17. CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio - WWE Championship (Survivor Series 2011)
On the same night that The Rock and John Cena combined for a historically significant tandem to give The Great One his first wrestling match in seven-and-a-half years, CM Punk regained the WWE Championship to begin his incredible 434 day run as the titleholder. Punk vs. Del Rio was far more memorable than Rocks return to the squared circle, in part because the white hot Madison Square Garden crowd elevated it. The audience delivered the goods and Punk and Del Rio responded in kind at WWEs most hallowed hall. Punk brought out Howard Finkel to be his personal ring announcer, countering Ricardo Rodriguez. Then, from bell-to-bell, Punk and Del Rio produced an excellent 17-minute bout full of drama and befitting a title change of what turned out to be historic magnitude. Both men gave the kind of performance that makes their current absences on WWE PPVs noticeable. The Rock and John Cena did their thing minutes later, but Punk vs. Del Rio stole the show.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
