Jon Material - WWE Capitol Punishment 2011 Fact Sheet: 25 interesting, fun, and sometimes even useless facts regarding the June pay-per-view and its participants

By Jon Lopuch

1. This is the first Capitol Punishment PPV. Last year’s June PPV slot was occupied by Fatal 4-Way.

2. Fatal 4-Way received an uninspiring 163,000 buys from the WWE Universe.

3. Unless there is something added during the show, Capitol Punishment will be the first WWE PPV to feature exclusively singles matchups since Judgment Day 2009.

4. The WWE Championship has changed hands once in Washington D.C. That occurred during the 2000 incarnation of Backlash when The Rock defeated Triple H with Shane McMahon as the special referee.

5. The John Cena vs. R-Truth matchup features two guys who used to employ rap gimmicks. Good thing this is not the Fatal 4-Way PPV or else the WWE may have brought back Wolfie D and J.C. Ice to round out the field.

6. Truth has never won the WWE Championship, but he did hold the United States Championship until losing that title roughly year ago to The Miz in a four-way match that actually aired on Raw.

7. Fatal 4-Way was unkind to both Cena and Truth. Cena’s night ended when he lost the WWE Championship to Sheamus. R-Truth lost a rematch to The Miz in which the U.S. Title was on the line.

8. Randy Orton likes rematches. The Apex Predator fought Wade Barrett at Bragging Rights and then again at the following PPV, Survivor Series. He then battled The Miz at back-to-back PPVs, TLC & Royal Rumble. He followed this by participating in the Raw Elimination Chamber match, but returned to form by vanquishing C.M. Punk at Wrestlemania and then again at Extreme Rules. Sunday will mark his second straight PPV battle with Christian, who he pinned at Over the Limit.

9. Christian’s heel turn earlier this month marks the first time he’s been a heel in WWE since the Captain Charisma days prior to his 2005 departure from the company.

10. Alex Riley and The Miz were first paired together as mentor/mentee on June 8, 2010 for NXT Season 2.

11. The Miz has feuded with both his NXT rookies, the Varsity Villain and Daniel Bryan.

12. Riley finished third in his NXT class, behind Michael McGillicutty and Kaval.

13. The Big Show has won the WWE Tag Team Championship with four men: The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, The Miz, and Kane. Each of those men has held the WWE Championship at least once.

14. The Big Show recently celebrated his 16th anniversary in the business. His initial WCW appearance occurred on May 21, 1995 at Slamboree.

15. Show is also a former ECW (WWE iteration) Champion, a title he held for almost five months before falling to Bobby Lashley at December to Dismember 2006.

16. Show has been in the business five years longer than his Capitol Punishment opponent, Alberto Del Rio, who debuted in Mexico during May of 2000.

17. Del Rio’s WWE debut vignettes debuted a year ago this week.

18. If Ezekiel Jackson captures the Intercontinental Title on Sunday, it will be the first time the prestigious championship has changed hands in Washington D.C.

19. This will be Wade Barrett’s first PPV match without the benefit of being in a faction.

20. Kofi Kingston’s first U.S. Title reign last 126 days, which is the 8th-longest U.S. Title reign since the turn of the century.

21. The U.S. Title has changed hands three times in Washington D.C., most recently when Chris Benoit defeated Orlando Jordan in 25 seconds at the 2005 incarnation of SummerSlam.

22. Dolph Zigler has been associated with Vicki Guerrero for one year now. In that time he has captured the Intercontinental Title, which he lost to Kingston in January, and the World Heavyweight Championship, which he held for a matter of minutes in February when Vicki had explicitly prohibited Edge from using the spear.

23. Kingston is on a two-PPV winning streak. He was on the victorious side in the 8-man tag team match at Wrestlemania XXVII and captured the U.S. Title from Sheamus in May.

24. Kofi’s last PPV loss occurred at the Elimination Chamber when he submitted to Del Rio’s cross arm-breaker (which the WWE needs to get around to giving a name, by the way.)

25. All four participants in the U.S. and Intercontinental Championships matches have college degrees.

If you enjoyed the column, found an error, or need a date, contact Jon Lopuch at jonlopuch@gmail.com. Yes, we're kidding about the date thing. Well, unless you are female and extremely attractive. Upon further review, even mildly attractive and/or wealthy females will be considered. Fine, looks and wealth aren't even important, but Pooch is a bit of a stickler when it comes to that whole female thing. Well, unless something has changed since last month.