The Best Pay Per View Matches of the Year 2009-2010

The Best Pay Per View Matches of the Year 2009-2010 Review

The year long period between WrestleMania 25 & 26 was definately one of the more interesting periods in WWE history when it came to their pay-per-view presentation as various changes were made with some of the more traditional shows of the past. Unforgiven & No Mercy & Cyber Sunday & Armageddon were dropped in favor of new shows based around either a new concept ("Bragging Rights" brand warfare), gimmick matches (Hell In A Cell & T.L.C.), or a stipulation ("Breaking Point" matches being based on submission). Various matches happened throughout the year with some ranging from either a standout performance to a memorable classic enounter and WWE decided to select a few of these matches & put it on this 3 disc set to showcase what they were were the "best of the best" during this time period.

Matches Include:
Last Man Standing Match: World Champion John Cena vs. Edge - Anyone who's seen their previous encounters knows that Edge is the one guy who can bring out the best in Cena while Cena gives his best performances in matches where there are "no rules brawls" & this match proved my point. They've fought countless times over the years but yet was able to still pull out a match that was different than their previous matches they told a great story about how they just beat each other into exaustion & knew each other so well that they were able to counter their signature moves right from the start, built up the pace over time, came up with some new creative spots throughout the match (boy, the front row got their money's worth didn't they?), used weapons, went all over the place, and had an ending that was quite the visual when it happened. Their best match IMO outside of their T.L.C. match at Unforgiven '06 & match of the night, no questions asked.
Backlash

ECW Champion Jack Swagger vs. Christian - Damn, they knew how to kick off this PPV as this was the best in-ring performance from both men in their current runs...with the sidenote that Swagger is still in his WWE rookie year. Christian showcased what anyone who's watched during his time in TNA knew in that he was a great performer while Swagger is really coming into his own by showcasing good wrestling in his own right along with some strenght like his pressing Christian over his head & tossing him out the ring at one point. Great match.
Backlash

World Champion Edge vs. Jeff Hardy - I've said it before that Jeff & Edge never had a bad match to my memory...and this is no exception as they did a good wrestling match with each man vibing off each other well with J.R. doing a great job on the commentary putting over how Hardy kept using "calculating risk" with his offense instead of just being a daredevil including pulling out a few moves we aren't used to them like Jeff doing Bret Hart's Sharpshooter & taking one hell of a superplex from Edge with a sick looking landing. The ending was a bit of a jip but it doesn't take away from these two putting on a great solid performance here.
Judgment Day

Mask vs. Title: Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio - The feud of the year (IMO) continues here as they used the motto "it it ain't broke, don't fix it" as they used the same formula that's worked before & even had some counters to moves in their previous matches (watch out for that Codebreaker in mid-air). Just like what this feud was based on, the mask did come into play at one point but it was another creative finish here that again delivered the match of the night.
The Bash

United States Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Primo vs. M.V.P. vs. Jack Swagger vs. The Miz vs. Carlito - This was one of those matches that was fun to watch as all six men were allowed in the ring at the same time which made for various good multiman spots like the classic "electric chair." Not everyone had a highlight reel but you saw various highlights like Swagger showing his power, Carlito & Kofi showing their athletic ability various times, a reunion of Carlito & Primo, and a very unique version of M.V.P.'s playmaker with Swagger & Miz. Again, a very fun match to watch.
Night Of Champions

WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H - The rematch from WrestleMania 24. This has a funny beginning as it was clear that Randy Orton was the guy with the target on him from both Cena & Triple H and Orton tried to seperate himself from them but they both went right after him. This built up & got better over time with good multiman interaction before it erupted into what Michael Cole described best, "Chaos!" While what happened towards the end with all three men & the referee looked confusing, it's something we've seen around 8 years ago but a nice twist along with an RKO that took out two people at once, this was a good match. Eventhough I enjoyed the WrestleMania match more, this wasn't a disappointment.
Night of Champions

Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler - Anyone who saw their match at Night Of Champions knows that Dolph had an impressive performance & this was no different as Dolph grounded Mysterio & focused on his neck making moves like a lariat he gave more high impact. Mysterio as usual did use his high flyin' moves like doing this standing moonsault from the top turnbuckle off of countering a backdrop in the opening moments while also getting caught by Ziggler with a dropkick in midair. Great opener & another impressive performance from Dolph.
SummerSlam

T.L.C. Match: World Champion Jeff Hardy vs. C.M. Punk - This match was very similar to how Edge & Jeff Hardy had their ladder match months earlier in that this wasn't a non-stop spotfest more than a match where they used the weapons to make moves more high impact & trying to tell a story. It's a TLC match so all elements were used as expected along with various moments such as Punk slamming Hardy onto an open chair to the backrest hit his spine, Hardy missing a splash & crashing through a table on the outside, Hardy reversing Punk's running knee kick/bulldog combination into a toss to the outside table, and of course Jeff Hardy being the human highlight reel with the swanton bomb that you have to see to believe...and I still didn't believe I saw it when I was there. This was a great one on one TLC match from both men while what happened to end the show was probably just as shocking as we saw another WWE return & great way to end the show.
SummerSlam

"I Quit" Match: WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. John Cena - Due to what happened at SummerSlam, the stipulation here was that Orton will lose the title if anyone get involved. This is one of those matches that's more about "putting over a character" more than actual wrestling quality because the actual physical part of the match itself (haven't seen their matches past this PPV) ranks below their previous two SummerSlam matches but above their other two PPV matches that were also setup to just further a storyline. This match heavily showcased Orton's "Viper" character as being cold hearted & calculating & merciless by just attacking Cena's head with the hanging DDT and weapons like a monitor & steel chair & the steps. Orton also at one point had Cena handcuffed and just beating the hell out of him & so obsessed with having Cena say "I Quit" that he even refused to allow Cena to "get out easy" & passout from the pain while Cena's character was pushed here too as he just kept taking a beating but refused to quit. I'll give credit in that I thought it was a creative way of applying the STF but the finish just came too quick to be believeable. In the end, you have to look at this match for what it was in that it was more of a "character driven" match more than anything else.
Breaking Point

Hell In A Cell Match: D-Generation X vs. Legacy - This match definately stood out from others as it started off as a brawl on the outside of the with Legacy jumping DX on their way to the ring while using the method that worked in their favor at Breaking Point which was "divide & conquer" with Triple H being knocked out on the stage while Shawn was locked inside the Cell with Legacy. From there, it was an exact copy of what happened at Breaking Point with Shawn being tortured by both men with Triple H unable to make the save for several minutes using a chair & the cage to their advantage. Triple H was able to enter the cage & dominate before using Legacy's methods against them in route to victory. I just really didn't like this match past the opening brawl as their previous matches were encounters that left both teams leaving with a strong performance while this one had Dibiase & Rhodes looking heavily inferior to just Triple H alone and unlike how they tortured Shawn at Breaking Point, you didn't know if Triple H was going to be able to save Shawn even if he made it to the ring while here where you just knew Triple H was going to somehow get in the cage, dominate & raise hell...it was just very predictable for me. Just again, after the previous matches were great strong performances...this did a poor job of following those two & the only person come out strong in this case was Triple H (and I'm not one of those anti-Triple H internet marks). I'm guessing that I'm in the minority here but I felt like this was the weakest match out of their series & probably my least favorite HIAC match of all time.
Hell In A Cell

D-Generation X, Big Show, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston (RAW) vs. Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Finlay, R-Truth, Hart Dynasty (SmackDown) - The final match to determine who gets the Bragging Rights trophy however this match heavily resembled what I classified as multi-diva matches earlier in that only certain people work the matches while others just come in to get a spot in before being forgotten about. This was a good match that had some moments like Finlay & Shawn facing off (I think for the first time) and literally "butting heads" while old rivals fought again at various times (Hardy with Henry & Swagger along with Kane & Big Show). I'll say that it was creative how everything that happened in the ending would set up various angles following the match but overall, this match was a bit of a disappointment for me.
Bragging Rights

Elimination Match: John Morrison, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, Finlay vs. The Miz, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger - As the commentators would point out in the commentary, this is the "future of the WWE" in this match with all of those young guns involved. This had some moments I didn't care like the quick eliminations & Shelton Benjamin's time (or lack thereof) in the match but definately had it's share of highlights like Drew McIntyre's piledriver that just spiked Evan Bourne, the always underrated Matt Hardy being the workhorse that the fans know he's capable of being, the referee being a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and John Morrison putting up one hell of a fight in the end. Definately a good way to open the show but it was quite of sight seeing the sole survivors just knowing that within the coming weeks, all of them would win championships.
Survivor Series

Ladder Match: ECW Champion Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin - With the ECW brand being lost in the shuffle for the past couple of PPV's (which Christian openily admitted weeks earlier), they came back with a bang here with the two men who have their own highlight reels when it comes to ladder matches. Michael Cole described this match just right in the end when he called it a "thriller" because you just had so many moments such as various moves done off the ladder (flying clothesline, powerslam, scorpion deathdrop) and done onto the ladder (frog splash) and one moment where Shelton showed heavy strength by catching Christian off the ladder into a powerbomb onto another one. The only thing I can really say that was negative here was when Christian got busted open at one point & the match was stopped so the EMT can attend to it leading the crowd to chant "WE WANT BLOOD." Despite that one negative, they did what they acomplished to do & that's steal the show.
T.L.C.: Tables, Ladders & Chairs

Womens Champion Michelle McCool vs. Mickie James - All I can say here is that after all the "Piggy James" comments & actions from both McCool & Layla, they got exactly what they deserved. Just think of this match as the female version of Ultimate Warrior vs. Honky Tonk Man.
Royal Rumble

Streak vs. Career: Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels - Seeing how this is only the fourth time in WrestleMania history & the first time in 15 years that a non-title match is the final match at WrestleMania, you could tell that the quality they delievered last year was enough to warrant the closing position. Eventhough these two put on such a memorable classic last year, they were able to put on another classic but different match this year as the stipulations of only winning by pinfall/submission along with the story of Shawn being so obsessed with ending the streak that he risked his own career...this match was more intense than the last one right from the opening moment when Shawn did Taker's trademark signature "throat slash" at the start. Taker hurt his leg early in the match giving Shawn the advantage by heavily working over that leg with various moves like the figure four & even the anklelock. Things really picked up from here with such moments as Shawn getting the tombstone on the floor, HBK executing a moonsault that you have to see to believe, and being able to counter moves from Undertaker that nobody else was able to counter before him while Taker himself was able to keep getting up from everything Shawn delievered. I don't want to reveal the ending but the match had such an effect on Taker to the point where he showed more emotion towards Shawn that we've seen from "The Dead Man" before Shawn refused to go out without a fight. As what has been the case with most of the matches here, keep watching after the match as you got got a very emotional WrestleMania moment.
WrestleMania XXVI

(Blu-Ray Exclusive) Singapore Cane Match: Kane vs. Great Khali - Kane is in a match that was named after him (get it...Kane & cane?). Alright, I know that was a bad joke but that was more entertaining than this match itself as these two just don't work well together with Kane only being as good as the person across from him while Khali just isn't good unless he's with a small guy who knows how to bounce around & be a personal spot monkey for him & the canes hurt more (as if that's possible) than it helped here. Sorry for the rant but whoever seriously thinks that these two facing each other are an attraction that people want to see needs to be fired.
Breaking Point

(Blu-Ray Exclusive) Unified Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho & Big Show vs. Batista & Rey Mysterio - Eventhough it was heavily put over that Mysterio & Batista were former WWE Tag Team Champions, the little known fact is that they were only champions for a week & have teamed up together so many times that you can count them on one hand & hadn't teamed together in years. Knowing that fact, this match was the shock of the night because Batista & Mysterio worked really well together here as they did great teamwork & kept Jericho away from Big Show various times in the match and working him over. Watch out for the kick Mysterio gave Jericho at one point that looked like it was out Tajiri's old playbook and just how massive Show is to Mysterio as he palmed his head on the outside & lifted him into the ring. This played match played out well as it worked towards everyone's strengths & there wasn't a dull moment. Definately the best performance in both of these teams history.
Hell In A Cell

(Blu-Ray Exclusive) T.L.C. Match: Unified Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho & Big Show vs. D-Generation X - DX was out to gain their first set of tag team championship (eventhough technically the New Age Outlaws were tag team champions as members of DX a decade ago). This started out as you would expect with an all-out brawl on the from the ring to the floor all the way to the arm with dueling chair being used. This match had it's various moments with Big Show actually being the M.V.P. of the match like how Triple H was sprawled across a ladder in the corner only for HBK to the thrown against him & be squished by Show, Big Show punched through a chair into Triple H's face, the power of Show destroying more than one ladder with his bare hands, and the comedic ending with Jericho & Show working together to grab the belts only for that to backfire in a nasty way for Jericho as he took the worst fall than anyone else the entire night. If your expecting the heavy "spotfest" that you've gotten from TLC/Ladder matches in the past that you won't get it here but this was still a good contest with plenty of moments to not leave you disappointed.
T.L.C.:Tables, Ladders & Chairs

(Blu-Ray Exclusive) World Champion Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio - Just by looking at these two, you got the type of match expected here in that it was "David vs. Goliath" and just like usual when Mysterio plays the "David" role, he puts up one hell of a fight. Taker showcased his superior power early by just tossing Mysterio over the top in the opening moments & blocking Mysterio's high flyin' moves. Mysterio did the old Bret Hart strategy by working on Taker's legs, maked Taker's nose bleed from various kicks to the face, and even hit two 619's before he got caught with the Last Ride. This was the best non-Rumble match of the night & was a good encounter.
Royal Rumble

DVD extras are set to include the various wrestlers discussing their matches from that year including John Cena (Backlash & Breaking Point), Christian (Backlash), Rey Mysterio (The Bash & SummerSlam), Kofi Kingston (Night Of Champions), Legacy (Hell In A Cell), Matt Hardy (Bragging Rights), and The Miz (Survivor Series). There were certainly some matches I felt should have been on here more than some that they left off because of various reasons like it wasn't the best encounter they had on PPV (Mickie/McCool) or that the quality of the match just wasn't as good as other matches they decided to leave off this set (I would have put Kofi/Miz from Breaking Point on here than that other U.S. Title match from Night Of Champions) but in the end, you can't win them all...like always...so this is definately something I would pick up for those who already aren't heavly collectors of the WWE PPV's.

The Best Pay Per View Matches of the Year 2009-2010 Overview

The pinnacle for every sports entertainer is to appear on pay-per-view and put on the best match. For the first time ever on home video, the WWE Universe can enjoy the best matches in one home video collection. The stars of Raw, SmackDown, and ECW present the greatest bouts of the year, from longtime Pay-Per-View standards WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble, as well as newly themed events, including Breaking Point, Hell in a Cell, Bragging Rights, TLC, and Elimination Chamber.