WWE: The 10 Biggest Surprises and Most Shocking Moments of 2011

Some of us may never be fully satisfied with the WWE product, but 2011 was a great start to getting us there.

Like with any TV show or wrestling promotion, the WWE could have done some things differently, but for the most part, Vince McMahon's company gave us a great year of wrestling.

We witnessed a ton of memorable moments, from The Rock's first match in seven years to the epic series of matches between Randy Orton and Christian.

Many of the great moments of 2011 were expected—like The Rock's return to the ring (we knew it was coming long beforehand)—and didn't really surprise us all that much, but just as many completely shocked us.

Here are the 10 biggest surprises and most shocking moments of 2011.

10. The Undertaker and Triple H Return

When the "2 21 11" videos started airing, most WWE fans assumed that they were meant for either the debut of Sting or the return of The Undertaker.

Of course, as we got closer to Feb. 21, it became pretty clear that it was Undertaker who would be appearing on Monday Night Raw that night.

What almost no one expected, however, was for the return of The Phenom to be immediately followed by the return of The Game.

Just minutes after The Undertaker came back to the WWE, Triple H made his triumphant return as well and interrupted the man who ended the career of his best friend.

The epic confrontation between Taker and Triple H featured no words from either future WWE Hall of Famer, but a lengthy stare-down would lead to an unforgettable match between those two at WrestleMania just a couple of months later.

9. Daniel Bryan's Failed Money in the Bank Cash-in

Daniel Bryan guaranteed to wait until WrestleMania 28 to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. He vowed. He promised.

Yet, on Nov. 25, he broke that promise.

At the Tuesday Smackdown tapings, The Big Show laid out Mark Henry with a knockout punch, Bryan rushed to the ring, cashed in his briefcase, pinned Henry and became the new World Heavyweight Champion.

Or so we thought.

Smackdown general manager Teddy Long came out to the ring and announced that Henry was not medically cleared to compete. Therefore, Bryan's win did not count, and he was not the new World Heavyweight Champ.

When the Smackdown spoilers spread around the Internet, fans were instantly celebrating Bryan's title victory, only to realize that Bryan didn't actually win the World title.

It was a complete buzz kill, one that was made even worse when it aired on TV later that week.

8. Kevin Nash Returns and Costs CM Punk the WWE Championship

At SummerSlam, CM Punk defeated John Cena in another phenomenal match to become the unified WWE Champion.

Fans had a hunch that Alberto Del Rio might cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on whoever won this match, but I don't think anyone could have predicted how it went down.

Following Punk's victory, a returning Kevin Nash—where the hell did he come from?—hit Punk with a jackknife powerbomb, allowing Del Rio to pin Punk and become the new WWE Champion.

Again, Del Rio ending the night as the new WWE Champ wasn't a huge surprise, but the fact that Nash—who hadn't been seen since his surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble—allowed him to win the WWE title was.

Nash hadn't been apart of WWE story lines in eight years at that point, but in an instant, he became one of the focal points of the WWE's top angle.

7. Kane Returns and Attacks John Cena

Kane was put on the shelf way back in July after a vicious attack by Mark Henry, causing plenty of fans (like me) to assume that Kane would return as a baby face on Smackdown to get his revenge on the World's Strongest Man.

As you can tell, our assumption was very wrong.

After several weeks of the WWE airing those "Kane Resurrected" videos, The Big Red Monster did what fans have been begging him to do since 2003 and returned with his mask on.

It had been eight years since Kane last wore his mask, but that all changed on Dec. 12 when a new-look Kane interrupted the main event of Raw on Dec. 12 and destroyed John Cena with a devastating chokeslam.

While the return of Kane was expected to happen sometime soon—and, to some extent, most thought he'd be coming back with the mask—hardly anyone could have predicted that he would return the way he did.

There's still more to come from the newly masked Kane, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for us in 2012.

6. Edge's Retirement

The most disappointing moment of the year? It's gotta be this.

Edge was seemingly at the top of the world. He had just defeated Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania 27 to retain his World Heavyweight Championship, and at just 37 years old, it looked like he another few years left at the top of the business.

But on the episode of Raw following WrestleMania, Edge revealed that he was suffering from a life-threatening condition known as cervical spinal stenosis which was forcing him to retire.

He was one botched move or one bad bump away from paralysis or even death, and doctors had informed him that his wrestling career was over.

What a shame.

Edge was one of the greatest and most underrated stars in wrestling history, and it would have been nice to see him end his career on his own terms.

5. Christian Wins the World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules

Tragedy was followed by triumph when Edge's real-life best friend Christian was able to pick up where Edge left off.

After Edge's abrupt retirement, Christian was given a shot at winning the vacated World Heavyweight Championship in a Ladder match against Alberto Del Rio at Extreme Rules.

The match itself was phenomenal—one of the best of the year, in fact—but what fans will always remember it for is Christian grabbing that World Heavyweight Championship and winning his first World title in the WWE.

Despite being one of the best workers in the WWE, Christian had yet to reach that World title level in the company, and many thought that day would never come.

Alas, it did.

Edge's career-ending injury essentially led to Christian's career-defining moment when Captain Charisma etched his name in WWE history by becoming the World Heavyweight Champion. 

4. Christian Loses the Title Just Two Days After Winning It

At Extreme Rules, Christian was riding high after the biggest victory of his lengthy WWE career.

But all that came crashing down just two days later.

At that week's Smackdown tapings, Christian was forced to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Smackdown's newest superstar, Randy Orton. These two superstars put on the first of many classic matches that night, but it was Orton who emerged from the tapings as the World Heavyweight Champ.

Initially, there was massive outrage over the decision to take the title off Christian so soon, but Christian's unforgettable title loss led to a great heel turn and a truly fantastic series of matches between him and Orton that lasted throughout the summer.

Looking back at Christian's title loss, hindsight is 20/20, and it was a bold move that paid off.

At the time, it was easy to see why so many fans were shocked and angered by Christian's joke of a two-day title run.

3. CM Punk Wins the WWE Championship and Bolts the Company at Money in the Bank

Heading into the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, no one seemed to know for sure what was going on with CM Punk.

Some seemed to believe that Punk was never going to re-sign with the WWE, some believed he already had and others thought that he would end up re-signing down the road.

The uncertainty surrounding Punk led to a truly unbelievable atmosphere at Money in the Bank in Punk's hometown of Chicago, and I thought the roof was going to blow off the building following his WWE Championship match.

Punk defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship in the best match of the year, then he blew Vince McMahon a goodbye kiss and then bolted the arena with the WWE title in hand.

The crowd was going crazy. Punk was going home and no one was 100 percent sure that he was going to come back.

Well done, WWE. I honestly didn't know what to expect at this point.

2. Daniel Bryan Successfully Cashes in at WWE TLC

Daniel Bryan's victory at Money in the Bank was a huge shocker, but that pales in comparison to what happened at WWE TLC.

Ever since Bryan came to the WWE, all the talk was that "would never get a push because of his size" or that "he would never become a World champion."

All that changed at TLC when Bryan cashed in his briefcase on The Big Show to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.

Are there still doubts about what's next for Bryan? Absolutely. Always will be.

But during that short span in which Bryan won the title and celebrated with it, we all forgot about what may happen to Bryan down the road.

Instead, we relished in the fact that the best wrestler in the world was finally recognized for his amazing talent.

1. CM Punk's Worked Shoot

A lot of you may be sick of hearing about CM Punk's worked shoot, but it really is hard to pinpoint another moment in the last few years that had as big of an impact on the WWE as this.

Not surprisingly, the WWE was in a boring rut at the time. Nothing all that exciting was happening, and prospects for the future weren't all that great.

But Punk changed all that just by cutting one promo.

He blurred the line between scripted TV and reality in truly epic fashion, and he generated an interest in the WWE that we hadn't seen since way back in the Attitude Era.

TV shows that never even acknowledged pro wrestling suddenly wanted to interview Punk, while a company that had relied on John Cena and Randy Orton for so long finally had a new true star to add to the mix.

And this all happened because of Punk and two little words: "Pipe bomb."