Posted in: The Classic Paper Review The Current Paper Review - Vol V - Breaking Point 2009 + Jeff Hardy
By Mazza
Sep 15, 2009 - 7:16:21 AM
Romeo Done!
Vol V – Breaking Point 2009
Welcome one and all to the Breaking Point edition of The Current Paper Review, I am your host, Mazza. Since SummerSlam there have been a few interesting changes on the horizon of the WWE. Highly rated Nigel McGuiness and Bryan Danielson will be making their way to World Wrestling Entertainment from Ring of Honor and a lot of people will be looking on intently on what happens to them. Kid’s favourite, Rey Mysterio got banned for a violation of the company wellness policy and dropped his Intercontinental Title to John Morrison before starting a thirty day suspension. More importantly however, the WWE got a major piece of luck in failing to resign Jeff Hardy to a contract as several days after parting ways, Jeff was arrested on a slew of drug charges. There will be more on the Charismatic Enigma later but despite the changes, the Breaking Point card is not too dissimilar to the SummerSlam card. That said, I am pleased to see that not everything on the card is submission related and I think it could spice up the main matches quite nicely. Hopefully this will impress me a bit more than the lacklustre SummerSlam.
ODE TO THE MENU
The Event: Breaking Point 2009
The Date: 13 September 2009
The Place: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Before we get underway with the review, here is a quick reminder of DaveyBoy’s review key.
<50: Ask for a refund for not only your money, but also your time. [F] (Armageddon '04)
50-54: Mediocre & disappointing. [D] (EG: No Way Out '07)
55-59: Average. [C] (EG: Unforgiven ‘08)
60-64: Worth A Watch. [C+] (EG: The Bash ‘09)
65-69: Good event that was worth the money. [B] (EG: SummerSlam '09)
70-74: Very good. [B+] (EG: No Way Out '09)
75-79: Make sure you add this ppv to your video or dvd collection. [A] (EG: Royal Rumble '09)
80+: Make sure that the video or DVD is locked in a safe & cannot be erased. Memorable. [A+]
Chris Jericho and The Big Show defeated MVP and Mark Henry in 12:15 to retain the Unified Tag Team Championship
The match starts out with the two smaller men but the Canadian crowd is almost unanimously behind Jericho. We have some nice early action with MVP in control but when he tags in The World’s Strongest Man, Jericho scarpers to his corner to tag in The Big Show. The fans chant “Let’s go Big Show” but Henry gets the upper hand and even lifts The World’s Largest Athlete off his feet before some Jericho interferences puts the champions in the driving seat. Henry eventually makes the tag to Porter who unloads on Jericho and gets a two-count with Ballin’. MVP is looking good until Show makes the blind tag and catches Porter unaware with a spear. MVP has been impressive enough to get his own chant from the fans for a brief moment and those in attendance also seem less in favour of their fellow countryman, Jericho. Porter plays the face in peril for a while until a beautiful counter allows him to hit Jericho with a DDT and make the hot tag. Henry dominates Jericho until he receives a right hand from TBS who was on the outside. Jericho is slow to make the cover but it is still quick enough to get the three count on a knocked out Henry. This was not too dissimilar to JeriShow’s match with Cryme Tyme three weeks ago. I would say that the action was not quite as good but it was still a decent tag team match. All men played their role well with Jericho and Porter shouldering the majority of the action. CPR Rating: 7
Kofi Kingston defeated The Miz in 11:58 to retain the United States Championship
The Miz cuts a short promo in French before the match which ends with “Je suis The Miz et je suis Awesome”. I still don’t see why people think he is that good on the mic. The Miz gets the early advantage over the champ but the action is soon going back and forth with Kingston showing off his controlled frenzy. Miz soon counters a high cross body with a big kick which puts the challenger in control with a host of two counts. Both men are soon trading kicks, counters and a lot of near falls. The finish eventually comes out of nowhere as Kingston counters a Reality Check and nails Trouble in Paradise for the victory. This was a surprisingly good match. There was a lot of counter wrestling and a lot of false finishes which is always fun. It was not always as smooth as it could have been but considering the late stage this was added to the card, that is only to be expected. Both men can come out of this with their heads held high. CPR Rating: 8
Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels in 21:43 in a Submissions Count Anywhere Match
These teams really impressed me at SummerSlam and the stipulation of the rematch could lead to something very interesting but also could fall flat on its face. If you want anyone on the roster to kick start a new idea however, you cannot get better than Shawn Michaels. 12 years is a long time in wrestling and DX get quite an ovation at the scene of one of their most controversial moments. Not everyone has forgotten however and during a moment of silence in the pre-match shtick, a “you screwed Bret” chant breaks out. Hunter doesn’t just ignore it and blames the whole “situation that happened years ago” on Shawn before saying he wasn’t even there. That was a great DX moment right there.
The veterans take the advantage from the get go and they immediately target the knees of Legacy. All four men are soon fighting amongst the crowd and then into the lobby where DX lock in stereo Figure-4s. They then battle back down the steep stairs in the crowd and when they get back to ringside, The Game threads Rhodes through a chair and locks in a Sharpshooter. Shawn soon joins in and adds a Camel Clutch to double Cody’s pain but DiBiase recovers to make the save. He takes out Shawn on the announce table and enters the ring with Triple H. Hunter locks in a Crossface but this time Cody makes the save. Cody synchs in a backbreaker on HBK on the outside which is broken up by Hunter. Rhodes and Michaels go back into the crowd while Hunter and Ted battle it out on the entrance way and HBK gets thrown off the stands and onto a stage. With Shawn out of commission, Triple H battles both Legacy members. The action goes backstage and the numbers game catches up to Hunter. He manages to escape a Million Dollar Dream and lands a spinebuster on DiBiase through a table. He locks in the Crossface once more on Rhodes before Ted breaks it up with a cooler. A follow up chair shot knocks Hunter out and Legacy shift their focus to the recovering HBK.
They bring him to the ring and Cody applies an ankle lock. HBK breaks the hold, throws DiBiase out of the and hits Sweet Chin Music on Rhodes before going for a Figure-4. Rhodes hangs on long enough for DiBiase to break it up again as Legacy use their numbers advantage once more. Cody applies a Figure-4 on Shawn around the ring post as Ted locks in the Dream from behind. Hunter tries to make his way to help his partner but is not quick enough and Michaels taps out. Wow, that was great. I did not think that they could top their SummerSlam match but they did it. The match really looked like it was going to be a short squash in the early going which would have been a great disservice to Legacy after their previous match. I was happy to see the match continue away from ringside for a second time and this is where Rhodes and DiBiase really established themselves. They managed to look stronger in this match than Legacy have during the whole of 2009 combined (and I am including Orton in that). The victory only reinforced that fact further but it certainly was not all that mattered here. Brawling and submissions don’t sound like styles that are a happy mix but all 4 men, despite neither style being their forte, blended it to perfection and it led to a really fun, anything can happen match which for me could well be the best tag team match since WrestleMania 17. CPR Rating: 9.5
After his boys just put on one hell of a show, we get another overly long and boring Randy promo that really dampens the mood (Sorry Plan!).
Kane defeated The Great Khali in 5:50 in a Singapore Cane Match
Oh joy, this again. I guess that the reason this match is on another PPV is so the fans don’t miss hot chicks when they go to make a cup of tea. Both men go straight for the canes and battle it out in a scene reminiscent of Darth Vader versus Obi Wan Kenobi. Yes I am exaggerating and by quite a bit too. Cane is the first to take an advantage with the Kane and he works over Khali. He then locks in a half-arsed submission type move and Khali takes control as it is Kane’s turn to get caned with the cane. The Punjabi Playboy then locks in his head squish move (Thanks Mark) but Kane counters with, you guessed it, a shot with the cane. Kane stalks Khali but Runjin Singh sneaks in to hit Kane with the cane to little effect. Khali makes the save but as he checks on his brother, Kane hangs him up on the top rope with… altogether now!!! He follows up with the chokeslam and it is thankfully over. So did putting a cane into the equation make the match any better? Errr maybe but it still sucked humungous Vince-sized grapefruits. CPR Rating: 4.5
CM Punk upstages Orton on the promo front once more and even finds time for a dig at Jeff Hardy and to beat up Jimmy Wang Yang. At least Jimmy got his face on PPV!
Christian defeated William Regal in 10:18 to retain the ECW Championship
I would hope that these guys get at least 60 times the length they had at SummerSlam to show off their skills. Regal makes his way to the ring with Jackson and Koslov but it announced that they are banned from ringside. The match starts out quickly with Christian going for the Killswitch but this time Regal is wise to it. The match is back and forth with some nice action until Regal gains the upper hand. We then get some nice mat wrestling between the two as we see Regal use a whole host of submission moves on what is ironically, not one of the submission matches. Christian tries to revert to some high flying manoeuvres but Regal continues to regain control. Regal gets a host of two counts but cannot put Captain Charisma away. The finish comes as Regal misses a knee trembler allowing Christian to hit the Killswitch to retain his title. This match was technically extremely impressive and there was some very good wrestling on show but it seemed to lack a bit of excitement at times. They did get a lot more time here and they used it to show off their in ring skills very well. A bit more showmanship here and we could have been looking at a real classic. CPR Rating: 8
Pat Paterson is introduced to his home town crowd and cuts a bilingual promo which is interrupted by Dolph Ziggler. Paterson tells Ziggler that if he is lucky, one day he may become Intercontinental Champion. Ziggler then makes fun of Pat’s age for what seems like and age before eventually kicking the Hall of Famer. John Morrison makes the save to get some rare PPV time. Now I understand giving Paterson a hometown appearance but this was overly long and helped nobody. Poor segment.
John Cena defeated Randy Orton in 20:11 in an I Quit Match to win the WWE Championship
The crowd seem very hot for this match and they are vocal in their anti-Cena views. They spend a while staring each other down after the bell rings and it is Cena who gets out of the blocks quicker. Orton soon finds his stride though and takes it to the outside where he levels the challenger with a monitor. Orton is establishing his methodical pace but Cena escapes an RKO onto the chair. Cena tries to build up some momentum but is stopped in his tracks by the champion. Orton uses the ring steps in a whole host of ways as he works over Cena but the challenger refuses to quit. The champ’s next trick is to handcuff Cena to the ropes. Cena again refuses to quit and Orton then handcuffs his hands together and hangs him up on the ring post. The champ unleashes a flurry of shots with a cane but once more, Cena says no. A low blow by the challenger allows him to get away from the ring post but he is soon put back down by a chair shot.
Orton adjusts the handcuffs again and this time Cena is attached to the bottom turnbuckle. Cena refuses to give up again after another chair shot but he avoids contact with a third attempt at a chair shot. Cena backdrops Orton and manages to get the key to finally uncuff himself. He then proceeds to cuff himself to Orton and unleashes. The challenger goes for an Attitude Adjustment but Orton reverses and lands an RKO. The champ goes for the key but Cena manages to lock in the STF using the cuffs for leverage. Orton says “I quit” and Cena is The Champ once again. Although this was without a doubt better than their clusterfuck of a SummerSlam match, a lot of the same criticisms remain for me. It was boring for long periods of slow Orton offence but the no DQ stipulation helped it a little. The handcuffs were introduced way too early in my opinion although I did like how they were used in the match. This may have scored higher if it was five minutes of cuff time shorter. CPR Rating: 6.5
CM Punk defeated The Undertaker in 10:58 in a Submission Match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
It is always good to see the Undertaker return but I do worry going into this match that he will just not be a fit with the exciting SmackDown main event scene. Punk has some very nice heat from the Montreal crowd and he starts the match by leaving the ring. The champ quickly gets caught by the power of the Deadman. Taker controls the early going, blocking Punk’s attempts at getting in some meaningful offence as the action goes to the outside. Punk is eventually able to turn the tide and introduce a chair to the match however this does not last long. Taker works on Punk’s shoulder but as he goes for Oldschool, Punk takes out the Deadman’s leg and hits a superplex. Both men trade blows but it is Undertaker who gets the upper hand but when he goes for a Chokeslam, Punk reverses with a kick to the head. Out of nowhere though, Taker locks in Hell’s Gate and Punk taps straight away.
Undertaker celebrates with the title for a good couple of minutes before he is interrupted by Teddy Long who announces that Hell’s Gate is a move that was banned and the match will continue. Punk enters the ring and Taker looks pissed. He sets up the Last Ride but Punk escapes and locks in the Anaconda Vice. Taker would not have had time to tap, even if he wanted to before the bell rings. The ref hands Punk the title and they both run to the back. Punk celebrates on the ramp next to a stern looking Long and Taker stares the champ down as the event goes off the air. Well what to make of that? I am guessing a lot of people will not have liked that but I think that WWE did a decent job after backing themselves into quite a corner. Punk had to retain here but there was no way Undertaker was tapping out. It was only logical that they re-enacted the screwjob being in Montreal but I just hope they know where they are going with this storyline. Where I think they did drop the ball was this match should have had a few more minutes. Both men seemed to have decent chemistry and Punk was holding his own while not looking out of his league on this big test. The finish was a bit dodgy but it was enough to continue the storyline nicely and I expect to see these two impress once more at Hell in a Cell. CPR Rating: 7.5
BREAKING POINT CPR RATING (51/70) = 73
Overall, Breaking Point scored a B+ on the DaveyBoy Grade Scale which means the event was very good. In fact it was not far off my first A grade. I have to agree here as I thought it was a very enjoyable event. Some of you may feel I overrated the DX-Legacy match but it has been a long time since a match got me that involved. The Raw main event was a little below par once again and the SmackDown main event dropped a notch but everything else on show bar Kane-Khali was more than solid. When considering that this was the first trial of a submission based PPV, I would have to call Breaking Point a big success. Let’s hope that Hell in a Cell follows suit.
THE SWEET ESCAPE
Well it has certainly been a rollercoaster couple of years for Jeffrey Nero Hardy. He looked like he was finally heading for a World Title run towards the end of 2007 before shooting himself in the foot and getting suspended for 60 days for a violation of the WWE wellness policy. Whilst serving the suspension that would see him miss out on a sure fire Money in the Bank win at WrestleMania 24, his house burnt to the ground. Jeff however picked up where he left of on his return and starting heading towards a title run once more. Despite an incident where he was escorted from a plane in Nashville for appearing “intoxicated” in September 2008, Jeff finally picked up the WWE Championship a couple of months later at Armageddon. In 2009 Jeff established his main event status with two World Heavyweight Championship victories despite being vocal about the fact that he would not be renewing his WWE contract as he needed some time off.
Despite strong efforts from the WWE to retain Hardy, he left the company shortly after SummerSlam and the world would wait to see the other opportunities Jeff would be perusing. A reality show was rumoured and I have to tell you, with the controversy that surrounds Jeff, it would have to be compelling viewing. Not two weeks after leaving the company, Hardy was arrested on suspicion of trafficking after a police search of his house found 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 Soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine and other items of drug paraphernalia. He was charged with felony trafficking in opium, two counts of felony possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, felony maintaining a dwelling to keep controlled substance, felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanour possession of drug paraphernalia. If convicted of opium trafficking, Jeff will face up to 14 years in prison with a minimum term of 3 years.
What a lucky fucking break that is for Vince and Co. Where there will certainly still be media that will connect Jeff to the WWE, it is fortunately not their mess to clean up. If Jeff had stayed, it is highly likely he would have been fired following this incident and there is another task that Vince escaped doing. I am sure the guys who were persistent in trying to get Hardy to sign a new contract are relieved as hell that they were not successful. WWE have time and time again given Jeff the opportunities and tried to look past the incidents that seem to follow him everywhere he goes. I do however now believe that Vince would have to think really hard about bringing him back into his company, even if he does avoid a prison sentence. My personal view now is that Jeff causes just far too much trouble than he is worth. I am sure that there are plenty of people in Stamford who find it a crying shame that Hardy could not be more of the model pro that his brother is or that Matt had the charisma and connection with the fans that Jeff has.
THE ROAD TO HELL IN A CELL
In three weeks time we will go into yet another gimmick PPV and I hope once more that the Cell gimmick is limited to the main events. We already have two rubber matches for Raw announced as we will see DX-Legacy and Orton-Cena once again within the confines of the steel. Shawn, Hunter, Ted and Cody will have a hard time stepping up another level in what has been a great feud so far but I would expect to see DX get some revenge for their recent defeat. As for seeing Orton and Cena go at it once more, I am less than enthused but hopefully Cena will retain and Orton will move away from the main even scene for a while.
Over on SmackDown, the thought of Punk and Taker in a cell is very tantalising. With the screwjob storyline and Batista’s move to the Blue Brand however, this is far from a lock right now. Could Big Dave be the man behind the screwjob leading to a refreshing heel turn? I do like the idea of a heel Batista but I just think that he could mess up the main event scene on SmackDown. I would also expect that we will finally get to see Morrison at the next PPV in a defence against Ziggler.
I have no idea what is next for the tag team champions now that the random pairing of Henry and Porter have been seen off. I would expect maybe another random pairing as there seems to be a real lack of face tag teams right now. My only hope is it is not Bournswaggle. I would love to see Regal finally take the ECW title from Christian at the event and it would not be a shock if that match made the card. There could be room for one or two more matches at Hell in a Cell and you would have to think the ladies may get one in addition to the usual Raw midcard match. All in all, I am looking forward to seeing where the WWE goes in the next few weeks. I guess that is part of the power of a good PPV.
So we have come to the end of another edition of The Current Paper Review. Feedback, as always, will be much appreciated and you can drop me an email here or pop by my feedback thread in the forums. Hopefully I will be back with the first part of a new trilogy of columns between now and Hell in a Cell. I shall dispense of my normal plugs today and instead welcome The J Team of Jimmy and Jules to the main pages of Lords of Pain. For an alternative view on Breaking Point, check out their review which I am sure will be up shortly. Catch you next time.
