Super 20 - Week 8, 2012

And so Sting exits the Super 20 for the first time, just about, leaving only one man who has been featured every week since the inception of the list. Read on to find out who... (Obvious if you read every week - which you should!)

20 new		Mark Henry Henry barely has to do anything for me to put him in the Super 20. A good backstage segment on Smackdown with a promo at Elimination Chamber and here he is in the countdown again, without even wrestling a match.
19 new		The Miz I sat cheering for The Miz when it came down to him and CM Punk at the PPV, and for the first time in a while The Miz felt like a legit main eventer again. He really needs to be pushed back up the card. I really wanted a feud between him and Punk going in to WrestleMania, but it seems like it will be Punk-Jericho.
18 new		Wade Barrett Barrett was the workhorse in the Smackdown elimination chamber match and put on a good show. I like his knees to the face move while his opponents are caught in the ropes - it's like the heel version of Sheamus' 'Irish Hand Grenade' (as Booker T called it)
17 new		R-Truth Truth is here simply for his part in the "debate" on Raw. "When I get elected, I will draft Hornswoggle and a box of spiders.."
16 new		Christian It was awesome to see Christian back and in one of the best comedy promos in a long time, along with Mr. Excitement and..
15 new		Alberto Del Rio Berto! I knew Christian was due to be at the PPV, but Del Rio was a legit surprise. It was great to see him and Christian back. I am hoping there is going to be a 4 vs 4 match at WrestleMania, representing Team Laurinaitis and Team Teddy.
14 +3 7w		James Storm Storm is right on you know who's (no spoilers!) tail, with 7 weeks on the Super 20 now. His match with you know who (oops, I spoiled it..) this week was stellar, and you don't get many better matches on free TV. It is awesome for him to finally get a one on one shot with Roode for the title, and the angle building up to Lockdown should be great.
13 -9 3w		Daniel Bryan I really hated Daniel Bryan after he made Santino Marella tap at Elimination Chamber, and for that he deserves praise for how good he is as a heel. A decent promo on Smackdown and a good match with Sheamus also helps him stay on the Super 20 this week. His facial expressions are getting better every week.
12 new		Big Show I'm not sure why, but Big Show is just entertaining to me these days. Tearing up Teddy Long's office on Smackdown was hilarious and his spot breaking in to Daniel Bryan's pod in the Elimination Chamber match was great too - I really wanted to see him beat the shit out of him.
11 n/c 2w		Sonjay Dutt I can't believe how good this Sonjay Dutt guy is. TNA really need to sign him up to their roster as part of the X Division or something, he has bucketloads of personality and he can go in the ring.
10 -9 2w		Scott Steiner He falls down from the #1 spot last week, but Steiner was still hilarious this week - and even a little more surreal than usual. Trying to bribe Isaiah Cash to join his faction by putting a bowl of fruit in his lap? So funny.
9 new		Shawn Michaels HBK is awesome and I hope one day he comes back as a full time on-screen personality, perhaps reviving his commissioner role from the late-nineties. His promo with Triple H was one of the best I've seen in a while. Those two bring the best out of each other.
8 +2 3w		Robert Roode Roode is getting into full swing as a heel now and starting to get really big heat. His match with Jeff Hardy for the title on Impact was great, as was his opening promo in which he insisted the crowds boos were chants of "Roooode" - hilarious
7 +5 2w		David Otunga
6 +3 2w		Jwala So I asked someone to translate what Jwala's beef is with Jazzy Lahoria, and it appears as though he's pissed that he wasn't in the World Title tournament. I have to say I agree with him. Loved him beating the crap out of that pot-bellied little fat guy on Saturday's episode and a budding  feud with Deadly Danda is an awesome prospect.
5 new		John Laurinaitis Big Johnny is back and he's back with a bang as he lands straight into the Fave Five. He is the funniest guy in wrestling right now and every word out of his mouth makes me laugh. Him and David Otunga make a brilliant duo and here's hoping his expert legal counsel gets him the job taking over Smackdown.
4 new		John Cena A big week for Cena. He "embraced the hate" by sharing a kiss with Eve, then rose above it by beating Kane in a pretty good match at Elimination Chamber and still got the time to show some FCW rookies how to lift weights in his private gym. What a great guy.
3 -1 8w		Bully Ray Calveszilla, the only remaining star in the Super 20 who has been featured every single weeks since its inception - an incredible 8 weeks. And here he is, in the Fave Five yet again, moving down only 1 spot (and still TNA's undisputed #1). I  rarely get excited for the prospect of a wrestler vs. celebrity feud, especially when it's a celebrity I don't know - but I can't wait to see the follow up to Bully Ray and American Footballer Brandon Jacobs. A great match with James Storm and The Bully keeps evolving in his matches, this week ripping Storms boot off. The best heel in the business right now.
2 +3 3w		Triple H Triple H cut one of the best promos I've seen in a very long time on Raw. Calling The Undertaker a "brand" and refusing to take up his rematch offer was great writing and with awesome delivery from Triple H.  His feud with Undertaker is shaping up to be an epic for the ages.
1 new		Santino Marella Who would ever think Santino Marella would get the #1 spot in his current stage of his career? But this was a special week for Santino Marella and probably the highlight of his career so far. After winning a battle royale to enter the Elimination Chamber, he was the man of the night at the PPV and earnt every penny of his main event paycheque, keeping the fans (and me) on the edge of their seat to the very end. When he hit the cobra on Daniel Bryan, we were all sure he had won the big one and how we all cried when Bryan made him tap, after fighting so hard. He took us on an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. Everyone was unconvined with Santino being Orton's replacement when Orton suffered a concussion this week, but I would argue the match was even better than it would have been as a result.

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My Fave Five

Was CM Punk truly the wrestler of the year for 2011?

Within all aspects of sports and entertainment, year end lists are typically a point of controversy that divides opinion. However, this year in the wrestling world, there was a pretty unanimous opinion that CM Punk was the wrestler of the year for 2011. 

The problem with year end awards and lists is how quick we are to forget everything that has happened over the course of the year, tending to focus on the big stand out moments that happen in the second half of the year. In the wrestling world, The Miz for example, wasn't near anybody's annual list of top wrestlers, despite the fact he headlined WrestleMania and held the WWE title for the first four of five months of the year. If the end of year poll had been taken around this time, The Miz would surely have been voted as the number one star at the time.

I myself, am guilty of this, not including The Miz in my own top 10 stars of the year list. One other wrestler I did not include was CM Punk, as I felt he had a much weaker year than everyone else did. "Really?" I can hear you saying in an sardonic, Miz-imitating manner. But hear me out, as I go over the past twelve months and look at what CM Punk was doing in each of them.

January - April

After a period on guest commentary at the end of 2010, CM Punk returned to the ring and took over the reigns of the Nexus, the heel faction that dominated wrestling television for the past year. However, by that time, Nexus was dead on its legs and bringing in CM Punk to replace Wade Barrett provided nothing more than a short-term boost which was dead within a few weeks. Punk had looked ready to make the jump to main event after the Straight Edge Society was over, and though WWE creative may have thought putting him in the Nexus would have been the key to do this, it was not to be.

A brief rivalry between CM Punk and John Cena in January was put off until the Summer, in favour of a program with Randy Orton which went into WrestleMania and beyond. Despite their best efforts to give the feud heat, referring back to a moment in 2008 when Orton punted a babyface CM Punk in the head, their feud was nothing more than a mid-card rivalry at best - filler. They had some of the best PPV matches together at the time, being two of the best workers on the roster, but never did they steal the show and propel their feud up to main event status as it could have been. While Punk's heelish and drawling shout of "Randal" every week was amusing, it was barely enough to get the feud over - especially during a time when everyone was more excited about The Rock and John Cena.

May - June

All the while during Punk's feud with Randy Orton, the newly renamed "New Nexus" was little more than a background cast. They were to come more to the forefront in May as CM Punk began tagging with Batista Mason Ryan in a dull feud over the worthless tag titles with Big Show and Kane. This was one of the lowest points of the year for Punk, taking beatings from Big Show on a weekly basis almost and quickly losing the star power and momentum he had gained in 2010. Rumours of CM Punk leaving the WWE as his contract was up were circling on the internet and it looked as though Punk was going to put over Big Show and Kane of all people on his way out the door.

After the unsuccessful Tag Team Title challenge at Over The Limit, Punk started a brief rivalry with Rey Mysterio which culminated in a match at Capitol Punishment in June. Punk and Mysterio had only feuded just under a year ago on Smackdown, and so this was nothing new or special to fans despite the two being amongst the best in-ring workers in the company. With rumours of CM Punk leaving becoming more fervent, beating Mysterio at Capitol Punishment raised questions as to what WWE had planned with him for the future.

July

Though the past six months had barely been a memorable time for CM Punk, all that was to change in July as the leader of the New Nexus became the number one contender after a series of victories. But CM Punk challenging John Cena for the WWE title at Money in the Bank was not to be any ordinary match. In an effort to create a buzz as ratings were sinking, WWE had Punk cut a half shoot promo at the end of an ordinary episode of Raw in which he lambasted everyone in the WWE from John Cena to John Laurinaitis, claiming to be leaving and leaving with the WWE title. Punk turned an ordinary B-level PPV in Money in the Bank into an A-show, hyping up a must watch match between the challenge and champion in a series of cutting promos. This was the CM Punk that everyone had been waiting to see over the course of 2011, having shown his promise on Smackdown, especially on the microphone. Punk was finally about to make it. And he did, beating John Cena for the WWE title in what would be the undisputed match of the year, a thirty minute bout in Punk's hometown of Chicago, in front of a rapturous crowd. WWE had created a true buzz like they had the summer prior with the Nexus storyline, but like that, everything that was exciting and fresh about Punk capturing the WWE title and leaving was to wither into a typical WWE program and quickly become stale.

August

The first mistake WWE made was creating a second WWE championship belt and having an eight man tournament for it on Raw the night after Money in the Bank. The second mistake was having John Cena, who was supposed to be fired (recalling a storyline from only 7-8 months before that he was supposed to be fired and never left TV) beat the eventual winner of that tournament, Rey Mysterio - adding fuel to the fire that was the negativity surrounding Cena within the WWE fanbase. The third mistake was having CM Punk return two or three weeks after "quitting" and going back into another program with John Cena so quickly. The buzz that was created around Punk in July was because of the aspect of realism in everything that happened. Though we knew all the promos Punk was cutting were scripted to an extent, it was easy for us all to suspend our disbelief, idealising Punk as the cool outsider, like Scott Hall and Kevin Nash (more on him in a moment) had been in the nineties when they left WWF for WCW. Seeing CM Punk come back with a brand new theme and a new t-shirt was a turn-off, outing Punk as just another corporate yes man of the WWE, the John Cena for teenagers and young adults. Punk and Cena would try throughout August to recapture the magic of July, and in a sense some of it was great, including another great match at Summerslam, but the introduction of Triple H and Kevin Nash into Punk's story was what caused it to all come crashing down.

September

After Kevin Nash cost CM Punk the WWE title at Summerslam, a confused and tired angle between Punk, Nash, Triple H and John Laurinaitis began, culminating in a match between Punk and Triple H at Night of Champions after a series of cutting promos. Punk and Hunter continued the style of the past two months, making insider references in all of their promos in an attempt to make the feud seem real, but Triple H came across more as the sympathetic character despite Punk being the new top babyface of the company they were building. Punk's natural arrogance that comes across in radio interviews and his Twitter started appearing on the screen. Punk was the angsty, teenage child and Triple H was the man, pissed off at the young upstart who did nothing but run his mouth every week. And when Triple H finally ran his mouth back, he cut Punk down to size, calling him out for all his hypocrisies and bullshit and painting him as the spoilt brat he had become.

Punk was becoming an unlikable babyface quicker than Cena ever dreamed of, mixing goofy comedy, such as a fake puking at Kevin Nash which lasted a whole minute and drew no laughter from the crowd, with biting shoot comments that served only to downplay his opponents as real life goofs, putting over neither himself or his opponents. Though the crowd were still cheering his name, the viewers at home were not. Punk calling Kevin Nash a ratings killer in an uncalled-for comment live on Raw came back to haunt him, and the "click" sound he had mockingly referred to as people turning over the channel when Nash was on the screen, was in fact happening to him. Segments involving Punk were down and it appeared as though the casual audience were turning off to him, despite becoming the biggest t-shirt seller on WWEshop.com and live events. The audience was divided, like they had been for Cena vs. Punk, but not in a good way.

Triple H and CM Punk went on to have their match at Night of Champions, headlining the card in a long and dull street fight that had a WCW-level of run-ins, igniting a rivalry between Punk and Triple H with Awesome Truth that would play out over the next few months.

October-December

Though the Triple H and CM Punk feud had been a bitter and personal one, they were buddies by the end of the next month and teaming up against Miz and R-Truth who would interfere in two main events in a row. A triple threat Hell in a Cell match with Punk, Cena and Del Rio was a fun match, but served only to advance the Awesome Truth storyline. Punk was becoming a part of the background cast and the popularity he had gained in the Summer was waning, despite his popular "Best in the world" t-shirt still selling in high numbers. Online, fans were beginning to turn on him, some calling him boring and undeserving of his recent push, unimpressed with his work since becoming a main event player on Raw. There were other factors to be added to this, however, such as Punk shooting on Rock in several radio interviews, inadvertently putting himself in the Team Cenation camp, an unpopular choice amongst older fans. Bad booking was another problem. But Punk was not entirely without blame and as Punk went into a short program with Alberto Del Rio for the WWE title, cutting down Del Rio in a shoot-style promo as "boring" and "repetitive" which only served to make Del Rio look worse. His comments decreased momentum going into their Survivor Series match, and by virtue of that, made himself look worse in the process. And though their Survivor Series match was good, it could have been a lot better if Punk had put his opponent over as a threat instead of cutting him down, which had become his style. Another match at TLC took place between Punk and Del Rio, this time with Miz thrown in to the pot. It was just another match, with no special feeling and certainly no element of danger in Punk losing his title. All the while during this time, CM Punk's feud with new Raw GM John Laurinaitis was developing, an ongoing storyline on Raw. Though Laurinaitis is the clear heel in their feud, Punk keeps coming across as brattish and annoying in his promo delivery, making spiteful, heelish, shoot comments that turns people off from him. 

The year of 2011 was a huge year for CM Punk, by far the biggest year of his career, but it was a year that we watched Punk evolve from the exciting outsider heel we loved to cheer into the boring, corporate, babyface champion that cuts spiteful promos that cut into the wrestler's real persona rather than his on-screen character. The Raw after TLC saw CM Punk align himself with new champions Daniel Bryan and Zack Ryder in a nauseating trio of "internet darlings" against a heel team of Miz, Del Rio and Ziggler in the main event. The match was the lowest rated main event on TV for the whole of 2011. That right there pretty much sums up Punk's year for me and is exactly why he was not the wrestler of the year for 2011, merely an internet fan's favourite who got his moment in the spotlight and almost blew it. After six months of mediocrity at the start of the year, Punk had an exciting couple of months in the Summer that will be one of the most memorable moments of this era when we look back on it in the future, but things hastily fell apart and the "Summer of Punk" became a cold and unrepenting winter. Was CM Punk the wrestler of the year for 2011? Quite simply, no. The year in wrestling revolved around one man, the true wrestler of the year - John Cena.

Royal Rumble Picks

With the Royal Rumble coming up in a weeks time, it's that time of year when all wrestling fans start dipping into their piggy banks and heading down to the bookies to put money on who they think will win the Royal Rumble.  Let us take a look at the favourites and I will make my final pick at the end.

Sheamus

A popular pick for many, Sheamus appears to be one of the frontrunners to win the Rumble this year.  Having largely floundered around Smackdown, squashing everything in his way, Sheamus has had no notable feud and barely challenged for the World Heavyweight Title since he has been drafted to Smackdown - something everybody expected from him this year. The former two-time WWE champion seems to be a main event star of the future for WWE, but I don't think they're going to give him a 'Mania title match just yet.

Wade Barrett

Like Sheamus, Barrett has been mostly directionless since he was drafted to Smackdown - that was until his rivalry with Randy Orton. Appearing regularly on both Raw and Smackdown every week as of late, Barrett seems like he is in the favour of the higher-ups in WWE at the moment and after coming off strong in his feud with Randy Orton, there is a case to be made that he will be the winner of the Royal Rumble this year.  However, like Sheamus, I don't think Barrett will be involved in the title match at WrestleMania this year - my prediction is that Sheamus will fight Wade Barrett in a grudge match at the biggest PPV of the year.

Randy Orton

The hometown hero is surely the odds on favourite to win, right? Don't expect it.  Randy Orton is already a Royal Rumble winner, having won the match in 2009, and though we have seen others win the Rumble two or even three times in the past, Orton doesn't need this win to elevate his career any further right now. Of course, if you think back to the draft, you could believe promises could have been made to Orton that he would be in one of the main events of WrestleMania the followng year. Despite being the company's second biggest draw, Orton was coming off the back of a second WrestleMania in a row in were he fought a mid-card match and then had the slap in the face of being drafted to the B-show, Smackdown.  I still think Orton will be in a World Title match at WrestleMania, but I believe he will be going in as champion - perhaps against..

Cody Rhodes

...the Intercontinental champion, Cody Rhodes. But is Cody Rhodes a serious pick to win the Royal Rumble? It seems as though a feud with Goldust is on the cards at the moment, and though his elder brother wanted to have that match at WrestleMania, it could easily be over and done with by Elimination Chamber. Royal Rumble winners tend to have filler matches at Elimination Chamber PPV between the Rumble and WrestleMania to give them heat going into their big match, such as Alberto Del Rio last year beating Kofi Kingston.  While Cody Rhodes is on the brink of becoming a bonafide main eventer in WWE, he is definitely a dark horse for the Royal Rumble.  Though the theme tune of the PPV is indeed "Dark Horses" - perhaps a subtle clue?

Undertaker

If the gong were to chime after a countdown during the Royal Rumble match, nobody would see it coming and the WWE fans would go crazy.  It is around this time every year that Undertaker makes his bombastic return to the WWE for his annual WrestleMania match and doing it at the Rumble would be a huge shocker. The Rumble is always full of surprises and this would be a big one - but Undertaker winning the Rumble? While there is a possibility he could return, I can't see him winning the thing as he doesn't need to be fighting for a title at WrestleMania..

Chris Jericho

..and neither does the recently returned Chris Jericho.  Nobody can truly predict what is going to happen with Y2J, but one popular theory is that he will win the Rumble and face CM Punk at WrestleMania for the WWE title, putting over Punk in the process and elevating him to being a true main eventer. While that would make for a great feud, I think WWE has different plans for Jericho. Though the mystery videos haven't been mentioned since his return as of yet, the WWE wouldn't go to all the trouble of making those clips if they did not have any meaning. I think there is a stronger possibility that Jericho will go on to face Undertaker at WrestleMania, rather than CM Punk - the January 2nd videos seemed to imply a feud with 'Taker more than Punk, with many being fooled into believing it could even be videos promoting the return of Undertaker.

Alberto Del Rio

Amongst the WWE fans, all the above mentioned names are being thrown around as possibilities to win the Royal Rumble this year, but Alberto Del Rio, last year's winner, is one name that is hardly getting a mention. Though he has only been off TV for a couple of weeks, it's almost as if he has been away forever, with everybody seeming to have forgotten that he even exists. Though out with an injury, reports indicated he would be back around the time of the Royal Rumble and so it is likely he will be making his return as a surprise entrant. Will he go on to win it for the second year in a row, though? It is likely CM Punk will be headlining the WWE title match at WrestleMania this year, as Raw's top babyface behind John Cena and I can't imagine the Del Rio-Punk feud that ended a month or so ago reigniting already.

John Cena

John Cena would be a shocking and dramatic pick to win the Royal Rumble and one that would piss many fans off, as Cena is already booked to face The Rock in the main event of WrestleMania. Why would he win the Royal Rumble? Say he wins the Rumble and uses his shot as a means of facing CM Punk for the WWE title before WrestleMania, as to defend the gold against Rock in their super main event. Cena did allude to facing Rock for the WWE title just under a year ago, after WrestleMania, but rarely since then has it been mentioned as a possibility. The popular thinking is that the Cena-Rock match does not need the WWE title for it to be any bigger, but it is also a known fact that Vince McMahon prefers for the final match of the night to be a WWE title match - as nothing should be bigger than the WWE title. It is an outside chance, but not completely impossible.

Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry, Big Show or CM Punk

It almost went unnoticed, but recently WWE announced that competitors involved in title matches this year will be eligible for participation in the Royal Rumble event. This leaves a whole host of big name main eventers that could be involved in the match. Daniel Bryan or CM Punk could even lose their titles and then go on to win the Rumble that very night, booking themselves into a main event at the Rumble. While this is a chance, I'd guess that WWE are only doing this to bring more star power to the Rumble, than to throw any spanners into the works.

My Pick - The Miz

Since Survivor Series I have believed that The Miz would face CM Punk at WrestleMania for the WWE title, after headlining arguably the second biggest PPV of 2011 against The Rock, as well as headlining WrestleMania earlier in the year.  I just did not know exactly how they would get to that point, but now I'm pretty confident in my assumption that The Miz is going to win the Royal Rumble and go on to face (and beat) CM Punk for the WWE title at WrestleMania 28.

WWE would not invest so much time and effort into The Miz over the course of 2011 if they didn't have a big match planned for him at WrestleMania.  Of course, a match with R-Truth is a possibility at this point, but I believe that WWE has much grander plans than that for the Awesome One.  Like I said in my WrestleMania article, I think Miz and Punk could pull of a show-stealing match at 'Mania.  Both are good workers and great on the mic and we have yet to see any real feud between the two except for the light, inconsequential feud going into TLC.

One other reason is that The Miz has had barely any screen time as of late. Surely that means he won't be winning this year then? To me, it's a red herring from WWE - the Rumble is always full of surprises, and this year I think The Miz will be the surprise pick to win.