WWE Capitol Punishment
Encyclopedia
Capitol Punishment was a professional wrestling
pay-per-view
(PPV) event produced by WWE, which took place on June 19, 2011 at the Verizon Center
in Washington, D.C.
Capitol Punishment received 170,000 buys, up from the 143,000 last year that Fatal 4-Way received.
involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storyline
s that were played out on WWE's television programs. Wrestlers portrayed heroes
or villains
as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a match or a series of matches.
The predominant feud on the card was between John Cena
and R-Truth for Cena's WWE Championship
. The crazed R-Truth started to set his sights on the WWE Championship and John Cena after Truth realized that there was a "conspiracy" against him in the WWE. Truth started to attack merchandise stands featuring John Cena merch, and then he even turned his attention to the fans in attendance at arenas. Truth labeled the fans "Little Jimmys" and "Little Jennys", and they were just as big a part of the conspiracy as the people in the WWE. Truth attacked fans, and managed to trick John Cena into getting counted-out when the two had a match. This put Truth in contention for the WWE Championship yet again. As the weeks to the pay-per-view drew closer, Truth was nearly put into a match with John Morrison
by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on the All-Star RAW episode, but Truth attacked Morrison backstage, re-injuring Morrison's neck.
The second most predominant feud on the card was between former World Heavyweight Champion Christian and current World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton
. Christian felt as though he deserved another shot at Randy Orton's title due to poor officiating at the Over the Limit pay-per-view. SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long
didn't grant Christian his title match, but he placed Christian in a match as the Special Guest Referee between Sheamus and Orton. During the course of the match, Christian refused to count "three" against Orton while Sheamus had his shoulders pinned to the match. This angered Sheamus, but also let Orton connect with an RKO on Sheamus, and Christian counted the three to give Orton the victory. When the match was over, Christian hit Randy in the face with the World Heavyweight Championship instead of giving him the belt. Christian then managed to taunt and mock Orton to the point that Orton agreed to another World Heavyweight Championship bout at Capitol Punishment. Sheamus was going to be added to the match after winning a No Disqualification Match against Orton on SmackDown, thanks to interference from Christian. The match was Sheamus vs. Christian, but Christian won the match. Afterwards, Randy Orton stormed the ring, but Christian escaped. Randy then settled on kicking Sheamus in the head, putting him out of action indefinitely.
Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger led a mini-feud leading up to Capitol Punishment. Bourne and Swagger exchanged a series of wins and losses. But a more important feud on the card was between CM Punk
and Rey Mysterio. Punk and Mysterio similarly exchanged a series of wins and losses like Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger did, but Punk and Mysterio were reigniting a feud dating back to WrestleMania XXVI
. Punk enlisted the aid of his New Nexus cronies to help him win against Rey, but they were to be banned from ringside at the pay-per-view.
Ezekiel Jackson started to grow apart from The Corre
, and wanted to pursue a singles career away from the group. Wade Barrett
, Heath Slater, and Justin Gabriel didn't take kindly to Jackson's new aspirations, and promptly beat him down backstage. Jackson was given multiple opportunities at Wade Barrett's Intercontinental Championship, but each time he got Wade in the Torture Rack, his signature submission maneuver, Heath and Justin would run down and attack Jackson. This would make Jackson win the match by DQ, but titles can't change hands by disqualification. During a six-man tag team match against The Usos and Ezekial Jackson on SmackDown, Wade abandoned Heath and Justin. He claimed he was preserving his own interests since he had a title match at Capitol Punishment against Zeke, but Justin and Heath were angered by his actions. Justin and Heath then announced to Wade that The Corre was no more and he could defend his title on Sunday without their help, effectively dissolving the group.
Big Show sat on Alberto Del Rio's luxury car, which angered Del Rio. When they lost the WWE Tag Team Championships to The New Nexus, Alberto Del Rio mocked The Big Show and Kane backstage during an interview segment. Del Rio even slapped Big Show across the face. Big Show then chased Del Rio into the parking lot, but Del Rio's personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez "accidentally" ran Big Show over with his car. This injured Big Show's leg and left Kane without a partner. Del Rio and Ricardo then made fun of Big Show by having Ricardo dress like him, mocking Big Show's weight. Big Show then ran down to the ring and beat Ricardo to a pulp, putting him in the hospital and leaving Del Rio without his ring announcer. Kane had to pull Show away to keep him from killing Ricardo. Despite his injury, Show still wanted a match against Del Rio, and was granted one at the pay-per-view.
The Miz blamed his former protege Alex Riley
for him not regaining the WWE Championship from John Cena at Over the Limit. Miz fired Riley live on Raw and then demeaned him in front of the world. Riley responded violently, attacking Miz. Riley and Miz battled each other over the next few weeks, leading to a match between the two at the show. The opening match was between Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston
, who were feuding over the United States Championshp after Dolph beat Kofi in a non-title match on Raw.
themed event. Promotion towards this event was centered around the setting for the PPV, that being the United States capital, Washington, D.C. WWE produced a video to promote the event using actual press footage of President Barack Obama
spliced and edited with footage that WWE recorded using actors. The video was intended to show Obama answering questions about Capitol Punishment in a press conference. First airing on May 22 at Over the Limit
, WWE received criticism for the video. To avoid legal complications with the U.S. government, WWE added a disclaimer at the start of the video for future airings. This included spelling out their acronym as "World Wrestling Entertainment", a name they ceased using earlier in the year.
The promotional poster for the event also featured the President, where Obama is acting as a referee in a confrontation between WWE Superstars John Cena
and Rey Mysterio. WWE released a similar disclaimer for the artwork as they did for the video. The event featured an appearance by U.S. President
Barack Obama
impersonator
Reggie Brown
.
' s Rob McNichol gave the main events positive reviews. He admired the match between CM Punk
and Rey Mysterio, calling it "the best match of the night" rating it 8.5 out of 10. McNichol also praised the Orton-Christian bout very much but calling the ending a little "obvious right from the start" he gave that match a 8 out of 10. He also stated the Bourne-Swagger feud was "pointless". McNichol also praised the performances of Ziggler-Kingston in their title match. He called the WWE Championship match "desperately disappointing". The ending he stated "was tacky" but however enjoyed watching Truth's performance in the first ten minutes of the match, but he stated the rest was "downhill from there, he awarded that match a 7 out of 10. Overall, he gave the event a rating of 8 out of 10.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) event produced by WWE, which took place on June 19, 2011 at the Verizon Center
Verizon Center
Verizon Center is a sports and entertainment arena in Washington, D.C., USA, named after telecommunications sponsor Verizon Communications, and has been nicknamed the "Phone Booth" because of its association with telecommunications companies...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Capitol Punishment received 170,000 buys, up from the 143,000 last year that Fatal 4-Way received.
Background
Capitol Punishment featured professional wrestling matchesProfessional wrestling match types
Many types of matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, can be found in the form of performing art that is professional wrestling....
involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storyline
Narrative thread
A narrative thread, or plot thread , refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry 'All knowing' sort of narration...
s that were played out on WWE's television programs. Wrestlers portrayed heroes
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
or villains
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a match or a series of matches.
The predominant feud on the card was between John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
and R-Truth for Cena's WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
. The crazed R-Truth started to set his sights on the WWE Championship and John Cena after Truth realized that there was a "conspiracy" against him in the WWE. Truth started to attack merchandise stands featuring John Cena merch, and then he even turned his attention to the fans in attendance at arenas. Truth labeled the fans "Little Jimmys" and "Little Jennys", and they were just as big a part of the conspiracy as the people in the WWE. Truth attacked fans, and managed to trick John Cena into getting counted-out when the two had a match. This put Truth in contention for the WWE Championship yet again. As the weeks to the pay-per-view drew closer, Truth was nearly put into a match with John Morrison
John Morrison
-In politics:* John Morrison , politician in Manitoba, Canada* John Morrison , Canadian Member of Parliament* John Morrison...
by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin on the All-Star RAW episode, but Truth attacked Morrison backstage, re-injuring Morrison's neck.
The second most predominant feud on the card was between former World Heavyweight Champion Christian and current World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
. Christian felt as though he deserved another shot at Randy Orton's title due to poor officiating at the Over the Limit pay-per-view. SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long
Theodore Long
Theodore R. "Teddy" Long is an American professional wrestling manager and former referee who currently works for WWE on its SmackDown brand as its General Manager.-National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling:...
didn't grant Christian his title match, but he placed Christian in a match as the Special Guest Referee between Sheamus and Orton. During the course of the match, Christian refused to count "three" against Orton while Sheamus had his shoulders pinned to the match. This angered Sheamus, but also let Orton connect with an RKO on Sheamus, and Christian counted the three to give Orton the victory. When the match was over, Christian hit Randy in the face with the World Heavyweight Championship instead of giving him the belt. Christian then managed to taunt and mock Orton to the point that Orton agreed to another World Heavyweight Championship bout at Capitol Punishment. Sheamus was going to be added to the match after winning a No Disqualification Match against Orton on SmackDown, thanks to interference from Christian. The match was Sheamus vs. Christian, but Christian won the match. Afterwards, Randy Orton stormed the ring, but Christian escaped. Randy then settled on kicking Sheamus in the head, putting him out of action indefinitely.
Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger led a mini-feud leading up to Capitol Punishment. Bourne and Swagger exchanged a series of wins and losses. But a more important feud on the card was between CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
and Rey Mysterio. Punk and Mysterio similarly exchanged a series of wins and losses like Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger did, but Punk and Mysterio were reigniting a feud dating back to WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. This was the fourth WrestleMania to...
. Punk enlisted the aid of his New Nexus cronies to help him win against Rey, but they were to be banned from ringside at the pay-per-view.
Ezekiel Jackson started to grow apart from The Corre
The Corre
The Corre was a professional wrestling heel stable that performed on WWE's SmackDown brand in 2011. The stable was formed after Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the Nexus and allied with Ezekiel Jackson.-Formation:...
, and wanted to pursue a singles career away from the group. Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett is a retired American soccer player. He is currently an assistant coach at Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo-College:...
, Heath Slater, and Justin Gabriel didn't take kindly to Jackson's new aspirations, and promptly beat him down backstage. Jackson was given multiple opportunities at Wade Barrett's Intercontinental Championship, but each time he got Wade in the Torture Rack, his signature submission maneuver, Heath and Justin would run down and attack Jackson. This would make Jackson win the match by DQ, but titles can't change hands by disqualification. During a six-man tag team match against The Usos and Ezekial Jackson on SmackDown, Wade abandoned Heath and Justin. He claimed he was preserving his own interests since he had a title match at Capitol Punishment against Zeke, but Justin and Heath were angered by his actions. Justin and Heath then announced to Wade that The Corre was no more and he could defend his title on Sunday without their help, effectively dissolving the group.
Big Show sat on Alberto Del Rio's luxury car, which angered Del Rio. When they lost the WWE Tag Team Championships to The New Nexus, Alberto Del Rio mocked The Big Show and Kane backstage during an interview segment. Del Rio even slapped Big Show across the face. Big Show then chased Del Rio into the parking lot, but Del Rio's personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez "accidentally" ran Big Show over with his car. This injured Big Show's leg and left Kane without a partner. Del Rio and Ricardo then made fun of Big Show by having Ricardo dress like him, mocking Big Show's weight. Big Show then ran down to the ring and beat Ricardo to a pulp, putting him in the hospital and leaving Del Rio without his ring announcer. Kane had to pull Show away to keep him from killing Ricardo. Despite his injury, Show still wanted a match against Del Rio, and was granted one at the pay-per-view.
The Miz blamed his former protege Alex Riley
Alex Riley
Alex Riley is a TV and radio presenter.Born and brought up in Sheffield, Riley started performing with the city's Crucible Youth Theatre during which time he originated, and appeared in, dozens of sketches and devised pieces, as well as appearing in a number of plays and farces at the Library...
for him not regaining the WWE Championship from John Cena at Over the Limit. Miz fired Riley live on Raw and then demeaned him in front of the world. Riley responded violently, attacking Miz. Riley and Miz battled each other over the next few weeks, leading to a match between the two at the show. The opening match was between Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
, who were feuding over the United States Championshp after Dolph beat Kofi in a non-title match on Raw.
Production
As WWE's 2011 June pay-per-view event, WWE Capitol Punishment replaced the 2010 WWE Fatal 4-WayWWE Fatal 4-Way
Fatal 4-Way was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on June 20, 2010 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York...
themed event. Promotion towards this event was centered around the setting for the PPV, that being the United States capital, Washington, D.C. WWE produced a video to promote the event using actual press footage of President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
spliced and edited with footage that WWE recorded using actors. The video was intended to show Obama answering questions about Capitol Punishment in a press conference. First airing on May 22 at Over the Limit
Over the Limit (2011)
Over the Limit was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by WWE, which took place on May 22, 2011 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. It was the second Over the Limit event...
, WWE received criticism for the video. To avoid legal complications with the U.S. government, WWE added a disclaimer at the start of the video for future airings. This included spelling out their acronym as "World Wrestling Entertainment", a name they ceased using earlier in the year.
The promotional poster for the event also featured the President, where Obama is acting as a referee in a confrontation between WWE Superstars John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
and Rey Mysterio. WWE released a similar disclaimer for the artwork as they did for the video. The event featured an appearance by U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
impersonator
Impersonator
An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for someone to be an impersonator, some common ones being as follows:...
Reggie Brown
Reggie Brown (impersonator)
Reginald B. "Reggie" Brown is an American voice actor, model, writer and impersonator best known for his portrayal of U.S. President Barack Obama...
.
Reception
Reception to the event was mixed. The SunCM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
and Rey Mysterio, calling it "the best match of the night" rating it 8.5 out of 10. McNichol also praised the Orton-Christian bout very much but calling the ending a little "obvious right from the start" he gave that match a 8 out of 10. He also stated the Bourne-Swagger feud was "pointless". McNichol also praised the performances of Ziggler-Kingston in their title match. He called the WWE Championship match "desperately disappointing". The ending he stated "was tacky" but however enjoyed watching Truth's performance in the first ten minutes of the match, but he stated the rest was "downhill from there, he awarded that match a 7 out of 10. Overall, he gave the event a rating of 8 out of 10.
Results
| # | Match | Stipulations | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark | Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov defeated Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater | Tag team match Professional wrestling tag team match types Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace... |
n/a |
| 1 | Dolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero Vickie Guerrero Vickie Lynn Guerrero is an American professional wrestling personality, manager, shifting authority figure and occasional wrestler. She is the widow of professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand... ) defeated Kofi Kingston Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom... (c) By Knockout |
Singles match for the WWE United States Championship WWE United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand.... |
11:06 |
| 2 | Alex Riley Alex Riley Alex Riley is a TV and radio presenter.Born and brought up in Sheffield, Riley started performing with the city's Crucible Youth Theatre during which time he originated, and appeared in, dozens of sketches and devised pieces, as well as appearing in a number of plays and farces at the Library... defeated The Miz |
Singles match | 10:13 |
| 3 | Alberto Del Rio defeated The Big Show | Singles match | 4:57 |
| 4 | Ezekiel Jackson defeated Wade Barrett Wade Barrett Wade Barrett is a retired American soccer player. He is currently an assistant coach at Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo-College:... (c) By Submission |
Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship | 6:36 |
| 5 | CM Punk CM Punk Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion.... defeated Rey Mysterio |
Singles match | 15:02 |
| 6 | Randy Orton Randy Orton Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand... (c) defeated Christian |
Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand... |
14:06 |
| 7 | Evan Bourne defeated Jack Swagger | Singles match | 7:12 |
| 8 | John Cena John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand.... (c) defeated R-Truth Ron Killings Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik... |
Singles match for the WWE Championship WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963... |
14:47 |