A Look Back at WWE’s Top 11 of 2011

The WWE started 2011 off by releasing a list of the top 11 Superstars to watch in 2011. The list included Alberto Del Rio at number one, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, "Dashing" Cody Rhodes, Skip Sheffield, "The Chosen One" Drew McIntyre, David "A List" Otunga, Alex Riley, Tamina, Tyson Kidd, and Ezekiel Jackson. Now that 2011 has come to an end, we can take a look back.

It appears that the WWE was spoiling 2011 for the WWE Universe. Del Rio's name graced the top of the list. During 2011, Del Rio won the first ever 40-Man Royal Rumble Match, Raw's Money In The Bank Ladder Match, and the WWE Championship on two separate occasions.

Daniel Bryan was not far behind as he won SmackDown's Money In The Bank Ladder Match and the World Heavyweight Championship.

Dolph Ziggler also captured the World Heavyweight Championship for less than fifteen minutes. Ziggler kept his head up and captured the United States Championship.

Cody Rhodes was able to capture the Intercontinental Championship back in August and carry the Championship into 2012.

Skip Sheffield was a bust for the WWE. Sheffield suffered a broken ankle back in 2010. He did not appear on WWE television in 2011.

Drew McIntyre was another bust for the WWE. In 2010, McIntyre made a New Years Resolution that he would capture the World Heavyweight Championship in 2011. McIntyre had his opportunity early in 2011 but failed to pick up the victory at Elimination Chamber. McIntyre was than drafted to Raw during the WWE Draft. Unfortunately, McIntyre got lost in the mix and was hardly ever seen. McIntyre returned to WWE television on the December 30 ^th , 2011 episode of SmackDown. SmackDown's General Manager made it clear that McIntyre would have to start winning Matches or he would be fired.

David Otunga made a small splash this year capturing the WWE Tag Team Championships with Michael McGillicutty. He also helped over throw the leader of Nexus, Wade Barrett. After Nexus dismembered, Otunga became a Legal Advisor for John Lauriniaitis.

Alex Riley had a good year as apprentice and VP of Corporate Communications to The Miz. He also proved he has what it takes to stand on his own by defeating The Miz at Capitol Punishment. It looked like Riley was going to start chasing the United States Championship, until a hip injury put him out of action.

Tamina did not have a break out year. She failed to capture the Divas Championship.

Tyson Kidd's year was not much better. Kidd played the role of a jobber in 2011.

Ezekiel Jackson had a good year. He returned to action by joining The Corre. After weeks of destruction on SmackDown, Jackson left the group. He later went on to capture the Intercontinental Championship.

It is clear to see that the WWE made some good and bad choices while selecting Superstars to watch in 2011. The thing about their list that was very interesting was the three names at the top of the list, Alberto Del Rio, Daniel Brayn, and Dolph Ziggler. All three Superstars captured either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship. Was that a coincidence or did WWE plan for those Superstars to have break out years?

Sources:

WWE Selects 11 To Watch In 2011

Watching WWE Programming