WWE Top 5 Breakout Wrestlers of 2011

A lot of great superstars emerged in 2011, but who are the biggest, baddest and best from 2011? 

5. Zack Ryder

“Are You Serious Bro!”

Who else to take the number 5 spot, other than the “Long Island Iced Z” Zack Ryder.

Arguably the number one breakout star within all of wrestling, at the beginning of the year, Ryder was on the verge of being wished all the best in his future endeavors. He was never used on TV and was completely irrelevant in the company. 

Most superstars in this position do not want to ruffle any feathers and hurt their stock even more, but Ryder took matters into his own hands and got noticed.  He created the ever-so popular hit Youtube show “Z True Long Island Story”, and had the WWE Universe all over the globe chant “We Want Ryder” when he was still not on TV.

It took months of work by Ryder and the fans, but Ryder finally got his opportunity and he is now one of the most popular wrestlers in the whole company.  His merchandise sales are in the top three of WWE, and he is now one of, if not, the most beloved superstar in all of WWE.

Ryder’s in ring work is not the best, but it is improving. However, this is okay because Ryder has what is most important in professional wrestling, which some of the most talented in ring wrestlers never obtain, a connection with the fans. 

Ryder is a self-made superstar, who made the WWE and Vince McMahon pay attention to him. He has Broksi’s all over the world, who are ready to shout Woo Woo Woo at the top of their lungs and he will be a major force in 2012. 

With all that said, make sure you like him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter, subscribe to his Youtube channel and most importantly, Take care, spike your hair WOO WOO WOO You Know It Bro!

4. Cody Rhodes

At number four is the current Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes.

When he was part of Legacy, many thought it was going to be Ted DiBiase Jr. who was going to go on and achieve great things. However, if Survivor Series reaction towards Rhodes was any indication, it is unquestionably Rhodes who is the Shawn Michaels of the two.

At the beginning of the year, Rhodes was stuck in his narcissistic “Dashing” gimmick, but when he legitimately broke his nose in January, in a match with Rey Mysterio, Rhodes came into his own.

Rhodes developed into a psychotic heel, and wore a protective mask over his face and handed out paper bags to fans in the front row. He won his match at Wrestlemania over Mysterio and in August captured the WWE Intercontinental Championship. 

He brought back the classic Intercontinental belt, and is restoring some of the prestige to the title. The belt is supposed to groom superstars into the main event, and Rhodes is going to be a top star in 2012. 

Rhodes is a very talented in-ring worker, who is developing his own unique personality, which fans around the world are really enjoying.  He has packed on a lot of muscle, and does not look scrawny anymore, which will make him a future WWE Champion/World Heavyweight Champion that much quicker.

Who would have thought, a broken nose would be the best thing to ever happen to a wrestlers career. 

3. Mark Henry

Out of everyone on this list, I am happiest for this wrestler, “The World’s Strongest Man” and current World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry. 

Dominating and inducting numerous Heavyweight wrestlers into his Hall of Pain including Sheamus, Kane and the Big Show, Henry finally captured the World Heavyweight Championship in September against Randy Orton. 

Improving in all aspects of his character, especially his in-ring work, I love every minute of Henry’s reign as champion. Putting on some of the best big man matches in quite some time, Henry is entertaining and should hold the belt all the way until Wrestlemania. 

His matches have improved against competition of every size. The match at Vengeance verses the Big Show, was fantastic and entertaining, and both preformed moves I never thought these two big guys could pull off. Whether it was a flying elbow from the top rope or suplexing each other and destroying the ring, the match was one of my favorites of the year. Henry also put on another exciting match against Daniel Bryan in which he delivered a World Strongest Slam from the middle rope.

It took 16 long years, but Henry is finally being portrayed the correct way, as a monster heel and is making the most of his opportunity. 

2. Dolph Ziggler

The best pure overall athlete is the number two breakout star of 2011, the longest reigning champion in WWE today, the United States Champion Dolph Ziggler. 

Ziggler’s in ring work is top notch, and he usually puts on the most exciting and compelling match of the night. He sells great and is able to work with any wrestler and make them look good. In fact, the best part of the last two PPV’s, was that Ziggler competed in two matches.

In my opinion, Ziggler no longer needs Vicki Guerrero to garner heat, because he finally has created a personality unique to him, which connects with the fans.  Ziggler has all the tools necessary to become one of the best superstars in the WWE and a world champion in 2012. 

The “Show Off” of the WWE, I think it is finally time for Ziggler to take the next step in his career and lose the U.S. Championship. Ziggler has outgrown what the title represents and is ready to move into the main event scene and consistently compete with the upper echelon of the WWE talent. 

2012 is going to be a big year for Ziggler and I expect him to not only have a high profile matchup at Wrestlemania, but it would not be unlikely for Ziggler to win either the Royal Rumble or Money in the Bank to certify his place in the main event. 

Ziggler is there, and is one of the best wrestlers to emerge in 2011 #HEEL. 

1. CM Punk

The number one breakout star of 2011, is unquestionably CM Punk. 

I have always seen Punk as a top star since 2008, but in 2011, Punk took not only his character but the entire wrestling industry to a new level. 

This summer is rightfully called the “Summer of Punk” and that is for good reason. Punk delivered one of the all-time greatest promos in June, when he broke the forth wall and called out everything wrong with the WWE product. 

The promo was so good, that he legitimately had people wondering if he performed a shoot and had outlets such as ESPN covering the moment. 

He followed it up at Money in the Bank where he won the WWE Championship in a five star match with John Cena and then left the company (the first PPV I ordered, and did not stream over the internet in years.) 

The storyline was so good, and made the WWE product interesting and exciting all over again. This summer was WWE at its absolute best since the attitude era and it is all because of CM Punk. 

Not only this summer, CM Punk also had one of the best storylines heading into Wrestlemania with Randy Orton, which unfortunately did not get the time or coverage it deserved.   

CM Punk not only put the entertainment in World Wrestling Entertainment again, but inside the ring, he is the best the WWE has. His timing and execution are flawless and he never messes up or puts on a bad match, no matter who he faces.

CM Punk has cemented himself as potentially the face of the WWE in 2011, and there is no one more deserving of the honor of being the Breakout Wrestler of 2011. 

The promo which changed professional wrestling! 

Honorable Mentions:

Daniel Bryan – the Smackdown Money in the Bank winner, Bryan should be on the list, but suffers from horrible booking. 2012 should be a big year for Bryan, as he still holds the Money in the Bank briefcase and will headline Wrestlemania. 

Wade Barrett – big things happened for Barrett in 2011 and he is a potential big time superstar. Great on the microphone, Barrett is a British brawler who has all the tools to be a multiple time world champion. Leading two fractions, Barrett is finally on his own, where the spotlight is solely displayed on him and his "Barrett Barrage."

Alberto Del Rio – Del Rio had arguably the most success in 2011, winning the Royal Rumble, headlining Wrestlemania, winning Money in the Bank and becoming a two time WWE Champion. However, he is not on the list because of terrible booking. Del Rio should have won his first championship at Wrestlemania but because of Edge’s injury was passed over. His two world title reigns should have been better, but he was booked to look weak and cowardly, unable to ever defeat John Cena. Del Rio is going to remain a top superstar and the only reason he misses this list, is not because of his overall talent, but because of what he is given to work with. 

R-Truth – turning heel was the best thing to ever happen to R-Truth. Delivering some of the best promos of the year, crazy R-Truth and his ever going feud with “Lil’ Jimmy” is some of the best stuff of the year. Headlining Survivor Series with The Miz against John Cena and The Rock, Truth’s momentum was cut short when he unfortunately failed a drug test and was suspended for 30 days. R-Truth elevated himself and while he may never win the “big one”, he is one of the most entertaining superstars to emerge in 2011. 

Christian – as good as it gets. Christian has been a top superstar since 1999, but in 2011 he finally won the coveted World Heavyweight Championship. Although, he did not hold the belt long, Christian had one of the best feuds of the year with Randy Orton and has continued to put on excellent matches. An injury derailed Christian’s momentum, but he will surely return to form whenever he returns because he is so consistently good. 

Sheamus – had the most surprisingly successful face turn in years. The crowd is firmly behind the big Irish guy, and he has not lost any of the bad-ass qualities which made him so successful as a heel.   Sheamus is a top guy in the company and he will once again win the championship in 2012. 

WWE Survivor Series Preview & John Cena Rant

This Sunday November 20th, WWE holds one of their four flagship events, Survivor Series live from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Headlined by the return of The Rock to the ring for the first time in seven years , “The Great One” teams up with his Wrestlemania 28 opponent John Cena to face the team of Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) in tag team action.

With the tag line “Never Before. Never Again.” the sole purpose and selling point of Survivor Series is solely focused around seeing The Rock returning to action. Barely any other match-ups have been promoted, and while this is unfortunate, I believe the reasoning is that something exciting will happen in The Rock & Cena vs. Awesome Truth contest.

My prediction is that something game changing will take place at Survivor Series, something larger than life that is big enough to get people talking and back interested in the WWE product again. With Wrestlemania 28 being promoted as the biggest Wrestlemania of all time, I feel the WWE needs to begin the road to Wrestlmania a little earlier than usual this year and the only way to do that is by turning John Cena heel.

For years, die hard fans have been clamoring for Cena to turn heel turn, only to be repeatedly let down. I now see that the timing was never right and most likely would have been a colossal failure had a Cena heel turn taken place in the past. There are many factors which need to be in order such as the right opponent, the right venue and proximity the event is to Wrestlemania, all of which Survivor Series fits.

One reason I feel the time is Sunday, is because of who Cena is partnered with and who the event is centered around, The Rock. The Rock is one of the most beloved wrestlers of all time and the biggest superstar to ever breakthrough to the mainstream world from wrestling. Having Cena cost The Rock his return match whether deliberately or involuntarily will be newsworthy enough. Even something minor like a post fight beat down after a victory will do the job of planting the seeds for a Cena turn.

The WWE should do something different with Cena, as his character has been stale and repetitive for way to long. Always playing the goodie-goodie boy scout, even the slightest change in aggression from Cena would suffice and make an already intriguing match much more interesting at Wrestlemania.

Another reason is where Wrestlemania 28 is taking place. Located in The Rock's backyard of Miami, FL, anyone who thinks Cena will get the slightest clap or ovation is out of their minds. Cena already gets mixed ovations all over the world, including his hometown of Boston, MA., so to think Cena will not get booed out of Sun Life Stadium as soon as the sounds of his familiar horns hit and his theme music plays, April 1st is ludicrous.

While I would love to see a Cena turn happen, since I am a fan who feels it would ultimately make the product better and more interesting, there are still numerous factors which could prevent WWE from pulling the trigger.

The first and most important is that John Cena is the most requested participant of all time in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Whether hardcore fans accept it or not, WWE is no longer an edgier program and instead their target audience is centered around kids. Children love John Cena and are his biggest supporters, so this might be a reason why WWE has been so hesitant on the turn thus far.

Another hurdle is merchandising. For years, Cena's gear was by far and away the biggest earner for the WWE, but up until recently this has changed. While Cena items are still some of the best selling for the WWE, CM Punk has surpassed Cena as the top earner and up and comers like Zack Ryder are beginning to cement themselves as top equipment sellers.

Now, a full out Cena heel turn is unnecessary. There is not a need for Cena to go back to his previous rapper gimmick as that would be pointless, but Cena revisiting his “Ruthless Aggression” character would be nice.

A sign that this may be happening is the fact that Cena recently changed his attire of jorts and colorful shirts for darker camo shorts and a black T-shirt which reads “Rise Above Hate.” Cena has also started claiming much more defiantly that he has never cared what anyone thinks of him and that he will always show up and perform. I might be looking too much into this but I feel all of these elements are signs that a meaner John Cena will appear in the coming months.

WWE usually saves big moments for high profile cities and venues, and there is not a bigger city or venue than New York City and Madison Square Garden, for one of the bigger and most anticipated moments in WWE history. I doubt a full pledged heel turn will take place but I believe a changing of Cena's character is upon us. As John Cena's theme song states, I believe the “time is up” for the boring boy scout we have seen in recent years and the “time is now” for a new chapter in the era of John Cena.

WWE Vengeance Review & Rant

WWE held there second PPV in the month of October as they presented Vengeance from San Antonio, Texas.

Seeing as there was not a lot of time in between PPV's, Vengeance was a card which featured lackluster story lines but delivered in match quality. Although, nothing significant happened to buildup up to next months Survivor Series in terms of impact like most expected, Vengeance was still an entertaining PPV but not an event with any relevance to the future.

The main event of Vengeance was a WWE Championship Last Man Standing match as WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio successfully defended his championship against John Cena.

The match was likely the culmination of the feud between both men and Del Rio was able to pick up the victory albeit in controversial fashion. After Cena delivered an Attitude Adjuster through the Spanish Announce table, Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) ran down to the ring jumping Cena, allowing Del Rio to recover and nail Cena with the Championship belt, keeping him down for the ten count.

As far as Last Man Standing matches go, the bout was not as intense and brutal as they have been in the past. Despite the match taking place in a broken ring, as a result of the previous match there were not many noteworthy memorable spots besides the AA through the table.

Hopefully, the WWE moves in a different direction after tonight, as the Cena vs. Del Rio feud has ran its course. To be honest, the matchup never had any major heat to make it feel important and always felt second rate to other story lines taking place within the WWE. Both men are obviously great workers and are two of the all around best inside the ring, but for some reason they never clicked with the audience and as a result each match they had together suffered, due to the lack of crowd response.

With Survivor Series being the next PPV and The Rock returning to the ring for the first time in seven years at the event, it is inevitable that Cena will be featured in a different program to begin the push to their match at WrestleMania 28. Whether Del Rio is apart of this program remains to be seen since Survivor Series is traditionally a tag team oriented event but hopefully the WWE decide to give the WWE Championship its own match to make the PPV stronger. However, who Del Rio's opponent will be is a complete mystery and unknown to me as of right now.

The co-main event World Heavyweight Championship match between World Champion Mark Henry and the Big Show was a match constantly referred to as the bathroom break match of Vengeance. Whoever decided to write this matchup off and not watch it, easily missed the best match of the night as these two super heavyweights defied expectations and stole the show.

For two of the biggest performers on the WWE roster, Mark Henry and the Big Show gave the fans a match they had never seen before of two athletes of their size. From the opening bell, the match was instantly impressive as both men showed agility and athleticism rarely exhibited by either of them. To be honest, the match reminded me of something out of Transformers or a clash of two 18 wheelers in a human demolition derby, especially at the end when Mark Henry superplexed Big Show off the top rope and the ring collapsed.

Bravo to both men as a match of this caliber was most likely very difficult on their bodies considering their size. Usually, big man match ups are slow boring and quick, however this match was very different. Athleticism was shown as Big Show landed numerous drop kicks and for most of the match, Mark Henry had an air based attack. When working together, Mark Henry and Big Show are able to do moves on each other that they would not be able to do on smaller competitors. Strength wise they are equal and it was quite a sight to see two usually dominant performers picking one another up and slamming the other to the mat.

The match was immensely entertaining featuring many near falls and even a top rope chokeslam. Credit is deserved to both men as they put on an unbelievable match and gave WWE fans a “moment” with the end of match ring collapse. Despite ending in a no contest, the Mark Henry vs. Big Show contest is a match which deserves high praise.

Another high profile matchup in Vengeance, was CM Punk and HHH teaming up together to take on the team of Awesome Truth.

It was only a month ago, when CM Punk and HHH were feuding with each other and to see that come to an end so quickly was bittersweet for me. While I enjoy seeing HHH working with two new rising up and comers like Miz and R-Truth, it disappointed me that CM Punk was never able to work a full program with HHH by himself. HHH is one of the last remaining old school wrestlers and since CM Punk is one of only a handful of new wrestlers to embody that 1980's-1990's old school wrestler style, a full feud between the two would have been a real sight to behold.

The matchup itself was fairly entertaining but had a weak ending when “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash made his return attacking HHH, allowing Awesome Truth to double team Punk and pick up the victory. After the match was over, Nash continued his beat down on HHH, eventually hitting a nasty looking jack-knife power bomb, where HHH landed hard on his neck.

The main thing I took coming out of this match, was how above and beyond HHH is to everyone else inside the ring. From pure wrestling to working a crowd to in ring psychology, HHH has not missed a step from his time away and is a true legend in the industry. Watching him work, it is clear that a majority of the new guys coming into the WWE are in fact sports entertainers and not true wrestlers. HHH and the Undertaker are the only two remaining workers from the old school, and seeing HHH work tonight reminded me how great and missed that style is today.

Speaking of solid in ring work, the most fundamentally sound one on one match of the night was the bout between Sheamus and Christian.

These two guys work hard every time and are always on top of their game. Watching them compete, it is obvious how good they work together since their chemistry and timing compliment each other perfectly.

Sheamus picked up the victory after delivering a Brouge Kick to pick up his second consecutive victory over Christian. However, Christian is one of those workers who does not need to win in order to look good. Christian is so crafty inside the ring that even though he loses most of his matches, he keeps himself relevant and in the top echelon of performers since his matches are always one of the best of the night every time. It is for this reason alone, that even though he is in a feud without any significant title implications, he will constantly appear on PPV's.

The last important happening of the night, was the fact that Dolph Zigger was featured in the first half hour of Vengeance. Zigger is one of the brightest rising stars within the WWE and to see him in two consecutive matches was the right way to kick off the PPV.
Zigger is arguably the most athletic performer in WWE right now and he has all the makings of a future multiple time world champion. Not only having a great look, Ziggler is able to work with any competitor of any size and put on a good match. This is a trait only a few performers have and Ziggler is my pick to be the breakout star of 2012.

Results:
WWE Championship: Alberto Del Rio(C) defeats John Cena in a Last Man Standing match
World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry (C) vs. Big Show ends in a No Contest
Randy Orton defeats Cody Rhodes
Awesome Truth defeats CM Punk and HHH
Sheamus defeats Christian
Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix (C) defeaths Eve Torres
U.S. Championship: Dolph Ziggler (C) defeats Zack Ryder
Tag Teams Championship: Air Boom (C) defeats Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger

WWE Hell In A Cell Review & Rant

For the second time in two weeks, WWE has held a PPV and for the second time in two weeks, we have a new WWE Champion, and his name is Alberto Del Rio. (but of corse you already know that)

The Hell In A Cell main event featured the first ever triple threat Hell In A Match as John Cena defended his WWE Championship against both CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio. In a noticeably larger Cell, Del Rio was able to once again fulfill his destiny and recapture the title that he recently lost to Cena only two weeks ago.

The finish of the match came when Del Rio locked John Cena outside of the Cell and then proceeded to use a steel pipe to the head of CM Punk covering him for the 1-2-3.

It was a rather odd booking move by WWE, because it essentially brings us right back to where we were two weeks ago before Night of Champions. I can not come up with any possible explanation as to why WWE took the title off of Del Rio in the first place, if they planned on giving it right back to him. If anything, WWE is hurting Del Rio's character by booking him as a weak champion who can not defeat Cena in a one on one match.

WWE is also making the WWE Championship meaningless with their bizarre booking. In the past seventy-eight days, the WWE Championship has changed hands a total of eight times, with Cena winning the belt three times, Del Rio & CM Punk winning it twice, and Rey Mysterio holding it for an hour on an episode of Monday Night Raw.

An astonishing note about this once prestigious title, is that since the WWE Championship was introduced in 1963 all the way until 2005 which covers forty-two years, the WWE Championship had changed hands seventy-five times. This means, that in a forty-two year period, there were only about two champions a year.

Now, when we look at the amount of title changes from 2006 until now, there have been thirty-three title changes, almost half has many changes in a five and half year period than there were in a forty-two year period! It initially took thirty-four years for the WWE Championship to change hands thirty-three times when Bret Hart won the vacant title against Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Vadar at In Your House 13 in February of 1997.

Also, John Cena recently broke the WWE record for most title reigns with ten when he defeated Alberto Del Rio at Night of Champions. In the forty-eight year history of the WWE Championship, not one single competitor has held the title ten times and now this historic feat will be tainted seeing as it had only lasted two weeks.

To me, it is mind boggling that the WWE is booking their major championship to be nothing more than a hollow prop. While I will admit I am not for the year or two year title reigns that were defended in the past, I would like to see the belt stay on someone's waist for four to five months at a minimum. Since 2008, the only WWE Championship reign that has even lasted one hundred days was by The Miz when he held the Championship for 160 days.

Speaking of The Miz, him and R-Truth made their returns at the end of the WWE Championship match after being fired by Triple H two weeks ago. Awesome Truth caused total chaos and attacked all members trapped inside the Cell, including the referee and cameraman. In a rather cool spot, all members of the locker room, both heels and faces ran down to the ring to try and open the door to the Cell. Eventually, Awesome Truth was arrested but the seeds are being firmly planted for Survivor Series and a major event to shake up the WWE.

In the World Heavyweight Championship bout, Mark Henry defeated Randy Orton in a Hell In A Match to retain his World Championship in a surprisingly entertaining match. It was a very good big man, little man match which is interesting because Randy Orton is not a small human being by any stretch of the imagination, just that Mark Henry is an overwhelmingly large man.

Personally, I am ecstatic that Mark Henry is still the champion. While he is by no means the most technically gifted wrestler and is quite limited as to what he can do in the ring, his character and presence alone ooze charisma and make me interested in him. His facial expressions and promos are fantastic and he used the features of the Cell to his advantage providing an exciting match. It took fifteen years, but Mark Henry has finally found his niche and his proving to be worthy of holding the big gold belt.

Other noteworthy events of the night, featured Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes retiring the old title and bringing back the classic White Intercontinental Championship belt held by legends such as HBK, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and the late great Macho Man Randy Savage. Afterwards, Rhodes defended and retained the IC Title in an impromptu match against John Morrison.

It seems, WWE is trying to bring back some relevancy to the IC title after it had been relegated to nothing over the past couple of years. Cody Rhodes is doing an excellent job with his reign thus far, and is restoring some honor that the IC title used to hold of being the belt which propelled you to World Championship contests.

Air Boom (Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne) defended their Tag Team Championships against U.S. Champion Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. It is good to see WWE putting emphasis on the tag team division once again as the division has stunk for a very long time. Air Boom have great synergy together as a team and are bringing excitement back to tag team wrestling.

The best moments of the match, came when Dolph Ziggler was in the ring. Ziggler is quite possibly the greatest athlete on the WWE roster at the present moment and his in ring work speaks for itself. While I am happy Ziggler made it onto the PPV, I would have rather seen him defend his U.S. Championship instead of being thrown into a random tag team with Jack Swagger.

To open the night, Christian and Sheamus put on one hell of a contest to begin the PPV. The match was fun, exciting and intense between two highly skilled in ring technicians in a building rivalry. Ultimately, when it was all said and done Sheamus won with his finisher the Brogue Kick.

In recent months, Sheamus has seen a meteoric rise in popularity. Ever since his face turn over the summer, crowds across the nation have really been into him since he provides them with something different to cheer for. He is still the aggressive badass Irishman and could potentially be next in line to face off with Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Other bouts during the evening featured Sin Cara Blue vs. Sin Cara Black in a Lucha Libre styled match. I expected more then what was shown during the contest and was quite disappointed with the missed spots and the unenthusiastic crowd. Also, Beth Phoenix won the Divas Championship, and that is all I am saying about that.

All in all, despite nonsensical booking it was a decent night of entertainment from the WWE. The performers did their best with what they were given and seeds were certainly planted for a big shocking surprise to be revealed in the upcoming weeks.

Overall, I give WWE Hell In A Cell two and a half stars out of five.

WWE Hell In A Cell Preview & Rant

For the second time in two weeks, WWE will hold a PPV as Hell In A Cell takes place Sunday, October 2nd from New Orleans, LA.

The event will be headlined by John Cena defending the WWE Championship inside the barbaric Hell In A Cell structure against both Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk for the first time in a triple threat match. Also featured will be newly crowned World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry going one on one with the man he took the championship from Randy Orton inside the Hell In A Cell.

Unfortunately, due to the short amount of time since Night of Champions, the story lines for both matches seemed rushed especially the WWE Championship bout. Just last month, CM Punk was involved in a feud with WWE COO Triple H and now he is back to where he was two months ago in the WWE title picture.

This is a shame, because John Cena, Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk all have the ability to tell great stories and throwing them in a feud to obtain PPV buys is ruining half the fun of being a wrestling fan. The short amount of time has not let the viewer become emotionally invested in the story and want to see the big blowoff match at the PPV. While I am confident all three men will put on a great match, without the story line, the match feels unimportant.

Hell In A Cell used to mean something in professional wrestling. Before it became an annual PPV, Hell In A Cell matches were rare and had a big time feel whenever they were announced. The match was a special attraction and was used as the climax to an important feud. In fact, the first time the WWE Championship was even defended inside one of these structures was the sixth Hell In A Cell when Triple H defeated Mick Foley in February of 2000.

Over the years, the importance and big time feel of Hell In A Cell has been dwindled down to almost nothing and it has honestly become just another match in the WWE machine. This is sad because some of the greatest memories of WWE from my childhood were moments that took place inside these matches. I will never forget the image of the Undertaker throwing Mick Foley off the top of the Cell threw the announce table to the concrete floor and afterwards Mick Foley smiling with his front teeth missing and a tooth lodged up his nose.

While I am aware that the times have changed, and am complacent with never seeing another human being plummet to the ground for entertainment, I am not okay with the fact that one of the most special and prestige matches of my era has been diminished to a throw away PPV. With the proper buildup, this event could have been special and quite memorable instead of just a prelude to the Survivor Series PPV in November.

WWE Newest Signing and Masked Wrestler: Sin Cara

WWE has just signed a new Mexican luchador and believe he is going to become a global icon. Sin Cara which translates to Faceless, will be debuting with the promotion in the near future, bypassing the developmental league. It is still unknown to what brand he will debut on but the best guess would seem to be Friday Night Smackdown! since it is WWE's highest watched show in the Latino market and already features dominant Mexican superstars such as Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio. 

This is a big signing for the WWE, as Rey Mysterio's contract is about to expire in the coming year, and all signs point to him retiring at his age. Losing a superstar as huge as Mysterio could have been very detrimental to the WWE, but they have worked hard to find his successor and Sin Cara is the perfect replacement for the masked superstar. 

Known for his high flying, innovative style, Sin Cara known to Mexican fans as Mistico was the biggest draw in Mexico prior to the signing. Now with a new mask and a better platform to showcase his skills, Sin Cara cold become a fan favorite and world renowned right off the bat. 

The WWE obviously has high hopes for Sin Cara has they recently held a press conference in Mexico City to announce his signing. Many Mexican media outlets where there to cover the story and the announcement has shaken up the Lucha Libre community. I cannot think of a time, when WWE has held a conference to announce a superstars arrival in the company and for it to be covered by as much press as it has. 

Hopefully, the WWE universe will be able to get introduced to their new masked superstar before Wrestlemania, even though the event is less than a month away. I would personally love to see Sin Cara in a match at Wrestlemania against Daniel Bryan for the US Championship, which could steal the show and be an instant classic. Other possibilities would be the Money in the Bank Ladder match, where Sin Cara's high flying ability would be on full display. However, Lucha Libre wrestlers do not have gimmick matches in their style, so the ladder would be foreign to Sin Cara. Still, his innovativeness is what separates Sin Cara and makes him such a special talent and I believe he would perform brilliantly. 

Down the road, feuds with the other Mexican stars in the company namely Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio would be a must. Especially the latter as the WWE has many possibilities such as the Lucha de Apuestas match, which would wager mascara contra mascara. (mask vs. mask) This would be a great way not only for Rey Mysterio to pass the torch to his successor but would also be something the WWE universe had never seen before. 

The mask has special significance in Lucha Libre history. The mask defines the wrestler and is his identity. In Mexican wrestling history, the wrestlers are never seen in public without their mask and it is sworn that they hide and keep their real identity away from the crowd as much as possible. 

A Lucha de Apuestas match would be a great farewell to Mysterio and would gather the interest from the WWE universe. The WWE has never held a match of this magnitude and it would be the perfect final match for Mysterio to end his feud with the young Sin Cara and say goodbye. Many great Lucha Libre competitors have gone out this way and I believe it is fitting for Mysterio, arguably the most popular Lucha Libre performer of all time to go out like this as well. 

Both the WWE and myself have high hopes for Sin Cara. A new age is upon WWE has the youth movement is in full effect with the old timers fading out to the new generation. Many superstars we have all grown up with and loved such as The Rock, Kurt Angle, Stone Cold, Chris Jericho, HHH, Rey Mysterio and the Undertaker are all on the last stages of their careers and are retired or close to retirement. The WWE needs new exciting performances to continue their great legacy and Sin Cara is the perfect man to do just that.

Check out Sin Cara's amazing finisher.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yk_6FVo_Vw&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_953717

Royal Rumble and The Road to WrestleMania

The road to WrestleMania is without a doubt the best time to be a WWE fan. The quality of the WWE show during this time is flawless and leaves you excited to see how the stories progress. The scent of WrestleMania is in the air and fans want to know who will be gracing the main event of the granddaddy pay per view of the WWE. The questions to this journey begin at the Royal Rumble, where one wrestler is given the chance to fight for immortality at a championship match at WrestleMania.

Times are changing within the WWE, the youth movement is in full effect as many up and coming superstars are in the beginnings of their careers. Their characters are not fully developed and their rank is not yet determined within the machine. So the WWE had a big choice on their hands, go with experience such as having an established name win such as Randy Orton or John Cena or go with the future and promote an up and comer like John Morrison or Wade Barrett. The WWE made the right decision and went with the future but with a different name, Alberto Del Rio.  

Over the past month leading into the Royal Rumble, Del Rio had been showing up weekly on Monday night Raw interrupting matches claiming it was his “destiny” to win the Royal Rumble and headline WrestleMania. Apparently, the WWE have faith that Del Rio can grow into a huge star and this is his opportunity to shine. I predict he will choose to fight for the Heavyweight championship making him the focus point of Smackdown until WrestleMania. He will probably compete against Edge at the event, most likely gaining the title, on his road to superstardom.

The future of Raw is also at question, since the WWE can go a number of different ways. They can have The Miz defend the title at the event against John Cena or have him lose at the Elimination Chamber to someone like Randy Orton or John Cena, enabling Cena-Orton to headline WrestleMania. There is also CM Punk, who can be thrown into the mix. I highly doubt the WWE will do a fatal four way at WrestleMania and instead will have a one on one match. The way which makes sense after the Rumble is it will be The Miz vs John Cena for the WWE Championship. This is because at the Royal Rumble, The Miz who was doing commentary and not in the match jumped into the ring to eliminate Cena. This would be an interesting feud and one I hope WWE push. The Miz has established himself as a superstar and he is ready to headline the flagship show. Letting The Miz carry the championship into WrestleMania would be great for his career. More importantly, WWE has a chance to do something very special with The Miz and it looks like they are willing to test him out.

If those fights are indeed the championship fights then the undercard must be filled with the other superstars. The one person who needs to have a high profile match is CM Punk. This man is the MVP of the WWE right now. His character is perfect as a psychotic cult leader and he is one of if not the best overall talents in the WWE. His time in the Royal Rumble was the highlight of the show and provided an edgier, darker time to the event. Everything from his mannerisms of sitting Indian style in the middle of the ring to his Christ sacrifice pose was perfection. On the microphone, there is no one better since Punk speaks with such sincerity; he makes his character so unique and believable.  One opponent who could give Punk a high profile match is Randy Orton. These two have never feuded before, so this would be a fresh exciting matchup which the fans have never seen. Orton is just as dark and edgy as Punk, but the fans love him. A matchup against Punk would allow Orton to be a little more vicious and cutting edge while still getting over and retaining baby face status. The psychological story these two athletes could provide would be a great addition to WrestleMania and might even bring back some of the attitude that the WWE desperately needs.CM Punk and Randy Orton are both incredible technicians who can tell a story inside and outside the ring. If given the proper time, I believe this match could be the highlight of WrestleMania 27.

The other main attraction of WrestleMania, is of course the Undertaker. The streak is the most important accolade in the WWE and every year it is anticipated to see who will be given the opportunity to hand the Undertaker his first loss at WrestleMania. The most likely candidate to face the Undertaker this year is Season one NXT winner Wade Barrett. This match could be huge for Wade Barrett’s career, because he is a young up and coming competitor who the WWE has bright futures for. To be given the chance to fight the Undertaker is a huge honor, but Barrett has been golden so far and should provide an interesting threat. We all know the Undertaker will bring it since he is still the best in the business and will provide a fantastic show but it is Wade Barrett who really wants to shine here. This is his platform to cement his status as a main event player within the WWE, in his biggest match of his young career. Randy Orton’s career took off after his match with the Undertaker at WrestleMania 21 in 2005, so hopefully Barrett’s match provides him with the same fortunes.

There are still many big name stars such as John Morrison, and Sheamus who still need to be booked. It is believed Sheamus will have a rematch with Triple H who is set to return soon, but John Morrison remains a question. It was disappointing that Morrison was given such little time in the Royal Rumble and he came out looking very weak. I thought the WWE had bigger plans for him since he is over with the crowd and I hope he is booked in a compelling match up to help his character. I was hoping that Morrison was going to be matched up against Chris Jericho since that could have been a fantastic feud, but with Jericho not set to return that seems to be in limbo. A Morrison- Jericho feud would have benefitted Morrison’s career since Jericho excels at Morrison’s weak points. Working with Jericho would have given Morrison a chance to prove he belongs in the main event picture.  However, if that’s not the case and the event has a Money in the Bank match or something similar then Morrison would be my pick to win, but if not a match up with someone like Daniel Bryan could be interesting.  

In conclusion, the upcoming months look to be very exciting, with various twists and turns soon to occur within the WWE. The road to WrestleMaina is finally here, and the intensity is going to be picked up. Our questions will be answered in the future, but for now I suggest we just sit back and enjoy the present. WrestleMania is always a fun time and this year’s card seems to be coming along nicely with the fresh talent and matchups. We are seeing future hall of famers in the young stages of their career and we should cherish this moment very dear since history could take place right before our eyes.