WWE Night of Champions (July 2009)

  

Original Airdate: July 26, 2009

From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Your Hosts are Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler (RAW); Jim Ross and Todd Grisham (Smackdown); Josh Matthews and Matt Striker (ECW)

Opening WWE Unified Tag Team Title Match: Chris Jericho and Big Show v Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase: Show is Jericho's surprise partner, filling in after Edge suffered a legitimate injury. And he looks like a total jobber in that gear. Show starts with Cody, and throws him around with ease, but gets his throat snapped across the top rope. That allows the tag to Ted, but he fails to keep the momentum going, and gets clobbered with a shoulderblock. Over to Jericho for a backelbow, and the champs work Ted over, cutting the ring in half. Cody snags a tag, but quickly runs into a cheap shot on the way in. That allows the champs to take control again, so Ted uses his own cheap shot to send Jericho tumbling over the top, turning the tide. The Legacy cut the ring in half on Jericho, doing a much better job of controlling the ring than the champs. Cody uses a nice flying moonsault press for two, but eats an enzuigiri before he can follow up, and Chris nearly gets the tag before Ted cuts him off. Jericho still manages a small package for two, but Ted cuts him off again, and hits a powerslam for two. Corner splash misses, however, allowing Jericho to try for the Walls, but Ted blocks. Million Dollar Dream, but Chris counters to the Walls, only for Cody to save with a DDT. That allows DiBiase to cover for two, but he's dazed, and accidentally whips Jericho into the ropes too close to his home corner, allowing a tag to Show - Roseanne Barr the door! Show gets Ted in a modified camel clutch pretty quickly, and that's enough to retain at 9:34. Solid opener. ** ¼

 

ECW Title Match: Tommy Dreamer v Christian: Dreamer hustles him through a feeling out process, but gets into trouble when Christian is able to win a criss cross with a spinheel kick for one. Tommy manages to fight him off in the corner and hit a neckbreaker for two, but Christian blocks a side suplex, and dives off the middle with a backelbow. He knocks Tommy to the outside for a baseball slide, but a springboard dive misses out there, and Dreamer dives off of the apron with a somersault senton. Back in, that gets the champion two, and a running powerslam is worth two. Tommy tries a dive off the middle, but Christian sweeps him off the ropes, and kicks him in the back of the head to take control. Sleeper, so Tommy drops back to escape, but he's dazed, and Christian is able to put it back on. Dreamer desperately dives into the ropes to send both guys tumbling over the top to save himself, and the champ manages a pop-up flapjack on the way back in. He ties Christian in a tree of woe for some abuse, but the challenger blocks the DDT, so Tommy uses a sitout spinebuster for two instead. Pumphandle-slam, but Christian counters to an inverted DDT for two. He adds a dropkick off the middle, but one off the top misses, allowing Dreamer to lock him in a Texas cloverleaf. Christian slugs free, so Tommy uses a catapult into the corner, but Christian fights off the follow-up with a sunset flip off the middle, triggering a pinfall reversal sequence. Christian gets the better of it and dives with a missile dropkick, and the Killswitch ends it at 8:32. Wow, where did this match come from? Much better than I expected, Christian was having quite a run during this period. ***

 

WWE United States Title Six-Pack Challenge Match: Kofi Kingston v Carlito v Montel Vontavious Porter v Miz v Jack Swagger v Primo: First fall wins it. Lots of support for Kofi out here tonight. Carlito bails right away, wisely leaving everyone else to fight it out. Primo tries chasing him in, but runs into a neckbreaker from Miz in the process, and Carlito pounces once everyone is down. A criss cross with Kofi ends in a double knockout, however, and Primo fights off a double team from Jack and Miz. Springboard bodypress on Miz gets two, but he runs into a gutwrench powerbomb from Swagger for two. MVP suplexes Swagger to the outside and dives after him from the apron for mounted punches on the floor, but a whip into the barricade gets reversed on him. Carlito decides to dive at both of them with a flying somersault senton, but he ends up only hitting Porter, and Jack goes in for Kofi, but Kingston uses his speed to fight him off. Boom Drop gets two, but here's Miz to hit the champ with a rebound clothesline, and he adds a corner clothesline on Jack. To the top, but Primo blocks a dive, and we end up getting a tower of doom spot. There's just no flow to this, with guys throwing themselves around without any direction. Kofi, Carlito, and Primo get into a fun triple pinfall reversal sequence, but Swagger breaks up the party by clobbering everyone with clotheslines - only to eat a kneeling facebuster from MVP. Porter looks for the kill, but Miz grabs him with the Skull Crushing Finale - only for Carlito and Primo to break up his over. Carlito quickly turns on Primo, but eats Trouble in Paradise from Kofi at 8:36. Not my cup of tea. Too much going on here. ¾*

 

WWE Women's Title Match: Michelle McCool v Melina: McCool nails her with a baseball slide while Melina is doing her split on the apron during the entrance, but that proves to be a bad mistake, triggering a beat down from the challenger. McCool bails, but Melina drags her back in by the hair to continue the beating, and Michelle is actively begging off. Melina responds by dropkicking her, and a savate kick follows. Roundhouse kick sets up a straddling ropechoke, but McCool manages to slide out of harm’s way, and Melina takes a bump to the outside. McCool rolls her in to cover for two, and she works a half-crab. Melina nearly gets the ropes, so McCool breaks, but Melina still grabs the ropes to 'save' herself, despite no longer being in the hold. You gotta love that. They spill to the outside again, where they end up fighting on the barricade, and McCool gives her challenger a facebuster across it. Baseball slide, but Melina dodges, and uses some headscissor facebusters into the apron, then dives with a flying facebuster from the apron. Back in, Melina hits the straddling ropechoke she missed earlier, and she pounds Michelle into the corner. Spinheel kick gets her two, but McCool fights back with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Melina dives off the middle with a seated senton, but McCool reverses the cradle to retain at 6:17. Melina's execution was uniformly terrible, but McCool is getting better and better every month, and managed to make it into a coherent match. ¾*

 

WWE Title Triple Threat Match: Randy Orton v Triple H v John Cena: First fall wins it. Orton bails out to let the other two fight it out, but they don't want to play that, and box the champ in on the outside. They force it in, where HHH unloads with rights, so Randy bails again, but Cena is there to meet him with a clothesline. Back in for more punches from HHH, and Cena adds a one-handed bulldog. The two challengers pinball Orton around until he falls out of the ring, and he wants to bail up the aisle, but the challengers follow to send him into the barricade. Back in, but Randy manages to knock Cena off of the apron on the way, with John crashing right into HHH on the floor. There's a baby oil spill out there that looks like it would set off Greenpeace. Randy rolls John in to pound, but Cena fights him off in short order, and hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Attitude Adjustment, but HHH prevents him from executing it, and dumps John. That allows Orton to recover and attack the Game, and he works a chinlock, but Hunter slugs free. Irish whip, but Orton reverses, and manages a powerslam to set off some mat humping. RKO, but HHH blocks, and hits a DDT. Both guys stagger into position for Cena to dive onto with a flying rocker dropper, and that looked so fucking obviously choreographed. And it's not like we don't KNOW it's choreographed, but don't rub our noses in it. Anyway, all this ends with Orton dumping both challengers to the outside, and he drags them up for a double rope-hung DDT, but ends up getting backdropped over the top for his troubles. HHH and Cena have a slugfest while they have the ring to themselves, won by Hunter. HHH uses a high knee and a kneeling facebuster, but another high knee goes badly when Cena busts out the Throwback. AA, but Hunter counters to the Pedigree, countered to an STF by Cena, but blocked. Another reversal sequence ends in HHH hitting a spinebuster, and this time he manages the Pedigree, but Orton pulls him out at two. Randy whips Hunter into the steps out there, and he wastes time prepping an announce table instead of capitalizing on a post-Pedigree Cena. Orton tries an RKO on a table for HHH, but gets countered to the Pedigree - only for Cena to stop it. John dumps Randy into the crowd, and he traps HHH in an STF on the announce table, which seems pretty pointless. Orton breaks it up before we get the image of HHH doing a tap out, however. Orton and Cena head in for their own slugfest, won by Randy, but John blocks the RKO. He takes the champ upstairs for a superplex, but HHH pulls him off before he can complete the spot, so John responds by sending Hunter into Orton with a catapult instead. STF on HHH looks to finish, so Orton looks for a punt to break it up, but Cena sees it coming - schoolboying Randy for two. All three guys are left down, and Orton is up first to Garvin stomp them both. He adds a series of kneedrops for each, but misses one on HHH, allowing Cena to clip the leg, and hit a suplex. Shuffle, but HHH dumps Cena over the top to cut him off, and he takes Randy to school with a sharpshooter. A sharpshooter, really? Interesting choice. Hunter works it, but Cena comes back to trap Orton in a crossface at the same time, and the champ is tapping, but the referee doesn't know who to call it for. As the official agonizes over that, the Legacy run in to stomp the hell out of both challengers, and Cena eats an RKO at 22:21. This felt about five or six minutes too long, but it was generally solid, at its best in the last leg. **

 

WWE Divas Title Match: Maryse v Mickie James: James tries to go to the mat early, but Maryse takes cheap shots, and then hides in the ropes to stall her. James responds with hair pulling, and a bridging rollup gets the challenger two. Snapmare sets up a seated dropkick for two, but a springboard attempt ends in Mickie taking a bump to the outside. James beats the count back in, so Maryse throws an elbow, then a knee for one. Maryse then works the sexiest version of a reverse chinlock I've ever seen, but James starts to power out, so Maryse dumps her. Maryse finds a can of hairspray out there, but Mickie knocks it away from her, and hits a Thesz-press on the floor. James with a dive on the way back in, but Maryse dodges for two, and she hammers her challenger with mounted punches. Back to the reverse chinlock, but Mickie powers to a vertical base, and drops back to break. That leads to slugfest on their knees, and Mickie starts making her comeback. Or 'building momentum,' per the announcers. Neckbreaker gets two, and a rana follows, so Maryse goes to the eyes to allow her a schoolgirl for two. Into the corner, Maryse slams her off the middle, but Mickie reverses a DDT for the title at 8:36. Competent wrestling. * ¼

 

WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Rey Mysterio v Dolph Ziggler: Dolph pops him with a standing dropkick for two as Rey tries for a test-of-strength, so Rey surprises him back with a schoolboy for one. They continue measuring and feeling each other out, and Rey starts getting the better of the exchanges, but gets caught with a bucklebomb for two. Ziggler with a corner whip for two, and he goes to the mat for a chinlock. Rey escapes and starts springboarding at him to turn the tide, and uses a springboard bodypress for two, before running into a powerslam for two. Powerslams out of nowhere have been super popular tonight. Ziggler tries a suplex, but Rey blocks, and dumps the challenger to the outside. Rey dives after him from the apron with a seated senton, but an attempt at a flying moonsault on the way back in gets countered with an electric chair, but Rey blocks. Ziggler tries a powerbomb, but Rey counters with a rana to set up the 619, but Ziggler dumps him to the outside to save himself. Dolph works a chinlock, but Rey starts fighting free, so Ziggler uses another powerslam for two. Elbowdrop gets two, so Ziggler tries a full-nelson, but Rey escapes. Dolph tries a victory cradle for two, reversed by Rey for two. Sunset flip, but Rey blocks, and throws a kick to the head for two. Dolph responds with a modified chincrusher for two, but a charge in the corner gets blocked with a drop-toehold into the turnbuckle. Rey goes up with a flying bodypress, but Ziggler blocks with a dropkick for two, and he puts the boots to the champion. Another corner charge ends badly, allowing Rey to take him up for a rana off the top, but Ziggler counters with an exploding gutbuster for two. Ziggler looks for a follow-up, but gets fought off with a leg-feed enzuigiri, and the 619 sets up a springboard flying splash to retain at 14:19. Solid, if not especially exciting. **

 

Main Event: World Heavyweight Title Match: CM Punk v Jeff Hardy: Punk messes around with him as they feel each other out in the early going, but a GTS attempt early on falls apart, and Jeff pounds on him in the corner. Backdrop, but Punk hooks a sunset flip for two on the way down, and he grounds Jeff in a chinlock to cut off the momentum. Jeff escapes and tries to criss cross his way into a bodypress, but Punk hits the deck, and Hardy takes a bump to the outside. Punk tries a tope after him, but ends up wiping out on the floor in rather dramatic fashion. Jeff rolls him in to cover for two, and he adds a neckbreaker to set up a dive, but Punk rolls to the outside to avoid him. Hardy reroutes with a dive to the outside, but Punk sidesteps, and Jeff hits the barricade. That was a stupid idea anyway. If Punk had the bearings to roll out of the ring, how is he not going to dodge your very telegraphed dive to the outside? Anyway, Jeff beats the count back in, so the champ puts the boots to him, and hooks the leg for two. Corner whip gets two, and a kneedrop is worth two. Punk tries a Mexican surfboard, but Hardy manages to topple him for two, so Punk takes him up for a superplex, but Jeff counters with a gourdbuster on the way down. Both guys get up for a slugfest, won by the challenger with a sling blade, and he makes a comeback. Seated dropkick gets him two, but he gets crotched while going for the Whisper in the Wind, and Punk knees him. Bulldog, but Jeff shoves him into the corner to block, and dives with the Whisper for two. Sitout gourdbuster sets up the Swanton Bomb, but Punk rolls out of the way. Of course, Jeff didn't even bother ripping off his shirt first. Punk with a butterfly backbreaker to set up a modified dragon sleeper, but Jeff makes the ropes. Punk unloads on him, but gets suckered into a Twist of Fate, and Jeff goes up for the Swanton - this time hitting the knees! And he took the shirt off that time and everything! Punk gets two off of it, but a springboard misses. Twist, but Punk counters to the GTS for two. He keeps trying additional covers, but Hardy, though battered, just keeps fighting out at two to save his hopes. Punk responds by grabbing the title belt and deciding to walk out, but Jeff drags him back. When will the heels learn to fucking hustle when they try that trick? Twist sets up a third go at the Swanton, and Hardy lands it this time to win back the title at 14:52. Didn't much care for the finish, but it was a good match otherwise. ** ¾

 

BUExperience: See my thoughts on the Intercontinental title match and apply them to this entire show.

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