5. Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio - World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match (Extreme Rules 2011)
Alberto Del Rio's WWE run was dotted by a series of just incredibly solid professional wrestling matches. As a heel, his "rich aristocrat" gimmick got over in a huge way, and gave him a certain level of heat that allowed him to work credibly with a high level of talents in the company. When Edge was forced to retire in April 2011, Christian winning a battle royal to face Del Rio in a ladder match for the vacated championship added a certain level of extraordinary hype to the match. Christian winning the World Heavyweight Championship after Edge's sudden retirement makes his match with Del Rio highly entertaining. Del Rio was always gifted at being particularly nasty when applying the heat as champion, and this match as a ladder match is no different. Christian fighting from underneath as an absolute crowd favorite makes this a worthwhile watch, his eventual "Grand Slam" ensuring title win truly one of his career highlights.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
