Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the World Heavyweight Championship
We now come to the biggest show of the summer with Summerslam and there is no question that the feud between Jeff and Punk has been one of the best going since Punk cashed in on Jeff back at Extreme Rules. They’ve had two solid matches to this point with Jeff winning the title the previous month and now they have the rubber match here, and to make it even more interesting it will be a TLC match which seems to favor Jeff though Punk has proven his worth in ladder matches with two MITB wins. What most people didn’t know was that Jeff was on his way out the door which made it even more weird that they had him win the title, but having him going into this show as champion felt big and it was interesting to see if it was obvious that Punk was going to win the title back or if they would have Jeff retain in a surprise.
On the 7/31 Smackdown, we saw footage of what happened when Night of Champions went off the air with Punk shaking Jeff’s hand, and Jeff would cut a promo thanking the fans for their support and said Punk would get his rematch anytime he wanted. Punk would then cut a promo saying Jeff beating him was a fluke and later that night, Jeff would retain the title against John Morrison as Punk came out to seemingly congratulate him, but he would attack him instead and declare he would get his rematch the next week. On the 8/7 Smackdown, Punk cut a promo saying the fans cheered Jeff because they were weak like Jeff and the fans needed a strong leader like him, and Jeff would come up and the two brawled until officials separated them as it was announced they would face off later in the night with a special guest enforcer who was revealed to be Matt Hardy. Later that night, Jeff would defeat Punk thanks to Matt and Punk would attack Jeff after the match as he put his head in a chair and rammed it against the post, and Jeff would be taken out on a stretcher as Teddy Long announced the two would face off at Summerslam in a TLC match. On the 8/14 Smackdown, Punk cut a promo saying he won back-to-back ladder matches and took Jeff out with a chair to prove he could win a TLC match, and Jeff would come out and vow to compete at Summerslam. Later that night, Jeff lost a handicap match to the Hart Dynasty and Punk attacked him afterwards as he tried to injure him again with the chair, but then Matt would make the save and reunited with Jeff. On the 8/21 Smackdown, Matt did a sit-down interview as he said everything he had did to Jeff earlier in the year was the biggest mistake of his life and he was happy that Jeff forgave him, and Jeff would cut a promo on a ladder as he vowed to retain the title as Punk came out and said Jeff was probably drunk as he said that Summerslam would be Jeff’s last match. He would try to attack Jeff only for Jeff to clear him from the ring, and in the main event the Hardys and Morrison defeated Punk and the Hart Dynasty when Matt pinned Punk. The build has been really good as they retconned Matt’s heel turn and had him reconcile with Jeff, and the fact that Punk vowed Summerslam would be Jeff’s last match made you wonder if it was foreshadowing or just tough talk from Punk.
Punk cut a great promo before the match talking about how he was better than everyone including Jeff, and Punk was red hot as a heel by this point while Jeff gets a huge pop from the crowd as this match deserved to be the main event especially after the last two matches underwhelmed. The two men lock up to start as they jockey for position with Punk backing Jeff into the corner and he pounds on him, and he rams the knee into Jeff repeatedly and continues to pound on him as he stomps on him repeatedly and tosses him to the outside. Punk goes outside as well and grabs a chair as he jabs it into Jeff’s ribs and he hits Jeff in the back with it, and he grabs a ladder and slides it into the ring as he sets it up and climbs only for Jeff to tip the ladder over as Punk nearly falls on the ladder. Punk escapes a Twist of Fate attempt only for Jeff to knock him down and he pounds on him in the corner, and he stomps on him repeatedly and hits a springboard low dropkick to Punk before tossing him to the outside. He sets the ladder up and climbs until Punk gets in the ring as he kicks at the ladder and knocks Jeff off of it, and he stomps on Jeff and hoists him onto his shoulders only for Jeff to slide off and he sends Punk into the ladder. He grabs the chair and sets it up as he leaps off the chair only for Punk to catch him on a Poetry in Motion attempt and drops him on the chair, and Punk grabs the chair and wedges it in the corner as he grabs the ladder and drops it on top of Jeff. He slams the ladder down on Jeff’s back repeatedly and tries to whip him into the chair only for Jeff to avoid it, and Punk hits a side dropkick on Jeff and tosses him to the outside as he hits a suicide dive onto Jeff on the floor. He grabs a table and slides it next to the ring before grabbing a chair and he wedges Jeff’s head in it, but Jeff quickly escapes and Punk charges with the chair only for Jeff to avoid him as Punk hits the post with the chair. Jeff pounds on Punk who gets a knee in and Jeff reverses a whip as Punk leaps onto the steps before leaping off, but Jeff catches him with the chair and he sets the chair up on the floor as he rams Punk into the barricade. He leaps off the chair and hits Poetry in Motion on Punk against the barricade as he grabs another chair and tosses it at Punk, and he sets a table up at ringside and puts Punk on it as he pounds on him before going up top only for Punk to avoid the splash as Jeff crashes through the table. Punk grabs another ladder and tosses it into the ring as he sets it up and climbs only for Jeff to roll back into the ring, and he pulls Punk down and climbs over him as he touches the belt only for Punk to put Jeff on his shoulders though Jeff escapes with a sunset flip powerbomb off the ladder. Jeff climbs the ladder and touches the belt again only for Punk to tip the ladder over and Jeff crotches himself on the top rope, and Punk goes up top and drags Jeff up with him as he hits a superplex onto the ladder in a nasty spot. Punk pounds on Jeff who escapes a suplex attempt and he hits the Twist of Fate on Punk before going up top, but Punk gets his knees up on a Swanton Bomb attempt and hits the running knee in the corner only for Jeff to block the bulldog as he hoists Punk up and dumps him over the top through the table. He sets the ladder up and climbs as Punk hits a springboard clothesline that knocks Jeff off the ladder, and he tosses Jeff to the outside and goes outside himself as he grabs another chair and wedges Jeff’s head in it. Jeff blocks a ram into the post as he gets a back elbow in and he sends Punk into the steps, and he grabs another chair and hits Punk in the back with it repeatedly before grabbing another chair and he tosses it at Punk. He pulls a table out of the way and grabs a piece of the announce table as he hits Punk with it and he clears the table off, and he hits Punk in the head with a monitor before hitting him with the chair and he rams Punk into the announce table. He puts Punk on the table and hits him in the head with the chair as he grabs a giant ladder and sets it up, and he climbs to the top of the ladder and hits the Swanton Bomb that puts Punk through the announce table in a huge spot. Officials check on both men as EMTs come out with a stretcher and they put a neck brace on Jeff before putting him on the stretcher, and they start to wheel him to the back as Punk crawls back into the ring and climbs up the ladder only for Jeff to get off the stretcher and he gets back in the ring. He climbs up the other side of the ladder and they trade blows as they reach for the belt, and Punk kicks at Jeff and knocks him off the ladder as he retrieves the belt and we have a new champion. After the match, Punk stands over top of Jeff and holds the belt up until we hear the gong and the lights go out, and when they come on Jeff is gone as the Undertaker is in his place to Punk’s shock and Taker grabs him by the throat before hitting the chokeslam.
The match itself was excellent as both men worked hard and put on a fantastic TLC match to close out the show. Coming off the last two title matches which were underwhelming, there was more pressure on these guys to deliver and they did so in spades as they went all out and put on a violent match. They busted out some big spots including Jeff doing one more Swanton off the giant ladder, and they continued to build off the chemistry they had in the previous matches and this was easily the best of their series. It was a bit sad that Jeff’s reign only lasted a month, but it made because if he was on his way out he could put Punk over strong, and it was made even more obvious as we have Punk’s next challenge set with Taker making his surprise return after being gone since WM. Even though it does feel like Jeff was basically shoved aside, you were looking forward to a Taker/Punk feud as Punk continues to establish himself as the top heel of Smackdown. The crowd was red hot for the match and Jeff, but are not happy when Punk wins though they pop huge for Taker when he returned. Punk gets the win over Jeff and is once again World Heavyweight Champion as both men move on with Jeff making his exit and Punk has a grave challenge ahead of him.
Final Grade: ****1/4
