Mike Reviews Shows Considered To Be Stinkers – WWE Breaking Point

Happy Saturday Everyone!

This was another reader request; with greaterpower99 thinking this show was awful enough to deserve the old Stinker treatment. I have very little memory of this show outside of the Main Event having a very screwy finish, so for all I know gn99 is being rather unfair to it. Anyway, we’ll have a looksee at it to decide if it truly is a Stinker or not.

The Main Event here is Heel CM Punk defending the Smackdown belt against Undertaker, whilst John Cena goes after Randy Orton’s Raw belt. The gimmick is that all the major matches on the show have submission rules of some kind, which was a theme WWE didn’t stick with going forwards. Let’s see if it works though.

The event is emanating from Montreal, Quebec, Canada on the 13^th of September 2009

Calling the action are Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Todd Grisham, Josh Matthews and Matt Striker

WWE of course toots its own horn in the opening video package by stating how innovative this whole concept is. I can only imagine this was some weird way of WWE trying to react to UFC by having a show with lots of submissions on it so they could be all “See! We do that stuff too! Please don’t buy their shows anymore we’re pretty much drowning here!”

Opening Match
Unified Tag Team Titles
Champs: Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho and Big Show) Vs Kool-Aid Man Mark Henry and Montel Vontavious Porter

Jericho, despite being Canadian, still gets heartily booed for his entrance here, which is a testament to how good a Heel he was during this run. Henry has a big bright red singlet on here and comes out to the ring as a smiling babyface, hence the nickname. Both of the babyfaces actually get a decent pop from the crowd, which hopefully bodes well for the rest of the show.

Big Show seems to get some cheers once the match itself actually starts, although the crowd does pop for Henry’s displays of strength. This is a decent tag match for the most part, with a Jericho cheap shot preventing a Henry body slam attempt on Show at one point, which leads to Henry getting cut off and worked over. Yes, they’re getting the heat on MARK HENRY. No, I don’t get it either. It’s not like this is a Natural Disasters situation where both of the babyfaces are massive so you just have to make it work as best you can. MVP is RIGHT THERE. Beat him up!

MVP does eventually get the tag and makes a nice comeback on Jericho, which the crowd appreciates. Big Show ends up catching MVP with a big Spear OUTTA NOWHERE at one stage though, which leads to our second Heel heat segment of the contest, with MVP now getting worked over in the Heel corner. MVP sells that well and the crowd gets behind him. It’s weird the crowd seems to like both Big Show and MVP, could take or leave Henry and utterly HATE Jericho. It makes for a fun dynamic at least.

MVP ends up getting a very slick counter to a hip toss and turns it into a DDT for the double down, which gives us our second hot tag to Henry. Henry for some reason chases Jericho around rather than just standing in the middle and letting Jericho come to him. With the best will in the world, chasing the Heel around to do spots isn’t really the best use of the barely mobile Henry. His power stuff looks decent when he can actually get hold of Jericho at least. Big Show ends up hitting Henry with an illegal punch though and Jericho gets the pin to retain.

WINNERS AND STILL CHAMPIONS: JERI-SHOW
RATING: **1/2

This was a “perfectly cromulent” opener as Scott Keith would say. They went in there and had your standard tag match and it was fine

Josh Matthews is backstage with Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase Jr. Cody says that they aren’t submission specialists, but they’ll find a way to win because it’s Submissions Count Anywhere later. Ted says they are the future and DX is the past. This was a solid promo.

Match Two
United States Title
Champ: Kofi Kingston Vs The Miz

This was before Miz had his “Came to Play” music but he had switched to trunks from baggy pants by this stage. Miz shows that dating Maryse was rubbing off on him by this stage as he cuts a promo pre-match in French, which still manages to get him booed. If you told me in 2009 that both of these guys would go on to be World Champs in WWE and that they’d win big Title matches at WrestleMania’s then I would have thought you were nuts.

This is a fun match to start, with Kofi getting a solid babyface shine and Miz doing a good job selling and bumping for it all. Miz eventually manages to cut Kofi off by kicking the ropes when Kofi tries something from up there and that leads to Miz working some heat. It’s pretty basic stuff from Miz, but Kofi sells it well and Miz does a good job of being more intense than he had usually been up to this point as a singles act.

The crowd kind of dies off during the heat, whilst they had been into it more when the shine was going on. I think they just don’t really buy Miz as an actual physical threat to anyone, so that causes them to switch off when Miz is controlling things. As they pushed Miz more that would gradually happen less over time. Kofi eventually wakes the crowd up with his comeback and we get some near falls, with Miz still mostly in control but being unable to pick up the win. Kofi ultimately manages to get the Trouble In Paradise OUTTA NOWHERE for the last gasp three count.

WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: KOFI KINGSTON
RATING: **3/4

The heat probably went on a bit too long I think, as they really wanted Miz to take a big chunk of the match in order to make him look like a viable challenger, but Miz wasn’t over or credible enough as a singles star for that to really work yet, so the crowd kind of sat on their hands unless Kofi was doing something. The wrestling itself was decent, although Kofi was on the defensive a bit too much for my liking which meant we got to see far less of the superior worker as a result, which hurt the overall quality of the bout a bit. Still it was a fine match for the most part and it made sense that if Miz wasn’t going to win then he should at least be made to look effective in the bout first, which was what they did here

Kofi celebrates his “scintillating” victory.

We get a video package to hype up the next match with Legacy and DX. The younger guys have fallen afoul of the veterans, who don’t care for their youthful exuberance. DX picked up the win at SummerSlam, so tonight we have the rematch with Legacy looking for some payback.

Match Three
Submissions Count Anywhere
Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase Jr) Vs D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels)

Some of Montreal hates DX of course due to that whole 1997 Survivor Series thing, although Triple H tries to blame it all on Shawn in the pre-match promo in a funny bit that actually manages to make the crowd laugh. This version of DX was pretty lame from a character perspective but the matches generally delivered, so I’m hoping that’s the case here.

I remember putting Jesse in Legacy on one of the Smackdown Vs Raw/WWE “Enter Year Here” games because he was Terry Gordy’s son, which is probably what they could have done in real life if they’d wanted to get something useful out of him. The in-built story was even there, WWE gave him that stupid gimmick and now he’s embittered and trying to reclaim his family name and legacy. You could have probably had Festus drop his wacky gimmick as well following that and got a proper storyline out of it. Oh well.

They waste no time heading out to the floor here, and it’s a pretty enjoyable brawl for the most part. None of the four wrestlers having really recognisable submission holds outside of Shawn’s wacky Figure Four style hold makes the submission teases a weak though. Dibiase didn’t really even use the Million $ Dream that much as an actual submission hold. Ultimately, if guys fighting all over the building and putting submission holds on one another sounds like fun then you’ll probably enjoy this.

I do like how Lawler (clearly channelling Vince McMahon) complains about the Canadian fans not letting Montreal go as well. Maybe if you didn’t CONSTANTLY rub it in their faces all the time then they perhaps would be able to get over it Vince, you sweaty bollock. There are some pretty innovative spots in this one actually, with DX getting a chair assisted Boston Crab/Camel Clutch combo hold on Cody, which actually draws boos from the crowd when Dibiase breaks it up as they appreciated the ingenuity on display.

Legacy seem to be getting more boos than DX here, so the funny promo at the start might have done its job by letting the crowd get it out of their system and now they’re happy to see DX as the babyfaces in this match. Shawn takes some pretty big bumps in this one actually, including when Cody knocks him off the bleachers onto what could be some boxes or a crash pad. Either way, it was a hearty fall to take, especially for someone with a bad back.

They actually tell a good story following that, with Legacy adopting a pack-like intensity by swarming each member of DX at a time in order to wear them down individually. It does kind of make it look like Legacy is only capable of getting any sustained offence on DX by doubling up on them individually, but they are meant to be Heels at the end of the day and it makes them look smart, resourceful and cunning, which aren’t bad traits for bad guys to have.

Legacy ends up managing to knock Triple H out backstage, which leaves Shawn on his own against the two Heels. Shawn Michaels is of course excellent as a put-upon babyface fighting against the odds, so he does an great job and they actually manage to get some of the crowd to feel sympathy for him. In Montreal! Alas there is to be no superhero comeback for Shawn on this evening, as Legacy put him in a double submission based around the ring post and Shawn eventually has to uncle before Triple H can save him.

WINNERS: LEGACY
RATING: ***

This match may have rammed home the message that Legacy needed to double up on a DX member in order to be equal to them, but Legacy still won it essentially clean within the allowance of the rules, so they gained something from this even if it was made clear that DX pretty much had their number in a fair fight. They would wrestle again in a Hell in a Cell match, where Legacy would try the same trick but Triple H would manage to make the save that time, thus building off this match in the blow off. The match itself mixed in good brawling with some decent storytelling. Shawn was excellent fighting for his life in the closing stages against the two Heels all by himself, although I think the submission stipulation hampered the drama a bit as it’s not a stipulation that really suited these four guys. Shawn Michaels tapping out in Montreal was a cute finish though, and Montreal actually kind of feeling bad for Shawn in the process was a testament to how good a job he did at being a gutsy babyface

They do the big celebration for Legacy following that whilst DX sell big on the floor.

Josh Matthews is backstage and asks Randy Orton about Legacy’s victory. Orton is all intense, cold and calculated, giving off Agent 47 vibes with his bald head actually. Orton cuts a really good promo actually, saying he knew Legacy would win before pondering whether John Cena will be able to avoid saying I Quit later. That was an excellent piece of business.

Match Four
Singapore Cane Match
Kane Vs The Great Khali w/ Ranjin Singh

Interesting as WWE usually refer to them as Kendo Sticks as opposed to Singapore canes. Canes are legal in this match and there are a bunch of them around the ring for the two wrestlers to use. I’m guessing that Khali is the babyface here based on his much jollier music than the usual one he would have in his Heel days. It wouldn’t shock me if right wing nutcase Kane wasn’t all in favour of bringing the cane back to schools in order to beat the communism out of people.

This match is pretty awful, and the crowd turns on it pretty fast as well. Some of the cane shots look and sound impressive, but that’s about it as far as any entertainment value goes. Plus, they kind of just throw the shots in willy-nilly without really building up to them, so it’s not like there’s any drama to them either. Ranjin ends up trying to hit cane with a…err…Kane at one stage, but Kane no sells it. However, it distracts Kane long enough for Khali to chop him. Khali is then too bothered checking on Ranjin that it allows Kane to get a Choke Slam for three.

WINNER: KANE
RATING: ¼*

This was pretty much mince outside of a couple of cane shots looking and sounding good. I’m not really sure why they bothered putting Kane over here as they didn’t start actually pushing him again until 2010 from memory and there have been quite a few Heel wins tonight so they might as well have had Khali win unless there was more feud to come

Eve Torres is backstage with CM Punk. Punk isn’t worried about his match with Undertaker later, saying no one is giving him a chance to win tonight but that’s happened before in his feud with Jeff Hardy and he won that one pretty decisively. He also makes fun of the Québécois for being French. Jimmy Wang Yang tries pranking Punk by turning out the lights and that earns him a Straight Edge beat down.

Match Five
ECW World Title
Champ: Christian Vs William Regal w/ Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov

I loved this Christian run, as he had fun matches with a whole host of opponents including Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder and Tommy Dreamer. Regal was defeated pretty quickly at SummerSlam but then did a beat down, so we’ve got a rematch tonight where they will hopefully get some more time to have a proper match. Maffew has actually reviewed this match before if you fancy reading his thoughts on it.

ECW General Manager Tiffany has banned Regal’s buddies from ringside though, so he’s going to have to go it alone. Regal’s sickened facial expression at that ruling is fantastic as always. Christian is of course over with the Canadian crowd, and WWE actually isn’t going to troll them by making Christian look stupid either, so I’m optimistic about this. Christian shines on Regal to start but Regal shoves him off the top to the floor for the cut off and then works some heat back in the ring.

Come to think of it, Regal would have made far more sense as someone to wrestle in a submission match than most of the other people on this show. You could have told an interesting story with submission master Regal working over Christian whilst Christian fights an uphill battle trying to find a way a way to prevail even though his own submission game isn’t strong. It would have made more sense than sticking the stipulation onto the Legacy Vs DX match.

Christian sells well in the heat, whilst Regal’s offence looks as punishing as you would expect it to be. Matt Striker was doing a weird thing on commentary where he kept quoting Morrissey/Smiths song titles during Regal’s matches, and he works in “Everyday is like Sunday” and “You are the Quarry” into this one. I still have no idea what that was all about but it did lead to Regal listing a bunch of them on an episode of Superstars once.

Christian eventually starts making a comeback after getting folded up by a Regal-Plex, with his offence looking nice and the crowd getting into it. Christian even busts out a Sliding D at one stage, which isn’t a move I remember him doing a lot but it looked nice here so he should maybe consider working it back into his repertoire. Regal keeps managing to counter or block the Tomikaze, but Christian keeps going for it and eventually manages to get it for three.

WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: CHRISTIAN
RATING: ***1/4

This was another good match, with Regal’s torturous moves and holds looking good whilst Christian was a good babyface who kept fighting and eventually found a way to hit his move to win in his home country

John Cena is contemplating the next match.

Pat Patterson joins us, and he gets polite applause from his fellow Montreal folk. He cuts a promo in French, which the crowd enjoys, as I’m just waiting for someone to come out and ruin this because you gotta have HEAT pal! And indeed, Dolph Ziggler interrupts, leading to Patterson putting him over before trying to leave. Ziggler isn’t happy just leaving it at that though and has to make some old person jibes first, which the crowd groans at. Ziggler gives Patterson a cheap shot and looks to finish the job when Intercontinental Champ John Morrison makes the save. Sadly we don’t get to see Patterson make a bit of his own comeback. What a lousy downer segment that was, couldn’t they have had Morrison tee up Patterson to give Ziggler a punch to pop the crowd or something?

Semi-Main
I Quit Match for the Raw Title
Champ: Randy Orton Vs John Cena

Ted Dibiase Jr’s brother helped Orton defeat Cena at SummerSlam, so we’ve got an I Quit match tonight, because they’ve themed the pay per view with a submission gimmick for no real adequately explored reason. Cena’s whole thing of course is that he never gives up and rises against hate etc etc etc, whilst Orton was all sadistic and evil during this stage of his career, so this would appear to be a match Cena will refuse to lose, but Orton may be the guy violent enough to actually make it happen. In that regards it works as a stipulation for these two characters, I just wish they’d built it up better.

Legacy is apparently banned from ringside tonight on pain of Orton getting stripped of the belt if they show up. This match is great, as Orton is in full psychotic villain pomp and Cena does a good job of selling all of his offence. Orton calmly and methodically trying to murder Cena is pretty awesome, with Cena getting explosive flurries in reply now and then before Orton cuts him off again to keep dishing out his measured punishment. I know they ran this match into the ground to the point that no one ever wanted to see it again, but these two certainly had some darn good matches together over the years.

The big dramatic moment in the match is Orton getting some handcuffs out and using them to prevent Cena from fighting back for a bit, as the match gets a tad uncomfortable at points due to the mixture of violence, drama and sexual tension on display. We of course get the Heel clobbering the babyface with the microphone at one stage, which is pretty much contractually mandated into every I Quit match. Cena sells getting destroyed by Orton really well and it actually succeeds in making the crowd feel sorry for him, which wasn’t something you could always achieve in 2009.

I really like the finish as well, as Cena manages to get free and then cuffs Orton to him so that Orton can’t get away. This leads to Cena quickly putting Orton away with a handcuff assisted STFU after a brief comeback, with the idea being that Cena is a gutsy babyface who survived all of that agony whilst Orton is a cowardly Heel who submitted at the first sight of real danger. It also leaves the door open for a rematch despite Cena going over clean as Cena didn’t actually get a chance to really put a beat down on Orton due to Orton quitting so quickly, so there’s still a reason to see them fight again.

WINNER AND NEW CHAMPION: JOHN CENA
RATING: ****

This match is excellent and well worth a look if you’ve never seen it. I know the thought of watching an Orton Vs Cena match sounds like fresh heck after they’ve had so many matches over the years and they totally burnt their audience out on it as a feud, but they had some great battles over the years and this was definitely one of them

Cena makes sure to remind Orton that he didn’t quit at the end of the bout whilst Orton skulks off plotting his next step.

Video package for the Main Event. CM Punk sent Jeff Hardy packing from Smackdown, but then Undertaker showed up to Choke Slam Punk and start a new feud. They’re pushing here that Undertaker has never tapped out, but he did against Kurt Anglein 2002. This one at least makes sense as a submission match because they both have notable submission finishing holds (Anaconda Vice and Heck’s Gate).

Main Event
Submission Match for the Smackdown Title
Champ: CM Punk Vs The Undertaker

I’d have to question putting this on last as nothing is following that Orton/Cena match and I know how this one ends and it’s only going to send the fans home angry after what has been a mostly good show. They play up the size difference early on, with Undertaker battering Punk for the most part whilst Punk stooges and tries to find a way to gain a foothold. Punk is entertaining in the role of smaller Heel who is a jerk you want to see get beaten up, so the shine works well and the wrestling from both men is solid.

Punk eventually manages to counter the Old School by getting Undertaker to crotch himself on the top rope and follows that up with a Superplex, but Undertaker continues to control things when they get back to a standing position by destroying Punk with punches and the Snake Eyes. Goodness me Undertaker has pretty much squashed Punk here thus far, and as I type that, Undertaker locks Punk in Heck’s Gate and Punk taps out to seemingly give Undertaker the Smackdown Title.

However, Smackdown General Manager joins us to make this into a tag match. No, I’m just kidding. He instead reveals that Vicky Guerrero banned Heck’s Gate a while back and that ban is still in effect, so this match MUST CONTINUE. This is of course utterly bogus and the crowd doesn’t like it. Punk manages to slip out of the Last Ride and locks in the Anaconda Vice for a Montreal Finish™ as the ref rings the f’ing bell and Undertaker is screwed.

WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: CM PUNK
RATING: *1/2

So yes, after complaining all show about how the fans in Montreal can’t get over the Montreal Screwjob, WWE then promptly books a Montreal Screwjob to once again rub their noses in it. Again, if you want Montreal to get over the Screwjob the STOP BOOKING SCREWJOBS IN MONTREAL! If not, then stop whinging whenever the fans reference it. As a match this was bordering on a squash, as Undertaker basically destroyed Punk for the majority and didn’t really sell for him at all until getting screwed. Not a good way to end the show and they probably should have closed with Orton Vs Cena

Punk celebrates whilst Undertaker gives Teddy Long the death stare. I’m not sure where this Heel turn for Teddy Long went, but I’m thinking Vince McMahon was involved somehow

Is It Really A Stinker?

I’m not really sure why greaterpower99 hates this one so much to be honest as most of the show is good. Yeah, the Kane/Khali match was awful and the finish in the Main Event was utterly insulting, but aside from that the show had mostly decent matches and the I Quit match was genuinely excellent. Not only is this not a Stinker but I’d go as far as to recommend it overall.

Final Rating – Pleasant

Ratings go Stinker/Stinky/Odourless/Pleasant/Fragrant