WWE: 10 Awesome Matches That Showcased Great Ring Psychology

5. Christian vs Randy Orton - Money In The Bank (2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUYDXyPBRtg Two Randy Orton matches in a row? Huh, maybe he's not all chinlocks after all. Alongside CM Punk's 'pipebomb', this feud was the reason to watch WWE in 2011. They had several fantastic matches on PPV and television spanning several months, with the only blotch on their near perfect rivalry being it's one-sidedness in favour of the Viper. In fact, this is the only time in their six match series Christian managed to get the win. It's not even the best bout these two had. That honour goes to their barnstorming effort at Over The Limit. This gets a place on the list not by being the best wrestling match, but by being the best example of storytelling. Christian had realised his championship dreams at Extreme Rules, only to be beaten for the title a mere five days later. Devastated but defiant, Christian went into Over The Limit confident that fully prepared he could beat Randy Orton, but one RKO later he'd failed to recapture the World Heavyweight Championship. He turned heel on Orton on Smackdown, smashing him with the title belt following a successful defense against Sheamus. Having secured yet another title match, Christian went on to lose again to Orton at Capitol Punishment. Here Christian came into his own as the whining "one more match" crybaby who squirmed his way into one last title match at Money In The Bank, with the added stipulation that if Orton is disqualified, he loses the title. Christian had been tormenting Orton since his heel turn, and the commentators played up Orton's anger problems to great effect. The match psychology was laid out for all to see in the opening minutes, with Captain Charisma taunting The Viper with a chair. On top of the usual great wrestling from these two, which builds upon their previous encounters beautifully with each man learning from previous mistakes, we get an extra layer of depth with Christian doing everything he can to frustrate Orton into getting disqualified. He finally succeeds, spitting in Randy's face just before he gets punted right in the nuts. A bittersweet victory to say the least. But nonthless, here's your new heavyweight champion, Christian. But he doesn't get to celebrate for long, as Orton goes absolutely ballistic in the post match, hitting an RKO on to a table that will not break. Ouch. Some people complained about this finish, but you can't please everybody. This used the DQ stipulation beautifully, the wrestling was great, the story made sense, both characters got over and it got everybody pumped for their Summerslam rematch. Mission accomplished.