Top Ten WWE Moments of 2011
January 2, 2012
By Nigel Doughty
10. Big Daddy Cool
The sound of Diesel’s music at the Rumble got the loudest pop of the night, and its likely that many people at home also jumped out of their seats for this. Unfortunately, since his return later in the year, Nash has shown he is just as stagnant as he once was. His return should have remained as a one off.
9. Mark Henry Wins The Big One
Night of Champions 2011 will go down in history as one of those times something happened that nobody expected to happen (there are several more on the list). It was the night Mark Henry won his first World Heavyweight Championship. Mark has become a main stay in the WWE, and nobody thought he would ever carry the title. Not only did he do that, but he made believers out of most people until he finally lost the title at Survivors Series.
8. Santino Wins The Rumble?
For those who did not see the Rumble, you read that right. Santino Morella nearly won the Royal Rumble. He celebrated in the middle of the ring after nearly eliminating Alberto Del Rio. We got the trombone celebration, and people held out hope that maybe Santino could do it. Alas, it was not to be, but it was a great spot to finish of the rumble.
7. John Morrison Is Spiderman
Another entrant from the 2011 Royal Rumble. Everyone had to be amazed my John Morrison’s athletic ability here. It looked like William Regal had eliminated him, when he leaped to the barrier, stood up, traversed it and then leaped onto the steel steps. Remember, the only way to be eliminated is to be thrown over the top rope and both feet must hit the ground. Since neither of John Morrison’s feet actually hit the ground, he was allowed to continue, until he was eliminated a short while later. 6. Daniel Bryan Wins Money In The Bank
6. Daniel Bryan Wins Money In The Bank
Another ‘this is never going to happen’ moment. Granted, the Smackdown Money in the Bank match wasn’t the strongest – Kane, Daniel Bryan, Wade Barret, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Cody Rhodes, Sheamus and Sin Cara all competed for the briefcase. Most people thought that Kane or Sheamus were the only real options here, but the WWE pulled a rabbit out of the hat with this one, allowing Bryan to pick up the coveted briefcase. Geeks around the world rejoiced!
5. Christian Becomes World Heavyweight Champion
Christian may now be a two time World Heavyweight Champion but it was his first win at Extreme Rules that will live in many peoples memories. After all, this was something fans had been waiting for, for years. The fact that he lost the title two days later kind of tarnished it, but most fans were ecstatic to see him win it at all.
4. Daniel Bryan Wins Title, Then Doesn’t
Most people were not surprised by the fact that Daniel Bryan took the opportunity to cash in his money in the bank briefcase on a hurt Mark Henry. As a result, they were not surprised when he won the title. What was surprising was Teddy Long declaring that the match was invalid, as Henry wasn’t fit to compete. As a result Bryan had to hand the title back. On the plus, not only did he get his briefcase back, but he was also put in a number one contenders match the very same night. Heartboken? Fans certainly were.
3. C M Punk Wins The Title, and Then Leaves
This would have been at the top of anybody’s ‘this will never happen’ list. It was well known that Punk had agreed a contract extension with WWE to get him to the Money In The Bank PPV. What most did not know was that Punk had actually agreed a full contract renewal, so when he was made number 1 contender for John Cena’s title, nobody ever thought that he would win, and leave the PPV with the title (especially after the Alundra Blaze threw the Women’s title in the bin live o n WCW TV many years ago), but he did both, and the wrestling community sat shocked.
2. Edge Retires
Quite possibly the saddest day in wrestling in 2011 was the news that Edge was forced to retire through injury. What made this shocking is that the news came out of the blue. Edge had successfully retained his title at Wrestlemania, and the future looked bright. However, unknown to most fans Edge had been suffering a long time, and had agreed with WWE that his final match would be at Wrestlemania. It was kept so quiet that most fans though his farewell speech was a work. It turns out it was not.
1. Vince Steps Down
Vince McMahon has been the driving force behind the WWE for years. He was almost immortal, and fans could not imagine the company without him. However, on July 18th while Vince was giving a speech, HHH came down to the ring and told Vince that the Board had relieved him of his duties, now although this is a work (he is still in charge backstage) the emotion displayed on his face seemed genuine enough for fans to chant ‘Thank You Vince’ to close the show. Thank You Vince, indeed.