The 2011 Vengeance was the eighth

Vengeance Vengeance may refer to: *Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Film * ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo * ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. It took place on October 23, 2011, at the

AT&T Center Frost Bank Center (formerly AT&T Center and SBC Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena on the east side of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It is the home of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The arena seat ...

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It was the first Vengeance held since

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and also the last until 2021 when Vengeance was rebranded as an

NXT TakeOver NXT TakeOver was a series of periodic professional wrestling events produced by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE for its NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand division. The first TakeOver was simply titled NX ...

event titled Vengeance Day. The 2011 Vengeance replaced

Bragging Rights Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities. Boasting tends to be an attempt to prove one's superiority by recounting accomplishments so that others will feel adm ...

. Vengeance was dropped the following year in favor of only holding one PPV during October,

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link f ...

. The event garnered 121,000 buys, down from 137,000 buys the previous year's

. Nine matches were contested at the event, including one on the pre-show. In the main event,

Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where h ...

defeated

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

in a

last man standing match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

to retain the

WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...

. In other prominent matches,

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Henry is a two-time Olympian (1992 and 19 ...

fought

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...

to a no contest,

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...

defeated

WWE Intercontinental Champion The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promo ...

Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (born June 30, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As of April 2022, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is also known for co-fou ...

in a non-title match, and The Awesome Truth (

The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...

and

R-Truth Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under his real name, stylized as Ron Killings and R-Truth. Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...

) defeated

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...

and

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...

Production

Background

was an annual

(PPV) event produced by

from 2001 to 2007. From that inaugural event until 2006, it was promoted solely as Vengeance, but in 2007, WWE promoted Vengeance as a joint PPV titled Vengeance: Night of Champions, which was both the seventh Vengeance event and the inaugural

Night of Champions WWE Night of Champions is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The inaugural event took pl ...

event. The 2007 event was the final Vengeance event as WWE dropped Vengeance in 2008 in favor of continuing Night of Champions. In April 2011, the promotion ceased going by its full name of World Wrestling Entertainment, with "WWE" becoming an

orphaned initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps with ...

. Later that same year, WWE reinstated Vengeance—separate from Night of Champions—and scheduled it for the October slot in their PPV calendar, replacing

, which was two months after the end of the first

brand extension Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this ...

. The eighth Vengeance was held on October 23, 2011, at the

. It was the first Vengeance event to be broadcast in high definition, following WWE's move to HD in January 2008.

Storylines

Vengeance featured professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that developed on WWE's television programs, '' Raw SuperShow'' and ''

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

''. Wrestlers portrayed

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

(faces) or

villains A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

(heels) as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. The main rivalry involved

WWE Champion The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand ...

against former champion

for the WWE Championship. At

earlier in the month, Cena lost his title to Del Rio after Cena was locked out of the steel cell while Del Rio pinned

in a Triple threat

Hell in a Cell match Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fenc ...

. A week later, recently instated Interim General Manager of Raw

John Laurinaitis John Hodger Laurinaitis (born July 31, 1962), also known by his former ring name Johnny Ace, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and business executive. He has wrestled for such promotions as World Championship ...

booked Cena's rematch against Del Rio for Vengeance. On the October 17 episode of ''Raw SuperShow'', Cena won a tag team match with

Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator, sports announcer, and podcaster, better known by the ring name Jim Ross (often shortened to JR). He is signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he ...

to defeat Del Rio and Michael Cole and as per the pre-match stipulation, he chose the match at Vengeance to be a

Last Man Standing match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

. Another rivalry was between

, and

. At

, during the main event which was between the COO Triple H and Punk, The Miz and R-Truth interfered and attacked both competitors. The following night on ''Raw SuperShow'', Triple H fired The Miz and R-Truth. At Hell in a Cell, The Miz and R-Truth attacked

, the referee, and cameramen while the cell was still closed. The entire WWE roster came out to find a way into the cell. Eventually, they found pliers and got into the cell and Triple H attacked The Miz and R-Truth. On the October 10 episode of ''Raw SuperShow'', Triple H was relieved from his duties of running ''Raw'' (though still COO) and Executive Vice President of Talent Relations

was named Raw Interim General Manager and later that night made this match. Another rivalry involved

against

for the World Heavyweight Championship. At Money in the Bank, Mark Henry injured Big Show via a steel chair when Henry crushed the chair on Big Show's fibula keeping him out of action for roughly four months. Afterwards, Henry defeated

to claim the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career, and defeated Orton once more at Hell in a Cell to retain his title. On the episode of ''SmackDown'' after Hell in a Cell, Big Show returned and began to attack Mark Henry demanding a title match for Henry's title. As Big Show was about to crush Henry's leg with a steel chair, SmackDown General Manager

Theodore Long Theodore Robert Rufus Long (born September 15, 1947) is an American former professional wrestling Referee (professional wrestling), referee, Manager (professional wrestling), manager and Authority figure (professional wrestling), authority figur ...

said that if Big Show did not crush Henry's leg, he would get his title match. Big Show decided to give Henry a chair shot to the back, fearing that if he crushed Henry's leg, he would not get his World Heavyweight Championship match. Another rivalry involved

and

Intercontinental Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

. Earlier in the month at Hell in a Cell, Randy Orton lost his World Heavyweight Championship rematch in a Hell in a Cell match against Mark Henry, while Cody Rhodes brought back the classic Intercontinental Championship title belt and then successfully defended it in an impromptu match against

John Morrison John (or Jack) Morrison or Morison may refer to: In politics * John Morison (Banffshire MP) (c. 1757–1835), British MP for Banffshire * John Morrison (blacksmith) (1726–1816), farmer, blacksmith and politician in Nova Scotia * John Morison ( ...

. Rhodes would cost Randy Orton another World Heavyweight Championship match on the October 7 episode of ''SmackDown''. The next week on ''SmackDown'', Randy Orton would get vengeance against Rhodes when he picked up a pinfall victory over Rhodes. On the October 17 edition of ''Raw SuperShow'', Cody Rhodes picked up a pinfall victory over Orton after interference from Mark Henry. It was then announced that Randy Orton would face Rhodes at Vengeance in a non-title rubber match. The only rivalry on the Divas card was between

Eve Torres Eve Torres Gracie (born Eve Marie Torres on August 21, 1984) is an American actress, dancer, model, martial arts instructor and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, where she was a record tying three-time WWE D ...

and

Beth Phoenix Elizabeth Copeland ( Kociański; born November 24, 1980), better known as Beth Phoenix, is an American retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in WWE, where she is a former WWE Divas Champion and a three-time WWE Women's ...

over the Divas Championship. On the October 17 episode of ''Raw SuperShow'', Torres was announced as the number one contender for the Divas Championship. On the following episode of ''SmackDown'', Torres interrupted Phoenix talking about the match, pushed her over and showed her 'ranty panties'. The same night of their match,

Kelly Kelly Barbara Jean Blank Coba (née Blank; January 15, 1987), known professionally as Barbie Blank and by her ring name Kelly Kelly, is an American model and former professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE under a legends contract. Blank has a ...

, a storyline ally of Torres, was being interviewed on a WWE.com exclusive but was attacked by Phoenix and

Natalya Natalya () is the Russian form of the female given name Natalia. The name Natasha (), being originally a diminutive form of Natalya, became an independent name outside the Russian-speaking states since the late 1800s. People with the given name ...

, with Torres making the save. Therefore, Interim General Manager of Raw

announced that Kelly Kelly and Natalya would be banned from ringside for the match at ''Vengeance''.

Event

Pre-Show

On the pre-show,

Wade Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English acting, actor and former professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Wade Barrett as a color commentator on the ''WWE Sma ...

defeated

Daniel Bryan Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs on a part time basis. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under t ...

. This would be their last singles match against one other for 2 years, however they did compete as rivals in tag matches on SmackDown, as well as an

Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...

against one other in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Preliminary matches

The first match saw Air Boom (

Evan Bourne Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his tenure with WWE from 2008 to 2014 under the ring nam ...

and

Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Kofi ...

) defending the

WWE Tag Team Championship The WWE Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE ...

against

Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he performs under his real name, stylized as Nic Nemeth, where he is one-half of the TNA World Tag ...

and

Jack Swagger Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently performs on the independent circ ...

. The match ended when Bourne pinned Ziggler after Air Bourne to retain the titles. Next, Dolph Ziggler defended the United States Championship against

Zack Ryder Matthew Brett Cardona (born May 14, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is a freelancer who competes on the independent circuit as well as making in ring appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), All Elite Wrestling (AEW) ...

. Air Boom were at ringside in the corner of Zack Ryder. Bourne and Kingston interfered by throwing Dolph Ziggler back in the ring when he went to the outside. Because of this, they were ejected from ringside. In the end, Ziggler pinned Ryder after a superkick. After that, Eve challenged Beth Phoenix for the Divas Championship with the stipulation of Kelly Kelly and Natalya being banned from Ringside. Phoenix executed the Glam Slam on Eve and then pinned her for the victory. Next, Christian faced

Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on th ...

. The match came to an end after Christian tried to execute a Spear on Sheamus, who countered and executed a Brogue Kick on Christian to win the match. Following them were The Miz and R-Truth facing Triple H and CM Punk. Triple H and Punk controlled the match until

Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is also known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Ac ...

attacked Triple H whilst the referee was distracted. Miz and Truth then executed a Shut Up/Skull Crushing Finale combination on Punk, with Miz pinning Punk to win the match. In the sixth match, Randy Orton fought Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes. To finish the match, Rhodes executed Cross Rhodes on Orton for a near-fall, followed by Rhodes attempting an RKO on Orton, who countered into a dropkick on Rhodes. Orton executed an RKO of his own on Rhodes, pinning Rhodes to win the match. The penultimate match pitted the Big Show against Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship. After Henry executed a superplex on Big Show, the ring collapsed, two rows of ropes fell, and one ring post jutted out. The referee ruled the match a

No Contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

. After the match, medical staff brought a stretcher out but neither Big Show nor Henry could fit on it. Then, a flatbed truck was driven to the ring, and the medical staff put Big Show on it. They drove away, but not before general managers

and

appeared. Henry was then assisted out of the AT&T Center, at one point punching an EMT. Afterwards, Laurinaitis confirmed the main event would still happen, despite the damaged ring.

Main event

The main event was a Last Man Standing match between John Cena and Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship, with the ring still in a collapsed state from the previous bout. Cena and Del Rio gained control over each other throughout the match. When Del Rio climbed the V on the stage, Cena threw him through a table. The Miz and R-Truth attacked Cena, with Miz executing a Skull Crushing Finale on Cena and R-Truth executing a Shut Up on Cena. When Cena stood, Del Rio hit Cena with the WWE championship belt. Cena could not answer the ten count, and Del Rio retained the WWE Championship.

Aftermath

On the following episode of ''Raw'', John Cena decided to face The Miz and R-Truth, who cost him the WWE Championship match at Vengeance, with

as his partner. However, Miz and R-Truth ambushed Ryder before the match, in which they beat Cena down. Later, it was announced that Miz and R-Truth would face Cena and a partner of his choosing at

Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...

, with Cena picking The Rock. Due to the finish of their match at Vengeance, Mark Henry and Big Show were scheduled for another World Heavyweight Championship match at Survivor Series, with a reinforced ring being set up. Following this event, WWE again discontinued Vengeance, this time until 2021—during this hiatus, the brand extension returned in 2016. In 2021, WWE revived the PPV for their NXT brand as a

TakeOver In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast to the acquisi ...

event titled Vengeance Day, the name of which was also a play on its

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

scheduling. The 2025 event would drop the NXT branding.

Results

References

External links

Vengeance 2011 WWE Live Tour siteVengeance 2011 on WWE.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vengeance: Night Of Champions

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2011 in San Antonio Professional wrestling shows in San Antonio 2011 WWE pay-per-view events October 2011 in the United States es:WWE Vengeance#2011