While 2008 may have been a pretty solid year for WWE programming, the same was not entirely true in 2009.
SmackDown was quite good, highlighted by an emerging CM Punk, but Raw? Not so much. The show was more focused on promoting the weekly celebrity guest hosts than building towards matches and pay-per-views.
As a result, the WWE pay-per-views in 2009 suffered from a number of low buyrates. However, that did not stop them from including some exceptional matches. Let’s take a look.
These are the 11 best WWE pay-per-view matches of 2009.
11. Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler – SummerSlam
Rey Mysterio’s run as Intercontinental Champion in 2009 was tremendous fun, seeing him take on the likes of Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho.
The former challenged Mysterio for the title in the opening match of SummerSlam. Whereas their match at Night of Champions was a little bit slower, this match was explosive and an excellent way to kick off the biggest party of the Summer.
Ziggler was still a very fresh face at the time and the prospect of him winning his first singles title seemed entirely possible.
However, it was not to be as Mysterio pinned him after a top rope Frankensteiner. The surprise finish made the match all the more enjoyable and a real treat to go back to.
10. Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho – Extreme Rules
Oh hey, its Rey Mysterio again, we were just talking about you. Mysterio and Chris Jericho hadn’t wrestled as much as you would think before 2009.
Their interactions in WCW were limited and they had been kept on separate brands in WWE since Mysterio’s debut. In 2009, however, we finally got to see them mix it up and they did not disappoint.
They clashed in a No Holds Barred match at Extreme Rules and while this wasn’t a hardcore match by any means, they still took full advantage of the stipulation.
They brawled using chairs until Jericho unmasked Mysterio in the middle of a 619, allowing him to roll Mysterio up for the pin.
9. Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin – TLC
Christian and Shelton Benjamin are on the shortlist of the most underrated wrestlers in WWE history. Give either of them a chance to succeed and they will make the most of it and that it exactly what happened at TLC.
Battling over the ECW Championship, Christian and Benjamin promised to steal the show in a ladder match. Sure enough, they did just that.
This is one of the most underrated ladder matches WWE has put on. It has everything you want, fun spots, great storytelling, and an element of danger.
If you haven’t seen this match before, I cannot recommend it enough.
8. Jeff Hardy vs. Edge – Extreme Rules
From one ladder match to another. Jeff Hardy and Edge both made their names in ladder matches during the Attitude Era, but never had they had a one-on-one ladder match against each other before 2009.
They needed to settle their rivalry over the World Heavyweight Championship and what better way than in a ladder match?
Some of the spots in this match are particularly brutal such as both men crashing through a ladder bridge at ringside.
However, the match is best remembered for the creative finish as Hardy pulled Edge’s body through the rungs of the ladder. This allowed Hardy to capture the title for just the second world title win of his career.
A very fun time and another ladder match to add to your watch list.
7. Triple H vs. The Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Edge vs. Big Show vs. Vladimir Kozlov – No Way Out
No Way Out 2009 is an exceptional pay-per-view, highlighted by its two Elimination Chamber matches.
This one opened the show, making it also one of the best opening matches in WWE history. A bunch of top names and Vladimir Kozlov walked into the Chamber to try and become WWE Champion and things got interesting early as reigning champion Edge was eliminated three minutes in.
This guaranteed a new champion would be crowned and once they got rid of Big Show and Kozlov, this match once again picked up.
The crowd was happy to see any of Triple H, Undertaker, or Jeff Hardy win the title but it ended up being Triple H last beating The Undertaker after a thrilling stretch.
6. CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy – SummerSlam
Man, 2009 really was the year of great gimmick matches on pay-per-view eh? That trend continued with the main event of SummerSlam as Jeff Hardy and CM Punk battled in a TLC match.
The two had been feuding for the entire summer with Punk criticizing Hardy’s destructive lifestyle. This, of course, meant he was the heel in the feud because he was a dick about it.
The feud built to this TLC match and it sure feels like this took time off Hardy’s career. His brutal bumps were plentiful in this match, being superplexed on a ladder, slammed on an open chair, and Swanton Bombing his way off a ladder through an announce table. Ow.
Everything about this match was great which can be difficult in a singles TLC match. Often it can be hard to balance selling with keeping things moving but these two pulled it off in spades.
5. John Cena vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho vs. Edge vs. Kane vs. Mike Knox – No Way Out
Elimination Chamber 2: Elimination Boogaloo. The second of the two Elimination Chamber matches from No Way Out to appear on this list, this match continued the quality of the night’s first match and took it even further.
Edge attacked Kofi Kingston during the entrances and took his place in the pod. Shenanigans for sure, but being married to the General Manager gives you privileges I suppose.
Whereas the first match had Vladimir Kozlov, this one had Mike Knox, who bogged the match down until he was eliminated.
John Cena only lasted a minute in the match, being pinned after a Codebreaker, 619, and Spear. Edge, Rey Mysterio, and Chris Jericho as the final three made some magic in that Chamber.
Edge and Mysterio had a brilliant exchange to close things out as Edge walked out of No Way Out the way he walked in, as a champion.
4. John Cena vs. Edge – Backlash
Continuing the trend of great stipulation matches, we now turn our attention to one of the best Last Man Standing matches in WWE history.
Edge and John Cena had reignited their rivalry when Edge stole the world title at No Way Out, and they had to finish things at Backlash.
As Last Man Standing matches go, this is very exciting. They do actual good crowd brawling, fighting into the concourse before ending up on the stage. Cena appeared to be in control when Big Show appeared and chokeslammed Cena into a searchlight, causing an explosion and actual fire.
If you couldn’t guess, that was the finish. Not even Super Cena was getting up from that one.
3. John Cena vs. Randy Orton – Breaking Point
John Cena’s “Never Give Up” persona has become a parody of itself over the years because he had so many I Quit matches. The man is invulnerable to quitting. Why are you heels challenging him to I Quit matches.
You wouldn’t challenge Superman to a No Kryptonite Match, would you?
Anyway, before all that happened, we had this match. Cena and Orton were still in the early stages of their neverending rivalry, and at Breaking Point they their best match together.
Cena fighting through literal torture as Orton handcuffed and caned him was difficult to watch at times but it served to solidify his position as the virtuous, never-giving-up icon we see him as today.
2. Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho – The Bash
No joke y’all, I think this is the most underrated match in WWE history. Mysterio and Jericho wrestled on a few pay-per-views in a row but they absolutely nailed it with their match at The Bash.
You got to see moves you had never seen before, classic spots, and creative character work as Jericho once again tried to unmask Mysterio only for Rey to be wearing a second mask.
This match is so good. It is SO good. Stop what you’re doing and go watch it. You already know what number one is anyway…
1. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker – WrestleMania XXV
I mean, yeah. It’s Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker. The match many consider to be the best of all time, definitely the best of 2009.
What is there to say about this match that hasn’t been said already. The Undertaker finally got the all-time classic WrestleMania match he had been looking for and Shawn Michaels once again proved why he is Mr. WrestleMania.
The match is brilliant and the classic kickout pictured above could have been the finish and it still would have been one of the best matches ever. But no, they kept going.
The Undertaker’s dive to the outside is the one moment in this match that takes drama away in some people’s minds as it was unclear live if The Undertaker was okay. Thankfully he was but talk about a scary moment.
He recovered and delivered an all-time great finish, catching Michaels mid-moonsault and hitting the Tombstone to put him down. In 2009 and most other years, you won’t find a better match.
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