1. CM Punk
Points: 2934
Votes Received: 30
Highest Vote: 1st Place (Samantha Allen, Kevin Friskey, Dave Musgrave, Always Heel, Caleb Horton, Dave Maes, Chus Killalea, Seth Zillmann, Lee Spriggs, Vince Morales, Devon Hales, Chris Sloboda, James Varga, Matt Jones)
2009 and 2010 Rankings: 4th in '09, 2nd in '10
TH: I ranked CM Punk 3rd place on my ballot, but I can fully understand the massive amounts of people who voted him number 1 on theirs. The man had an unconscious year in terms of match quality. When he was "not being pushed" before Money in the Bank, he still turned out quality performances in the Royal Rumble match, against Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Alberto del Rio and John Cena. After his pipe bombs started dropping, he was transcendent, taking his matches with Cena to another level and then going on the warpath the rest of the year. He had a fine resume for the year.
However, I feel like he was the "safe" pick. He was the guy who "everyone" agreed on, and yes, while he had a strong case, I had to think about why the praise was so unanimous. Picking apart his year with a fine tooth comb and comparing it to the guys I ranked ahead of him – Ziggler and Generico – I found that he wasn't as consistent as Ziggler week in and week out and that Generico hit higher peaks for me in the ring on a more consistent basis than Punk did. It's a bit unfair to say, I know, since Generico is an indie guy who works in a freer environment with fewer dates, but outside of the Cena matches, Punk's high end stuff for me wasn't as high as Generico's, even taking away his MOTY candidate against Waltman. But that's picking nits.
I don't come to bury Punk though, I come to praise him. I mean, I did rank him 3rd, right? That means I thought he was better than everyone save two wrestlers north of the Rio Grande and between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans this year. The Cena series OF COURSE was a huge part of that, but the guy had his working shoes on for everyone. He had a classic the night after busting his hump against del Rio at Survivor Series against Ziggler, a match that just missed making the cut on my countdown. His biggest positive to me was that he brought a sense of unpredictability to WWE when its main event scene felt like it was going by the formula, with said formula being executed to different degrees of success. To me, that's huge.
So yeah, he was "safe" but he was safe for a reason. When you perform as excellently as Punk did for 12 months (save the week he was at home), then people end up noticing it. The pipe bombs were probably what got people noticing him, but as most elite guys do, he kept the eyes glued on him with his exploits in the ring. To me, that's someone who deserves to be at the top of any list that rates wrestlers by how well they execute between the ropes.
Dylan Hales: Everyone knows he’s winning this. I voted him at 2, but easily could have voted him number one. I’d have to go back and watch his ROH run, but off the cuff I think 2011 was the best in ring year of his career. He was in the match of the year and in fact was involved in a series that will go down in history as one of the best of its era. His matches with Rey, Ziggler, Del Rio, Orton and even HHH were all top notch. There are things he does that annoy, but they are easily obscured by the things that he does well. Even though I didn’t have him in the top slot, I won’t argue against it.
Kevin Friskey: I think it's safe to say that no man has shaped together a year of classic matches much like the Punker. It's not just matches either, but the way he goes out of the way to sell a move as "Ow. That really hurts!" Hell, most of his matches this year could fill out his upcoming DVD set if he wanted to. He was that great in 2011. He had a nice series of matches to start out the year against Randy Orton and matches against Rey Mysterio which are always fun. However, it was the second half when he really took off, all starting with the infamous Money in the Bank match against John Cena. Very rarely do I give the highest praise to a match (maybe two or three matches ever have that honor) but this got it and then some. Summer Slam also proved to be a classic. Even if the cut-off point is the last day of 2011 (his TV work against Daniel Bryan may help 2012 voting), he still is the #1 choice of 2011 for me.
Dave Maes: What more can be said about Punk in 2011? His in-ring work was always compelling and told stories without words. But his words, the revival of the 'Summer of Punk' and his ring presence redefined how we watch wrestling in the new decade. He was able to have two completely different matches with John Cena - with one telling a better story, (Money in the Bank) and the other being a borderline mat classic. (Summer Slam) So few 'superstars make one stop what they're doing whenever they're on television - Punk makes me stop when he tweets.
Dave Musgrave: Yes, WWE screwed up what was probably the hottest character to hit wrestling in years. Yes, this gimmick lost momentum. But I’ve compared June to September for Punk to Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane and everything the rest of the year was his Touch Of Evil as artistic merit was sacrificed to corporate interference. But he still had a string of great matches and was still quite over. His current title reign has been really enjoyable, especially his title win. And everyone forgets how fun some of his work early in the year was as the leader of the new Nexus. His title win from John Cena was not only my # 1 match of the year but probably of the past decade.
Eric Smith: This one was hard for me, because it’s tough to rate Punk in 2011 without thinking of his incredible work in the summer, a lot of which did not occur in the ring. Ultimately, I decided to not put Punk at number 1 for the simple reason that after the Cena feud, his year seemed to go downhill somewhat from an in-ring standpoint. It mainly consisted of some bland stuff with HHH, and a handful of solid, but not incredible matches with Cena and Del Rio. However, Punk’s first half of 2011 was absolutely incredible, from another great Royal Rumble performance to the show-stealer with Orton at Mania, to another amazing series of matches with Rey Mysterio, and then finally to my personal Match of the Year with Cena at Money in the Bank, everything he did was gold.
Lee Spriggs: There's no one I enjoy watching more in the ring. He moves well, he wrestles really well, but more than anything, he is a master of ring psychology. I went back and watched his matches from early in the year, when he was wrestling as a heel, to his match at Money in the Bank (the real turning point), to his matches from late in 2011, and he wrestled a different style in each. And with each different style, he showed different mannerisms and executions of particular moves. He's dedicated to his in-ring work, and it really shows through. In 2011 he also had some excellent opponents, which helped him put on some fantastic matches.
Samantha Allen: Punk had a fascinating 2011. It seemed like he spent the majority of the year pissing people off. First it was John Cena in the month of January. The New Nexus booking for the Royal Rumble was fantastic. Then he moved on to Randy Orton and they had a good match at WrestleMania. Then the shizz hit the fan with THE PROMO(s). The “Money in the Bank” match against Cena was exciting. If you took away all the hype and fanfare, the match itself was still a good one. Punk has always been a guy who has consistently good matches. We all know he is great worker, and I think in 2011, he actually got to show off everything he is capable of.
Cameron Riley: In 2011, Punk changed the game, for two months. Summer of Punk (WWE version) got everyone talking, including my old man, who asked me who that "tattooed guy was that acted like Austin". Match-wise however, and he was stirring it up before that night on the stick. He had another stellar Royal Rumble, his match with Orton at 'Mania was my favorite from the show, battles with Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio, leading into his first ever five-star match against John Cena. He got slowed down with Textgate and Triple H, but another few months battling Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio capped off a stellar year for 'The Pipebomb Prince'.
