The 8-Ball 12.30.11: The Top 8 Matches of 2011

Before we begin, I would like to one again make it clear that this is a personal list based on my opinions. Everyone has different opinions. That is what makes pro wrestling fans so interesting. Almost no two fans like the same exact things. So enjoy my point of view as we look at some of the greatest matches of 2011.

2011 has been a very odd year for wrestling. We’ve seen some incredible things. We have seen young guys get huge pushes. We have seen veterans rewarded for their years of dedication. We all watched Edge say goodbye to the place he called home for over 12 years, as he was forced retire. We were forced to say goodbye to the “Macho Man” Randy Savage after he tragically died earlier this year. We witnessed wrestling history as CM Punk sat Indian style and delivered a Earth shattering “shoot” promo. We’ve also seen some of the best matches of our time and for whatever the reasons be they are the best matches of 2011. Some make this list because of their amazing match quality, some for the amazing story behind them, and many for a little of both reasons. I hope you all have a great 2011, and I hope you enjoy going back and reading about some of the greatest contests that 2011 had to offer. Happy New Year!

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The 8 Greatest Matches of 2011

Honorable Mention: The Undertaker vs. Triple H (WWE Wrestlemania XXVII)

For one thing, out of every promo video I have ever seen the video before this match was absolutely the best I have ever seen. The guys who make these for Undertaker’s annual Wrestlemania match seem to outdo themselves every year. This video gave me goose bumps. The addition of Mark Collie’s In Time had to be one of the best uses of music in a promo ever. It fit so perfect with the feud, and with the characters.

For all the praise that Mark Callaway gets for his portrayal of The Undertaker this was not his best Wrestlemania match. The match between the two 40-somethings was absolutely incredible live, but after the magic of Wrestlemania wore off what we are left with is a match that moved very slowly. Even so you cannot deny the drama and tension that Undertaker and Triple H created. The Undertaker continues to be one of the biggest selling points of Wrestlemania even at the age of 46. The story of the match worked fantastically despite the match being a tad sluggish. Triple H beat The Undertaker so badly that he could not even stand. He could only simply lock in the Hell’s Gate on Triple H and hold on for dear life.

It was a good ending, and it told a great story, but the match dragged on far too long. It was a 30 minute match that could have been a 20 minute match if you had cut out all the laying around they did. This would have been a far more memorable match had it been given a little less time.

Even with its vaults this match aids in telling the final story of The Undertaker. The undefeated streak is all he has left. The last thing he has to hold onto. At Wrestlemania XXVII he held on, but just barely.

…Also Worth A Mention:

Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE Royal Rumble), John Cena vs. Rey Mysterio (WWE Raw), Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett (TNA Lockdown)

#8: Dolph Ziggler vs. CM Punk (WWE Raw, November 21st)

This was a champion vs. champion match that took place just a few weeks ago the night after CM Punk defeated Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship. So we got the new WWE Champion verses the United States Champion. These two guys really delivered a fantastic match on Raw.

It is difficult for me to think of two guys who have been as consistent as these two have been all year. Punk and Ziggler have had great match after great match every single week. Here they demonstrate just how entertaining the WWE style of wrestling can be when mastered. Yes its bit showier than other types of wrestling, but these guys know how to maximize it. What we saw was a great back and forth TV match.

After we come back for commercial break is when the match really got me excited. The pace picks up, the back to back counters begin, and the 2-counts become ever more prevalent. I also have to mention the beautiful drop kick Ziggler delivered to CM Punk’s face. I mean this kid made Orton’s drop kick look sloppy. The match came to an end when Ziggler went to finish Punk off, but ended up eating Punk’s knee after a Go to Sleep. This was a great match and both guys walked away looking strong.

Despite a little miscommunication between the two in the opening moments and a nearly botched fame-asser from Ziggler this match was definitely one of the best matches on Raw all year. I was going to give the #8 spot to John Cena vs. Rey Mysterio from the July 25th edition of Monday Night Raw, but after remembering this I decided I preferred this one over the Cena/Mysterio match.

#7: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Beer Money Inc. (TNA Genesis)

To be quite honest, 2011 has been an absolutely terrible year for TNA. I might even go as far to say that 2011 was the worst year in TNA history. That’s saying something. I can’t lie, I have not seen every TNA pay-per-view and I have seen any less main event matches for the TNA World Title. I have tried to watch some TNA; that which I can bare to stare at anyways. There has been a very bright spots here and there amongst the dull abyss that has been Impact Wrestling. One of those bright spots was this fantastic tag team bought.

Without any doubt in my mind, this is simply the greatest tag team match of 2011. I’m sure many readers will have a problem with me ranking this match as one of the greatest match of TNA of 2011, but you have to remember my personal taste in matches might be far different from yours. I’d rather see a match like this than something with Jeff Jarrett or Sting. That is just me.

To me, this was just such a intelligently paced match. The contrasting style of these two teams really told a great story. Shelly and Sabin would try and build momentum by picking up the pace and making quick tags while Beer Money would stay in control by grounding the Machine Guns and using their underhanded tactics to isolate the legal opponent.

The final 10 minutes of the match are just awesome. We see Sabin kick out of the DWI, which prompts a TNA chant, and then after a hard fought battle miss communication costs the Motor City Machine Guns their TNA Tag Team Championship. This was a fantastic tag team match from arguably two of the greatest tag teams in the history of TNA.

#6: AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels (TNA Destination X)

This was a match of two wrestlers who have spent the last decade defining what wrestling in TNA should be like. These two TNA legend got the honor to main even TNA’s Destination X, which was a love letter of a pay-per-view to all of the fans of the X-Division that use to define TNA.

I don’t think I have to discuss how terrific this match was. Style and Daniel are real life best friends and they know how to work with one another. This match was not storyline driven at all, but even so it is just another example of just how talented some of the guys in TNA are. This match, like the entire Destination X show, was a celebration of what TNA use to be about. They even brought out the six-sided ring. I just remember thinking it was almost like a time warp that had taken me back six years to see this match.

The end of the match came when the first ever X-Division Champion, AJ Styles, hit the Spinal Tap on a downed “Fallen Angel.” I couldn’t think of better end to a show that was all about remembering what originally put TNA on the map. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels got to close the show both with their hands held high in the air as the fans chanted “TNA;” a company they aided in putting on the map.

#5: The Miz vs. John Morrison (WWE Raw, January 3rd)

To me, even if this was the first match of 2011 for the WWE, I still believe this was the best television match of Raw all year.

This was not your typical free TV match we see every week on Raw. This was a Falls Count Anywhere match for the WWE Championship. For more or less the first five minutes of this match John Morrison had to fight both the WWE Champion and his protégée, Alex Riley. For some reason this match just clicked and the crowd was really responsive to everything Miz and Morrison did and that was a big plus. Morrison pulled out all the stops. John, as usual, threw caution to win as he played off the fact that this could have been Morrison’s one and only shot to become WWE Champion. He dove off the huge WWE “W” sign and near the end of the match he even went through a table attempting to hit Starship Pain on the downed WWE Champion. That was all the opening The Miz needed to hit the Skull Crushing Finale to secure the win and hold on to his title.

Before this there was a moment I, and I think the entire WWE crowd, thought Morrison was actually going to win. He repeatedly kicked out of some of The Miz’s moves that looked like the end of the match, but when Morrison hit Starship Pain from the top rope I thought we were going to crown a new champion. Alas, it was for not. The Miz would go on to main event Wrestlemania, and Morrison would become burnt out. Still, we have tons of matches like this to remember Morrison fondly until he decides to return to jumping around the ring to our utter delight.

#4: Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian (WWE Extreme Rules)

This match was to decide the vacant World Heavyweight Championship after Edge was forced to retire due to injuries he had suffered throughout his career.

Going into this match I think many people were expecting Del Rio to win the title and take it with him to Raw. However, the thought of Christian winning lingered in the back of my head. This ladder match was very different for Christian. The thing about Captain Charisma is that he is able to compete in smart ladder matches with only one other opponent and he is also capable of putting on good showing in “ubber spot-fests” such as Money in the Bank. This match really reminds me of a match Christian had with Jericho at Unforgiven 2004. That was a great match just like this one.

Christian was still playing a babyface and after a really competitive ladder match with Del Rio we see Christian unhook the World Heavyweight Championship and finally complete his lifelong journey of becoming a champion in the WWE. I’m sure plenty of people think Christian only became champion because of Edge’s sudden retirement, and that may be true, but Christian still really deserved this win.

Christian and Del Rio proved that you don’t need 6 or 8 guys chasing after a briefcase to have a good ladder match in 2011. The told and excellent story and we got a heartwarming ending. Unfortunately, two nights later Orton would defeat Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship and so began the slow turn of Captain Charisma. All together this was my favorite match of the first half of 2011. I thought it was so nice to see two guys who had never been World Heavyweight Champion battle over the vacant title. Be sure to watch this match.

#3:Davey Richards vs. Eddie Edwards (ROH Best in The World)

I’m going to go ahead and admit the fact that I know almost nothing about independent wrestling, but even I couldn’t escape the buzz that this match generated earlier this year. This past June everywhere I looked I was reading about this match. I knew Richards and Edwards had had many matches before, but knowing little to nothing about them at this point in time I went into this with no expectations. Safe to say Richards and Edwards spent over 30 minutes showing me what I had been missing.

The whole storyline was based around the fact that Richards had never won the ROH World Championship. Not being a regular follower of Ring of Honor, I’m not certain what the relationship was between Richards and Edwards, but it seemed to be one of a mutual friendship. Despite my limited knowledge of Ring of Honor I was still very pleased with this match. I was going in blind and after I saw this match I was up half the night searching for matches between these two. It was like when I first watched a match with Shawn Michaels or the first time I saw Chris Benoit wrestle. In wrestling nothing is better than seeing a great wrestler wrestle for the first time. So someday when these guys go on to achieve more success I’ll be able to say that this match was the first match I ever saw them in.

I’m sure I will get torn to pieces by more knowledgeable ROH fans. I’m not pretending to know everything about Ring of Honor. I’m sure that there are more fantastic matches from ROH that I have yet to uncover. So instead of calling me an idiot for picking this match, why not suggest more matches for me to watch? ROH has peaked my interest with this great match. So don’t hate on me for not being a fan. You should help me discover what I’ve been missing!

#2: Randy Orton vs. Christian (WWE Over The Limit)

Christian and Orton have arguably been the two most underrated wrestlers in the WWE of 2011. Together, Orton and Christian had the best feud all year on Smackdown. Every match they had was brilliant. As good as they all were, I had to give the nod to their match at Over the Limit.

This is the match were we began to see the frustration build in Captain Charisma. The cracks began to form, and his demeanor began to revert back to the Christian of old. After a wild back and forth contest Orton went to do something he has rarely ever done. He went to shake the hand of his opponent. Christian initially pushed Orton, but reluctantly shook the hand of the World Heavyweight Champion before leaving the ring in utter disappointment in himself.

Christian and Orton most definitely had the best string of matches of 2011. All throughout the summer they wagged war at pay-per-view after pay-per-view and this was the beginning. They even had a no holds barred match at SummerSlam I considered putting as the #2 match, but after seeing both of these matches again I still think the Over the Limit match is the more entertaining match. It was just so fantastically paced, and they worked such a smooth contest that I could not, not rank it this high.
I also think I prefer this one to their other bouts because of the changes we see in Christian Cage. As much as I love a great match, adding a little storyline to it always seems to spark my interest even more. It makes me care about what I’m watching, and Christian and Orton succeeded in doing that at Over the Limit.

#1: CM Punk vs. John Cena (WWE Money in the Bank)

I’m sure you will all find the #1 pick to be predictable, but to me if you go into an article like this already picturing a certain match at the #1 spot it more than likely deserves to be there anyhow. To me, this match was simply the biggest contest of the year.

It is a damn shame this was not the main event of Wrestlemania. No match this year had a stronger build than this one. Couple that with a red hot angle with two of the WWE’s brightest stars and the fact that the match itself was terrific and we get the best match of 2011.

For one, I can’t remember the last time I ever saw a crowd as raucous as that one at a WWE event. The atmosphere around this match was electric. It was like Cena and Punk had lightening in a bottle in Chicago.
So this match is already getting a ton of heat as being overrated, but the haters are going to hate. This match had a great build up, a bigger buzz than any match wrestling has seen in years, and Cena and Punk delivered a very entertaining match to boot. In the end the result was one that rocked the WWE to it’s core. Punk defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship and blew McMahon a kiss goodbye as he escaped Chicago with the crown jewel of wrestling in his arms.

It was the most excited I had been about pro wrestling since the HBK and Jericho angle from 2008. It actually brought back my creative desire to write again. Yes the WWE would make mistakes with this storyline, but they always do. Despite this, for about 2 months we got awesome promos and one hell of an angle to remember from the “Summer of Punk II.”

The angle finally took a turn for the worse after the conclusion of SummerSlam. The focus would drift from Punk’s red hot character to a very dismal feud between Kevin Nash and Triple H. Regardless of the botched follow up to the story arc, this angle was the one that took CM Punk from formidable main eventer to a bona fide mega-draw for the company. Punk brings to the WWE and edge that Cena can’t. After 5 years of slowly rising up the ladder, CM Punk has ascended the very top of the WWE. Hell has frozen over, and it feels damn good…

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Since I have a little extra time this week I though I’d reply to a couple of comments from you guys.

From Guest#5195,
“Funk/Douglas/Sabu anyone?”

From (simply) Guest,
“So nobody had really ever heard of a three way dance before ECW, but no Funk, Sabu, Douglas?”

If people would simply take the time to read what I wrote, stuff like this could be avoided. I mentioned in my intro for last weeks column that ” I’m sure I’ll get a lot of hate for not including a couple of the legendary three-way dances from ECW. In all honesty, after re-watching those matches some of them have not aged well at all. No disrespect intended toward the hardcore promotion.” So yes I have seen the match between Terry Funk, Shane Douglas, and Sabu. It was not a terrible match by any means, but after watching some of the matches I talked about last week it just didn’t hold up at all.

From FTC in 3D,

“Dont forget about HHH v HBK v Benoit at Backlash.”

From Guest#6426,
“Personally I’d have the WM XX and Unbreakable 2005 at 1a and 1b. Both are ***** to me. In fact the top 5 could be comprised of these two matches and the subsequent rematches they each had lol. They were all just that good.”

As a general rule I don’t include rematches on the same list. I think including the same two matches on the same list is sort of pointless. So, what I do is simply pick my favorite. Like for instance, I prefer the Triple Threat match from Wrestlemania XX to the rematch at Backlash (Although it was a Hell of match too). This has sort of been my policy even when I was writing the Pro Wrestling Countdown. My logic is that basically it allows me to include a wider variety of matches and feature more matches that might usually get overlooked because the same match-up got mentioned two or three times in one list. Some may like that I do this, some may not. Sometimes I break from this rule, but usually I stick to it. I’m sure I’ll have to explain this basically every week, so I’m writing it here so I can come back and copy and paste it. Ha

From Ervgotti85,
“No Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho vs Steve Austin from king of the ring 2001? Boourns”

If you must know, I did originally have it in the Top 8. However, after awhile I realized that I had too many matches and one had to be cut. That was a great match and I enjoyed going back and watching it, but out of all the matches I watched for this list it held my attention the least. Plus I had already featured another triple threat match during the Invasion angle. I thought I made the right call, but maybe i was wrong? lol

From Guest#8174,
“Triple threat matches are interesting but honestly hard to pull off. I like the chaos of it but a lot of times it just descends into one guy taking a breather on the outside while the other two fight. I think WWE is doing a lot of 3 ways because they can’t think of anything else to do with their guys. It does help to straddle the face/heel line though.

And seriously, leaving off ECW? They practically popularized the three-way match. It seems nowadays 411 has a BIG WWE bias since they’re the last game left in town.

I already addressed the ECW issue in the first comment, but speaking to my “WWE bias” I have to object. In my original list I even had a triple threat match that featured three WCW cruiser-weights. I believe it was referred to in the comments. Simply put, the triple threat match did not become popular until the late 1990s and even then we didn’t see many of them. I try to not only showcase the WWE, but I also don’t want that to get in the way of featuring a match I truly think deserves to be in this list. So i took the WCW match between Mysterio, Kidman, and Juventud out. I don’t like only featuring WWE matches either, but in addition to being the most mainstream, the WWE also has the longest history to pull from which also gives them an advantage over the younger promotions like ROH and TNA. So I’m sorry if you feel I short changed the other promotions. I more than happily mentioned two TNA matches that I have long adored so I hope that made up for it a little.

From Dude,
“Screw the 8-Ball. 8 is such a weird # to use for rankings. You should have made a Top 10.”

I was previously the author of the Pro Wrestling Countdown which was a top ten, but the 411mania guys wanted to bring the 8 Ball column to the Wrestling Section as it is a column featured in the other sections of the site. I do add in some comments for my Honorable Mention just for the readers. So more or less you get a bonus match in addition to the top eight. I don’t hate the name by any means, plus I’m just happy to have a place to write again. No complaints out of me, plus the name doesn’t really matter to me. The quality of the article is my main concern.

From Truth Hurts,
“Number one is spot on, kudos to Ross Rutherford.”

I debated between my #1 and my #2. I finally decided that there was no way I could rank Styles/Daniels/Joe over HBK/HHH/Benoit. For one as great as the Unbreakable Three-Way is there is little to no emotional/story value to it. While the action is simply outstanding in both matches, the main event of Wrestlemania XX and the outcome was a huge moment that will endure for generations. I knew either way I would hear comments saying it should have been reversed so I went with my gut feeling and picked the one that I had a more emotional connection to. Still the Unbreakable Three-Way kicks major ass. Thanks for the comment.

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Well that will do it for the second edition of The 8-Ball. Be sure to come back next Thursday for edition #3. Also take a look around the rest of 411mania for other great articles. Have a great New Years guys. Bye!