411’s Instant Access 09.13.09: WWE Breaking Point 2009

Hey kids, I’m Scott, and this is 411’s Instant Access: WWE Breaking Point 2009. 411’s Instant Access is the companion piece to 411 Live Pay-Per-View Coverage and features immediate reaction to wrestling pay-per-views. The focus in Instant Access is on first thoughts and initial reactions instead of play-by-play with the goal of providing you with instant access to one two three four FIVE writers’ thoughts on the show. That’s right, Instant Access will now feature multiple analysts for all WWE pay-per-views. Here’s the team for Breaking Point:

• Scott Slimmer, author of Don’t Think Twice.
• Chris Lansdell, author of A Brace for Impact and If I Could Be Serious For A Moment.
• Rob McNew, author of 411’s WWE Raw Report and 411’s WWE Superstars Report.
• Jeremy Thomas, editor of 411’s Wrestler of the Week and author of The Hush-Hush Movie News Report.
• Jeff Small, author of the Tuesday Small-For-All News Report.

Okay kids, enough with the explanations. Let’s get to the wrestling.

Unified Tag Team Championship Match
Chris Jericho & The Big Show (Champions) vs. MVP & Mark Henry
Match Result: Chris Jericho defeats Mark Henry after The Big Show hits Henry with the Knockout Punch.
Match Length: 12:16
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This was a fun little match that had a number of entertaining spots (including some SICK displays of strength from Mark Henry), but I have to wonder how long Jericho and Show can continue to set ‘em up and knock ‘em down before their shtick becomes a bit tired. What Jericho and Show really need is a legitimate tag team that can be a credible threat to the belts, but unfortunately there are very few such teams in WWE. DX will be busy with Legacy for at least another month, and that really only leaves us with The Hart Dynasty. But now that I think about it, beating Jericho and Show for the tag titles would give The Hart Dynasty one hell of a rub…
Lansdell: Apart from loving the matching outfits on Show and MVP, this match didn’t do a great deal for me. MVP looked decent but there was too much Show and Henry to make this match compelling. Looking at the roster you have to wonder just who is going to take the titles from Show and Jericho, because Henry and MVP seemed to match up best with them, and after them would be Cryme Tyme. So yeah… not sure. Nonetheless, this is nothing I’ll remember tomorrow.
McNew: This one just didn’t do it for me. There was no real drama to it whatsoever as it felt like a foregone conclusion who would win, and then we had one ridiculously lame finish. It wasn’t terrible or anything, just the definition of meh. I realize they’re going for the dominate champions thing with JeriShow, but they need to actually try to build up some suspense.
Thomas: Gee, unoriginal finish much? This was a perfectly acceptable television match but lacking for a Pay-Per-View affair. The end was never in doubt for me, and while everyone looked vaguely motivated the end result was disappointing. The ending was more or less the same finish they’ve been running with in Jericho/Show matches for the past few weeks and it would have gotten an extra half a star or so if they’d done something new…even a clean pin. Either way, it wasn’t much and I expect to see MVP go back to his on-and-off feud with Swagger that’s going nowhere thanks to the booking while Mizark goes back to doing nothing.
Small: Smart match to be placed as the opener. Henry and MVP are over with the crowd and would be an effective permanent tag team if the WWE actually had a tag division (and not just a set of new challengers for JeriShow each month). I’m wondering what’s next for JeriShow as they finished off MVP and Henry with their epic finisher (Big Show punch with a Jericho cover). Speaking of which, can they book a different finish for the tag champs? They used the same finish at SummerSlam, last week’s Smackdown, and now tonight. And to make matters worse, I think it took Jericho about two minutes just to cover Henry. Jeez.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***¼
Lansdell: **¼
McNew: **
Thomas: **¼
Small: **¼
Average Match Rating: **½

United States Championship Match
Kofi Kingston (Champion) vs. The Miz
Match Result: Kofi Kingston defeats The Miz with Trouble in Paradise.
Match Length: 11:57
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This match may have come out of thin air with relatively little build, but who cares, it was really sweet. Kofi and Miz work really well with each other, and more importantly, this may be the first sign that the Raw under card isn’t a lost cause after all. If MVP, Swagger, and the Colons can be added to the mix in more high profile matches, Raw could begin to think about catching up with the match quality over on Smackdown.
Lansdell: I loved this match. There was a freaking Ranhei (Google it, it’s on YouTube), Kofi looked concrete for a change and Miz seems to have been absorbing some skills from somewhere. I really hope this leads to a continued feud because the chemistry certainly was there. I’m trying really hard not to overrate this as a result of the Ranhei, but dammit it was awesome. Kofi needs a feud where he can talk and Miz can certainly provide that.
McNew: Despite being thrown together at the last minute this was quite the contest. It was quite obvious these two are familiar with each other after the last few weeks of action, and they both brought their A game for this one. Several near falls had me on the edge of my seat for the final few minutes. Good stuff even if it felt largely like a house show match. Probably because it has been the past few weeks.
Thomas: This was a good little title match. Kofi and Miz have good chemistry and it translated well there. They gave Miz a good amount of offense and made him look good, and did a few impressive and innovative spots here. The ranhei was pretty badass and in the end, both men come out looking better. I hope to see a bigger feud out of them, because god DAMN do they need to make the US Title relevant on Raw. But hey, it’s on Pay-Per-View so that’s a start.
Small: What a pleasant surprise. I know many people were upset that Morrison/Ziggler got bumped for this match but probably not anymore. Miz and Kofi had great chemistry, a couple of nice spots, and a hot finish. That’s all you can ask for in a mid-card match. Now let’s get Kofi a real feud so we can find out if he has any mic skills to sell an angle. He will never be a future main eventer if he can’t sell a feud. Oh and let’s get the Miz something to do since he’s really improved since joining Raw.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****
Lansdell: ***
McNew: ***
Thomas: ***
Small: ***¼
Average Match Rating: ***¼

Submissions Count Anywhere Match
D-Generation X vs. Legacy
Match Result: Legacy defeats Shawn Michaels with a ring post assisted Figure Four Leg Lock from Cody Rhodes and a Million Dollar Dream from Ted DiBiase.
Match Length: 21:35
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This is definitely not the kind of match that you’d want to see too often, but luckily, we haven’t seen a match like this in WWE in quite some time. The majority of the match had sort of an Attitude Era main event vibe to it, especially when Shawn took nearly the exact same bump that Triple H took at WrestleMania X-7. And because this match harkened back to a style that we haven’t seen in for a while, I really enjoyed it. Of course, that match itself might have been for naught if DX had once again pulled out the victory, but that was certainly not the case. Shawn Michaels jobbed CLEAN to Legacy as Triple H watched helplessly, almost certainly setting up the rubber match next month.
Lansdell: OK internet, what now? DX jobbed clean in an awesome match where Legacy not only won, but looked strong throughout the match. The dominated large chunks and didn’t need Brett DiBiase, Randy Orton, the 82nd Airborne or tranquilizer darts. It was a brutal match that had some spots I’d rather have left out, like the silly brawls on the steps that never do anything, and some crazy spots like the object-assisted submissions. I expect we’ll get Hell in a Cell with the two teams next month, and I hope somehow Legacy can pull that one out too so as to REALLY elevate them. I won’t hold my breath though. Still, for tonight, you have to hand it to all four men.
McNew: Well this was quite the unexpected upset now wasn’t it? Legacy not only gets the win, but gets a CLEAN win with a tremendous ring post figure four/million dollar dream double team submission forcing Shawn to tap. The match itself was pretty much your standard fare garbage match looking at times like one of those old WCW era Chicago Street Fights. The finish however was so very innovative, and shocking that it redeemed any issues I might have had with this one.
Thomas: There were huge swaths of this match that I absolutely hated. The opening was an absolute mess of a situation and was all over the place, literally and quality-wise. Then again, there were other things I liked. Mostly, I love the booking. They may not have looked dominating throughout and DX was owning them at points, but Cody and Ted pulled it out and–by GAWD–they made Shawn submit cleanly. There were some good things out of the in-ring work but other things just seemed to fall flat. The booking saves this one, basically.
Small: This is a really difficult match to rate. On the positive side, the story told throughout the twenty minute match was really good. DX had the advantage throughout all of the brawling segments but failed to make the big move to separate each Legacy member. Legacy was smart to dissect each man separately (while HBK first fell to his death and then when HHH was decapitated) and used it to their advantage. In addition, all four men used the stipulations well and even though it was weird seeing submissions using hand rails, it fit the gimmick. Oh and LEGACY FUCKING WON THE MATCH! Kudos WWE to that. On the flip side, there was way too much downtime. The match felt like a twenty minute Crash Holly Hardcore title match. In addition, Legacy lost every brawling exchange until the ending and that Boston crab/camel clutch double DX submission was really gay looking.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***½
Lansdell: ****
McNew: **¾
Thomas: ***
Small: ***
Average Match Rating: ***¼

Singapore Cane Match
The Great Khali vs. Kane
Match Result: Kane defeats The Great Khali with a Choke Slam.
Match Length: 5:45
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: As was the case with their match at SummerSlam, this match easily exceeded my expectations. The cane shots were plentiful and powerful, and the Ranjinference actually made the match more interesting. I give a ton of credit to both Khali and Kane for giving us entertaining pay-per-view matches two months in a row, but I think this feud has just about run its course. And given how good both men have looked as of late, I’m actually interested in seeing if either of them can work as well with other opponents.
Lansdell: When you see Khali vs. Kane on a PPV card, you normally pencil it in as the beer/piss/iced tea break. SOME of us have to recap the PPV and don’t have that luxury. This month I wasn’t even that bothered. I mean it was shit, but at least it wasn’t long shit, and it was actually not the steaming bucket of dung I was expecting. They had some nice spots and Kane actually looked strong coming out of the match. Please, can the feud be over now?
McNew: Well add a little bit of plunder, and we go from total crap, to slightly entertaining crap. At least it was short. Not much more you can add, but I’m not sure why this feud warranted not one BUT TWO pay per view matches. Sadly, since Kane got his win back, its probably not over yet.Thomas: This was as good of a Kane/Khali match as could possibly be…which is to say, not very. The crowd was crapping on the match with the “Boring” chants, but really it could have been much worse. The introduction of Ranjin Singh was expected although it turned out differently then I thought it would. They had to put Kane over here considering how badly they buried him on SmackDown, and the hardcore environment worked well. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t an abomination either.
Small: Easily the best of the Kane/Khali series of matches. The Singapore cane gimmick definitely helped and Kane got a surprisingly clean win. With this feud over, I’m wondering where Kane is headed. I’d think a feud with Morrison would be great but he is just beginning a feud with Ziggler. Oh well, I’m guessing we will get another round of Matt Hardy/Kane while Khali will head into the comedy sphere once again. All hail the Kiss Kam.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: **
Lansdell: *½
McNew: ¼*
Thomas: **
Small: **
Average Match Rating: *½

ECW Championship Match
Christian (Champion) vs. William Regal
Match Result: Christian defeats William Regal with the Kill Switch.
Match Length: 10:13
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This was the match that we should have seen last month at SummerSlam, but at this point I’m just glad that we got to see it. Regal is one of those guys that can work with just about anybody, and tonight he got the chance to shine while pulling out some vintage moves. Christian was the right man to win the match, but now that he’s beaten Regal, I have to wonder if he can have nearly as good a match with either Vladimir Kozlov or Ezekiel Jackson.
Lansdell: After this match I had to wonder if Vince hadn’t laid down an edict that said “You can do head bumps again”. RegalPlex? Half-nelson suplex? DRAGON SLEEPER??? I was marking all through this one. If the fans are going to buy this sort of offence then Danielson and McGuinness should have no trouble getting over. Regal looked better here than I’ve seen in a while, and Christian just keeps being awesome. He really needs to be on SmackDown to give them another upper-level name who can be an awesome heel. I expected a title change but since we didn’t get one, I can’t help wondering who DOES take that title.
McNew: This was good, but not as good as maybe most were hoping for. It was certainly not a show stealer by any means. I wonder where else they can go with this, because if this is it I have to think most of the momentum built from Regal’s mini push and stable would be killed dead. There’s only one title to compete for on ECW, so where else does he go unless it’s managing Zeke and Kozlov to the tag straps?
Thomas: This picked up toward the end and it was never bad, particularly from a technical aspect. The problem was that it just seemed dull and the crowd never got into it. Both guys worked hard and they deserved better than this. Sometimes you have all the elements and it doesn’t come together just right. I didn’t feel robbed here or anything and it was a workable ECW Title match on Pay-Per-View, and that’s about all I have to say there.
Small: While this match was technically sound, it really didn’t do much for me. Regal had a few nice suplexes but amidst all of the hardcore rules of the previous two matches, it really felt flat. I am also surprised that Regal didn’t pick up the win here but at least he came out of this match looking a ton better than he did last month. Who’s next in line for Christian? Sheamus?
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***½
Lansdell: ***
McNew: **½
Thomas: **½
Small: **½
Average Match Rating: **¾

I Quit Match for the WWE Championship
Randy Orton (Champion) vs. John Cena
Match Result: John Cena defeats Randy Orton with a modified STF.
Match Length: 19:48
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: I began to be a bit worried about this match when Cena was already catatonic less than three minutes after the bell, but issues I may have had with the pacing were mitigated by the fantastic storytelling. Orton beat Cena every which way possible, but just as he promised, Cena never quit. Orton’s continual use of the handcuffs was inspired, but it was ultimately those very same handcuffs that led to his demise. You know that Orton won’t be happy about this loss, so look for this feud to continue for at least another month.
Lansdell: I’m struggling with the rating on this one. I loved the story of the match, I loved Orton’s methodical approach to destruction, and I don’t even mind the result. What I did mind is that Orton spends 10-15 minutes nigh-killing Cena, and never gets close to a win. Cena slaps on ONE hold, using ONE foreign object (kinda), and Orton taps IMMEDIATELY. I don’t think it was enough to ruin the match for me, but if you’re going to have Cena win then why not make Orton look a little better and at least have him semi-fight the hold for a minute or two? They kind of rescued it by letting Orton leave the ring on his own and fairly quickly, but it just irks me how nobody can withstand the STF for more than 5 seconds. Anyway, Hell in a Cell is one of the few matches these two haven’t had yet, so I expect we’ll see it next.
McNew: This was fantastic. The story that was told here was done to perfection. Orton with the handcuffs beating Cena within an inch of his life, but could not make him say I Quit. Then Cena is able to get free, and cuff himself to Orton only to eat an RKO. Then when Orton goes back to the key, he ends up getting caught in the STF. Just amazing how well done this was. Also some pretty brutal spots with the Singapore canes, ring steps, and chairs. Just a good ole fashioned old school I quit match. And now the spinner belt is finally back in its rightful owner’s hands.
Thomas: This match was the Cena/Orton equivalent of a spotfest for the first portion of it…not that this is a bad thing, necessarily. Once Orton got the cuffs on it was less about the in-ring work and more about the story, which I was okay with. I appreciated the flow of the match and while it went slow at times, I enjoyed the story. It was a good little hardcore spotfest, and while people will be pissed Cena won, I’m fine with it. I have a feeling this feud will continue to Hell in a Cell, and we’ll see what happens there.
Small: Like the Legacy/DX match, this contest had great storytelling. For the majority of the match, we witnessed Orton beat the holy hell out of Cena while he was handcuffed to the ring post and various other objects. It was almost Passion of the Christ like as Cena was helpless throughout the onslaught. Unsurprisingly he didn’t quit and when he finally got the key to the handcuffs, it was on like donkey kong. After an entertaining fight for the handcuff key, Cena used Orton’s cuffed arm in his modified STF and picked up a nice victory. While not my favorite Cena/Orton match, I feel it was important enough (thanks to the storyline) to be included on future DVD’s.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****
Lansdell: ***¾
McNew: ****¼
Thomas: ***½
Small: ***½
Average Match Rating: ***¾

Submission Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
CM Punk (Champion) vs. The Undertaker
Match Result: CM Punk “defeats” the Undertaker with the Anaconda Vice… even though the Undertaker never tapped
Match Length: 8:54 (plus the time that it took Teddy Long to set up the Dusty Finish)
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Given how painfully obvious that finish was in retrospect, it kills me that I never saw it coming. The first eight minutes of this match were incredible, and I actually allowed myself to believe that we might be seeing a classic in the making. But the suddenness of the Undertaker’s “victory” made it clear that something was amiss, and that something turned out to be a Dusty Finish courtesy of Teddy Long. The evil heel general manager has become a complete cliché in WWE, and I’m sad to see good ol’ Teddy turn to the dark side. But on the other hand, tonight’s wacky finish guarantee’s that this feud will continue for at least another month, and the thought of Punk vs. Taker in a Hell in a Cell Match is certainly intriguing.
Lansdell: I didn’t like it. I knew we were getting a screwjob, as did everyone else, but I thought we’d at least get something fun to build to it. Punk held his own and didn’t look terrified, but it wasn’t that good of a match. Then out comes Long, and his reason for restarting the match was perfectly logical and sound, and I was fine with it. The hold WAS banned, it hadn’t been used since and nobody had overturned the decision. But why the screwjob? I’m sure we’ll find out on Friday but that’s a long time to wait without even a hint of a reason.
McNew: I’m torn between this being awful or awesome. While it was Montreal revisited part 199901840 it was the best re-enactment of the actual event I can remember, and incorporated a Dusty Finish to boot. The match wasn’t all that great, and I’m not sure what the point of the screwjob was other than to do it, but it was at least well executed. I will give them that. I’m at least intrigued to see where it goes
Thomas: Okay people, come on. A submission match highlights a Pay-Per-View in Montreal, and you DIDN’T expect it? Okay, I’ll admit I didn’t either, but I’m not surprised. They had a decent match with epic booking. Yes, it’s a tired thing to bring up Montreal again and again, but it works beautifully into the feud and I’m actually okay with that. A lot of people are going to shit themselves over the finish, but oh, well. It does bug me that Punk tapped so quickly, but the continuity makes up for it. Had it been longer, it would have scored higher…I can’t give that high a rating to an 8 to 9 minute match.
Small: You’d think the WWE would have scrapped the Pat Patterson/Ziggler crapfest had they known that the show would be running really late. The reason I bring this up is that Taker/Punk was given 8 minutes before they went into the screwjob ending. While I appreciate the continuity of Hell’s Gate being banned, I really hated how a) the submission came out of nowhere and b) Punk tapped so quickly. Then immediately they went into a Montreal screwjob angle which would have been fine had it not seem totally predictable. I really don’t see how either man came out looking good after this match and my excitement for Hell in the Cell has decreased a bit.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***
Lansdell: **½
McNew: **
Thomas: ***¼
Small: **
Average Match Rating: **½

Final Thoughts

Match of the Night:
Slimmer: Randy Orton vs. John Cena (****)
This match was epic in all the right ways and once again cemented John Cena as the top dog on Raw. The storytelling was top notch, and there were some BRUTAL spots sprinkled throughout, including those wicked Singapore cane shots to Cena’s ribs. The fact that Orton’s loss was directly caused by the handcuffs that he used to torture Cena for the majority of the match only serves to show how cohesive the entire match was.
Lansdell: D-Generation X vs. Legacy (***¾)
This narrowly beats out the S&M-fest of Cena-Orton and the awesome handcuff story due to being far more momentous and a bigger result than Cena winning the title. DX-Legacy had some of everything and delivered on all of it.
McNew: Randy Orton vs. John Cena (****¼)
Easy choice for me. This match delivered far better than I ever would have expected for all the reasons I mentioned earlier. Old school brutality with the psychology, and the right guy went over. Orton’s title reign was far past its expiration point, so they pulled the trigger at the right time. Good times all around.
Thomas: Randy Orton vs. John Cena (***½)
It wasn’t any kind of Match of the Year candidate, but it was a good match that had some great storytelling behind it. I enjoyed it more or less from start to finish, and while it could have a better ending I had no problem with Cena winning.
Small: Randy Orton vs. John Cena (***½)
Again, not their best match but it was solid and the booking really helped it. If the WWE chooses to play up this match, it could be remembered years from now as a solid addition to the Cena canon.

Trash of the Night:
Slimmer: None
The only two possibilities for Trash of the Night are Khali / Kane and Punk / Taker, but I just can’t justify giving this dubious distinction to either match. Khali and Kane busted their asses to the best of their ability and once again put on a better match than many of us expected, so there’s not way that I’m going to call their effort trash. As for Punk and Taker, I completely understand why some people may have found it unsatisfying, but the surreal spectacle of a completely self referential ending such as we witnessed tonight was more than entertaining enough to keep me from calling it trash.
Lansdell: CM Punk vs. The Undertaker (**½)
I say this every month, but Match and Trash of the Night for me are not always the highest and lowest ratings of the night. I had high expectations for this match and it just didn’t deliver. I don’t mean the finish, I mean everything around it. The Hell’s Gate came from nowhere, there wasn’t enough build in the match…it just didn’t do what I wanted.
McNew: The Great Khali vs. Kane (¼*)
I have absolutely no desire to see these two in the ring with each other in any way shape or form ever again. Khali is absolutely brutal in the ring, and Kane is only good when matched with the right opponent. Just brutal.
Thomas: The Great Khali vs. Kane (**)
I wouldn’t necessarily call it trash, but it was the worst match on the show. This was as good as we could have expected, but frankly I would have rather seen Finlay vs. Mike Knox. As it was, we got this, and the high point is that it may mean the end of the feud for now.
Small: CM Punk vs. The Undertaker (**)
We all knew that Khali vs. Kane wasn’t going to be pretty but I doubt any of us thought the main event would have disappointed like it did.

Final Analysis:
Slimmer: A submission themed pay-per-view could have been a very dicey proposition, especially if all of the submission matches had been staged as technical ground battles. Luckily, each of the three main submission matches were completely different from each other, and that kept the show from becoming boring or repetitious. I had six of the seven matches at three stars or higher, six of the seven matches had clean finishes, and the one match that didn’t have a clean finish was almost forgivable given the venue. But most importantly, this show was fun, and it kept me entertained from start to finish. Right now, Breaking Point is standing right alongside No Way Out and WrestleMania 25 as my top contenders for Pay-Per-View of the Year.
Lansdell: It seems like everyone brought their working boots for this one. People went above and beyond for a relatively minor PPV, and if WWE read the feedback on this concept then they should be buoyed by the response I expect them to get. take out the imbecilic Cena haters and you’ll find largely positive reviews, and following on the heels of a strong SummerSlam WWE is riding high. This may even have topped last month.
McNew: This show is the very definition of “thumbs in the middle” from me. One really good match, one pretty bad match, and the rest of the stuff was very average. The right guys went over in every match though, so there are no real booking complaints. There was just nothing there in terms of quality that will blow you away.
Thomas: There was nothing abysmal, outside of the Ziggler/Patterson segment about which we will never speak again. But there was nothing that blew my socks off, either. The big news out of this is the controversy of the main event and the Orton/Cena match, both of which were good though not great. Pretty much everything here was in that middle area. I was happy to see the US Title on Pay-Per-View in a semi-feudish match for once, and it was awesome to see Priceless actually get a win over DX. A CLEAN win nonetheless. Everything not mentioned above was meh to forgettable, and at best this was a moderate recommendation.
Small: For a first-time concept, Breaking Point was a solid addition to the PPV lineup. Both DX/Legacy and Cena/Orton made the most of their stipulations which will go a long way to solidify the use of this show. Unfortunately, the show-killing Ziggler/Patterson promo led to the main event getting only ten minutes (and a Dusty Finish) which led to a sour taste in my mouth. While there was nothing here I’d go out of my way to see (unless you really want to see HBK tap out and / or a Cena completist), it was not a bad way to kill three hours.

Verdict:
Slimmer: ****
Lansdell: ***½
McNew: **½
Thomas: ***
Small: ***
Average Verdict: ***¼