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| One of the biggest stories in WWE Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Promotion: World Wrestling Entertainment
What Happened in 2011: This past year was an eventful one for the biggest wrestling company in the world. It went through some pretty high highs while having the uncanny ability to sink to some really low lows, sometimes right after their high points. It certainly wasn't the shitshow it was in the mid '00s, but at the same time, it could've been so much better than it was. So, let us dive in.
The biggest part of the narrative for WWE was in its main event, or the flux in it so to speak. It was a story of new faces getting the ball, old faces returning or even older faces getting a run after years of stop-and-start pushes. There was a marked reason for this; the main players on top were dropping like flies. Edge had to retire shortly after WrestleMania due to lingering injuries. The duct tape and silly string holding Rey Mysterio's knee finally gave way. Big Show and Kane both took vacations to stay healthy. Randy Orton is right now having an injury scare that, depending on whom you believe, will keep him out anywhere from six days to six months. Undertaker has wrestled a grand total of one match in the past calendar year. Triple H is segueing into becoming an office guy. Let's not forget that in 2010, the company lost Big Dave Batista and Chris Jericho. That left John Cena as the only main event caliber guy who had been established before the year started that stuck around the entire year. Okay, maybe Sheamus counts too, but then again, he himself had growing pains as well.
The first name who got his ascension on was Alberto del Rio. Already having a World Championship match on PPV under his belt from TLC in December '10, El Patron entered the Royal Rumble as a cautious favorite by outside observers who figured they needed to shake things up but didn't know if they'd have the faith to give the duke to a guy who was still in his first year in the company. They did indeed pull the trigger, and that got him the curtain jerker at WrestleMania, where his expected title win was postponed in favor of giving Edge one final WrestleMania moment.
(Technically, del Rio wasn't the first one to get his shot. Dolph Ziggler was, since he was set up to be Edge's challenger for his World Heavyweight Championship at the Rumble. Then again, the less said about his run in January, the better.)
The second big name that was thrown against the wall would have been the biggest story of the year given the magnitude of his star. The Rock, the most ELECTRIFYING man in sports entertainment, made his live return to WWE after seven years away with only Hall of Fame inductions and a taped message for Smackdown's 10th anniversary. He would go onto host WrestleMania, but that hosting gig wouldn't be benign. He got into it with Cena, whom he blamed for letting WWE lose the edge it had when he was putting boots to asses. Cena took exception to Rock for, well, leaving while Cena was left to carry the load by himself. And oh yeah, The Miz, who was Cena's titular opponent at WrestleMania, felt disrespected by both because they weren't giving him any attention. Of course, this meant that Miz would end up retaining his title after Rock laid the literal smack down on Cena as the special enforcer for that main event match. The night after, Cena challenged Rocky to a match at the next WrestleMania, which he accepted. The two cemented their agreement by destroying the Corre, y'know, that stable Wade Barrett started after CM Punk jacked his Nexus. Yeah, the less said about that the better.
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| A short-lived triumph Photo Credit: WWE.com |
R-Truth would get a shot to rise to the top in the summer time as well, but it wasn't about him. The summer didn't belong to Christian either. Or Orton. Or Miz. Or del Rio. It didn't even belong to Cena. It belonged to CM Punk. The Second City Saint announced at the onset of the build to Money in the Bank that his contract with WWE was running out the day after. He was planning on taking the title shot he had just earned by defeating Mysterio and del Rio and walking out of his hometown of Chicago with the WWE Championship. Okay, no way they'd let him walk out Champion, right?
Well, the next week, he came out, cost Cena a non-title tables match against Truth and then dropped the first of what would become many pipe bombs on the WWE. He mentioned other promotions. He said "Hi" to Colt Cabana. He called Triple H the doofus son-in-law. He opined that WWE would be better once Vince McMahon was dead. It was surreal. It was epic. It was awesome. Money in the Bank had gone from nondescript B-event to arguably the must-see card of the year. It turned out that it was foreshadowing for a few guys who'd make their marks in the second half of the year. del Rio and Daniel Bryan won Money in the Bank briefcases. Mark Henry brutalized the Big Show. But the biggest moment belonged to Punk, who entered the arena to a hero's welcome. The two men battled as equals, and in a year where Cena had played up his superman antics to annoying levels at times, this was huge. When Cena locked the STF in, McMahon and his stooge, John Laurinitis, came out to ensure that Cena would win through any means necessary. They tried to recreate the Montreal screwjob, but Cena wouldn't let them, clocking Laurinitis before he could call for the bell. IT cost him, and Punk got the Go to Sleep for the win.
In that moment, wrestling had reached the zenith of its coolness. The pipe bomb got the buzz rolling, but now, wrestling was alright to talk about. Punk went on a whirlwind media tour. He got a swanky, mainstream theme song. He got to main event the second biggest pay-per-view of the year. So, why isn't wrestling cool right now? Well, because at SummerSlam, WWE decided they'd inject Kevin Nash into the proceedings. Instead of Punk going on to continue his feud with Cena or move onto del Rio or Orton or whomever, he was dragged down into a morass of a feud with Triple H and his old, crippled buddy who had somehow lost all the charisma he had when he was even in TNA last. All the life was drained out of the RAW main event scene. All of it.
There were some redeeming factors. Alberto del Rio finally got his title run. The Miz and Truth joined together and formed a great temporary nuisance for Cena and later on for Survivor Series, The Rock in what was probably the most ham-handed way in interjecting Rock into a warm-up match ever. The best story that happened during this time though was the rise of Mark Henry. Disrespected and underused for a good portion of his WWE career, he was finally given the ball, and not only did he run with it, he busted through a goddamn brick wall, making every NFL fat guy touchdown ever look like a walk in the park. He destroyed cages, tables, barriers and even rings. He created the Hall of Pain. It was great.
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| HOLY SHIT YES Photo Credit: WWE.com |
And as for Cena? While he hasn't been (nor shouldn't be) phased out nor is he holding a title, he still remains relevant and one could argue as fresh as ever. He's fully embracing his duality right now, even to the point where they're selling the Cena sucks shirts (where he probably pockets some of the revenue from it... u mad, Cena haters?). All in all, WWE could do a lot worse, even if they could do a whole lot better.
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| u mad, Vince? Photo Credit: WWE.com |
What's Gonna Happen in 2012: As we head into WWE's busy season, all signs point to the build to WrestleMania. There's one match set in stone (Rock/Cena) and one that's as good as booked (Triple H/Taker II: THE RELAYABOUTENING). Everything else seems to be up in the air, and that includes the Royal Rumble. With Orton out injured, it seems unlikely that he'll win (unless his injury has been overstated). Another del Rio win seems unlikely as no one wins two in a row anymore. Sheamus seems feasible to me, because he's gotten a half-a-year of momentum behind him after being knocked back down to size. Dolph Ziggler is a dark horse candidate, although I'm not sure they'd use the Rumble as an elevating tactic two years in a row. The real out-of-leftfield option to me would be Chris Jericho.
See, there's been this series of "It begins" promos to be revealed on the next RAW. Everyone seems to think it's Jericho (although it could be anyone from a rebranded Skip Sheffield to the boring old Undertaker), and the smart money seems to be on a Punk/Jericho WWE Championship match at WrestleMania. Winning the Rumble would give Jericho a believable inside track to that match. If it's not Jericho who ends up programmed against Punk for Mania, what are options? The dream match would be Steve Austin, although my guess is they wouldn't want his in-ring return to be overshadowed by (or to overshadow) The Rock's. Ziggler would be a good option too, given that WrestleMania would also have two other big match options to carry it. Plus, it's WrestleMania.
The World Championship match looks murkier, as Daniel Bryan is far from a lock to make it to Miami with the Big Gold Belt. Whether it's Show, Henry, Sheamus, Orton or even Wade Barrett who ends up going to Mania as Champion is unclear at this point. I'd love to see Bryan get the chance to shine, but at this point I'm not getting my hopes up.
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| The future is bright for Dolph Ziggler Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Layla - The Divas are a running joke, and they should be, really. Any time a division is centered around vapid bitches who can't wrestle trying to keep up with the Beth Phoenixes and Nattie Neidharts of the division, it's going to be a disaster. That being said, Kharma is on her way back, and so is Layla, who not only has some of the best facial expressions and character chops, but who has also has improved by leaps and bounds in her in-ring career. She's far better at being Kelly Kelly than Kelly Kelly could ever hope to be, and when she returns from her ACL tear, she'll definitely help save the women's division.
Brodus Clay - His debut has been delayed and delayed and delayed again and again and again. That being said, the constant put offs have been great for the anticipation of his character and it'll make his debut on this RAW (well, knock on wood that it happens) that much more impactful. Clay is part of the new breed of hosses in WWE that can actually perform in the ring. I expect him to get the Kevin Nash/Kane treatment in the Rumble and from there, who knows how far he'll go.
David Otunga - Don't laugh. It's a lot easier to improve in the ring than it is to build upon a character base. While Otunga has shown he is limited, he's already shown that there are at least two character archetypes that he can thrive in. If WWE decides they ever want to revive the manager role, Otunga could provide struggling bad guys with a voice that will get them more boos than they'll know what to do with. If he works out his kinks in the ring, he could develop into a midcard stalwart. I've really softened my hate on Mr. Hudson over the last year or so.
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| A sign of things to come? Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Three Things I Want to See in 2012: 1 - Not giving up on the current crop of Champions. Yeah yeah, ratings are low, blah blah blah. The dirtsheets are all reporting that Vince is souring on the slate of titleholders, and I only half-believe that. All that being said, giving up on Punk, Bryan and Ryder would be a huge mistake. Ratings don't improve overnight, and the real important indicators right now are live crowd reactions and merchandise sales. Punk and Ryder have them in spades, while Bryan is getting there in both areas (his t-shirts are selling ok even though they're not sold in the live arenas right now...). It's always darkest before the dawn, but if they stay the course with Punk, they won't regret it later.
2 - "B" PPVs on the WWE Network. There are way too many events, and WWE is insistent on going with 13 in 12 months. Eek. There's another rumor going around that some if not all of the B shows will either be simulcast on the WWE Network or offered exclusively there. That is going to entice more people to shell out for the Network than Legends House or any amount of classic content. Besides, boldness is required for ventures such as these to pay off. Shunting over PPV events off the pay scale is the definition of bold.
3 - Continued build of the tag team division. WWE threw us fans clamoring for better tag team wrestling some red meat starting in the summer with the rise of the Ghan-Am Connection (I refuse to call them by their WWE name). The formation of the team and some mini-feuds with The Awesome Truth and Team Vickie was a good start, but it's not a good endgame. They signed Claudio Castagnoli and renamed him Antonio Cesaro. Chris Hero still seems like he's on the radar, although who knows at this point whether he'll actually get there. If they can't get teams like the Usos or Epico/Primo to resonate with the crowd, maybe it's time to try someone else. Either way, tag team wrestling makes for exciting television. WWE needs to keep at it rather than give up on it in the coming year.
