Next up in the Match Memories series is a look back at The Miz defending the WWE title against John Cena and John Morrison in a Cage Match at Extreme Rules 2011.
Let’s jump in!
The Miz vs. John Cena vs. John Morrison – Cage Match for the WWE Title
- Event: WWE Extreme Rules
- Date: May 1, 2011
- Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL
- Match Length: 19:50
When I fired up this particular match, I literally remembered nothing about it. Was Cena champ? Was Miz champ? Were Miz and Morrison on the same side?
So many hours of television, so many PPVs. Sometimes it all runs together, especially the past decade or so of WWE programming.
Admittedly, I had no clue how this match unfolded. But I did know what happened after the match. We’ll get to that.
The setup for the match? 10 months. It had been 10 months since Cena had been the WWE champion. Take that SUPER CENA haters!Â
Miz was strutting around like the greatest thing since sliced bread, and while not everyone loved him, some were simply fine with seeing the belt on anyone other than Cena.
Hope they enjoyed it because THE CHAMP IS HERE.
Rewatching this match, there were two things that stood out. For starters, say what you want about WWE, but the company knows how to tell a good story when it wants to.
This match simply wasn’t fair to Miz. He had to defend his title inside a cage against not one but two challengers, plus he had Alex Riley giving him shit in the locker room about having very little chance of winning.
IT’s NOT FAIR TO MIZ.
But here’s what was great about it: Miz played his role to perfection. He was in complete desperation mode throughout the match, doing what he could to try to keep the title. Also, more heels should do what Miz did to start the match, and that’s run like hell to get out of the cage as soon as the bell rings.
Unsurprisingly, this match also featured good stuff from Cena and Morrison. The latter’s athleticism is obvious at this point, and it was on full display with lots of awesome moves.
There was one brutal move where Cena and Morrison went to suplex Miz off the top of the cage, but instead, it was more like a brainbuster. I thought Miz broke his neck. Trust me, you’ll know it when you see it.
As for the second thing that stood out? HEEL MICHAEL COLE.Â
Hope you’ve got a working mute button because he was in full effect here as a screaming heel who supported Miz. It wasn’t his most annoying character work during his heel run, but it’s still noticeable.
The finish was built around the serious version of R-Truth interfering to take out Morrison, who had cost him his chance to be in the match. That led to Cena hitting the Attitude Adjustment off the top rope on Miz to win the title for the eighth time.
It was a match that told a good story with solid work from everyone involved, even if some weren’t rooting for another Cena title reign.
Of course, there was also quite the story told after the match.
Yes, this is the show where Cena informed the crowd that Osama bin Laden had been killed. It was quite a moment with quite a reaction from fans in attendance.
So, while the main event was good, this is a show that’ll always be remembered for what happened after it than what happened during it.
- Blake’s Rating: ***1/2
For more of my show reviews, visit the Pro Wrestling Reviews section!
