The Year in PPV- 2011, Part II

The momentum shifts completely with 2 of the year's worst shows, and 2 of the year's best shows...


5. Over the Limit

It's shows like this that are part of the reason I don't miss Over the Limit. After the opening bout between R-Truth and Rey Mysterio, which was pretty solid and helped progress Truth's development as a heel, you can skip about the next 4 matches because they absolutely DON'T MATTER. These matches either don't get out of the starting blocks before they end, end with DQ finishes, or in the case of Sin Cara and Chavo Guerrero stink up the joint with its sloppy and botched ring work (one of the biggest problems with Sin Cara in 2011).

After you've skipped the meaningless midcard, we have a mixed bag of main events. First, we have a phenomenal encounter for the World Heavyweight Championship that highlights Randy Orton's fantastic feud with Christian. At this stage in their feud, it was purely out of competition, which created a setting where the crowd was able to root for both men. Then, we had a "Kiss My Foot" match between Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole. Remember what I said about this gimmick in my 1995 review? How it was completely embarrassing to watch? Add Michael Cole to that and you have a disaster. Thank God it was brief and it gave the fans a payoff they had wanted to see for a while. Finally, John Cena defended the WWE Championship against The Miz in an "I Quit!" match. This main event was ok, but it was in a very tough spot. It had to not only follow a classic World Heavyweight Championship match, but it also had to follow a travesty of a match featuring King and Cole. By this point, the crowd was at the point where they didn't care since it was quite obvious who would win.

Skip It


6. Capitol Punishment

As if the last show wasn't embarrassing enough. In our nation's capital, Washington D.C., the WWE actually put on a handful of really solid PPV bouts, but the problem was in the attempt to try and convince the fans that President Barack Obama was going to make an appearance. I just wanna get one thing clear: the picture on the poster looked more like Obama than they guy they brought out. It was an absolutely awkward in-ring promo to see. I get there is some self-awareness in what they were trying to do, but for God's sake this was just sad. Heck, Obama's at least put his face on other WWE products, like Tribute to the Troops and even Monday Night RAW when he was running for candidacy in 2008. So, why bother with this fake? If you couldn't book Obama, just accept it. It didn't need to be a political satire show to be entertaining, just let the wrestlers do their thing.

Like I said, there are some good matches with solid build up. Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler open the show for the United States Championship and they've had so many matches together they can entertain us in their sleep. Then, Alex Riley has the biggest moment in his career by facing his former mentor The Miz in his hometown to a HUGE ovation (seriously, he could have really been someone special had they booked him consistently). Like Kingston and Ziggler, CM Punk and Rey Mysterio had faced off so many times they can put on a quality match together without even trying. Randy Orton and Christian continued their World Heavyweight Championship feud, with Christian recently turning on Orton and turning heel in the process. Their chemistry is still off the charts even with this change in storytelling and just like at Over the Limit, they have the best match on the card. This night, while it is often forgotten, should be recognized as the culmination of R-Truth's heel run, as he had a main event match challenging John Cena for the WWE Championship. I think it's the underwhelming quality of this main event that also hurts this show (especially since it had to follow that atrocious Obama angle), with Truth doing about 80% of the ring work, only to come up short in the end (who didn't see that coming?). The culmination should've ended with at least a short run with the title, and since it didn't, this show really isn't worth remembering.

Skip It


7. Money in the Bank

"Magical" seems like an appropriate word to describe this night in Chicago. As if the show needed the boost in energy this smart mark crowd usually generates, but it works in all the right places. Even the Diva's title match with Kelly Kelly and Brie Bella, and the big man's showdown with Big Show and Mark Henry, matches no one should really care about are made more important thanks to the crowd. But now it's time to focus on the Money in the Bank ladder matches, both of which offer something different. The RAW ladder match featured Rey Mysterio, Alex Riley, R-Truth, Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne, Alberto Del Rio, Kofi Kingston, and The Miz. While it lacks in some quality spots, and a VERY predictable winner, it makes up for it with a lot of star power to generate crowd responses. SmackDown put on a much better ladder match with Kane, Wade Barrett, Sin Cara, Sheamus, Justin Gabriel, Daniel Bryan, Heath Slater, and Cody Rhodes opening the show with a match that could have easily stolen the show on any other night (it's at least my top 3 Money in the Bank ladder matches of all-time). Even a World Heavyweight Championship match between Randy Orton and Christian (where Orton could lose the title via disqualification) wasn't what the crowd cared about.

Ironically, on a night about Money in the Bank, the audience could care less over who won the briefcases, as all of Chicago's focus was on one man: CM Punk. After shocking the world with a Pipe Bomb promo weeks prior on RAW, Punk made it well known that if he won the title he was letting his contract expire the same night and leaving the company with their top prize. To make matters worse, if Punk prevailed, Mr. McMahon vowed to fire John Cena for losing the belt. Add that the show was in Punk's hometown, and you have a recipe for some combustible elements. The crowd was very solidly for Punk and heavily booing Cena out of the building (possibly the hardest I've ever seen him booed). This is definitely one of the era's most defining matches that left the Chicago crowd full of suspense, as they smelled the possibility of a Chicago Screwjob taking place at the hands of Mr. McMahon and John Cena. As a fan at the time, there was so much buzz surrounding this match, that whatever the outcome was, I knew this was going to be a memorable match for years to come. I wasn't wrong.

Highly Recommended


8. SummerSlam

If you thought Money in the Bank was a game changer, you haven't seen anything yet. SummerSlam takes what Money in the Bank established and alters it even further. The show starts with a fun six-man tag with R-Truth, The Miz, and Alberto Del Rio (PAY ATTENTION TO THESE THREE) taking on Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, and Kofi Kingston. This felt like a nice throwback to the classic multi-man tag matches during the early days of SummerSlam. Then we get some good matches in the form of Sheamus taking on Mark Henry (this was more important in establishing their star power than the actual quality of ring work), and Daniel Bryan going against Wade Barrett. Even the Diva's match has some intrigue thanks to the development of Beth Phoenix wanting to take the Diva's title from Kelly Kelly and establishing credibility to the division instead of having it run by "Barbie dolls." Then things really started to cook with the two main events.

Randy Orton sought to get his World Heavyweight Championship back from Christian by winning it in a No Holds Barred match. I've heard a lot of people say this match felt reminiscent of an Attitude Era classic and it's easy to see why. They take full advantage of the amount of spots and weapons they use to tell a story and with their chemistry, it's a fitting conclusion to their rivalry on PPV. If that wasn't enough, by the time we get from Money in the Bank to SummerSlam we have TWO WWE Champions. After CM Punk left with the title, Mr. McMahon was ready to fire John Cena, until he was interrupted by Triple H. The board named him COO of the company and relieved McMahon of his duties. Then, a tournament was held to crown a new champion, which was won by Rey Mysterio. Triple H then gave Cena his rematch clause against Mysterio and he won the belt back. Then Punk returned, declaring himself the true champion. So, with Triple H as guest referee, Punk and Cena stepped in the ring again to declare an undisputed WWE Champion at SummerSlam. The magical moment isn't quite as there as it was at Money in the Bank, but they still put on a great main event. And once their match is over...insanity ensues for the remainder of the year.

Highly Recommended


Thoughts: It's easy to say that CM Punk, Christian and Randy Orton's feud, and even Mark Henry's dominance, single handedly saved this year from sheer disaster. After Over the Limit and Capitol Punishment killing any momentum that Extreme Rules salvaged, a change needed to be made. It took some great competition from Captain Charisma and the Viper, the World's Strongest Man inducting opponents in the Hall of Pain, and some Pipe Bombs dropped from the Best in the World, but you finally had a product that had fans interested in the WWE again. And things were about to get even crazier, as the landscape was about to shift even further to close the year.

Concluded in Part III...


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