CM Punk vs. the Undertaker in a Submission match for the World Heavyweight Championship
We come out of the summer and move on into the fall of 2009 as we have a brand new PPV here in Breaking Point, and the hook behind it was the big matches being Submission-based which was pretty interesting since Submission matches were few and far between. Over on the Smackdown side, Punk has pretty much established himself as the top heel after sending Jeff Hardy packing, and now he has to deal with the cornerstone of the brand in Taker who was finally back after being gone since WM. This was a big moment for Punk as this could be considered a dream match seeing these two face each other, and Taker has looked fairly good since coming back though this was going to be his first big test since returning. Given that this was going to be the featured feud on Smackdown, you hoped that these two would have good chemistry and that it would translate into the two having good matches.
On the 8/28 Smackdown, Punk cut a promo bragging about his win at Summerslam and he wasn’t taking painkillers like Hardy, and he talked about Taker interrupting his celebration until Hardy came out and Punk challenged him to a cage match with the title on the line as well as Hardy’s career which Hardy accepted as it was announced the winner would face Taker in a Submission match at the PPV. In the main event, Punk would defeat Hardy to retain the title and end Hardy’s career as Hardy took a moment to thank the fans and say goodbye only for Punk to hit him with the belt on the stage and stand over top of him. On the 9/4 Smackdown, Punk came out dressed like Hardy and bragged about ending his career while continuing to hype up his straight edge living, and he said Taker was no longer the lone icon of Smackdown and would rely on magic tricks to defeat him until Matt Hardy came out and attacked Punk. In the main event, Matt and Punk wrestled to a no contest as Punk tried to injure Matt with a chair only for Taker to appear and he gave Punk a chokeslam through the announce table. On the 9/11 Smackdown, Taker cut a promo vowing to win the World Title as Punk came out and said Taker was worse than Jeff in that he preyed on the fans for 20 years, and he said he was stronger than any of the men Taker has defeated and he would make Taker tap out. In the main event, Punk defeated Matt in a submission match only for the lights to go out and when they came on, Taker appeared on the stage with the title in his possession. The build was pretty basic as Taker was using his usual mind games on Punk who tried to keep his cool by saying he was better than Taker, and now we will see how it plays out when they actually face off in the ring.
Taker gets his usual big pop from the crowd while Punk was pretty hot as a heel, and it was good they got the main event instead of the RAW main events since those seemed to be hotter feuds. Punk slides outside to stall to start the match and returns to the ring as he avoids a shot and tries to keep his distance from Taker, and he avoids another shot as he pounds and stomps on Taker in the corner and he drives the elbow into him repeatedly. Taker grabs Punk by the throat and sends him over the top to the floor as he goes outside himself and he chases Punk back into the ring, and Punk drops an elbow on him as he gets back in the ring and he pounds on Taker who reverses a whip and he hits a clothesline on Punk. He pounds on Punk in the corner and rams him into the buckle as he continues to pound on Punk, and he stomps on him and throws him to the outside before going outside himself only for Punk to get a kick in. He pounds on Taker who knocks him down though Punk battles back only for Taker to block a ram into the post, and he pounds on Punk and gets a knee in before whipping him into the barricade though Punk avoids the boot as Taker crotches himself on the barricade. Punk hits a running knee on Taker and stomps on him as he pounds on him and grabs a chair which he jabs into Taker’s ribs, and he hits Taker in the head with the chair and both men return to the ring as Punk hits the running knee in the corner only for Taker to block the bulldog by sending Punk into the other corner. He grabs the arm and works on it as he goes up top only for Punk to crotch him on the top rope and he pounds on him, and he goes up himself only for Taker to block the superplex by pounding on Punk and he hits a headbutt that sends Punk to the mat. Punk recovers first as he kicks Taker in the head and pounds on him before going up again and he hits a superplex on Taker, and he kicks at Taker repeatedly as Taker battles back and they trade blows with Taker taking control as he knocks him down. He rams Punk into the buckle and whips him into the other corner before splashing him and he whips Punk into the other corner, and he hoists him up and hits Snake Eyes on Punk before hitting a big boot and a legdrop. He grabs Punk by the throat only for Punk to kick him in the head though Taker catches him in Hell’s Gate as Punk taps out and we seemingly have a new champion, but then Teddy Long comes out and says that Hell’s Gate was banned by Vickie Guerrero and the ban still remains as he says that match will continue. Punk gets in the ring and attacks Taker from behind as he pounds on him and rams the knee into him repeatedly, but Taker catches him with a big boot and gets a kick in as he looks for the Last Ride only for Punk to escape as he hits a chop block and looks for the Anaconda Vice though the bell rings right as he hooks it on and Punk is declared the winner.
The match itself was sadly a bit disappointing as these two men did work hard and it looked like they were building to what could’ve been a really good match, but it is hampered by the stupid finish which was pretty much another nod to the Montreal Screwjob only because they were in Montreal. Taker looked a bit rusty in his first match back and Punk was really hitting his groove by this point, and they did have a bit of uneasy chemistry at first though it definitely picked up as they started to cook. But then we get the lame Dusty Finish as Punk taps out though is saved because Long brings up the ban on Hell’s Gate which everyone had forgotten about, and then Punk and the ref basically screw Taker as Taker clearly didn’t tap out. The crowd was into the match and they did pop for Taker when it looked like he won, but then they get pissed when the match is restarted and then when they get that ending. Punk steals the win over Taker even though Taker didn’t submit, but this issue isn’t over yet.
Final Grade: *3/4
