on a list, but I'm going to try to do something like that today.

Here is my look at the 20 Best WWE Interviews, Promos and Angles of 2011.  

20. Mark Henry's Hall of Pain (Numerous PPVs and Episodes of Smackdown)

I'm far from a Mark Henry fan, but I really liked the idea of him having a "Hall of Pain."

It started way back in July at Money in the Bank when he injured The Big Show, and it continued when he did the same to Kane, Valdimir Kozlov and The Great Khali.

Henry's reign of terror on Smackdown was a nice change of pace from the standard cowardly WWE heel who runs away from the guys he's feuding with.

The "Hall of Pain" helped turn Henry from just another WWE veteran to arguably the company's top heel in 2011. Though his wrestling was never going to be great, Henry's new gimmick allowed some fans to overlook that and see him for what he was: an unstoppable monster.

I would have preferred if this "Hall of Pain" gimmick was given to a young up-and-coming star instead, but Henry did a great job with it, and did the unthinkable by getting me interested in an angle involving the World's Strongest Man.

19. R-Truth Is a Confederate Soldier (June 6, Monday Night Raw)

R-Truth was simply phenomenal throughout 2011.

The guy went from a boring baby face to one of the WWE's top heels in a flash, and what  resulted were some of the most hilarious promos of the year.

Realistically speaking, I probably could have made this slideshow dedicated completely to R-Truth's comedy because he had countless funny moments during the peak of his heel run.

I decided, however, to stick just with the promo in which R-Truth dressed up as a Confederate solider when Raw was hosted in Richmond, Virginia (the former Confederate capital).

I'll say just one thing: He's a good R-Truth.

18. The Miz and R-Truth Invade the WWE (Hell in a Cell)

In 2010, the WWE did an angle where the Nexus invaded Monday Night Raw and essentially took over the show.

In 2011, the company did something similar when the "fired" R-Truth and The Miz invaded the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view main match multiple times and destroyed Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, a few referees, a couple of cameramen, John Cena, Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk.

The entire locker room rushed out to try to stop Awesome Truth, who were locked inside the cell. But it was to no avail.

What a great moment.

R-Truth and The Miz as rebel outsiders really had a ton of potential—as evidenced by this video—but the ball was eventually completely dropped on this and the "walkout" storyline.

Still, I loved seeing Miz and Truth attack the top stars in the company at Hell in a Cell because it was a shocking angle that made the WWE interesting again, no matter how briefly that lasted.

17. Vince McMahon Is Removed from Power (July 18, Monday Night Raw)

When Triple H announced that Mr. McMahon had been removed as the head of the WWE, most fans seemed to be really interested in the storyline.

The widespread belief has always been that Triple H will take over the day-to-day operations of the company once Vince calls it quits, so this resonated with us because it was based off of future real life happenings.

Triple H had taken over as WWE C.O.O., and Vince was seemingly written off of TV, possibly for good. Thus, this was such a monumental storyline because of the incredible storyline shift in power that came along with it.

Triple H's acting was pretty horrible here—"I love you, pop"—but the angle itself was really well done and could have been one of the best we've seen from the WWE in years.

Of course, that didn't happen because Triple H's run as the head of Raw didn't last very long.

16. CM Punk Returns and Confronts Triple H (Aug. 1, Monday Night Raw)

Just two weeks after CM Punk won the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank, he returned to the WWE in what I would consider epic fashion.

Was his returned rushed? Absolutely. But this is the WWE, so we really shouldn't be surprised by that.

And, looking back at it, I don't think we should have been disappointed, either.

Though it would have been nice to see Punk come back after a couple of months as opposed to a couple of weeks, he returned on the Aug. 1 edition of Raw, and had an incredible promo exchange with Triple H.

These two had a few memorable promos during their brief feud, but nothing matches this one because of the excitement and energy from the crowd and, of course, the fact that Punk was gold just like usual.

15. The Rock and Mini-John Cena (March 14, Monday Night Raw)

Much like R-Truth, I could have easily made a slideshow dedicated to The Rock's greatness in 2011.

Despite the fact that he wasn't around all that much, The Rock had as many unforgettable promos this year as anybody not named CM Punk.

A particular favorite of mine was when he "brought it via satellite" back on March 14 during the build to Wrestlemania by mocking Cena with an eight-year-old version of "The Champ."

The Rock ripped on Cena's lack of talent, his ridiculous purple shirt and his rapping skills, and as you might expect, he did it in the most entertaining way possible.

He essentially summed up many fans' criticisms of Cena in a nine-minute promo, making it incredibly hilarious in the process.

14. Cody Rhodes Goes from Dashing to Disfigured (Feb. 25, Smackdown)

The best thing that ever could have happened to Cody Rhodes was for him to go from "Dashing" to "Demented" and "Disfigured."

Though he made the "Dashing" character work, his shift to the tormented, masked heel helped him elevate his game to the highest point of his career up to that point.

This began when Rhodes blamed Rey Mysterio for breaking his nose and then returned with a clear mask on, despite the fact that he was ashamed of his "injuries."

Obviously, Rhodes was going for a crazed, maniacal persona, and he did an excellent job coming across as one for a majority of the year.

This promo is where Rhodes really began shifting into the gimmick he had throughout most of 2011, one that showed that he will be a big-time player in 2012.

13. Daniel Bryan Cashes in to Become World Heavyweight Champion (WWE TLC)

When Daniel Bryan went to the WWE, most of his supporters thought that he would be buried down the roster because of his lack of size and the prototypical WWE look.

Yet, here we are less than two years after his WWE debut, and Bryan is the World Heavyweight Champion.

It was arguably the most heartwarming story of the year to see Bryan win Smackdown's Money in the Bank match, thrust himself into the feud between The Big Show and Mark Henry for several weeks and then finally cash in to achieve his dream of winning a World title.

We like to complain about all the things the WWE does wrong, but putting the World Heavyweight title on Bryan was one of its best decisions of the year.

The guy can flat-out wrestle his tail off, and we won't soon forget when he was rewarded for his amazing abilities in the ring with the World Heavyweight Championship.

12. Change Finally Comes to the WWE (Dec. 19, Monday Night Raw)

When CM Punk was at his peak during the summer, one of the things he stressed was that he wanted to bring "change" to the WWE.

No more champions who look like body builders, no more title shots for guys who have gotten dozens of them, etc.

Punk wanted guys who truly deserve great opportunities to get those opportunities, and seize them. And that's exactly what happened at Sunday's WWE TLC pay-per-view.

Punk retained his WWE Championship, Daniel Bryan won the World Heavyweight Championship and Zack Ryder won the United States Championship.

Instantly, three Internet favorites were holding three separate WWE titles. At the same time.

Who says Vince McMahon and the creative team don't pay attention to the Internet?

11. CM Punk in a Power Struggle with Vince McMahon (July 11, Raw)

Before CM Punk won the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank, the creative team turned yet another real life situation into a storyline.

With Punk threatening to leave the WWE when his contract expired, he and Vince McMahon had a live contract negotiation on Monday Night Raw that mirrored what was going on in reality.

Punk wanted to be paid and treated like a top star, and he threatened to leave the company if that didn't happen.

Though this was kayfabe on TV, Punk's interactions with Mr. McMahon on this night definitely echoed reality and helped set the tone for an amazing Money in the Bank pay-per-view.

If only all contract signings were like this.

10. Kane Returns with His Mask on and Attacks John Cena (Dec. 12, Raw)

How long have fans been begging for Kane to put his mask back on?

Seems like pretty much since he took it off way back in 2003.

Well, The Big Red Monster finally returned to the WWE earlier this month after a four-month hiatus, and he did so in unforgettable fashion by coming back with a mask on and a completely new look.

On the Dec. 12 edition of Raw, Kane made his way to the ring, hit John Cena with a devastating chokeslam and ignited a feud with the top star in the WWE.

Well done, WWE. Well done.

Not only did you manage to bring Kane back with his mask on like we wanted, but you had him attack Mr. Fruity Pebbles himself, John Cena, too. 

9. Are the Boos Getting to John Cena? (Nov. 28, Monday Night Raw)

For all the bad things I might say about John Cena, I have to say I think he's really good on the mic when he's not making corny PG poop jokes.

Thus, I was pretty excited when, a few weeks ago, he was a guest on "Rowdy" Roddy Piper's infamous "Piper's Pit" talk show.

Given how good Piper is on the mic and Cena's abilities as a talker as well, the ingredients were there for something magical to go down. 

Although the "Piper's Pit" segment wasn't as good as I thought it would be, it was still a very good promo exchange between the two, and it accomplished one main thing: It was the start of Cena finally tweaking his character a bit.

Since that promo, the WWE has been playing up the "Are the boos getting to Cena?" storyline, even going as far as coming out with a "Cena sucks" t-shirt.

Now, I really have no idea where all of this is leading, but if it indeed leads to Cena showing a lot more personality or—gasp!—a heel turn, then I'll remember that the Piper/Cena segment is where it all started.

8. Edge's Retirement Speech (April 4, Monday Night Raw)

Edge's retirement literally came out of nowhere.

One day, it seemed like the Rated R Superstar would be around for another two to three years as one of the top stars in the WWE. The next, he had a life threatening spinal cord injury that forced him to abruptly end what had been a fantastic WWE career.

The selfish part of me wanted Edge to stick around, but the smart part of me knew that Edge's life was the No. 1 priority.

This man was one of the most complete WWE stars I've ever seen, someone who consistently put his life on the line (especially in those daring TLC matches) just to entertain us fans.

It was really sad to see Edge essentially forced into retirement, but his retirement speech was absolutely unforgettable.

7. The Rock's Promo at Survivor Series

Like I said earlier in the slideshow, The Rock had a ridiculous amount of memorable moments this year.

Yet, I decided to go with his promo at Survivor Series because it's still suck in my head.

Oh yeah, and because it was awesome, too.

When you combine The Rock, Survivor Series and Madison Square Garden, you know the potential is there for something amazing to go down. And that's exactly what happened last month.

The Rock's ring entrance and his first match in seven years were obviously memorable, but his promo beforehand had the MSG crowd eating out of his hand.

Man, The Rock is almost too good at cutting promos.

6. Christian Is Forced to Defend HisTitle Against Randy Orton (May, Smackdown)

When Christian won his first World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules back in May, fans all over the country rejoiced because all the hard work he had put in had finally paid off.

But, just a couple of days later at the Tuesday Smackdown tapings, Christian was forced to defend his title against Randy Orton, and he lost it.

This sent fans into an uproar that Christian's World title reign was such a joke, and it left many wondering why the WWE would even put the title on Christian if the plan was to get it off him just a couple of days later.

But patient is a virtue.

Christian's title loss would eventually lead to a full-fledged heel turn and the best series of matches that the WWE has seen in several years, as he and Orton tore the house down on five or more occasions during the best feud of 2011.

Though fans hated how this Orton/Christian feud started, it was actually Christian being forced to defend his World title that ultimately led to a phenomenal heel turn and one of the greatest summers Smackdown has ever had.

5. Undertaker and Triple H Both Return on

The cryptic "It Begins" videos that have been airing over the last several weeks seem to be pointing to one of two superstars: Chris Jericho or The Undertaker.

I swear I'm having deja vu.

Earlier this year, the WWE ran another series of mysterious promo videos--in this case, they became known as the "2 21 11" videos—which seemed to point toward The Undertaker's return or the debut of Sting.

As we would find out on Feb. 21, the videos were indeed meant for The Undertaker, which really wasn't all that surprising.

What was shocking, however, was when right after Undertaker returned, Triple H came back as well.

Two of the biggest stars in WWE history returned to the WWE in a matter of mere minutes, had a huge staredown and set the stage for one of the best matches of the year at Wrestlemania 27.

Kudos to the WWE on that one.

4. Shawn Michaels' Confrontation with Triple H and Undertaker (March 29, Raw)

As if the returns of The Undertaker and Triple H weren't big enough, the WWE also decided to get Taker's opponent at the previous two Wrestlemanias, Shawn Michaels, involved in the feud between these two future WWE Hall of Famers.

It made sense, given the long running history between Triple H and HBK as well as the fact that Michaels had taken Undertaker to the absolute limit at Wrestlemanias 26 and 25.

What resulted was an incredibly interesting exchange between three men who had all faced each other in the past, the highlight of which was Triple H telling Michaels to explain to Taker why Triple H would beat him at Wrestlemania.

HBK's response? He left the ring before uttering, "I'm sorry. You can't win."

A very memorable moment here that only added to the intrigue of Triple H vs. Undertaker at Wrestlemania 27.

3. CM Punk Wins the WWE Title and Takes the Company Hostage (Money in the Bank)

The best pro wrestling story lines often blur the line between fiction and reality.

And no one proved that more than CM Punk did this summer.

With the uncertainty surrounding Punk and his WWE contract status, the creative team turned this into a fantastic storyline in which Punk won the WWE Championship, his contract expired and then he left the company with the title at Money in the Bank.

The WWE could have made this storyline so much better had it not brought Punk back a mere two weeks later, but the angle itself was still very well done.

Punk winning the WWE Championship in his hometown of Chicago and then blowing a kiss to Mr. McMahon as he bolted the company is something I will never forget.

2. The Rock Returns (Feb. 14, Monday Night Raw)

Finally...The Rock has come back to the WWE.

I remember the incredible anticipation WWE fans were feeling when The Rock was about to return to Monday Night Raw on Feb. 14.

My dad, who never watches wrestling anymore, was even telling me to let him know when The Rock came on TV because he hadn't seen him in so long and wanted to watch him cut a promo. He was just as excited to see The Rock as the millions, and millions, of Rock fans across the world were.

And, boy oh boy, did The Rock deliver.

It was nothing short of epic to see The Rock come back, get a phenomenal ovation and then cut a fantastic 20-minute promo that lasted about 20-25 minutes past Raw's TV time slot.

He showed unbelievable energy, he broke the PG barrier and, most important, he made us all feel like we were kids again.

1. Cm Punk's Worked Shoot (June 27, Monday Night Raw)

As great as The Rock's return was, nothing will ever compare to CM Punk's worked shoot on June 27.

At the conclusion of Monday Night Raw, Punk—wearing a "Stone Cold" Steve Austin t-shirt, I might add—took the mic, and sat at the top of the entrance ramp. 

No one was really sure what would come next, but everyone's jaw hit the floor once Punk finally did speak.

He ripped the WWE from top to bottom, acknowledging the fourth wall, blasting John Cena, claiming to be the best wrestler in the world and criticizing the WWE for failing to treat him like a top star.

Punk was simply phenomenal here. That's all that needs to be said.