The 8-Ball 1.5.12: The Top 8 Moments That Defined 2011

Before we begin, I would like to as always 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 moments that I believe truly defined 2011.

With 2011 officially coming to a close we begin a new year with tons of anticipation. A new year that will play host to many memorable moments in the world of professional wrestling. One moment I think we can all agree on that might become memorable is the confrontation between John Cena and The Rock that will take place at Wrestlemania XVIII. We, surely, have already made a memorable moment this past Monday on Raw with the return of Chris Jericho. With that being said I thought I would begin 2012 by taking a look back at some of the moments that defined 2011. We saw it all this past year, from shocking returns, to unexpected tragedies. Some of these moments will go down in history, some for good reason and others for bad. Memorable does not necessarily equal great. 2011 was all around a fairly decent year as we watch some of our old favorites have their last hooray and we witnessed the new up and comers compete ferociously as they tried to proof their worth. 2011 was by far a very transitional year in many ways, but this made it even more interesting than years past.

So without further adieu, let us take a look into the 8-Ball and take a look back at some of the most memorable moments of 2011.

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The 8 Greatest Moments of 2011

#8: Christian Wins The World Heavyweight Championship

This one makes the list largely because I was honestly beginning to think that the WWE was never going to give Christian a run with one of their world championships, but finally it happened at WWE Extreme Rules. I still find it a bit sad that it took the abrupt end of Edge’s career for them to finally put the title on Christian (and even then only for sentimental reasons) and then proceed to take it off of him two night latter at the Smackdown tapping in favor of Randy Orton. He did get another run with the title later that year, but seeing Christian sitting on top of the ladder holding the World Heavyweight Championship made me feel really happy for “Captain Charisma.” Christian has worked his butt off for years and had a great year which will be marked by this moment.

I think this will be a huge, career defining, moment for Christian as he hugged his best friend, Edge, and reveled in the moment in which he had waited so long for. After this night we began to witness the slow heel turn of Christian, and he and Randy Orton would spend the rest of the summer having what I believe was the best string of matches of 2011. They constantly put on great performances with one another. It was just so comforting to finally see Christian pushed like a main event performer. He truly deserves it.

#7: Daniel Bryan Cashes In Money In The Bank

I actually was watching this show live and second before his music hit I thought to myself “If Daniel Bryan ran in right now this would be perfect.” He did just that at WWE TLC and within seconds was holding the WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship belt that had just been won by The Big Show who had defeated “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry, seconds before. There were many people who never thought little Bryan Danielson from ROH would be able to find success in a place like the WWE. While his ride has not been necessarily a smooth one, Daniel Bryan has silenced the critics who said he would never make it in the big leagues. From here on out, no matter what the WWE does with him they will never be able to take away the fact that he is the World Heavyweight Champion.

This was a truly monumental moment for long time fans of his work before entering the WWE, and I think anyone who likes to see an underdog like Danielson achieve his dreams truly thought this was a huge moment. People talk about it being a big deal because of his size, but I think they miss the point. Small wrestlers have been champion before; the big deal here is that the WWE is pushing someone who made a name for themselves outside the company. It is truly awesome to see as CM Punk said a few weeks back “two indy schmucks” representing the WWE as we begin 2012.

#6: The Undertaker & Triple H’s Silent WWE Raw Return

In February, promos began to air hyping up for a return/debut of a WWE superstar. While speculation ran wild that these promos could be signaling the WWE debut of Sting, but on the 21st of February it turned out to be the return of The Undertaker. The Deadman made his way to the ring to the tune of John Cash’s chilling track; “Ain’t No grave.” Before the legendary Phenom could even speak another long absent WWE legend came back to steal The Undertaker’s thunder. The lights turned green and the sounds of Motorhead filled the arena. Triple H entered the ring and came eye to eye with Undertaker. As the two most tenured talents stared each other down both of their attention’s turned to the hanging Wrestlemania XVII sign looming in the distance, high above the arena.

Without a word, Triple H and Undertaker began the build for their Wrestlemania encounter. It was a huge moment in the build to Wrestlemania and even though not a single word was uttered, fans everywhere marked out for the return of two of their favorite stars. The build to the match was simple, but well done in my opinion. While the match was not as universally acclaimed as The Undertaker’s matches with Shawn Michaels, they still managed to have a very dramatic match that was, as expected, a huge selling point of Wrestlemania.

#5: The Disaster That Was; TNA Victory Road

This moment is going to be memorable for all of the wrong reasons. It was so bad that, unfortunately, it has eclipsed every single other moment in TNA this year. I have never been more embarrassed to be wrestling than I was after watching the main event of TNA’s Victory Road. Everyone has talked trash towards Jeff Hardy for coming to the show in such a bad condition, but I have to take this moment to really point the finger at TNA who allowed Hardy to go out and preform. It would have been far less detrimental to their credibility if they had simply brought someone else out to face Sting in an ad-libbed match. I mean yes, no matter who they had to replace Hardy it would have still been a really crappy cover up, but at least Sting could have worked a match longer than one minute long, and the fans could have had a decent main event match.

TNA could not have possibly screwed up worse here and the fact that they did not fire Jeff Hardy that night on the spot will forever puzzle me. All of this is coming from a guy who used to be a really big fan of the reaction Jeff Hardy could get from the audience. Well after this I can say I will never regain the respect for Hardy that I once had. He has messed up so much and for some reason someone is still willing to take a chance on him. Who? TNA. Why? Because they’re TNA…

#4: Edge Says Goodbye

I’m not sure if anything came more out of left field than the announcement Edge made April 11 on Monday Night Raw.

After successfully defending his title at Wrestlemania XVII against Alberto Del Rio, Edge announced he was being forced to retire. The injuries he suffered throughout his nearly 15 year career finally caught up to him and doctors finally told the “Rated R Superstar” that he could no longer be cleared for in-ring action. It was emotional seeing a guy who had given everything to something he truly loved, have to say goodbye because of something outside of his control. In an age where we see guys wrestle well into their 40s and 50s it was very shocking to see Edge, who was only 37, be forced to leave. Even so, not many people can say they got to retire as World Heavyweight Champion and got to have their final pro wrestling match in a main event of Wrestlemania. It should serve as a cruel reminder to every pro wrestler that any match could be their last.

“Edge” Adam Copeland gave us 12 years of fantastic matches and seeing him go was very bitter sweet. On one hand, we had to see one of the greatest talents in the WWE leave in the prime of his career, but on the other we get solace in the fact that this was caught before any irreversible damage was done to Edge’s body. Despite having to retire well before his time, he will surly go down as one of the greatest WWE talents of the first decade of the 21st Century, and of all time.

#3: CM Punk Breaks The “4th Wall”

Over the summer rumors began to surface online that CM Punk’s contract was coming up and he was not resigning. The WWE used this to their advantage and created a storyline around this in order to push CM Punk to superstardom. The result was CM Punk cutting a worked shoot that was so believable that for the first 24 hours many fans had trouble telling if it was a work or not. He came to the ring near the end of Raw, cost John Cena a match, and spent five minutes talking candidly about his feelings towards the WWE as he sat Indian style on the entrance ramp. What followed was quiet simply the best promo I’ve seen in ages.

Punk then went on to cut promos promising he would leave the company, defeat John Cena, and take the WWE Championship with him. In one night CM Punk made himself the most talked about guy in the WWE. One promo propelled Punk from above average main event star to one of the most over guys in wrestling. He got the privilege to say the word “wrestling” and preform a very rare worked shoot. This promo and this angle revitalized my interest in professional wrestling. It seems like every summer when McMahon gets farther away from his “Wrestlemania Buzz” he manages to pull out an awesome story-line to keep us all coming back.

I also have to say that the WWE is so good at utilizing the worked shoot in a sparing manner that when they do give us one it comes across as a huge deal. This promo spawned about 200 “Best Promos EVER” lists the following week online, and by the end of the night everyone and their mother had become a mark for CM Punk and his WWE Ice Cream Bars. Well played WWE.

#2: The Rock Has FINALLY Come Back…To The WWE

I was a part of the group that thought that The Rock would never truly return to the WWE. So when the WWE announced the Host of Wrestlemania on Raw I was totally dumb founded when I heard the familiar “If You Smell……..” The arena exploded as the fans witnessed the return of “The Great One.” I don’t think The Rock saying “Finally, The Rock has come back” has ever been as appropriate. What followed was a 20 minute plus promo in which I, admittedly, marked out the entire time. I’ll come clean, despite not being the biggest fan of The Rock, I could not contain my excitement in seeing him back in a WWE ring. After being away for almost eight long years The Rock returned and had the WWE eating out of the palm of his hand. The Rock then hosted Wrestlemania and ended the biggest event of the year by hitting The Rock Bottom on the WWE’s golden boy, John Cena.

The following night The Rock and John Cena came face to face once again, this time a ground breaking match was made. The main event of Wrestlemania was made a year in advance for Wrestlemania XXVIII in which The Rock will face John Cena in what might be the biggest match the WWE has ever seen, and it could end up being one of the most memorable moments of tis coming year.

#1: CM Punk Escapes Chicago With the WWE Championship

The image of CM Punk escaping the ring, blowing a kiss goodbye to Vince McMahon, as he gallivanted off into the sea of Chicago fans with the crown jewel of the WWE finally in his grasps will be the defining moment of 2011. There is no doubt in my mind. Not only that, but it will be a moment that goes down in WWE history. The angle was red hot and every single fan watching Money in the Bank was sitting on pens and needles waiting to see if CM Punk could pull off the unthinkable. Many will argue that the follow up to this pay-per-view ruined the angle, but I think we should appreciate that for one night the WWE did everything right. Yes, the angle lost focus and Punk was not booked the best, but this does nothing to take away from how electric this moment was.

He basically gave the middle finger to McMahon, his money, the entire WWE and strolled out of a WWE PPV with a WWE title. It was just beautiful. The explosion of cheers when the referee’s hand dropped for a third time following Punk’s Go To Sleep was just thunderous. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to be there. This moment will be the moment that defines CM Punk’s entire career.

It is so easy to sit behind a keyboard and complain about everything and forget what you really love about professional wrestling. We all stop being so jaded and enjoy the moments that make being a wrestling fan truly worth it. This was one of those moments that make all the shit I get for being a fan of a “fake” sport worth the flake. Punk, even if just for a moment, made wrestling cool again.

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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#6583,
“LOL. Bro, there is NO WAY these are the best matches of the year. They might be YOUR favorite matches of the year, but Bro, there is NO WAY these are the best matches of the year. You should really put a disclaimer on here explaining that these are YOUR favorite matches of the year, and not the BEST matches of the year, because Bro, there is NO WAY these are the best matches of the year.”

..Do you mean this disclaimer that was at the beginning of my article that you failed to read, because you have the attention span of a 7 year old child? lol:

“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.”

From Jeff Bayard,
“Couldn’t squeeze in the fatal 4 way from the Slammys? Shame on you.”

Jeff is referring to the match between Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, and Zach Ryder. Yes I really enjoyed that match (in fact is was pretty much the best thing on the whole damn show) but I really couldn’t justify putting it on the list. Maybe it would have made it on a best TV matches on 2011, but we got a ton of great television matches in 2011 also. Its been a good year for TV.

From Mello Yello Enthusiast ,
“I especially admire you avoiding matches with four or more competitors/teams. Having a great mach in an elimination chamber match isn’t really that much of an accomplishment, as there’s generally no way all competitors could have an issue with each other (anything higher than a triple threat for singles competition or tag team wrestling shouldn’t count as match of the year contenders). So bravo on living up to my weird ass standards.”

I just have always been like that. I don’t think it is fair to compare Money in The Bank, Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber matches to actual wrestling matches. I don’t mind including gimmick matches like ladder matches, or anything like that, but I don’t think its fair to include multi-man spot fests. I mean how do you compare the two? You can’t judge how good an Elimination Chamber match is compared to a match like CM Punk vs. John Cena. Those are just two completely different things. So I just don’t even go there. lol

From Mello Yello Enthusiast ,
“Well done giving Taker/HHH only an honorable mention. It’s quite fitting. As I’ve said before, it was fantastic to watch the first time around but it completely loses its punch upon repeat viewing. There is far too much laying around and finisher trading to make it a great match. It’s more a series of cool moments strung together by resting. The novelty quickly wears off.”

I am still shocked to see some journalists online rank this in their top five or even top three matches of 2011. It really shocks me. I mean I get it, its The Undertaker. I’m about the biggest fan there is of The Undertaker, but I even had reservation about giving them the Honorable Mention spot. In the end, I gave it the HM because of how into the match I was when I was watching live. After that it dawned on me how many flaws it had. So yes, I still gave it a mention, but I only gave it the most minor mention I felt necessarily. Hopefully The Undertaker gets a different opponent at his next (and possibly final) Wrestlemania.

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Well that will do it for the third edition of The 8-Ball. Be sure to come back next Thursday for edition #4. Also take a look around the rest of 411mania for other great articles. Have a great week, guys! Later.