Best Show of 2011: WWE MONEY IN THE BANK

This show might be the best wrestling ppv ever. That's saying something considering everyone seems to think wrestling is in a lull. Even the WWE had a mediocre year, but this show was a great culmination of a terrific storyline and it also just happened to feature four really good matches. The Smackdown ladder match was one of the year's best. It featured Sin Cara being power bombed through a ladder and Daniel Bryan winning. The Raw ladder match was sloppy but entertaining and the Orton vs. Christian match was another good match in their string of good matches. There were two lousy matches on the show but the epic main event made up for it. CM Punk spent the end of June and half of July saying that he would beat Cena at this show for the title and leave the company because his contract was ending. In his hometown, amidst a raucous crowd, he did just that. It was a show full of high intensity with a stellar payoff. A show for the ages.

Best Wrestler of 2011: CM PUNK

There was really only one great match that CM Punk was in this year (his match against John Cena at July's Money in the Bank ppv), but he was the most entertaining, the best on the mic, the most interesting, the funniest, the freshest, and by the far the best thing about the WWE this year. It almost doesn't matter that his list of great matches was so small this year. When he finally got the go-ahead and went full bore with his anti-WWE campaign and told everyone that he was leaving the WWE with the title in July it made RAW the most intriguing it's been in a long time. The build up for MITB was epic and the match against Cena for the title and the crowd and the atmosphere at the show were legendary. CM Punk became a star and a good guy and it was awesome to see it unfold. His mic work on RAW was electric all year and when his music hit you got interested regardless. It was nice seeing a small guy from Ring of Honor finally ascend to the elite level and show us that he belonged there all along.

Best Match of 2011: EDGE vs. REY MYSTERIO vs. THE BIG SHOW vs. DREW MCINTYRE vs. WADE BARRET vs. KANE WWE Elimination Chamber

Surprisingly enough, 2011's best match featured three of the dullest wrestlers of the year; Barrett, Big Show, and Kane. But it did feature Mysterio and Edge, two of the year's best wrestlers. And it certainly helped that Drew Mcintyre acted like the match was real with his oh-so brutal treatment of everyone (a gruesome high light was when he launched Mysterio head first into one of the plastic doors). The end had Edge and Mysterio left and kicking out of each others finishers in a high-intensity flurry. Post-match, Alberto Del Rio ran out to beat up Edge and Christian ran out to beat up Del Rio. This truly had it all. It was epic and awesome and a masterpiece.

WWE TLC

Sunday, December 18th, 2011, from Baltimore

DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. ZACK RIDER: So Rider won the U.S. title here. If you think Cena sucks then you either really hate Rider or you're just oblivious to the fact that Rider is, more or less, a Cena clone (he's colorful both literally and figuratively, he has lame, kiddie catchphrases and he's a total face). Like Cena, he's not very versatile in the ring. He is energetic, but seeing him in the ring on Monday Night RAW alongside Daniel Bryan and CM Punk just made him look even more goofy and terrible than he probably is. His character type is mostly what's always been wrong with pro wrestling. And I like Ziggler a lot but even he couldn't get a good match out of this clown. The burning question is: can anyone? *1/2

KOFI KINGSTON & EVAN BOURNE vs. EPICO & PRIMO: I watch RAW, every ppv, and most Smackdown! episodes...yet I don't even know who Epico and Primo are. That doesn't make sense, does it? I suppose it's good that there are at least actual tag teams in the tag team division. As for the match? Basic. **

RANDY ORTON vs. WADE BARRETT "TABLES MATCH": Not bad, actually. Although Barrett is a totally dry character. **

BETH PHOENIX vs. KELLY KELLY: Not good. 1/2*

HHH vs. KEVIN NASH "SLEDGEHAMMER LADDER MATCH": This was epically slow. And is this a leftover idea of Vince Russo's? Sledge hammer on a pole? Nash fell over before HHH could Pedigree him which just proves that Nash is too old to be doing this shit. For a ladder match they didn't do a lot of big spots. Nash did fall off and through a table. *1/2

SHEAMUS vs. JACK SWAGGER: Um...yeah, this was pure filler. 1/2*

THE BIG SHOW vs. MARK HENRY "CHAIRS MATCH"/DANIEL BRYAN vs. THE BIG SHOW: Mark Henry took a punch to the face and lost the title then knocked out Show. Bryan cashed in his MITB title shot and pinned show. The problem is that Bryan did this to Henry a few weeks ago on Smackdown! and won the title but Henry was injured and thus not able to compete and thus the title win was voided. So we already saw this. Still, Bryan as champ is the best thing the WWE has done in a long time. The chairs match sucked but giving the title to Bryan was awesome. **1/2

CODY RHODES vs. BOOKER T.: This was awful. And while Booker T. is old, it's not like he was entertaining in his prime, anyway (although his battle in the Green Frog supermarket with 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was hilarious like, what? Ten years ago?). 1/2*

ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. CM PUNK vs. THE MIZ "TLC MATCH": The surprise? Cena wasn't on this show. Another surprise? Del Rio's ring announcer took the biggest bump in this match, falling off a ladder and through a ringside table, backwards. There weren't as many big spots in this match, but it was entertaining. **1/2

TNA FINAL RESOLUTION

From Orlando

RVD vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS: Old dudes. Not fun to watch. *1/2

ROBBIE E vs. ERIC YOUNG: I like Young. He should be the champ. He has more charisma than most of this and the WWE's locker room combined. Alas, this wasn't very memorable except when Young took off his pants. *1/2

MATT MORGAN & CRIMSON vs. DEVON & POPE: Pretty terrible. Watching Morgan wrestle is akin to watching a train wreck. 1/2*

AUSTIN ARIES vs. KID KASH: Man has the X-Division gotten bad. Two heels fighting? Who writes this shit? *1/2

GAIL KIM vs. MICKIE JAMES: Missed this match.

KURT ANGLE vs. JAMES STORM: Angle missed a moonsault. Has he ever connected with it? Storm won but Storm is not fun, exciting, or thrilling to watch. **

JEFF HARDY vs. JEFF JARRETT "CAGE MATCH": Hardy did a Swanton Bomb off the top of the cage and missed. That was about it for entertainment. He wins a title shot and either Jeff or Karen will be fired on Impact. I was expecting more. **

AJ STYLES vs. BOBBY ROODE "IRON MAN MATCH": It wasn't a sixty minute Iron Match match (thank God) but a thirty minute one. It was average but might have been better if the ending didn't suck. AJ did a wicked, top-rope 450 somersault maneuver which was perhaps the highlight of the night. The match ended up tied. With time running down, Roode ran away and it was a draw. **

WWE SURVIVOR SERIES

Sunday, November 20th, 2011, from New York City

DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. JOHN MORRISON: This was a decent, by-the-numbers opener. Boy are they pushing Ziggler hard. What happened to Morrison? He was in the title hunt in the Spring. ** (out of ****)

BETH PHOENIX vs. EVE TORRES: Pretty much a typical, lackluster women's match. *

TEAM ORTON (RANDY ORTON & SHEAMUS & SIN CARA & KOFI KINGSTON & MASON RYAN) VS. TEAM BARRETT (WADE BARRETT & JACK SWAGGER & DOLPH ZIGGLER & HUNICO & CODY RHODES): Wow! They're still doing the traditional 5 on 5 Survivor Series matches? I'm not sure why, as this match had really no story or build-up. Sin Cara did a leap over the top rope and didn't clear it, hit his back on the edge of the apron and is out 6 to 9 months. Does this mean Hunico is back to being Sin Cara? Orton was left against 3 men and ended up losing. *1/2

MARK HENRY vs. THE BIG SHOW: The crowd chanted "boring" during this match...but they also chanted "Daniel Bryan" and "Colt Cabana" and "Randy Savage" and pretty much anything they could think of during the show. The Big Show tentatively climbed to the top rope and delivered a flying elbow drop but still lost. *1/2

CM PUNK vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO: This was a super dull match. Punk may be a good talker but he's rarely in great matches. He did win the title. This means that Punk had the title in July, Cena in August, Punk in August, Del Rio in August, Cena in September, Del Rio in October, now Punk in November. Way to make it special. *

THE ROCK & JOHN CENA vs. THE MIZ & R. TRUTH: It felt like with The Rock wrestling on this show that the WWE didn't even bother to do anything else like a write a good storyline or have a heel turn or attempt to put on a great match. The Rock already would get people to buy the show so why bother to make it a good one? This match sucked hard. The Rock did the usual and Cena looked bored and it was just a yawner. 1/2*

TNA TURNING POINT

Sunday, November 13th, 2011, from Orlando, Florida

ERIC YOUNG vs. ROBBIE E: Young is, more or less, Doink the Clown of TNA. Robbie E isn't exactly any more serious. Not a bad match. And actually, perhaps the most entertaining of this listless show. ** (out of ****)

INK INC. vs. MEXICAN AMERICA: This was a 3 on 3 mixed tag match. Each team had their girlfriends participate, though the tag titles were still at stake. Don't be confused! This is TNA. Toxxine, Ink Inc.'s girl, is very pretty. That's kind of all I remember. *1/2

JESSE SORENSEN vs. AUSTIN ARIES vs. KID KASH: Awful match. Aries did a leap through the ropes to the floor that was mildly interesting, but that was pretty much the only thing good in this bore. Both heels beat up Jesse, who has a football star gimmick (no, it doesn't make sense). Then Aries rolled up Kash for the pin. Remember when the X-Division produced good matches? 1/2*

RVD vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS: Rob Van Dam is just too old and too slow to be doing this anymore. Daniels brought a chair into the ring and it backfired. *

CRIMSON vs. MATT MORGAN: A double DQ! Who writes this shit? Even worse was the fake punch contest. Have they been watching Necro Butcher matches? 1/2*

SCOTT STEINER & BULLY RAY vs. MR. ANDERSON & BULLY RAY: Bully Ray and Anderson should really just stop wrestling and just use the mic. Steiner did a Hurricanrana. Abyss went through a table and got right back up. Falling asleep. *

GAIL KIM vs. VELVET SKY: Remember when Gail Kim and Awesome Kong had those epic, brutal matches in TNA? Yeah. Me, too. 1/2*

JEFF HARDY vs. JEFF JARRETT: So Hardy rolls up Jarrett and pins him in five seconds. Then they keep wrestling for another fall for no reason and Hardy wins. Then they keep wrestling and Hardy wins again. What the fuck kind of story is this? If you didn't realize that TNA was stupid before then...oh, okay, you did realize. *

BOBBY ROODE vs. AJ STYLES: So they push the hell out of Roode only to have him lose at Bound for Glory. Then they turn him heel. Whatever. I give up. This match was long and even though AJ was semi-exciting it was pretty dull stuff. *1/2