WWE Breaking Point: 13th September 2009

I've been rubbish at writing up WWE PPVs of late. I'm genuinely excited by this show though, especially the Punk-Taker match. I think they made a bad choice in booking Taker vs. Punk so soon, as Punk is on a roll, but I can't see Taker submitting. I'd jump out of my seat if he did, however.

Tag titles to begin. I haven't really been watching RAW, but Henry vs. Big Show is quite the matchup. This follows the Jericho-Show formula, with Jericho doing the lion's share of stuff in the ring, bumping and stooging, especially at the beginning and at the hot tag, with Big Show being sparingly. The knockout punch finish from the outside is such a great spot. It feels like the heels stealing a victory, even though it's (broadly speaking) legitimate.

The Legacy-DX match was kind of ludicrous. I didn't dislike it, partially because I'm thrilled Legacy were given an almost equal footing in the match, and won cleanly. But there was a lot that was just done badly. First of all, Rhodes and Dibiase were holding this together. I like that in a storyline sense, as the proper tag team, but really, without them being very very energised, this would have dragged awfully. Shawn Michaels is a terrible brawler. I liked the fight at the top of the steps, with the crowd forming a circle and chanting and having a great time. The ending took far too long. If your aim is to do the 'good guys lose in a two-on-one' situation, having HHH layed out for, like, an hour, after being hit once in the head looks stupid. It needs to be decisive, with Legacy quickly capitalising on their advantage. The endless Michaels comeback spots ruined it. Also, they were playing for the drama of having HHH almost make the save, but the submission they went for was so hard to apply that by the time HBK tapped, it barely looks like a submission at all (quite aside from the fact that the Dream is a knock out move anyway). The positives are all with Legacy, who took the opportunity to shine. Dibiase, in particular, looks like a credible main eventer. Unlike Michaels and HHH, whose puerile schtick is about my least favourite thing in all wrestling. The Montreal comeback was sort of amusing, I guess.

The ECW title match was truly excellent. They threw in a bit more mat stuff at the beginning, which looked great. This was less strikey (although still very strikey) compared to the TV match, but Regal brings outs a couple of great suplexes to fill up the violence quota. Christian myriad selling talents are less necessary against Regal, who makes his own offence look great - instead, it's Regal's selling ability which is more prominent here. Doesn't stop Christian setting up the middle with one of his over the buckle bumps to the outside. Working with Regal seems to have improved Christian's striking, which was his only real weak point. I liked the body shots in particular, but I particularly like how they are able to lay into each other during transitions. It makes the whole thing seem like a more legitimate fight and a tougher struggle. Match of the show, and one of the WWE matches of the year.

The Cena-Orton I Quit match is less a wrestling match, and much more a piece of performance art. The story was strong, and in this bloodless WWE environment, the level of physical violence was as much as they could realistically achieve to tell it. The cane shots to Cena's exposed ribs seemed legitimate, and Cena should be commended for his commitment here. Its not met uniform approval, but I like Orton's evil persona overacting in this setting. I also loved the symbolism of the key, being tauntingly out of reach - made me think of The Life of David Gale, of all things. These sorts of dramas need the hero to overcome the antagonist, and a sense of poetic justice, which we certainly got with the handcuff assited STF inches away from the key. I didn't love it all - Cena has developed a worrying tendency to go from great selling to no selling, which he does near the end. It detracts from his excellent performance all the way through the body of the match.

I don't know how to talk about the main event. I mean, even though deep down I remember enjoying how the smaller Punk matched up with the bigger Taker, the ending is so deeply unsatisfactory that it's all that I can think about. Repeats of the Montreal screwjob are not clever. It needs to be said, in a loud voice to whoever it is in the creative team who thinks they are. Not because I feel angry about the first one, but because they are now tired and cliche, especially when they insist on repeating them in the same city. I assume they realised the massive booking mistake they made in having this first match up between the two be a match which Taker could never lose, and decided that a short-term negative reaction from a screwjob finish would be compensated for a better long term feud narrative. I assume that, because the idea that this was always the long term plan is far too unpalatable. They'll go to Hell in a Cell next. What I actually want, however, is to see a singles match between the two.