When you think back to WWE in 2011 and the best feuds that year, the first one that might come to mind is CM Punk vs. John Cena. That was the most important feud as CM Punk beat John Cena to become the WWE Champion. The other mail title feud that summer was Christian vs. Randy Orton for the World Title on Smackdown. The Christian/Orton rivalry went from May to August and included four PPV matches in a row plus a few other matches on Smackdown. Christian was the babyface World Champ, then Orton got a title shot and took the title from him the same week he won it. When Christian realized he couldn't beat Orton, he turned heel as a way to further their story. Christian got the title back briefly when he won it by DQ (Orton got DQ'd in a match where he could lose the title if he was DQ'd), but it was Orton that dominated the feud. Christian is a guy that was always a favorite of mine, but I never thought he would ever be pushed to the World Title level. Even though it likely wouldn't have happened if there was only one World Title, it's great that it did and he was able to have a very memorable feud with Orton that made both of them look like stars. They had a series of fantastic matches together with their first one on Smackdown as arguably the best one while the finale at SummerSlam 2011 ended things emphatically as Orton hit a RKO on the steel steps. They didn't get to headline any PPVs because the World Title wasn't treated as an equal to the WWE Title at that point. That doesn't hurt the feud, though. Based on their work and the quality of matches they had month after month it really is one of the most underrated feuds ever.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
