The Year in PPV- 2009, Part I

In many ways, 2009 is responsible for the product we have today in the WWE. By that I mean that this is the first year of the PG Era. However, I want to stress one HUGE detail about this: I do NOT hate this year. At all. In fact, I think it's one of the better years in recent memory. The roster of talent competing on all three brands was so extensive, that the PPVs had a lot of different feuds and superstars that had their focus. To think that we had shows that dealt with Randy Orton trying to eliminate the entire McMahon family, Matt and Jeff Hardy fighting each other, D-Generation X returning for one last run, Rey Mysterio battling Chris Jericho in an epic trilogy of matches, John Cena ending his long rivalry with Edge, Batista and CM Punk both turning heel, Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker having one of the best matches in history, and the emergence of superstars like John Morrison, The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, and Sheamus all happening within the same year is absolutely mind blowing. This year is proof that a PG product isn't always a bad thing, as long as the company keeps accentuating the good aspects of its product rather than carelessly exposing its flaws.

With that in mind, let's dive right into 2009 with the first PPV of the PG Era...


1. Royal Rumble

The undercard for the 2009 Royal Rumble left a little to be desired. The world title matches were very average on their workrate, but made up for it in storyline. The World Heavyweight Championship match between John Cena and JBL was carried by the storyline involving JBL hiring Shawn Michaels to help him win. Let's face it, Cena and JBL aren't the best in-ring generals to carry a match unless there is some kind of gimmick attached. Here, it works very well by having the focus on HBK. Then the WWE Championship match saw Jeff Hardy defend against Edge in a no disqualification match. Storylines between these two have never been the greatest, but if you add an extreme gimmick, they usually bust out solid matches. Plus, this match has an ending that really altered the landscape fans had in mind for WrestleMania.

Speaking of which, let's talk about the Royal Rumble match. Let's be honest: this may very well be the most predictable Royal Rumble outcome since 2003 (2006...maybe). After so much of the match's focus was about Randy Orton punting Mr. McMahon in the head, it was painfully obvious who was going to win the Rumble. It didn't matter that the match had Triple H, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Big Show, Kane, Undertaker, Vladimir Kozlov, Rey Mysterio, and even a few surprises. None of it mattered. All that mattered was that every fan in the building knew what was coming next. Is it bad? I don't think it is, but I can see many fans getting irritated at how they were telegraphing the early booking for the Road to WrestleMania.

Mild Recommendation


2. No Way Out

This show had a LOT of great storylines featured as the Road to WrestleMania continued. Shawn Michaels and JBL had their feud culminate in a match, and Shane McMahon hoped to get some family revenge on Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred Match. But really, most fans tuned in to watch the Elimination Chamber matches.

The WWE Champion Edge defended his title against Jeff Hardy, Big Show, Triple H, Vladimir Kozlov, and the Undertaker. This match had tons of star power, as arguably the 6 most profiled wrestlers on SmackDown were featured here. Sure, the bits with Kozlov probably dragged down the final outcome since his skills were limited, but it was still an engaging and entertaining title bout. The night ended with the World Heavyweight Championship match. John Cena defended the title against Rey Mysterio, Kane, Chris Jericho, Mike Knox, and Kofi Kingston. Well, technically he was supposed to defend it against Kingston. However, before he could make it to the ring, Kingston was attacked and replaced by another wrestler, who proceeded to shock the world with his last minute entry.

Recommended


3. WrestleMania XXV

The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania is a show that usually gets a lot of flack from fans because it didn't live up to the expectations so many had for it. There are things on this show that I still complain about to this day, like the battle royal to crown the first (and only) Miss WrestleMania, but overall, I've forgiven this show over the last 6 years. Sure, the Money in the Bank match wasn't as good as previous encounters. Sure, seeing Chris Jericho take on three retired Hall of Famers looked a bit silly. Sure, the Hardys could have gone more extreme in their match. And sure, the Intercontinental Championship match could have actually lasted longer than it did. But at the end of the day, I believe they were trying with this show, and had it been any other number not ending in a 5 or a 0, it would have been regarded as your average WrestleMania.

Of course everyone remembers this show for the first ever WrestleMania encounter between Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker. What else needs to be said? It's Mr. WrestleMania vs. the Undefeated Streak at WrestleMania XXV. It writes itself. It's a classic before the bell even rings. I remember watching it live on PPV and being both excited and exhausted from the magic these two created in the ring. To this day, it is one of the few select matches where that feeling still exists with each repeated viewing. This match alone is worth checking out the show, as it felt VERY worthy of being on a special anniversary card like this one.

But then most fans were spent after that instant classic, so they were pretty dead when there was still another hour of programming left. The triple threat for the World Heavyweight Championship wasn't the worst match in the world, but it would have benefited Edge, Big Show, and John Cena if they went on before Michaels and Taker. Then there was an entertaining sendoff for Stone Cold Steve Austin when he came out with the Hall of Fame class, which felt appropriate for the Texas crowd. But then we get to the main event which most fans despise. In what should have been a grueling, physical brawl for the WWE Championship, Triple H and Randy Orton ended up putting on a well-wrestled match with in-ring psychology. The BIG problem with that, and the stipulation that Triple H would've lost the title if he got disqualified, is that it's NOT what the fans wanted. After the feud was so personal and had the proper buildup, a Street Fight would've been the perfect stipulation for the main event. Instead, we were restricted to your generic one-on-one encounter that the fans really did not want to see. Again, had all of this happened BEFORE Michaels and Taker, it probably would've been received better.

Mild Recommendation


4. Backlash

Now THIS is more like it. After WrestleMania left many underwhelmed, WWE answered with an awesome Backlash PPV. It's a shame this PPV isn't around anymore, but it couldn't have ended on a higher note. The only match that didn't really matter was the debacle involving Santina Marella, Beth Phoenix, and the Great Khali. Even midcard filler matches like CM Punk vs. Kane were entertaining and felt like big fight matches. When your card has Jack Swagger defending the ECW Championship against Christian, Ricky Steamboat having a match with Chris Jericho (which you can imagine Jericho was marking out for, considering he grew up a fan of the Dragon's work), and an "I Quit" match with Matt and Jeff Hardy, the show should be building up to some incredibly booked main event matches. And I believe Backlash does live up to the momentum created throughout the show.

The WWE Championship was on the line in a 6-man tag match. Triple H defended his title while teaming with Shane McMahon and Batista to take on Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase. All three member's of Triple H's team had history with Orton, so they wanted to be personally responsible for his downfall, which ultimately created friction between the team. If any of them got disqualified, Orton would win the championship. There was a very big dynamic of teamwork and egos that were utilized in this match that made it very entertaining to watch. Finally, the show ended with a fantastic Last Man Standing match between John Cena and Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship. This feud had so match weight and depth within it since 2006, and this was an amazing way to bring it to an end. The spots all felt epic and appropriate, and the ending was one of the most shocking moments (I apologize in advance for that obvious pun) to happen around this time period.

Highly Recommended


5. Judgment Day

Usually the WWE prepares something special when they bring a PPV to Chicago. This is NOT one of those nights. Maybe that's a little harsh, but it's only because we have been nearly spoiled by the company in recent years with their Chicago shows. There isn't much historic or significant that even happens at this particular Judgment Day. Most of the matches are either filler, or carry over feuds from Backlash that won't culminate until the NEXT show. Even if the show has the likes of John Cena vs. Big Show, Edge vs. Jeff Hardy, and Randy Orton vs. Batista, most of these feuds are left open enough to continue through one or two more shows, so most of the fans (being aware of that) don't really have that much invested in what's going on.

However, if there is one match that every fan should check out on this show, it's the Intercontinental Championship match. When most people talk about greatest matches from this year, the PPV trilogy between Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho usually comes to mind. This is probably the second best match in that trilogy, but it definitely get things off to a great start with a psychological focus from Jericho to avoid the 619 from Mysterio in order to disappoint all the fans that want to see it happen. And a lot of that is from the two men involved, but there is an extra factor added thanks to the Chicago crowd. The fans responded so positively to the in-ring work from these two legends that the match became an instant classic and one of the matches that helped temporarily bring back legitimacy to the Intercontinental Championship.

Skip It


Initial Thoughts: This was a great way to start the year. There was so much going on in these first couple of PPVs that it made it easy to binge these like a show on Netflix. Every show felt like it was must see to tune in, and while not every result was a home run, the stars and matches were at least treated like they were important. I was at least looking forward to each new PPV to see what would happen next, and that's a very good attitude to have going into the next couple months of 2009.

Continued in Part II...


All rights and images are copyrighted and owned by World Wrestling Entertainment