John Cena defeats Randy Orton for WWE title in I Quit match

John Cena defeated Randy Orton for the WWE championship at the promotion's Breaking Point PPV in an "I Quit" match. Much of the match featured Orton attempting to force the verbal submission of Cena by physically punishing Cena while Cena was handcuffed to the ring ropes. Cena eventually forced the submission by handcuffing himself to Orton and applying the STF. Cena's title win is the 6th WWE/World level win of his tenure in the promotion.

While the WWE title change was a highlight, the World title match that closed the show left fans in disbelief. WWE booking piled a Dusty finish on top of a Montreal screwjob. Undertaker's Hell's Gate submission win being ruled invalid by Smackdown general manager Theodore Long based on the maneuver being invalidated by Vickie Guerrero last year. The ref then called for the bell immediately after Punk applied his Anaconda Vice without 'Taker actually submitting.

CM Punk escaped with the title but not before completely defeating the submission
concept of Breaking Point in the first place. Let's hope for WWE's sake that fans have long memories of Orton/Cena and short memories of the Punk/Taker screw-job or the promotion could find the 2010 Breaking Point a very tough sell.

In other matches of note, ECW champion Christian defeated William Regal in the consensus match of the night while Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes scored a shocking upset of DX with both Legacy tag teamers forcing Shawn Michaels to submit. The U.S. and Unified tag champions both successfully defended their belts while Kane won a forgettable Singapore Cane contest.

WWE Smackdown taping note

It is the standard policy of WrestlingBloob.com not to post confirmed spoiler information. As a result, the situation regarding Smackdown's World title competitors will not be addressed until this Friday @ 10 pm PDT/Saturday 1 am EDT.

CM Punk defeats Jeff Hardy in SummerSlam TLC for World title

Straight edge superstar CM Punk finally came out on top in his feud with Jeff Hardy, retrieving the title belt after a grueling TLC match to become WWE's new World champion. Punk would not have the chance at a celebration though as after the sound of a gong and a period of darkness, Undertaker appeared where Jeff Hardy had fallen. Taker chokeslammed Punk to close out the SummerSlam pay-per-view.

The finishing sequence of the World title match itself occurred when Hardy hit a swanton bomb from the top of a 15 foot ladder to Punk, prone at the time on the ECW announcing table. Hardy was hooked onto a stretcher while Punk recovered first to reach the ladder. Hardy eventually reached the ladder himself to go into an exchange with Punk, an exchange finally won with a punch to the ribs from Punk.

With Jeff Hardy expected to leave WWE within the week, the post match theatrics will allow to promotion to segue nicely into a Punk/Undertaker feud. If this is the truly the last that we'll see of Jeff Hardy in WWE, at least he went out on a sensational note.

In the other main event title match, Randy Orton retained the WWE championship over John Cena after attempts at losses by self-dq and countout were lamely overturned. "Fan" interference (from Brett DiBiase) broke up Cena's STF attempt, leading to a surprise RKO from Orton for the win. DX won a surprisingly competitive semi-main event over Legacy while the Intercontinental, ECW and unified tag team champions all retained their titles.

Jeff Hardy reclaims World title from CM Punk

The Night of Champions PPV main event proved fortuitous for Jeff Hardy as he reclaimed the World title from CM Punk, winning a major World or WWE singles title for the third time in his World Wrestling Entertainment career.

Hardy avoided defeat against the heelish Punk after kicking out three consecutive times following Punk's Go To Sleep. He then had to throw Punk back into the ring after Punk attempted to walk away with the belt, subsequently hitting the Twist of Fate and the Swanton Bomb for the win.

While the match's quality was obviously top par the outcome was something of a surprise, considering Jeff Hardy's alleged plans to leave WWE in a few weeks. Barring another sudden title switch, Jeff Hardy should still stick around at least through the SummerSlam PPV.

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All major WWE titles on line in Raw 3-For-All

All three World Wrestling Entertainment brand titles will be on the line this week in an extended edition of WWE Raw. The 3-For-All will feature title matches for the WWE (Raw), World (Smackdown) and ECW titles.

The WWE title match may be the most noteworthy as current WWE champion Batista's title reign will be vacated due to his real-life biceps tendon injury. Randy Orton, Triple H, John Cena and Big Show will fight in a four-way match for the belt. Not to belabor the obvious but some new blood really should have been introduced into this title scenario.

Smackdown's World title will be at stake when babyface trending heel CM Punk defends against both Jeff Hardy and Edge in a triple threat match. In Charlotte, North Carolina, Hardy will have near universal support while CM Punk might as well be in the same category as Edge.

The ECW title will also be defended as new champion Tommy Dreamer takes on former champion Christian. With Dreamer having signed a new real-life contract, the way is cleared for his first title defense. My own belief is that Dreamer's title reign will be a short one since there's just no money in it but give the man credit for connecting with a whole new fan base.

For its extended edition, WWE Raw will begin one hour earlier at 8 p.m. EDT/PDT on USA Network.

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CM Punk cashes in vs. Jeff Hardy to win World title

Just minutes after Jeff Hardy defeated Edge in a grueling ladder match to win the World championship, CM Punk cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase in a stunning maneuver and went on to himself become World champion for the second time.

Jeff Hardy's second World title reign in WWE lasted only briefly before CM Punk made the official challenge. Punk hit Hardy with the Go To Sleep maneuver twice and scored the winning pinfall before a shocked crowd at Extreme Rules PPV. Punk had earlier defeated Umaga in a Samoan strap match but still played off as much fresher than Jeff Hardy.

While Punk did cash in against a weakened opponent last year in the hated heel Edge, cashing in against the megapopular Jeff Hardy just after Hardy won the title is an altogether different thing. CM Punk may now be destined to reign on top of the Smackdown roster as a heel especially if Jeff Hardy sticks around to feud with Punk over the strap.

CM Punk has not worked heel at any point in World Wrestling Entertainment though longtime Ring of Honor fans saw him excel in the role as a self-righteous arrogant straight-edger. WWE fans could well get that same opportunity.