WWE 2009

[tiger_rick]

I'm working through some 2009 WWE PPVs I've got. I've been in and out of WWE since 2008, when I first stopped watching religiously, but 08 and 09 are years I recall seeing very little.

I liked WWE a little less every year from 2000. The general decline in viewership through the decade matched my personal decline in interest. I just think the same old talent on top, the churn of failed new talent, the ECW relaunch being shite and the general feel of desperation across all their TV wore me down over time.

It's funny watching it back now. Watched the Rumble, which I have on DVD for some reason and have obviously seen before to do stats from, and No Way Out. Compared to the recent product, it's incredible. Just the roster, peak John Cena, Edge, Undertaker, Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. Triple H, HBK, Big Show, Mysterio and Jericho still being in good shape. The crowds are red hot and all these are way more over than anyone is now.

That opening Elimination Chamber at No Way Out is a belter aside from one of the most boring bits ever booked when Big Show and Kozlov are in together with Jeff Hardy. I'd probably have just groaned at the time at Trips winning the belt again. The opening package builds to Orton/Shane and HBK/JBL matches which both feel pretty huge for a B level PPV. Again, at the time I'd have hated Shane's involvement and that HBK/JBL thing always sounded absolutely ridiculous. Funny how I'm romanticising it now.

It's not all glorious. The commentary is still pretty rotten aside from bits of Jim Ross. There are guys I'm sick of even now (like Benjamin and Carlito) and newer guys who just never got over (like Kozlov and Knox) but overall it feels like such a lively product through modern eyes and the promos, ring work and even the blood are much, much better.

Tell you what too - 2009 Stephanie is hotter than the sun.

Thoughts/memories from 2009? Any recommendations on TV stuff I should try and catch?

[The King Of Swing]

I'd honestly completely forgot about HBK/JBL until reading your post, rick.

Was it a weird storyline?

[HarmonicGenerator]

HBK was out of money and JBL bought him or something, wasn’t it?
 

I think 2009 was one of those years I barely kept track of. You’ve got Undertaker-Michaels stuff at the beginning and at the end of the year which is (probably) good. I know Cena and Orton feuded for most of it, but Orton was about as hot as he’s ever been at the start of the year. You might get the start of heel Batista by year’s end.

Was 2009 the year Christian came back and had lots of matches with Regal on ECW? I enjoyed those at the time, maybe because I think I actually bothered with ECW semi-regularly, unlike the main shows. I don’t think I watched Mania 25 until this year!

[tiger_rick]

5 minutes ago, The King Of Swing said:

I'd honestly completely forgot about HBK/JBL until reading your post, rick.

Was it a weird storyline?

Yeah, HBK had supposedly lost all his money in the financial crash and was selling himself to Bradshaw who was playing his Poundland Ted Dibiase character. Pretty ludicrous. The blow off is good though. Michaels' wife sells it brilliantly. 

[CleetusVanDamme]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

Thoughts/memories from 2009? Any recommendations on TV stuff I should try and catch?

Cena vs Michaels from a January Raw was amazing, I much prefer it to the London one. Jericho and Rey had a great match to blow-off their feud on Smackdown in the summer. The MSG Raw just before Survivor Series was one of the last Garden shows that felt magic, for me, headlined by an all-star tag of Jericho/Show vs DX vs Cena/Taker.

[sukhy]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

Yeah, HBK had supposedly lost all his money in the financial crash and was selling himself to Bradshaw who was playing his Poundland Ted Dibiase character. Pretty ludicrous. The blow off is good though. Michaels' wife sells it brilliantly. 

At least this makes a little bit of sense, using real world issues, rather than the time that "The Authority" (urgh) had power over the Big Show because he somehow lost all of his money in 2014. 

2009 started off quite well from what I remember of it too. We had Orton punting Vince, which seemed absolutely mental at the time, pretty sure that was the go home Raw for the Rumble. 

You're spot on with that No Way Out ppv, it was a belter. I remember enjoying it a lot at the time, especially the Edge swerve for the main event. 

Mania 26 was good by all accounts. Then it tailed off and I'm pretty sure that's when the Guest GM stuff on Raw kicked in during the summer of 09, and it just went to shit.

[HarmonicGenerator]

8 hours ago, CleetusVanDamme said:

Cena vs Michaels from a January Raw was amazing, I much prefer it to the London one. Jericho and Rey had a great match to blow-off their feud on Smackdown in the summer. The MSG Raw just before Survivor Series was one of the last Garden shows that felt magic, for me, headlined by an all-star tag of Jericho/Show vs DX vs Cena/Taker.

This reminds me that 2009 also had Cody Rhodes’ first great match, the Summerslam Legacy vs DX tag match.

[iMPACt!]

It's crazy as 2009 sound like it was not that long ago but it is actually now 12 years ago!

When you think of it, smartphones were only just coming out so the audience were not as distracted and you wouldn't have all the shit social media references etc, reality era etc. Just different times and a much scaled back output.

[air_raid]

Personally I thought the highlight of the year was the Orton/Cena match at Breaking Point. It’s very different to matches I’ve seen between them as the psychotic Orton attempts to break Cena down.

[The Cutting Edge]

Rise of heel CM Punk is great and feud with Jeff Hardy, smackdown post draft was really good with Punk, Edge, Morrison, Rey, Y2J, Hardy smashing out great matches weekly.

Was 09 Bragging Rights the year SD went for new faces as there team then shit the bed and replaced them the week before?

 

[Mr Butternut Squash]

I was semi-regular watcher back then. It's funny, the only thing I can remember about 09 WWE is the Chris Jericho Price is Right segment with Bob Barker and Jericho's team with the Big Show. Everything else is a blur that could have been from any other year. It's a testament to how high I was on his 08 run that he's still the only thing I vividly remember from that period.

[garynysmon]

3 hours ago, Mr Butternut Squash said:

I was semi-regular watcher back then. It's funny, the only thing I can remember about 09 WWE is the Chris Jericho Price is Right segment with Bob Barker and Jericho's team with the Big Show. Everything else is a blur that could have been from any other year.

That's my problem too, everything after 2001 or so seems to become a big blur for me and I can't differentiate between what happened at what Wrestlemania etc.

But seeing that you raised that segment, I realise now that 2009 was the year that I moved back home after a failed relationship and I seriously started watching the WWF regularly again, as well as TNA which I already had been.

Going against most popular opinion at the time, I didn't mind the guest host concept at all. It was around this time that Jesse Ventura joined McMahon on commentary for a match, when The Body clearly didn't have a clue who any of the then-current roster were.

 

[TomJones233]

Hated it at the time. Its better now. 2009 Smackdown with their own Smackdown 6 with Edge, Morrison, Punk, Rey and Jericho and Hardy. 

Rated Y2J had so much potential.

[air_raid]

1 hour ago, TomJones233 said:

Hated it at the time. Its better now. 2009 Smackdown with their own Smackdown 6 with Edge, Morrison, Punk, Rey and Jericho and Hardy.

While this for me is a wild overstatement, the Rey v Morrison match for I title on a late year SmackDown is really good and about the only time I considered Morrison looking like he wouldn’t be out of place wrestling main eventers.

[Statto]

I have a soft spot for Extreme Rules 2009 as I was there in person, but there are 3 genuinely good matches on the show IMO - the Jericho/Mysterio IC title match is a good outing for both with a fun finish, the Batista/Orton cage match benefits from being short & brutal rather than relying on too much drawn out 'crawling to the door' melodrama, and the Edge/Jeff Hardy ladder match is what you'd expect it to be with the added bonus of the Punk cash-in/heel turn at the end.