The Contentious Twenty 01.10.11: WWE Wrestlers of 2010, Part 2

Hopefully you’ve already read 20-11, but in case you didn’t, here’s a refresher course of the ten superstars on the outside looking in.

20. Shawn Michaels
19. Cody Rhodes
18. The Hart Dynasty
17. The Big Show
16. Dave Batista
15. Alberto Del Rio
14. The Undertaker
13. Jack Swagger
12. John Morrison
11. Dolph Ziggler

So, let’s not waste any more time. Let’s get to the top ten!

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Chris Jerichosize=6>

Chris Jericho was the benefactor of circumstance, being the last man battling Undertaker in Smackdown’s Elimination Chamber when Shawn Michaels decided to screw the Deadman out of the World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho wasted no time singing his praises as the new World Champion, and started a feud with former partner Edge heading into Wrestlemania XXVI. At the same time, Jericho became an NXT Pro, battling Daniel Bryan in his debut on the first episode of NXT and mentoring Wade Barrett. Jericho was able to defeat Edge at Wrestlemania despite Edge being heavily favored to win. He would lose the championship on the next episode of Smackdown to an opportunistic Jack Swagger, and soon found himself drafted to RAW. Jericho found himself unable to really get any momentum going on the Red Brand, losing to young stars like Evan Bourne and John Morrison in major upsets. Jericho did contribute to team WWE’s victory over the Nexus, though he also almost cost them the match by attacking John Cena. Jericho lost a main event to Randy Orton on RAW before he was punted. Jericho has not been in the company since. Like Batista, Jericho’s last months in the company were anything but successful, but Jericho’s high standard of excellence keeps him in the top ten.

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Bryan Danielson entered WWE with a name change to Daniel Bryan and as the “rookie” of The Miz. Bryan’s first match was an internet dream match against Chris Jericho, and while he would lose, he nonetheless proved he belonged in the WWE. The next few months weren’t kind to Bryan, as they gave him a losing streak gimmick before being eliminated from NXT competition, though he did impress against Batista on RAW. He would take his frustrations out on Michael Cole, beat Miz on RAW, and briefly joined Nexus in their attack on Cena, kicking John in the head and spitting in his face. He would be fired for choking Justin Roberts with a tie in this segment, but would come back to the WWE at Summer Slam, where he was a major part of WWE getting the victory. At Night of Champions, Bryan would again defeat The Miz, this time winning the United States Championship. He would defend it against Miz and John Morrison at Hell in a Cell before beating IC Champion Dolph Ziggler in three excellent matches at Bragging Rights and the following RAW and Smackdown. He would defeat Jack Swagger on “Old-School RAW” and then defeat Ted DiBiase at Survivor Series, then best out his mentor Regal in a hard-hitting match near the end of the year. With the US Title around his waist and the Bella Twins at his side, Bryan has been an unmitigated success since his return. He finds himself comfortably in the top ten of the year.

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Rey Mysteriosize=6>

Rey Mysterio’s January was a tough one, facing Shawn Michaels before battling Undertaker for the World Championship at the Royal Rumble. Mysterio would spend the next several months in a very personal feud with CM Punk, where the Straight-Edge Savior would try to recruit Mysterio into his Society and remove his mask, but Mysterio would come out the winner after an impressive series of matches. Mysterio would follow this up by defeating Punk, Big Show and Jack Swagger at Fatal Four-Way to become World Champion for the second time. He would successfully defend against Swagger but lose the title to Kane. The rest of 2009 has seen Mysterio feud with both Kane and the debuting Alberto Del Rio. Mysterio has traded wins and losses with Del Rio and their issue has yet to be resolved. Mysterio finds himself still one of the top babyfaces of Smackdown and a constant threat for the World Championship. The last two years have seen a career resurgence for WWE’s resident masked luchador, and 2011 is unlikely to be any different.

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Edgesize=6>

Edge returned to the WWE in the Royal Rumble match, where he eliminated Chris Jericho, a man who had antagonized him while he recovered from his torn Achilles Heel, and won the match. Playing the part of hero for the first time since 2004, Edge would wrestle Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania, but would lose. Frustrated that his storybook comeback was unsuccessful, Edge returned to his heelish ways when he was drafted to RAW and started a feud with the freshly turned babyface Randy Orton. Edge would get a big win over former partner Christian during this time. After being an inconsistent partner for Team WWE in their battle with the Nexus, Edge started to have problems with the mystery RAW GM. He would be traded to Smackdown for CM Punk, and would defeat Jack Swagger at Hell in a Cell. Edge once again became a hero when he helped Rey Mysterio win Bragging Rights for Team Smackdown! He began an…let’s call it “interesting” feud with World Champion Kane, which would ultimately lead to him winning the World Heaveyweight Championship at TLC. Now a 10-Time Champion and in his first babyface world title run, Edge enters 2011 as one of the top stars of the promotion.

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Wade Barrettsize=6>

Wade Barrett came to WWE as part of Season 1 of NXT as the rookie of Chris Jericho. Standing out due to his poise, promotional skills, and the praise of Jericho, Barrett became the favorite to win the competition. He was the winner, but rather than go it alone, he took all of the rookies of NXT and formed the supergroup Nexus, immediately targeting John Cena. Nexus dominated RAW during the summer before losing a big 7 vs. 7 match at Summer Slam. Barrett proved to be a ruthless leader, kicking Darren Young out of the group when he proved to be a weak link. Barrett got a major victory when he defeated John Cena at Hell in a Cell, forcing him to join Nexus and take his orders. Barrett would challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Bragging Rights and Survivor Series but could not win the title. He would fire John Cena before ultimately rehiring him when Nexus threatened mutiny. Barrett would lose the main event of TLC and be buried in chairs. While he has yet to recover from this incident, Barrett was a breakout star for the company, holding his own against the Golden Boy John Cena and cementing himself as a top heel.

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Sheamus came into the year as WWE Champion after shocking the world with his victory of John Cena at TLC 09. He would abuse Evan Bourne and defend his championship against Randy Orton before defending his championship at Elimination Chamber, where he was eliminated by Triple H. Sheamus focused his attention on The Game, and while he was unable to beat him at Wrestlemania, he defeated him at Extreme Rules and put him out of commission for the remainder of the year (and out of the top 20). Sheamus would follow up that major victory by winning the WWE Championship at Fatal Four-Way, defeating John Cena, Randy Orton and Edge thanks to the interference of the Nexus. Successful (but controversial) defenses against Cena and Orton followed before Sheamus lost his championship in a Six-Pack Challenge at Night of Champions. While this was a major setback, Sheamus stayed dominant, abusing United States Champion Daniel Bryan and Santino Marella and starting a feud with John Morrison. Sheamus would recover from a loss to Morrison by winning the King of the Ring tournament to become High King Sheamus, and then delivered a fantastic match against Morrison at TLC. Sheamus has overcome the odds and cemented himself as a main-event player on RAW, which is no easy feat.

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John Cenasize=6>

John Cena had a very eventful and tumultuous 2010. He spent much of the early months supporting Bret Hart in his comeback before winning the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber. Unfortunately, that loss was quickly mitigated when Batista played politics to get an immediate title match, which he easily won. Cena would recover by defeating Batista at Wrestlemania to win the championship back, starting the most successful part of his year. Two defenses against Batista led to The Animal quitting WWE, but Cena would find a new rival in the form of Wade Barrett and the Nexus. The group attacked him on a memorable edition of RAW, cost him his title at Fatal Four-Way and his rematch at Money in the Bank. Cena led a ragtag team of superstars to victory over the Nexus at Summer Slam, but that wasn’t anywhere near the end of the feud. He put his freedom on the line against Barrett at Hell in a Cell, and was forced to do his bidding after the loss. He won the unified tag team championship with David Otunga at Bragging Rights but was forced to lose the belts to Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater the next night. Playing a fair and impartial referee at Survivor Series led to Barrett firing him, but Cena would not sit at home. He attacked every member of the Nexus and almost brought them to mutiny before Barrett rehired him for a match at TLC. Cena finally vanquished Barrett, but his unnecessary post-match assault drew the ire of the Second City Saint, CM Punk. Cena’s rough year has seen him display a much more heelish side to his character than we’ve seen in years.

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Like many stars, Kane’s year wasn’t much worth reporting at the beginning of 2010, as he was unsuccessful in winning either the Royal Rumble or the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at Wrestlemania. However, when Undertaker was “found in a vegetative state”, Kane started accusing several Smackdown superstars (most notably CM Punk of attacking him. A fiercer, angrier Kane would win Smackdown’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match and then cash in his title shot against Rey Mysterio that same night to become the World Heavyweight Champion. While many predicted a short, uneventful run, Kane ended up having a dominant run against his main challenger, The Undertaker, who revealed that it was Kane who attacked him. Kane would defeat his brother cleanly at Night of Champions, align with Paul Bearer to win at Hell in a Cell, and would then bury Undertaker alive at Bragging Rights. Kane’s last few months as champion were spent being comically abused by Edge, who would take his title from him in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match that also involved Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio. After years of loyal service, Kane was rewarded with the long, dominant run as World Champion that many have said he deserved a long time ago. Where Kane goes in 2011 is uncertain, but 2010 was definitely the year of the Big Red Machine.

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Randy Ortonsize=6>

Randy Orton came into 2010 still playing The Viper, a sadistic top heel and leader of Legacy. However, he found himself playing the role of hero against Sheamus at the Royal Rumble, and the fans fully embraced him when Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes turned on him. After being cheered to victory over his former students at Wrestlemania XXVI, Orton would cement his face turn by teaming with John Cena against Jack Swagger and Batista the following RAW, and challenged Swagger for his World Championship at Extreme Rules. Orton’s ovations became the loudest on any show, and as Edge so eloquently pointed out, he changed nothing about his personality. Orton would defeat Edge at Over the Limit. Orton continued to stay in the main event scene of RAW, but would not become Champion until Night of Champions, where he defeated Sheamus, Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett. He would punt Jericho out of the WWE and defend his title against Sheamus and Wade Barrett successfully before The Miz cashed in his title shot to become WWE Champion. While Orton has had varying levels of success over the year, he has become arguably the most popular babyface all around. The children and women who cheer Cena also cheer Orton, as do the men who identify with his edgier character.

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The Mizsize=6>

Miz came in as the United States Champion, feuding with Montel Vontavious Porter and cutting an outstanding promo on an early edition of RAW that forced even his staunchest critics to admit that he was great on the mic. Miz’s exposure would grow as he became a coach to Daniel Bryan on NXT and teamed with Big Show to become a tag team champion as well. Miz’s antagonistic relationship with Bryan became the central program of NXT, while his team with Big Show led to a successful Wrestlemania debut against John Morrison and R-Truth. Miz would hit a rough patch in the spring, losing the tag team championships to The Hart Dynasty, his partner, and his U.S. Title to Bret Hart. He would rebound by winning the U.S. Title from R-Truth and defeating seven other men to win the RAW Money in the Bank Ladder Match. He would have more success on the second season of NXT with Alex Riley, keeping him around as a lackey when Kaval won NXT.

Miz’s ego would cause problems for Team WWE when they prepared to battle the Nexus at Summer Slam, where he was replaced by a returning Daniel Bryan. Miz would get some revenge by causing him to be eliminated late in the match, but would lose the US Title to Bryan at Night of Champions. Miz would have another down period, unable to regain the US title from Bryan and failing to lead Team RAW to a victory at Bragging Rights. Miz would cash in his Money in the Bank title shot on the RAW following Survivor Series to become the WWE Champion for the first time, and would successfully defend against Jerry Lawler in a TLC match and a table match with Randy Orton at the TLC event. Miz is still champion as of the time of this writing. Miz has broken out and become the #1 heel on WWE’s premier brand and elevated his in-ring and mic skills to the level where he is a believable main eventer. Whether you love him or you hate him, The Miz has had a truly AWESOME year.