10 Awesome WWE Survivor Series Matches You Totally Forgot About

7. CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio (WWE Championship Match, 2011)

World Wrestling Entertainment's return to Madison Square Garden in 2011 will forever be remembered as the night The Rock returned to the event he made his debut at some 15 years earlier but, for CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio, it was the night they tore the house down in the most famous arena in the world, for the most coveted prize in sports-entertainment. Del Rio was riding a wave of momentum having defeated Punk and John Cena inside Hell in a Cell and was the top heel in WWE. Punk, on the other hand, was trying desperately to maintain his heat after the Summer of Punk storyline descended into mediocrity, thanks in large part to the introduction of Triple H and Kevin Nash to the story. A win over Del Rio would return him to championship glory. Two of the best workers in the business, the two captivated the molten hot New York crowd with a match that set aside storylines and overbooked nonsense and focused solely on the action between the ropes. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xzezqn_wwe-survivor-series-2011-alberto-del-rio-vs-cm-punk_sport Utilizing numerous counters and reversals to create drama and bring fans to a fever pitch, the performers manipulated the largely "smart" audience into biting on nearfalls and false finishes. Del Rio locked in his cross arm breaker at one point and nearly forced a tapout from Punk but the resilient Chicagoan, who many believed would never make it to the top of the company thanks to backstage politics, fought back and won the submission-based match with the Anaconda Vise. It was a glorious moment for the Straight Edge Superstar, who celebrated the championship win with the fans that had so boisterously supported him through the thick and thin that had been the year 2011. At the same time, he and Alberto Del Rio proved that no triumphant return or Hollywood glitz and glamour could take away from a good, old fashioned wrestling match between two men with chips on their shoulders.