The Wednesday Wire 01.04.12: Champions In Retrospect (Part Two)

It is the first week of 2012 and I will begin the new year by continuing to celebrate what happened in the old year. This week I’m going to cover the happenings surrounding the World Heavyweight Championship in 2011. It was not quite as noteworthy and earth-shaking as the year that the WWE Championship had, but it was definitely a doozy.

Little did we know that this would be the final time that Edge would be able to raise the World Heavyweight Championship over his head in victory to begin a new reign as champion. Kane’s career was resurrected (again) after he won SmackDown’s Money in the Bank ladder match in July 2010 and cashed in later that night to win the title from Rey Mysterio, who had just defeated Jack Swagger to retain the gold. Kane would have a painstaking feud with The Undertaker, but as 2010 came to a close, Edge would win the belt the same way that Kane earned his title shot earlier in the summer. And we move to 2011, as Edge had no defenses in 2010 after winning at TLC.

v. Kane (Last Man Standing match, SmackDown 1/7/2011)

As often happens to start off the new year, the first episode of Friday Night SmackDown in 2011 featured new World Heavyweight Champion Edge defending against former champion Kane in a Last Man Standing match. The whole feud between the two men ended up being quite fitting, as they had been rivals on a number of different occasions during both of their careers with WWE. The Kane and Edge characters debuted on WWF television a little less than 8 months apart and would clash many times in tag team and singles feuds. Edge defeated Kane to end their final feud in a Last Man Standing match, one of many of Edge and Kane’s hardcore pursuits.

v. The Zig Zag Man (Royal Rumble 1/30/2011)

Zig Zag was in a relationship with Vickie Guerrero, Edge’s ex-wife. She was touting her ability to make men into stars, and getting TZZM this match on one of the biggest shows of the year lays credence to her abilities as a manager. Zig Zag would not get it done on this night, but it was his first taste of the World Title and it drove him to become a contender in 2011. He will begin 2012 just as he began 2011, with a title match, this time against CM Punk. Edge’s title defense here would be the first of his two opening match PPV title defenses. To be noted: Teddy Long had been attacked on SmackDown earlier in January, and as Vickie was his assistant at the time, she took over his duties. Edge’s spear was subsequently banned, and Edge turned to Christian’s Killswitch to put opponents away.

w/Kelly Kelly v. The Zig Zag Man & LayCool (SmackDown 2/4/2011)

This is a continuation of Vickie’s attempt to get her charge the title. The stipulation was that if Edge or Kelly got pinned or submitted, TZZM would become World Heavyweight Champion. Edge would also be stripped of the title if he used the spear. We ended up getting mostly a 2-on-1 match with Layla and Michelle McCool beating up on Kelly, and the final outcome didn’t involve either of the men. Kelly got the pin on Layla to defend Edge’s championship.

v. The Zig Zag Man (SmackDown 2/11/2011)

Vickie Guerrero was acting SmackDown General manager at the time, and she selected herself to be the special guest referee for this World Heavyweight Championship match. Vickie’s ban on the Spear was still in place, and that would play into the final moments of the match, as Edge would hit the move not once, but twice, before pinning Zig Zag and retaining the title. The finish came as Vickie made a laughably failed attempt at spearing Edge, injuring her ankle in the process. Without a referee, Edge’s spear led to Green Bay Packer Clay Matthews running to the ring dressed like a zebra. The pinfall was counted and Edge retained his title. That would not be the end of it, though…

Due to the shennanigans that finished the show the previous week, the February 18, 2011 episode of SmackDown was host to the stripping of the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge and the coronation of The Zig Zag Man. Edge was also fired, all thanks to illegally using the spear, which, honestly, is what happens when you blatantly disregard the rules.

v. Edge (SmackDown 2/18/2011)

Like a phoenix from the ashes, General Manager Theodore R. Long returned to confront Vickie and Zig Zag during the coronation ceremony. He accused Vickie of being the person who took him out, and Vickie in turn outed TZZM as the guilty party. No matter who did it, the GM had already made his decision. Edge was immediately rehired and he would be granted a shot at he World Heavyweight Championship later on. Edge was able to soundly defeat The Zig Zag Man to regain his title in mere minutes, and a less than 2-hour title reign would be TZZM’s last hurrah on SmackDown, as he and Vickie were fired after Edge took back his belt. Edge would then move on to a task with even more odds stacked against him.

Edge made very short work of The Zig Zag Man, taking his belt back and getting TZZM and Vickie Guerrero kicked off of SmackDown in the process. While Edge was busy with that short-term rivalry, however, the annual Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event was looming ahead and 5 men had qualified to challenge for his title in the PPV’s namesake match. Big Show replaced TZZM as the 5th challenger and the match was on.

v. Rey Mysterio, Kane, Big Show, Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett (Elimination Chamber match, Elimination Chamber 2/20/2011)

Edge and Rey Mysterio battled for a grueling and arduous 9 minutes as the last two men standing in a match featuring 4 other guys that didn’t have a chance in hell at being victorious. Edge was able to seal his victory with a spear to Mysterio after a total of 31 minutes of action in an Elimination Chamber match in which both men were the starting participants. Following Edge’s victory, the #1 contender for his World Title, Alberto Del Rio, would run in and launch into an assault on the battered champion only to have Christian return from his injury (that came at the hands of Del Rio) and save Edge from further punishment. This would set up the near future of the World Heavyweight Championship, but Edge would continue to be the champion of the present.

v. Alberto Del Rio (WrestleMania XXVII 4/3/2011)

The opening match of the 27th edition of WrestleMania would also prove to be the closing match of Edge’s career. Alberto Del Rio won the 2011 Royal Rumble match to earn this championship match at WrestleMania, which further promoted his declaration of “destiny” for winning the World Heavyweight Championship. It would not be his night, however, as a fast-paced and well-fought contest ended with a spear to Del Rio and a pipe to his car.

After Edge revealed ony 8 days after WrestleMania that he was being forced to retire from the ring due to physical limitations created from years of battering his body, the World Heavyweight Championship was left without an owner. SmackDown General Manager Theodore R. Long ordered that a battle royal take place in which the winner would go on to the Extreme Rules pay-per-view to face #1 Contender Alberto Del Rio for the championless championship. Del Rio defeated Christian on the SmackDown following WrestleMania to earn a rematch against Edge for the title, but with Edge gone, Christian would win the battle royal and find himself as the co-#1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Alberto Del Rio v. Christian (Ladder Match, Extreme Rules 5/1/2011)

Christian was a fitting opponent for Del Rio, the man who injured him to put him out of action for months. Del Rio had used Christian to help make a name for himself, so when Christian had the chance to further extend the wait for Del Rio’s date with destiny he was not going to squander the opportunity. Not only was that an incentive to win, but Christian was finally getting a legitimate chance at the World Title, which had eluded him in WWE for many years. He claimed that he was not worthy of even touching the belt unless he could earn that right, and on this night he would do just that. After competing with not only Del Rio but also his lackey announcer Ricardo Rodriguez and his NXT-alum bodyguard Brodus Clay, Christian got a little bit of help from his life-long friend (and never fake brother) Edge, who distracted Del Rio and turned the tables on the aristocrat. Moments later, Christian would top Del Rio off the ladder and down onto his ringside allies, climb up himself and grab the formerly elusive gold. His celebration with Edge was emotional, but the joyous occasion would lead to a very sour Friday night.

v. Randy Orton (SmackDown 5/6/2011)

Just 5 days removed from winning the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time, Christian would set out to begin his journey as a fighting champion. His celebration speech was cut short by Mark Henry, Great Khali and Randy Orton, all of whom were looking to get the first shot at the new champ. GM Teddy Long, always listening to his SmackDown constituants, allowed the crowd to choose who they wanted to face Christian. They unsurprisingly chose Randy Orton and the match was made. It was the main event of the evening, and after an amazing back-and-forth contest all it took was one well-timed RKO to cut short the story of Christian’s boyhood dream. Orton caught Christian coming off the middle rope with his signature finishing maneuver and left as the newest SmackDown superstar (fresh off being drafted from RAW) while Christian was left in the middle of the ring with nothing but a dream cut short.

Orton, fresh with his brand new beard, returned to SmackDown, claimed the World Heavyweight Championship as his own and took the reins of the blue brand.

v. Christian (Over The Limit 5/22/2011)

Orton’s first title defense would be a rematch against the former champion, who had used his guaranteed rematch clause to get himself a return match. Christian would make no excuses leading up to this match and fought tooth-and-nail in an unsuccessful effort to return to his far-too-short pedestal of glory. In the end it was Orton’s RKO that would once again do in the Instant Classic. This was the second match of what would become a classic series for the World Heavyweight Championship, and the last time that Christian would, begrudgingly, shake the hand of the man who crushed his spirit.

v. Sheamus (w/Special Guest Referee Christian, SmackDown 6/3/2011)

Sheamus earned this title shot the week before by defeating Christian and Mark Henry in a triple threat match. Due to the somewhat controversial finish in which Randy Orton’s interference to take out Mark Henry caused the referee to miss Christian pinning Sheamus, Christian asked to be inserted into this match to make it another triple threat, this time for the World Heavyweight Championship. He was instead given a spot as the referee in order to ensure that no shennanigans would take place. He acquiesced and took that spot as a sign of respect toward the General Manager and the World Champion. Sheamus was unable to unseat Orton, partially thanks to Christian, who refused to count the pinfall for Sheamus after being knocked down. Christian slapped Sheamus across the face when confronted, which pushed him right into the line of fire for an RKO. Orton retained and Christian raised the champ’s hand… and then smashed him in the head with the title.

v. Christian (Capitol Punishment 6/19/2011)

The newly turned Christian would get his opportunity one more time against Orton after stealing his title and goading him into giving him “one more match”, which would eventually become Christian’s go-to phrase. Another fantastic match between Champion and Challenger would end with another RKO and a pinfall victory for The Apex Predator, but just like his claim after losing to Orton at the previous PPV, poor refereeing cost him the match — this time it was for real, though, as Christian’s foot was clearly underneath the bottom rope.

v. Christian (Money in the Bank 7/17/2011)

Christian, never one to give up when it comes to getting what he wants, spent the end of June and the first half of July doing anything and everything possible to get another shot at Orton’s title. He eventually finagled himself into a match in which he would win the title if Orton got himself disqualified or the referee made a “bad call”, which was never distinguished or clarified, but no matter, because Christian didn’t leave his title victory to chance. If he was going to win the belt he would do it on his own — by using his knowledge of Randy Orton’s history of unstable and violent behaviour to force him into losing his cool. Already frustrated that he couldn’t hold Christian down for a three-count in the match, Orton’s frustration was exploited when Christian challenged him to come after him and spat right in his face. This, not surprisingly, enraged Orton who pummeled his foe until he was pulled off by the referee. Just moments later, Christian was back to his feet and one of Orton’s feet was buried right between Christian’s legs. Orton’s punt to Christian’s groinal region was, more or less, what Christian was looking for — Orton was disqualified and Christian was awarded the World Heavyweight Championship. Christian, already nursing a painful injury in his crotchal area, would receive further punishment from Orton that ended with an RKO on the commentary table. Physically destroyed or not, Christian was once again the World Heavyweight Champion.

Desperate to win the title back, Christian spent the entire match at Money in the Bank trying to get Orton pissed off enough to do something to disqualify himself. He finally succeeded by spitting in Orton’s face — Christian was willing to take an enormous amount of punishment in order to get the title he simply was unable to regain on his own.

v. Randy Orton (No Holds Barred, SummerSlam 8/14/2011)

Christian has a history of always going too far and getting himself in over his head, as many overconfident heels tend to. In this case, Christian’s reliance on unfair refereeing and underhanded tactics to put himself into position to win and hold on to the World Heavyweight Championship led GM Teddy Long to the decision that Christian needed to be taught a bit of a lesson. The best way to even the odds for Orton and teach Christian a lesson at the same time? No Holds Barred. After a brutal contest filled with singapore canes and tables and steel chairs (oh my?) Randy Orton finished Christian off the same way he did when he took the title, just in a more appropriate way for a rules-free situation. Christian came diving off the second rope looking for a European uppercut and found himself neck first in Orton’s arm and chest first on the steel steps.

Orton proved, once again, that Christian could not beat him. So Christian did what Christian does best… he bitched until he got another shot. The shot was provided this time by guest General Manager Bret Hart, presumably because he became nostalgic for his own past and saw a little bit of himself in Christian’s actions.

v. Christian (Cage Match, Super SmackDown 8/30/2011)

This would be the final match of their series in the summer of 2011. They were given the featured spot on the live edition of SmackDown and they closed the summer the right way. Even though Christian could barely buy himself a win against Orton, each match it became tougher and tougher for the Viper to defeat Captain Charisma. This feud was ended by Orton with a thunderous RKO from the top rope after Orton was able to catch Christian, who was on his way to escaping the cage.

v. Mark Henry (Night of Champions 9/18/2011)

Mark Henry was unable to win the World Title at all during his 15-year career, but after refocusing himself and finding his meanest mean streak yet, Henry became the #1 Contender to Randy Orton’s title by winning a battle royal. He did have to wait longer than most men who are next in line for World Title shots thanks to Christian’s prediliction for whining, but once Orton was done with Christian, Henry stepped right in and proclaimed victory before the match had even begun. He told Josh Mathews that later on in the evening when he took the title from Randy Orton, Josh would have to come into the ring to interview the new champ. Sure enough, once the final bell rang, Josh Mathews had to step into the ring with a microphone to interview the new World Heavyweight Champion.

Mark Henry said himself that he needed the title, and he was indeed successful when he was given his shot. How long would his path of destruction last?

Find out NEXT WEEK in the final installment of Champions in Retrospect!

Time constraints have to cut this week’s column short, but I will be back on Friday to complete the year-end awards and provide my thoughts on Chris Jericho’s return, Daniel Bryan’s title defense against The Big Show and so, so much more!

Next time: That stuff ^^^^^

– Nicholas A. Marsico