3. Capitol Punishment (June 19, 2011)
From 2008 to 2013, a different WWE pay-per-view was held every June. There were a lot of failed experiments, and Capitol Punishment was among them. It was not a gimmicky show like Breaking Point or Hell in a Cell, but it was themed in the sense that the show emanated from Washington, D.C. and the set resembled the Capitol building. A Barack Obama impersonator was also featured throughout the night, making for many groan-worthy segments. Silliness aside, the card wasn't all that strong, either. R-Truth was arguably the hottest heel in the company at the time, but was rushed into the WWE Championship picture and felt out of place in the main event of a PPV. Very few people believed Truth had a chance of winning, so the match wasn't at all unpredictable or compelling. Randy Orton and Christian had another excellent encounter, but the shady finish with the heel Christian's foot underneath the rope as the three count was made. It also paled in comparison to other matches they had at Over the Limit, Money in the Bank and SummerSlam. As for the undercard, CM Punk and Rey Mysterio had a barn-burner of a bout, but the rest of the card was lackluster. Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show was beyond boring, Wade Barrett vs. Ezekiel Jackson was forgettable and Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger died a death in the filler spot before the main event. The show was newsworthy since two titles changed hands, but it was quickly forgotten about the following month when it was surpassed by the epic Money in the Bank PPV. Similar to Invasion, Capitol Punishment was never meant to be more than a one-off event, but it continued the streak of mediocre June PPVs despite the buyrate being better than the year prior.