WWE SummerSlam: Ranking every main event in history

4. SummerSlam 2009: CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy

I’m very curious on who made the decision at the 2009 edition of SummerSlam to make the World Heavyweight Championship match, which also happened to be a Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match, the final match of the evening. Don’t get me wrong, it was the absolute right call but here’s why I ask. John Cena and Randy Orton were also battling for the WWE Championship that night at the Staples Center in L.A. and one would normally think that Vince would want his two golden boys to close out the show as opposed to being the penultimate match. Do you think there’s any possible chance that either Cena or Orton or both went to Vince and said “there’s no way I want to go on after a TLC Match with freaking CM Punk and Jeff Hardy”? I’m saying maybe on this one but that’s just me.

In any event, the build to this match was done quite well and pretty easy to do. It’s no secret that Jeff Hardy has had some substance abuse problems in the past so putting him up against a straight-edge guy like CM Punk was bound to be gold on television. And it was. Punk had cashed in his Money in the Bank contract from WrestleMania at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view and the two had battled throughout the summer with Hardy regaining the title at Night of Champions. Punk would invoke his rematch clause and the match for SummerSlam was set.

This match was insane from the start. There were so many different spots in this match that it was hard to keep track of them all as each competitor was constantly trying to outdo the other, which made for great action throughout. Hardy was on his way out of the company and left it all out there during this one, including another crazy Swanton Bomb off a ladder through a table. I don’t care how many times he does that; it’s still crazy every single time. Punk would certainly get his fair share of offense in and won back the Big Gold Belt after more than 20 minutes of chaos. If you’ll recall, The Undertaker returned once this match was over to start a feud with Punk but it still doesn’t overshadow how great this battle was.