CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Championship
We continue on through the summer of 2009 and the feud between Hardy and Punk was starting to really heat things up as coming out of the Bash, the emotions between the two were running extremely high. After their first match ended in some controversy, Hardy was more determined to become champion again while Punk was starting to display some arrogance as he claimed to be better than Hardy simply because of his lifestyle. There was however an interesting point going on behind the scenes in that Hardy might be on his way out the door, so if you figured they were going to get this feud to end at Summerslam, it was going to be interesting to see if this match ended in another screwy finish or if they were going to actually have Hardy win the title and have Punk get his rematch at Summerslam. Either way, you knew that this was going to be a great match and they were going to build off what they did at the Bash, and that no matter what happened that it was going to lead to what could be an epic at Summerslam.
On the 7/3 Smackdown, Punk cut a promo about what happened at the Bash and Hardy’s attack after the match as he demanded an apology from Hardy, and GM Teddy Long came out and announced that Hardy would get his rematch at the PPV as he forced Hardy and Punk to team up later that night. Hardy would come out and Long got between them as Punk told Hardy to “Just Say No”, and later that night they would lost to Edge and Chris Jericho as Hardy would fake an eye injury after the match. On the 7/10 Smackdown, Hardy came out with an eye patch on and said that he didn’t fake injuries like Punk only for Punk to cost him a match against Kane, and later that night Punk cut a promo as he pulled out prescription pills and said this was the only foreign substance he would put in his body as he brought up Hardy had two strikes while he didn’t nor ever had to go to rehab. On the 7/17 Smackdown, Hardy cut a promo bringing up what Punk said last week as he said that he hasn’t failed a test in a year and never had to go to rehab, and Punk came out and said that was nothing to brag about as he said he was scared by the number of Hardy shirts in the crowd and said their hero would become another statistic. Hardy shoved him to the mat and Punk rolled out of the ring as he stayed at ringside until Hardy left, and later that night Hardy and Rey Mysterio defeated Jericho and Dolph Ziggler by DQ when Punk got involved and he would watch as Hardy was trapped in the Walls of Jericho. On the 7/24 Smackdown, Hardy defeated Jericho and cut a promo on facing Punk at the PPV, and later that night Punk cut a promo and challenged the fans to say no to their vices like alcohol or tobacco as Hardy came out and confronted him only for Punk to say he was going to say no as he walked away. Later that night, Punk lost a match to Mysterio when Ziggler got involved and Hardy would make the save only for Punk to give him the Go 2 Sleep. The build has been really hot with Punk bringing up Hardy’s personal issues while pushing his straight edge beliefs, and now it was going to come down to whether Hardy would get his win or again if the match would end in a screwjob.
Punk cuts a great promo early in the night as he confronts the fans in the arena for cheering Hardy and he put the blame on the parents for not raising their children right, and Punk would get a mixed reaction from the crowd though he got more boos than cheers while Hardy got a big pop from the crowd. The two men square off to start the match as Punk gets a kick in and they jockey for position with Punk getting another kick in, and they lock up with Punk hooking a headlock and he goes around Hardy repeatedly before shoving him away. They lock up again with Punk going back to the headlock and he grinds down on Hardy who whips him off and Punk knocks him down, and Hardy leaps over Punk who blocks a hiptoss attempt as he hoists Hardy onto his shoulders though Hardy slides off. He gets a kick in only for Punk to block the Twist of Fate and Hardy hits a pair of clotheslines before ramming Punk into the buckle, and he rams the shoulder into Punk’s ribs repeatedly in the corner and pounds on him before whipping him hard into the other corner. He hoists Punk up only for Punk to hook a sunset flip for a two count and he goes back to the headlock, and Hardy fights to his feet and breaks the hold as Punk reverses a whip and avoids a crossbody as Hardy falls to the outside. Punk looks for a suicide dive only for Hardy to avoid it and Punk lands on the floor as Hardy throws him back into the ring and gets a two count, and he hits a neckbreaker on Punk and goes up top only for Punk to roll outside and he avoids a crossbody from Hardy who hits the barricade. Punk rolls back into the ring and wants the ref to count Hardy out though Hardy makes it back into the ring, and Punk gets a two count and rams the knees into Hardy’s back repeatedly for a two count before whipping him hard into the corner. He kicks at Hardy repeatedly for a two count and hits a low dropkick for a two count before hooking a surfboard submission on, and Hardy escapes the hold as he falls on top of Punk for a one count and Punk kicks at him before pounding on his back. He puts Hardy on the top rope and continues to pound on as he goes up himself only for Hardy to hit a sitdown front suplex, and they trade blows with Hardy taking control as Punk counters a whip only for Hardy to hit a hooking clothesline. He knocks Punk down twice and hits an atomic drop as he trips Punk up and hits a legdrop to the groin, and he hits a low dropkick on Punk for a two count and rams him into the buckle as he goes up top only for Punk to crotch him on the top rope and Hardy falls to the mat. Punk hits the running knee in the corner only for Hardy to block the bulldog as he sends Punk into the corner, and Hardy goes up top and hits Whisper in the Wind on Punk for a two count before hitting a front sitdown suplex. He goes up top again only to miss the Swanton Bomb and Punk hits a double underhook backbreaker, and he hooks a modified dragon sleeper on Hardy who reaches the rope to force a break and Punk kicks and pounds on him. Hardy ducks a shot and hits the Twist of Fate as he goes up top only for Punk to get his knees up on the Swanton Bomb for a two count, and Punk rolls out to the apron and attempts a springboard only for Hardy to catch him coming in with a kick. Punk escapes a Twist of Fate attempt and hoists Hardy onto his shoulders as he hits the Go 2 Sleep for a series of two counts, and Punk rolls outside and grabs the belt as he heads up the aisle only for Hardy to roll outside and he nails Punk from behind. He throws Punk back into the ring and pounds on him before hitting another Twist of Fate and he goes up top, and he hits the Swanton Bomb on Punk which gets the three and we have a new champion as he celebrates with the title and we go off the air.
The match itself was great as both men worked hard and put on a really fun title match that was much better than their match at the Bash. Punk was really gaining steam as he was still somewhat of a tweener though he was clearly leaning heel, and Hardy was at his peak by this point and these two built on their chemistry from the previous match. Going in, it seemed like Hardy was finally going to get his revenge and win the title, but again there was the rumor that he was going to be leaving soon so it always left the possibility open for Punk escaping with the title by some nefarious means. However, they do give Hardy the feel good moment by winning the title and you now know that they are going to continue this feud to Summerslam, and you figured that Punk was going to throw more gas on the fire as he continues this slow heel turn burn. The crowd was red hot for the whole match and popped big for Hardy when he won. Hardy gets the win over Punk and is once again World Heavyweight Champion, but this issue isn’t over yet.
Final Grade: ****
