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 Breaking Point PPV results (9/13/09)

WWE Breaking Point PPV results - 9/13/09
(aired live September 13, 2009 from Montreal, Quebec.)

#1	Unified tag champs Chris Jericho & Big Show	pin	MVP & Mark Henry	Jericho pin Henry
#2	U.S. champion Kofi Kingston	pin	The Miz	-
#3	Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes	sub	Triple H & Shawn Michaels	Legacy sub Michaels, subs count anywhere
#4	Kane	pin	The Great Khali	singapore cane
#5	ECW champion Christian	pin	William Regal	Kozlov/Jackson banned
#6	John Cena	sub	WWE champion Randy Orton	I quit, Cena new WWE champ
#7	World champion CM Punk	sub	Undertaker	submission, montreal screwjob sub

WWE Breaking Point PPV lineup (9/13/09)

WWE Breaking Point PPV lineup - subject to change
(September 13, 2009 from Montreal, Quebec.)

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- WWE champion Randy Orton vs. John Cena (I quit)
- World champion CM Punk vs. Undertaker (submission)
- ECW champion Christian vs. William Regal
- U.S. champion Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz
- Unified tag champs Chris Jericho & Big Show vs. MVP & Mark Henry
- Kane vs. The Great Khali (singapore cane)
- Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes (submissions count anywhere)

WWE Royal Rumble PPV moved to avoid NFL conflict

WWE's 2010 Royal Rumble pay-per-view has been officially moved to January 31, sidestepping a conflict with the National Football League. For reasons still unclear, World Wrestling Entertainment had originally set its PPV event for January 24 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

As pointed out earlier this week by Richard Trionfo at PWInsider.com, the 1/24 placement put the Royal Rumble in direct conflict with one of the NFL conference championship games. With those games being among the most popular television events for young adult males in existence, the conflict would have significantly reduced the Royal Rumble buyrate.

The decision to reschedule the Royal Rumble to January 31, the off Sunday between the conference title games and the Super Bowl, was thus a no-brainer for World Wrestling Entertainment. It just amazes this blogger that WWE allowed the conflict to exist in the first place.

John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler removed from WWE Breaking Point

The match betwee new WWE Intercontinental champion John Morrison against Dolph Ziggler has apparently been removed from the WWE Breaking Point pay-per-view card. WWE.com no longer lists the match in its preview for this Sunday's event.

Assuming this isn't just a WWE.com glitch, it isn't immediately clear why the Intercontinental title match would be removed from the card. The match had only been added when Morrison's IC title win over the suspended Rey Mysterio was broadcast on last Friday's Smackdown. WWE may believe that Morrison is not yet worthy of a major PPV push or that Morrison vs. Ziggler simply hasn't received sufficient promotional time.

The absence of Morrison/Ziggler is especially jarring considering the inclusion of the much less important or credible Kane vs. The Great Khali from the same Smackdown brand in a Singapore Cane match. For whatever reason that Morrison/Ziggler has been removed, the wrestling quality of Breaking Point will take a significant hit in its absence.

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.

WWE SummerSlam PPV results (8/23/09)

WWE SummerSlam PPV results - 8/23/09
(aired live August 23, 2009 from Los Angeles, California.)

#0	Beth Phoenix	win	Divas champ Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Melina, Eve, Rosa Mendes, Alicia Fox, Katie Lea, Natalya, Maria, Gail Kim, Layla, Jillian, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella	non-title, battle royal, DVD only CGuerrero special ref, divas/HSwoggle laid out Guerrero postmatch
#1	IC champion Rey Mysterio	pin	Dolph Ziggler	-
#2	MVP	pin	Jack Swagger	-
#3	Unified tag champs Chris Jericho & Big Show	pin	Cryme Tyme	Jericho pin JTG
#4	Kane	pin	The Great Khali	-
#5	D-Generation X (Triple H & Shawn Michaels)	pin	Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes	Michaels pin Rhodes
#6	ECW champion Christian	pin	William Regal	Regal/Kozlov/Jackson laid out Christian postmatch
#7	WWE champion Randy Orton	pin	John Cena	Cena dq, co wins nullified with match restarts
#8	CM Punk	win	World champion Jeff Hardy	tables/ladders/chairs, Punk new World champ, UT laid out Punk postmatch

WWE SummerSlam PPV lineup (8/23/09)

WWE Summerslam PPV lineup - subject to change
(August 23, 2009 from Los Angeles, California.)

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- World champion Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk (tables, ladders, chairs)
- WWE champion Randy Orton vs. John Cena
- ECW champion Christian vs. William Regal
- Unified tag champs Chris Jericho & Big Show vs. Cryme Tyme
- Intercontinental champion Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler
- Jack Swagger vs. MVP
- Kane vs. The Great Khali
- Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes

UPDATE: WWE SummerSlam results are now linked here.

TNA endorses alleged stalker / HGH user Kurt Angle

Excerpted from the WrestlingBloob Twitter feed last Saturday:

Dear TNA: You either respect the dignity of your female performers and fans.... or you don't. If you do, suspend Kurt Angle now.

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TNA Wrestling left no doubt Sunday night about just how much respect it holds for the dignity of its female performers and fans.... none at all. One day after Kurt Angle was arrested on multiple charges relating to stalking and illegal HGH possession, TNA Wrestling effectively endorsed him as the flagship and representative of its promotion.

No, TNA couldn't be bothered to actually comment on the arrest of Kurt Angle. However, by booking him to not only wrestle for but retain its World title at the Hard Justice PPV, TNA affirmed its continued allegiance to this accused stalker and HGH user.

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Angle's victory has left TNA President Dixie Carter's credibility in tatters. Carter had earlier testified before a congressional committee that TNA would have a tough policy for drug and personal conduct violations. Either Dixie Carter changed her mind in the interim or she lied and committed outright perjury before the United States Congress.

TNA Wrestling has lost the right to claim itself as any kind of alternative to World Wrestling Entertainment except as the worst kind of alternative.... a company without credibility, without character, without common sense, without respect for women and without any legitimate reason to deserve the loyalty and financial support of professional wrestling fans.

ODB wins TNA Women's title in intergender tag farce

ODB and her partner/storyline boyfriend Cody Deaner defeated Angelina Love & Velvet Sky in a TNA Hard Justice PPV intergender tag for ODB to become the new TNA Women's champion.

If my wording seems vague, it's because the scenario was too. The originally announced singles match for the Knockouts title was changed to a bizarre intergender tag, which Deaner won for his team by pinning Sky. After ODB was announced as the champion, Deaner to physical possession of the title belt and ran off.

The match itself made a joke out of sexual harassment, a bizarre line of booking considering the Kurt Angle situation. Even apart from that though, having the title decided in such a manner made a joke out of a once credible women's division.

Blame can be laid on one Vince Russo whose 'unfiltered' booking shined throughout the PPV, leading to disputed finishes in most of the major title matches. As close as I can figure out though, Samoa Joe won the X title over Homicide and Kevin Nash beat Mick Foley to regain the Legends title.

TNA Hard Justice PPV results (8/16/09)

TNA Hard Justice PPV results - 8/16/09
(aired live August 16, 2009 from Orlando, Florida.)
All matches under hardcore rules.

#1	Daniels	win	Suicide, D'Angelo Dinero, Consequences Creed, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Jay Lethal, Amazing Red	steel asylum, #1 X contenders match, Dinero TNA debut
#2	Abyss	pin	Jethro Holliday	Holliday laid out Stevie postmatch
#3	Hernandez	pin	Rob Terry	for briefcase
#4	IWGP tag champs Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams	pin	Beer Money, Inc.	Magnus pin Roode
#5	ODB & Cody Deaner	pin	Women's champion Angelina Love & Velvet Sky	ig tag, Deaner pin Sky, ODB new Women's champ
#6	Samoa Joe	sub	X champion Homicide	Joe new X champ
#7	TNA tag champs Booker T & Scott Steiner	pin	Team 3D	Steiner pin Ray, no dq, two refs, falls count anywhere,
#8	Kevin Nash	pin	Legends champion Mick Foley	Nash new Legends champ, Nash attack Foley postmatch, Abyss save
#9	TNA champion Kurt Angle	pin	Sting, Matt Morgan	3-way, Angle pin Morgan

TNA Hard Justice PPV lineup (8/16/09)

TNA Hard Justice PPV lineup - subject to change
(August 16, 2009 from Orlando, Florida.)
all matches under hardcore rules

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- TNA champion Kurt Angle vs. Sting vs. Matt Morgan (3-way)
- Women's champion Angelina Love & Velvet Sky vs. ODB & Cody Deaner
- TNA tag champions Booker T & Scott Steiner vs. Team 3D
- IWGP tag champions Brutus Magnus & Doug Williams vs. Beer Money, Inc.
- X champion Homicide vs. Samoa Joe
- Legends champion Mick Foley vs. Kevin Nash
- Hernandez vs. Big Rob (for briefcase)
- Daniels vs. Suicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley vs. Amazing Red vs. Jay Lethal vs. Consequences Creed (#1 X contender, steel asylum)
- Abyss vs. Jethro Holliday (bounty)

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UPDATE: TNA Hard Justice PPV results are linked here.

New Japan recognizes British Invasion as IWGP tag team champs

New Japan Pro Wrestling has reversed course reports Strong Style Spirit, now recognizing the British Invasion's Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams as IWGP tag team champions. The announcement comes just under a week after New Japan invalidated the title win over Team 3D in a TNA Impact table match.

The Sun (UK) newspaper reported word that the original New Japan press release announcing the nullification of the title change was a mistake made by an overzealous staffer. Both New Japan and TNA now recognize British Invasion as IWGP tag champions.

In any event, Magnus and Williams will defend the IWGP belts at the TNA Hard Justice PPV this Sunday against former TNA tag champions Beer Money, Inc. Former IWGP tag champions Team 3D will in turn challenge Booker T & Scott Steiner for the TNA tag titles at the same event.

Christian beats Tommy Dreamer to become ECW champion

The birthplace of ECW birthed a new title reign for Christian as he beat Tommy Dreamer with the killswitch finisher to become the new ECW champion at the WWE Night of Champions PPV. The match featured nine minutes of back and forth action between the babyfaces to only a moderate crowd response.

Despite the Philadelphia setting, WWE fans supported the non-ECW original Christian over ECW original Dreamer in the contest. With the original ECW fanbase long since drifted away and Tommy Dreamer's comeback storyline played out, it made little sense to keep the belt on Dreamer.

While Dreamer should maintain a role of some kind on the ECW brand, expect Christian to continue as its flagship wrestler for the foreseeable future. With Jack Swagger and his compatriots gone, there just isn't anyone else left who is worthy yet of the title belt.

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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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WWE.com's letter after Night of Champions webcast failure

WWE.com's letter to me, sent at 9:08 pm EDT the night of the Night of Champions pay-per-view webcast outage, is reprinted below.

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Greetings,

Thank you for contacting WWE PPV Webcast Support!

It is working fine now, please do the following:

In the menu area at the top (may also be at the upper right) of the Internet Explorer
(IE) window, click Tools and select Internet Options.

- Under Browsing history, click Delete
- Next, click Delete files, Delete cookies, and Delete history
- Close and click OK to close that pop-up

Close all Internet Explorer windows associated with our website (this is very important) and open Internet Explorer once again to login to our site using your email address and password.

If you need further assistance, we suggest using our Live Chat Support system for a
real-time interactive resolution of your issue. Our Live Chat button is located by
clicking "Help" then "Contact Us" at: http://www.wwe.com/subscriptions
/
Please Note: Our support staff is based in the USA, and that Live Chat Support is
available weekdays from 8AM to 6PM (PT), and during live webcasts.

If you reply to this email, please include the entire email history so that we can easily view our past discussions of your support issue. Please note that email support is available during our normal weekday business hours.

Regards,
WWE PPV Webcast Support
ppvsupport@wwe.com
NS

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Do you see any offer of partial compensation for the lost half hour through WWE.com's own fault? Me neither. Do you see any chance that I'll order another WWE.com PPV webcast this summer? Me neither.______________________

WWE.com Night of Champions webcast fails for opening match

WWE.com's "WWE Night of Champions" pay-per-view webcast malfunctioned for many paying subscribers, including myself, failing to show the opening tag match between Chris Jericho and his mystery partner against Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes. During that time, the WWE.com webcast links only offered a "404 File Not Found" error message.

This blogger instead ended up finding out Jericho's tag partner on other people's Twitter feeds while screaming at my computer for a half hour straight. The WWE.com webstream finally became accessible in time for me to miss most of CM Punk's promo as well. (FWIW, screaming at the computer wasn't so healthy for me as I ended up feeling woozy during the final two matches of the show. Thanks for that too, WWE.com.)

Approximately an hour into the pay-per-view, I received a letter from WWE.com web support that told me the feed was fine now and to delete my cookies and web history. There was no offer of a partial refund of my $39.95 or other compensation for the absolutely needless aggravation.

Before "The Amazing Race" takes up my Sundays again this fall, there was the possibility of my ordering up to two more WWE pay-per-views. At this point, my heart just isn't in it. Until any compensation is offered to those of us who were royally screwed, your heart shouldn't be in it either.

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WWE Night of Champions PPV results (7/26/09)

WWE Night of Champions PPV results
(aired live July 26, 2009 from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.)

#1	Unified tag champs Chris Jericho & Big Show	sub	Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes	BShow sub DiBiase, BShow new co-champ
#2	Christian	pin	ECW champion Tommy Dreamer	Christian new ECW champ
#3	U.S. champion Kofi Kingston	pin	Jack Swagger, Carlito, Primo, MVP, The Miz	6-way, Kingston pin Carlito
#4	Women's champion Michelle McCool	pin	Melina	-
#5	WWE champion Randy Orton	pin	Triple H, John Cena	3-way, Orton pin Cena, Legacy attack HHH/Cena in-match
#6	Mickie James	pin	Divas champion Maryse	MJames new Divas champ
#7	IC champion Rey Mysterio	pin	Dolph Ziggler	-
#8	Jeff Hardy	pin	World champion CM Punk	JHardy new World champ

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WWE Night of Champions PPV lineup (7/26/09)

WWE Night of Champions lineup - subject to change
(July 26, 2009 from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.)

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- World champion CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
- WWE champion Randy Orton vs. Triple H vs. John Cena (3-way)
- ECW champion Tommy Dreamer vs. Christian
- Divas champion Maryse vs. Mickie James
- Women's champion Michelle McCool vs. Melina
- Unified tag team champions Chris Jericho & ??? vs. Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes
- Intercontinental champion Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler
- U.S. champion Kofi Kingston vs. Big Show vs. MVP vs. The Miz vs. Carlito vs. Jack Swagger (6-way)

The collected tweets of Sharmell vs. Jenna Morasca

No, I didn't tweet about (or even watch) the TNA Victory Road PPV but the Twitter traffic generated from others about the Sharmell vs. Jenna Morasca match was just too much to resist. Here are some excerpts.

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divadirt: Kong hits a knockout blow on Sharmell allowing Jenna to very provactively [read: skankily] pin Sharmell

divadirt: Seriously that was a new level of embarassing. What a waste of Kong's talents!

pwinsidercom: Mike: WOW. That was awful.

MissJulieSpeaks: TNA, are you freaking kidding me? Jenna vs Sharmell was bad enough, and then to have the skinny pale witch pin her was just 2 much...

PWTorch: (5) Jenna beat Sharmell. Worst Match Ever. They actually tried to book a legit wrestling match. Unbelievable.

Kizster_220290: Cant believe I watched such a eyesore. Jenna v Sharmell hurted my eyes. Although Jenna's entrance did not xD.

theRealFK9: Sharmell vs. Jenna Morasca... Ooooohh, the scathing editorial I'm going to write. In fact... why wait? I'll do it right now!

theRealFK9: Sharmell & Morasca had pretty much exactly the match that you would expect 2 women like them to have, and now I want to stab my eyes out.

mariosthemaster: had to cancel watching Harry Potter, and stayed home to watch TNA...That Sharmell Jenna match killed the entire show.

Patronia: sharmell v jenna was painful :s

lawradio: Jenna Vs. Sharmell... I think we may have just scene the WORST match of The Year! --- jenna looked more like a stripper than a worker.

angrymarks: Jenna Morasca picks up the win over Sharmell Huffman in what can only be called an abortion of a pro wrestling match. Embarassing to watch.

Greg_Uebele: Sharmell vs. Jenna Morasca is the worst match ever! I paid $30 for this? #TNA

hypers-starr: the worst thing.... Sharmell vs @JennaMorasca ... real deal Sharmell would have kicked her ass. Jenna just looked like a crack-whore slut______________________