SummerSlam Top 10 Countdown – By Michael Owen
No. 8 (16 Points) – C.M Punk vs. Jeff Hardy (August 23rd, 2009)
This feud began at Extreme Rules ’09 when C.M Punk cashed in his Money in The Bank briefcase to win Jeff Hardy’s newly won World Heavyweight Championship. In doing so, beginning the Punk-Hardy feud of ’09.
Punk would try and explain that it was the same thing he had done to Edge the year earlier and that it was all part of having the briefcase. This started the slow heel turn of Punk. After weeks of buildup the rematch was set for The Bash ’09.
This was the first of a series of great matches between the two. The action was fast paced and we had a false finish with Hardy seemingly winning only for the referee to realise that Punk’s leg was under the rope, the match continued. Punk went on to win the match by disqualification, inadvertently kicking the referee in the back after suffering a supposed eye injury.
This was the point at which Punk officially turned heel, in the weeks that followed this match and in the buildup to Night of Champions, Punk would begin to cut promos commenting on Hardy’s past drug violations and his ‘living in the moment’ attitude. Whilst Punk was technically right, the fans turned on him in droves.
The match at Night of Champions was another great match and had no shenanigans on the part of Punk other than him attempting to leave with the belt only for Hardy to drag him back to the ring and hit the twist of fate and Swanton bomb to become a two time World Heavyweight Champion. This match was interesting due to the fact that Hardy would be gone from the company just a month later.
Everyone waited to see what these two would do next. Punk demanded his rematch on SmackDown. Teddy Long would give it to him that very night and Mr. McMahon announced that there would be a special referee.
Who would that person be? Matt Hardy.
Everyone expected Matt to turn on Jeff again but that’s not what happened, Punk would baseball slide into Matt and this would lead to Matt counting the pinfall for his brother to retain his title. Punk became irate after the match and viciously attacked Jeff. Teddy Long would tell Punk that the match at SummerSlam would be Jeff Hardy style…Tables, Ladders and Chairs.
The match itself lived up to the feud it was part of, it was brutal and everything people had come to expect of a Jeff Hardy TLC match. I think that this was one of the matches that shown the mainstream that Punk could wrestle in various kind of matches and look incredible in all of them. We all know by now that C.M Punk would regain the World Heavyweight Championship this night and that Jeff Hardy would go on to a career in TNA but that doesn’t matter, because this match will outlive both of their careers.
I think the drama of this feud led to this match appearing on the list, it is also yet another match in our top ten that is less than five years old and more than worthy of its number eight spot on TWM Top 10 SummerSlam Moments.
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