WWE: Top 10 Most Memorable Moments of 2011

For the last three years, I’ve written an article in which I list what my personal favorite moments of the WWE’s year. As a columnist and a broadcast journalist for PW 24/7 Radio, I am often very critical of the WWE’s product. It is my job, after all.

Just like any other year, the WWE has given us its fair share of bad moments. Take for example the majority of the Capitol Punishment pay-per-view. Aside from the awful ending to the main event, there was also a plethora of campy comedy skits involving a Barak Obama impersonator. Another example could be the recent three-hour Monday Night Raw, featuring the return of the Slammy Awards. The campy comedy and lack of quality wrestling was just as prevalent.

But focusing on the bad moments of the year of the year isn’t the point of this annual article. The point of this article is to review and reflect on the year that was. By remembering the highlights of the year, it helps us remember exactly why we are fans of the WWE.

Now, 2011 hasn’t been the best year for the WWE. Not by any stretch of the imagination. In addition to the bad moments listed above, we were also given sub-par events in the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 27. We did, however, get two stellar PPVs in the form of Money in the Bank and TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs. As a matter of fact, Money in the Bank has been considered to be one of the best WWE PPVs in the last few years.

2011 featured shocking returns, incredible rises to fame, intense rivalries and matchups and even a dramatic retirement.

That said, I invite you to join me as I reflect on the most memorable moments over the past year. 

10. Daniel Bryan vs. William Regal (Superstars, 11/10/11)

One of the best technical wrestlers of this era squares off with one of the best technical wrestlers of the last era. Student versus teacher. This match writes itself.

In front of the Liverpool, England crowd, William Regal made a rare 2011 in-ring appearance as he took on his former student, Daniel Bryan. The two put on what was a technical wrestling masterpiece. As Matt Striker said on commentary, “if you ever want to be a WWE Superstar, just watch and learn.”

It is always a nice, and rare, treat to see a WWE match that is heavy on classic mat wrestling. For a while, it actually felt like I was watching a Bryan Danielson match from Ring of Honor. After about 12 minutes of intense mat and submission-heavy wrestling, Bryan had Regal tapping to the LeBell Lock.

What I can’t understand is why this match only made it to Superstars. I’m not saying it should have been on a PPV, even though it was far and beyond that kind of quality, but it could have at least been an undercard match on Smackdown.

9. John Morrison vs. the Miz for the WWE Championship (Raw, 1/3/11)

At the time, The Miz had been WWE Champion for just under two months. Coming off a big Tables match victory over Randy Orton at the TLC pay-per-view, Miz had a good deal of momentum behind him.

Arguably the only person with more momentum at the time was John Morrison, who had just defeated Sheamus in a Ladder match at the same PPV, becoming the No. 1 contender for Miz’s title.

These two former Tough Enough contestants and tag team partners clashed in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the WWE Championship on the first edition of Raw of 2011. The Miz, Morrison and the WWE started 2011 off with a bang with this terrific first main event of the new year.

8. Christian vs. Randy Orton for the World Hvt. Title (Over the Limit, 5/22/11)

Just five days after capturing the World Heavyweight Championship, Christian lost the title while defending it against Randy Orton on Smackdown. This Smackdown main event match was just the beginning of what would be a phenomenal series of matches.

In my opinion, Randy Orton vs. Christian from Over the Limit was the best match of their feud. At this point, Christian was still a babyface, but you could tell from how frustrated he was from losing the title that a heel turn was imminent. The two of them put on what is a match-of-the-year candidate. Christian truly brings out the best in his opponents, as evident by his matches with Orton. 

7. Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Hvt. Title (Extreme Rules 5/1/11)

After Edge was forced to retire and forfeit the World Heavyweight Championship, his longtime friend, Christian, fought Edge’s last opponent, Alberto del Rio, for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship.

The two clashed in a spectacular Ladder match at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view. After a 20-plus minute match, Christian climbed the ladder and captured his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Thanks to a little cameo from the former world champion, del Rio was distracted, allowing Christian to knock him off the ladder capture the title for himself.

As a big fan of Christian, it was very nice to finally see all his hard work pay off. During this stretch as champion and contender, Christian then went on to put on some of the best matches of his career.

6. Daniel Bryan Wins the World Hvt. Championship (TLC, 12/18/11)

On July 17th, CM Punk left Allstate Arena in Chicago with the WWE Championship. However, the night will also be remembered for Daniel Bryan winning the Smackdown Money in the Bank match, thus reaching the next level of his WWE career.

Five months and one day later, Daniel Bryan cashed in his opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship and pinned newly-crowned champion Big Show. Having been a fan of Bryan Danielson before he debuted on NXT as Daniel Bryan, it was very nice to see him stand on the barricade, among all his fans, holding one of the most prestigious championships high in the air. Among all the things that have happened this year, this is truly one of these great “dreams-really-do-come-true" moments.

5. The Rock Returns to the WWE (Raw, 2/14/11)

What an electric moment. And yes, that pun was definitely intended.

A week prior to this, Vince McMahon announced he would be naming a guest host for WrestleMania 27. Sure, the Rock’s name was thrown around on the dirt sheets, but no one knew for sure who would be named the host. Sure enough, Rock’s music hit at the end of that edition of Monday Night Raw. Not only did Rocky get one of the loudest crowd reactions I’ve ever heard, but just seeing him stand in a WWE ring made for a very special feel.

The Rock then went on to deliver a very heartfelt promo. “Finally…The Rock has come home,” said Rock. “The Great One” then went on to promise that he’d never leave. Truly a special moment in the WWE.

4. The Undertaker vs. Triple H (WrestleMania 27, 4/3/11)

On February 21st, 2011, The Undertaker returned as the person behind the vignettes. ‘Taker’s return wasn’t much of a surprise.

What was a surprise was the return of Triple H.

The two of them didn’t say a thing. Rather, they stood in the ring and looked at each other and then looked at the WrestleMania 27 sign. Of course, it was nearly impossible for them to live up to Undertaker’s past two WrestleMania matches against Shawn Michaels. This match was great for other reasons, though.

The no disqualification stipulation for the match allowed for it to unfold in a different way. As opposed to the matches with HBK, Hunter vs. ‘Taker was a brawl straight from hell. The match even had a few spots where I thought Undertaker’s streak was over. One memorable one was when Hunter hit the Tombstone on ‘Taker.

All in all, Undertaker and Triple H put on a great, WrestleMania-quality match. It was also interesting that, despite winning and keeping the streak alive, the Undertaker was unable to make his way to the back under his own power for the first time ever.

I have no problem watching these two compete at WrestleMania for the third time at this upcoming WrestleMania. 

3. Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Hvt. Title (WrestleMania 27, 4/3/11)

Going into this match, Alberto del Rio had everything going for him: he had experience as a contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, he had dominated in feuds against Rey Mysterio, Christian and Kofi Kingston and he had just won the Royal Rumble earlier in the year. All signs pointed to del Rio winning his first world championship.

For the first time in history, a World Heavyweight Championship match opened the show for WrestleMania. In what was an amazing and dramatic bout, Edge managed to retain his championship. What made this match all that more special for this fan was that this match was Edge's last match. It had turned out that Edge's history of neck problems had caught up with him and he risked paralysis if he were to compete again. It was only appropriate that a Superstar of Edge's caliber went out as World Heavyweight Champion on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

Opening match or not, it was still a phenomenal farewell match for Edge. As a fan of his, it was hard to watch him forfeit the title, knowing that he will never wrestle again. I am, however, glad that they managed to catch on to this before Edge got seriously injured.

Thank you, Edge, for all the great memories.

2. CM Punk’s Shoot Promo (Raw, 6/27/11)

At Money in the Bank, CM Punk proved why he is the best professional wrestler in the world. On an episode of Raw a few weeks prior to that historical match, Punk proved why he is one of the best on the mic.

This shoot promo, which is now widely known as simply "The Promo," quite literally turned the wrestling world upside down. After being named No. 1 contender to John Cena's WWE Championship earlier in the night, Punk sat Indian style on the ramp and addressed the WWE Universe. Punk broke kayfabe repeatedly by acknowledging the existence of such outside promotions as Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling and by looking directly at the camera and saying hi to his longtime friend, Colt Cabana.

One reason why this promo was so effective is because how rare worked shoots are in the WWE. If I’m not mistaken, the last time the WWE had a shoot like this was when Joey Styles did it in 2006. The impact of this promo alone was enough to catalyze CM Punk’s inevitable rise to stardom in the summer of 2011. All in all, it was here that CM Punk proved that he has the ability to grab a hold of the attention of wrestling fans across the world with only his words.

1. CM Punk vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship (Money in the Bank, 7/17/11)

Like I said in the introduction, I often find myself being very critical of the WWE’s product. As a matter of fact, one of the things I’m most critical about is John Cena himself. But I can say, without a doubt, this was Cena’s best match since his hour-long match with Shawn Michaels in 2007.

After seeing John Cena and CM Punk go at it for about 30 minutes, Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis made their way to the ring in an effort to ensure that CM Punk did not leave Chicago as WWE Champion. John Cena, being the proud professional wrestler he is, refused to let the match end like that and ended up knocking out Johnny Ace. After getting back in the ring, Punk caught Cena with a GTS and pinned him, thus becoming the new WWE Champion.

After the match, Vince ordered Alberto del Rio to come and cash in his Money in the Bank shot. However, once he got in the ring, Punk kicked him in the head and left through the crowd with the WWE Championship.

There is a reason why I didn’t have to look up the date of the PPV. July 17th, 2011 is a date engraved in my mind as a wrestling fan. I’ve only been a fan since 2007, but never before has a match taken me on such an emotional roller coaster. This match was the perfect culmination to one of the biggest stories in professional wrestling of the year. Seeing CM Punk sit on the barricade with the WWE Championship on his shoulder, blowing a kiss to Vince McMahon, is something I will honestly never forget. It was the single-most iconic moment of my time as a wrestling fan.

In essence, this match perfectly sums up why I am such a passionate fan of professional wrestling. Pro wrestling is more than watching men in tights roll around in a ring. It’s more than sitting at a computer and criticizing everything the WWE does, too. I am so passionate about wrestling because of the rare occasion in which a match or a story can grab a hold of you and manipulate your very emotions. It’s the moments of ecstasy like when CM Punk ran through his hometown crowd with the WWE Championship, us not knowing if we’d ever see him again, that really makes five years of being a fan of this business worth it.

Conclusion

As a fan, I think it is pretty safe to say that 2011 was a good year to be a fan of the WWE. We saw the phenomenon that was the “Summer of Punk,” which has personally made the past five years of being a wrestling fan entirely worthwhile. CM Punk had a career-defining year. Not only did he have a match of the year candidate match with Cena at Money in the Bank, but he also had other great matches that didn’t quite make the list. For example, Punk had an excellent feud with Randy Orton, culminating in a WrestleMania match between the two.

We also witnessed the breakout of stars like Zack Ryder, Daniel Bryan, Alberto del Rio, Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes. All five of these men have had a part in making 2011 memorable. Daniel Bryan himself has had a handful of spectacular matches, in addition to his memorable World Heavyweight Championship win. Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes continue to entertain every time they step between the ropes. Finally, Zack Ryder went from struggling to make weekly Raw appearances to a monumental United States Championship win.

Upon reflecting, 2011 was a rather bright year for the WWE. It wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly had its moments. I am very excited to see what 2012 holds in store for the WWE and all its fans. 

Please do feel free to share your favorite moments from the WWE in 2011. You can post them either in the comment section, on my B/R Profile page or you can tweet them to me @MikePW247. As always, feedback is always appreciated. I hope you enjoyed this article!