Night of Champions 2009: Jeff Hardy Gets His Night While CM Punk Finds His Edge

Chris Jericho walks into the opener without Edge and turns an injury problem into a character reveal. Big Show is the replacement partner, and the contrast works immediately: Jericho supplies speed and opportunism while Show gives the champions a size advantage The Legacy cannot solve cleanly. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase isolate Jericho long enough to create doubt, but the match never forgets that the mystery partner is the hook. The finish is simple and effective, with Jericho's Codebreaker leading into Big Show's submission on DiBiase. At under ten minutes, the bout does not overstay its welcome. More importantly, the pairing has obvious legs, making the title defense feel like the beginning of something rather than emergency bookkeeping after Edge's injury.

Christian and Tommy Dreamer work a compact ECW Championship match that is fundamentally sound without finding a second gear. Their familiarity produces clean counters and a brisk pace, and Christian's dive to the floor gives the bout one needed burst of danger. Dreamer remains sympathetic because he is competitive rather than overwhelmed, but the crowd never treats the matchup like a major turning point. Christian's Killswitch is a decisive, sensible finish and restores the title to the stronger long-term centerpiece of the brand. The limitation is scale: eight and a half minutes leaves little room for escalation, and contemporary retrospectives have often remembered the contest as merely average. It is professional, logical wrestling, yet on a show built around every championship, this title change feels smaller than the billing suggests.

The United States Championship Six-Pack Challenge understands that six wrestlers and less than nine minutes demand motion instead of elaborate structure. Kofi Kingston, MVP, The Miz, Carlito, Primo, and Jack Swagger rotate through quick attacks and interruption spots, keeping the champion under constant threat without pretending every pairing needs a separate story. The compact format creates energy, though it also makes several challengers feel like temporary traffic rather than genuine near-winners. The closing sequence is sharp: Carlito lands the Backstabber on Primo, only for Kingston to strike immediately with Trouble in Paradise and steal the pin. That finish fits a multi-man defense because the champion survives through timing as much as dominance. The match is easy to watch and never dull, but its speed prevents any single rivalry from becoming memorable.

Michelle McCool and Melina wrestle with more aggression than their placement might suggest. McCool's opening attack during Melina's entrance gives the match urgency, and the work around the barricade makes the championship defense feel personal instead of ornamental. Melina answers with flexibility and quick strikes, while McCool repeatedly redirects the bout toward physical control. The six-minute runtime is restrictive, yet they use it efficiently and avoid the stop-start rhythm that hurt many short women's matches from the period. The pinning finish is not a dramatic climax, but the performance around it is competitive enough to leave a positive impression. Contemporary reaction was notably kinder to this match than to several other undercard bouts, and that holds up: it is concise, physical, and better than its modest place on the card implies.

Randy Orton, Triple H, and John Cena have enough star power and time to build a substantial WWE Championship match, and much of it works. Orton's early avoidance fits his character, while Cena and Triple H's temporary cooperation creates the obvious threat that forces the champion to pick his spots. The double-submission sequence is the match's most interesting idea, with Orton tapping while caught in two holds at once. Unfortunately, the referee confusion around that moment muddies the logic instead of deepening the drama. The Legacy interference then moves the finish back toward familiar Orton protection, allowing him to pin Cena after an RKO. The wrestling is strong enough for a good grade, but the ending is precisely where a triple threat of this stature needed clarity. It gets complication instead.

Mickie James and Maryse inherit the difficult task of following the longest match on the card, and the bout never fully establishes its own rhythm. Maryse's character work is clear, especially when she retreats and reaches for the hairspray, while Mickie keeps the action moving whenever the champion tries to stall. The problem is that the match's central ideas feel broader than its execution. The referee taking away the spray creates the opening for the finish, but the sequence is more functional than dramatic. Mickie's DDT and title win give the crowd a clean payoff, yet the wrestling before it rarely creates convincing danger. Eight minutes is enough time for more escalation than they find. The championship change matters, but as a match this is the night's easiest section to leave behind.

Rey Mysterio and Dolph Ziggler deliver the card's best pure undercard wrestling. Ziggler's approach is direct and physical, using power to interrupt Mysterio's movement rather than simply waiting for aerial counters. Mysterio sells the pressure well, then accelerates in short bursts that make every comeback feel earned. The second-rope gutbuster is a particularly useful near fall because it gives Ziggler a credible moment without making the champion look careless. By the closing stretch, the challenger feels closer to Mysterio's level than he did at the opening bell. The 619 and springboard body press finish is straightforward, but the match has already done its work by then. It strengthens Ziggler in defeat and gives Mysterio another sturdy title defense, exactly the kind of performance a championship-centered event needs in its penultimate slot.

Jeff Hardy and CM Punk finally give Night of Champions the emotional match the rest of the card keeps approaching. Punk controls early with kicks and submissions, while Hardy's comebacks feel increasingly desperate rather than automatic. Their outside dives and counters are not just spectacle; they reinforce Punk's growing frustration and Hardy's refusal to disappear. The best stretch begins after Punk lands the GTS and Hardy survives, forcing the champion to consider leaving with the title by countout. Hardy drags him back, escapes another GTS, hits the Twist of Fate, and lands the Swanton Bomb for the championship. The crowd response turns the finish into a genuine coronation. Punk's character continues moving toward open hostility, while Hardy receives the clean world-title triumph the rivalry had been building toward. It is the night's clearest combination of wrestling, story, and payoff.