Who would have thought a legitimate injury suffered by Cody Rhodes would have propelled him to the unforeseen heights he finds himself in today. As the year of 2010 came to a close, Cody was one of the bright sparks on Smackdown, with his funny "Dashing" gimmick - but it wasn't until he came back with a protective mask that we saw the best of what he had to offer. A long feud with Rey Mysterio also helped, with Cody beating Rey at WrestleMania in one of the best matches of the night, followed by a brilliant falls count anywhere match at Extreme Rules. But it was Cody's promos that had us all enthralled, and his way with words payed off for him as he has become a regular in the opening promo slot on Smackdown. His transformation and evolution over the year added much depth to his character, that when the mask finally came off, he didn't have Kane syndrome and suddenly become stale, or bald - but infact he became even better. Little mannerisms like his face twitching and his nasal, "Whaaat"-repellent promo style remained and surely enough his character transformation will continue in to 2012 and result in a main event run sometime after WrestleMania.
4. Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett/Karen JarrettOne thing many wrestling fans complain about is short-sighted, hot shot angles that run their course in a matter of 1 or 2 months, but the Angle-Jarrett feud of 2011 was one that dated back to 2010 when Jarrett began his Double J, Double M-A gimmick, mocking Angle before his comeback by utilising his ankle lock submission. In fact, it went even futher back than that, with Karen Jarrett (nee Angle) being one of the cental plot devices in this grudge feud, and we all know the story there. Aside from the introduction of Chyna at one point, this angle was perfect throughout and we were spoiled with great match after great match between the two veterans. When you put together two guys who are unarguably two of the best wrestlers of all time, along with the fact that they are both fantastic on the mic (including Karen Jarrett, who was probably even better than both) - magic happens, and so it did. The Lockdown cage match was the highlight of the feud, in one of the matches of the year, but it continued on long after that right into the Summer in their final payoff fight on Impact in the parking lot brawl, which Angle as the face rightfully won. People can criticise Russo and Bischoff all they like, but both guys know how to write a long, drawn out feud.
3. Michael Cole vs. Jerry LawlerAt the start of 2011, the must-see star of Raw was not infact the self-proclaimed "must-see" WWE champion, The Miz. It was the "voice of the WWE", Michael Cole. With seemingly a new crowd-riling catchphrase born every week, Cole was one of the stars of Raw - talking over every boring mid-card and divas match, keeping the viewers engaged throughout the show with his heel antics. But when he started cutting promos in the ring on Jerry Lawler, after costing him the WWE title, Cole propelled himself into the main event of the WWE - a place nobody a year ago would have expected him to be. For he was just the lowly, goodie two shoes commentator who had no personality of his own, except to schill the next PPV with a soulless, drab voice. Cole had become the best heel in wrestling since JBL, universally hated by marks and smarks alike, a fear rarely achieved. With only 0.5-1% of viewers enjoying the new "vintage" Cole, we became known as the "Cole Miners". He stood for everything we believed in wrestling and everything on our minds, he dared to say it, every week. Daniel Bryan - boring midget with no charisma.. Jim Ross - fat, arrogant buffoon who can't put two words together anymore.. Jerry Lawler - 10 years past his sell by date. And nobody could touch him, because he was in the sacred space known as the Cole Mine. He won at WrestleMania after getting a beat down and even when Cole naturally lost his feud, it was fun to watch him get his just deserts and see JR spray BBQ sauce all over him - because he sold it better than anyone. Quite simply, Cole was, for half of 2011, the best heel in wrestling for the last 5 years.
2. John Cena vs. CM PunkAnother boring, stale Raw was coming to a close in the breezy Summer of 2011, in a main event match I can barely remember - just that John Cena was in it - and then out came CM Punk, donned in a Stone Cold t-shirt of all things, and proceeded to cut one of the best promos of the year, one that set the internet ablaze... Punk had, in his own words, "broken the 4th wall". Still a heel at the time, Punk became the anti-establishment "voice of the people" and dared to rail against the WWE, Vince Mcmahon, The Rock and of course John Cena. The year could have easily been a boring one, with the main event of WrestleMania 28 already set as Cena vs. The Rock, but WWE dared to do something out of the ordinary for two months or so it paid off. We got two of the matches of the year in Cena-Punk I and Cena-Punk II and the chemistry between both men was what made the feud. But Punk wasn't the only piece - John Cena played his part just as well. Make no mistake about it, Cena helped elevate Punk to the level he is at today by being the "New York Yankees" guy. And even though the current CM Punk on Raw is a shadow of his former self, for those 2 months with Cena, he was the most exciting thing in wrestling for a long time. The world was tuning in just to see what CM Punk had to say each week. Though we all knew he wasn't truly "shooting" to a full extent, our disbelief was suspended just for a short time and we were able to watch as we did as children, believing there was some legitimacy in everything that was happening - and that is when wrestling is at its best...
1. John Cena vs. The Rock (Winner)
...which is why John Cena vs. The Rock is the best angle of the year. Is there a legitimate beef between Cena and Rock? Maybe, maybe not - but making the comeback of the year, Rock's admittedly brilliant comeback promo quickly made a target of John Cena set the tone for the rest of the year. For an angle that is barely in its infancy stages, it shows just how grand a feud it is for it to be the winner of this prestigious award. Even CM Punk vs. John Cena itself was in part inspired by this feud, as Rock's (real) name (Dwayne) was all over their semi-shoot promos every week. Cena, Punk, Orton and others have all come out saying that Rock is nothing more than a glorified celebrity guest host, which may be true - but it doesn't stop the fact that Cena and Rock is the feud of 2011, going into 2012. Every angle involving Cena on Raw throughout the year has been touched in some way by this feud - including his current "Rise Above Hate" angle ongoing with Kane. As much as the main event (and whole show) of WrestleMania 27 sucked, it was made up for the fact that we were promised the dream match of Cena-Rock the year after, in The Rock's hometown of Miami. A match nobody can truly predict in any way. Who will win? Will Cena be heel going into the match, and if not will he turn heel? Will Cena get booed out of the building? As disappointing as Survivor Series main event of Cena/Rock vs. The Awesome Truth was, WrestleMania should be different - perhaps, in the immortal words of Tony Schiavone, the greatest match in the history of our sport.
Honorable mentions: Orton-Christian, Mark Henry's Hall of Pain, Hogan-Sting, Bound For Glory Series, R-Truth goes insane
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