| WWE Breaking Point | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Promotional poster featuringTriple H | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown ECW | ||
| Date | September 13, 2009 | ||
| City | Montreal,Quebec,Canada | ||
| Venue | Bell Centre | ||
| Attendance | 12,000[1] | ||
| Buy rate | 169,000[2] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| WWE in Canada chronology | |||
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WWE Breaking Point was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion'sRaw,SmackDown, andECWbrand divisions. The event took place on September 13, 2009, at theBell Centre inMontreal,Quebec,Canada. Breaking Point replaced WWE's previously annual September event,Unforgiven; however, It was a one-off event, as the September slot was in turn replaced byNight of Champions in2010, which was moved back from its previous July slot. The Breaking Point name was later used for thesubmission system included in theWWE '12 video game and some of its sequels.
In themain events,CM Punk retained theWorld Heavyweight Championship againstThe Undertaker in asubmission match,John Cena won theWWE Championship fromRandy Orton in an"I Quit" match andThe Legacy'sCody Rhodes andTed DiBiase Jr. defeatedD-Generation X'sTriple H andShawn Michaels in aSubmissions Count Anywhere match. Also on the card,Unified WWE Tag Team ChampionsChris Jericho andThe Big Show defeatedMontel Vontavious Porter andMark Henry,Kofi Kingston successfully defended theWWE United States Championship againstThe Miz,Kane defeatedThe Great Khali in aSingapore Cane match, andChristian successfully defended theECW Championship againstWilliam Regal. The event had 169,000 buys, down from theUnforgiven 2008 figure of 211,000 buys.
In May 2009,World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) ran a poll on their website in which fans could vote on the name for that year's Septemberpay-per-view (PPV), which would replace the company's previously annual September event,Unforgiven. Breaking Point was chosen over Submission Sunday, Total Submission, and Submit & Quit, and theconcept was that eachmain event match would be contested under submission rules. The event was scheduled to be held on September 13, 2009, at theBell Centre inMontreal,Quebec,Canada and featured wrestlers from theRaw,SmackDown, andECWbrands. Tickets went on sale on July 11.[3][4]
Theprofessional wrestling matches at Breaking Point included professional wrestlers performing as characters inscripted events pre-determined by the hostingpromotion, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[5][6] Storylines between the characters were produced on WWE's weekly television showsRaw,SmackDown, andECW with the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands—storyline divisions in which WWE assigned its employees to different programs.[7]
AtSummerSlam,Randy Orton defended theWWE Championship againstJohn Cena. Orton intentionally got himselfdisqualified and wascounted out of the ring. This would have allowed Orton to retain the title, but the match was repeatedly restarted and eventually Ortonpinned Cena with illegal leverage.[8] As a result of Orton's actions in the match, WWE Chairman,Vince McMahon awarded Cena a rematch. In the spirit of the submission concept of the show, the title was defended in an"I Quit" match, a match that can only be won by causing the opponent to say "I Quit". Mr. McMahon added another stipulation if anyone interferes in the match on Orton's Behalf (in respond to Brett Dibiase's actions) Orton will be immediately stripped the title.[9]
At SummerSlam,CM Punk defeatedJeff Hardy in aTables, Ladders, and Chairs match to win theWorld Heavyweight Championship. After the match,The Undertaker returned after a four-month hiatus and attacked Punk with a chokeslam.[8] On the followingSmackDown, Punk was scheduled to defend the title against Undertaker at Breaking Point in asubmission match.[10]
The guest host andstorylinematchmaker of the August 24 episode ofRaw waswelterweightboxing champion,Floyd Mayweather Jr., who had a match withThe Big Show atWrestleMania XXIV the previous year. Due to the lingering animosity, Mayweather awardedMontel Vontavious Porter (MVP) andMark Henry a match against The Big Show and histag team partner,Chris Jericho, for theUnified WWE Tag Team Championship at Breaking Point, provided they defeat them in an exhibition match that night; MVP and Henry gained their chance after Mayweather gave MVP brass knuckles while the referee was distracted, to knock out and pin Jericho for the win.[9]
During a night-long challenge on the July 27 episode ofRaw, to determine who would challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam,Triple H had to defeat his opponent,Cody Rhodes, in the allotted time of 6:49 set by prior competitor, Mark Henry, but was not successful in doing so; this was followed by Rhodes assaulting his incapacitated opponent with the assistance of his affiliate inThe Legacy,Ted DiBiase Jr.[11] This led to Triple H enlisting help in the returningShawn Michaels to reform thefaction,D-Generation X (DX), to face his adversaries at SummerSlam in a winning effort.[8] After continued assaults, aSubmissions Count Anywhere match between the two teams was scheduled for Breaking Point.[12]
SinceThe Bash,Kane andThe Great Khali had been in constant conflict, taking turns interfering in each other's matches, blindsiding each other, or, in Kane's case, avoiding Khali.[13][10] To get Khali's attention and the upper hand, Kane kidnapped his adversary's translator and storyline brother, Ranjin Singh, before their match at SummerSlam, which was won by Kane.[8] Khali continued after Kane following the show, leading to the announcement of a match between the two with legal use of aSingapore cane.[14]
| Other on-screen personnel | |
|---|---|
| Role: | Name: |
| Commentators | Michael Cole(Raw) |
| Jerry Lawler(Raw) | |
| Jim Ross(SmackDown) | |
| Todd Grisham(SmackDown) | |
| Josh Mathews(ECW) | |
| Matt Striker(ECW) | |
| Interviewer | Josh Mathews |
| Ring announcers | Lilian Garcia(Raw) |
| Justin Roberts(SmackDown) | |
| Tony Chimel(ECW) | |
| Referees | Charles Robinson |
| John Cone | |
| Scott Armstrong | |
| Chad Patton | |
Before WWE Breaking Point aired on television, an untelevised match took place betweenEvan Bourne andChavo Guerrero. Bourne won the match by pinfall after ashooting star press.
The show aired with the tag team match for theUnified WWE Tag Team Championship, asJeri-Show (Chris Jericho andBig Show) facedMontel Vontavious Porter (MVP) andMark Henry. Henry countered Jericho'sCodebreaker and whilst the referee was tending to him, Big Show delivered aknockout punch to Henry, allowing Jericho to get the pinfall.
The following match was theWWE United States Championship match. Defending championKofi Kingston countered aneckbreaker byThe Miz and delivered his finisherTrouble in Paradise to secure the win.
The first ever Submissions Count Anywhere match pittedD-Generation X (Triple H andShawn Michaels) againstThe Legacy (Cody Rhodes andTed DiBiase). The match was quickly taken out of the ring as Michaels threw DiBiase over the barricade. Michaels attempted to make Rhodes submit by using asleeper hold on the rail of the steps in the crowd. Meanwhile, Triple H and Rhodes fought in the lobby of the arena and eventually all four men returned to ringside. Triple H placed Rhodes' legs through the back of a steel chair and performed aBoston crab while Michaels simultaneously performed acamel clutch on him. Rhodes later threw Michaels out of the stands in the crowd, leaving he and DiBiase to double team on Triple H. They ended up in the backstage area where Triple H delivered aspinebuster to DiBiase through a catering table. Acrossface on Rhodes was broken after DiBiase hit Triple H with an icebox. Rhodes and DiBiase headed back to the ring with Michaels in tow and dominated him for a while. Michaels started to fight back when he hit Rhodes with theSweet Chin Music and applied afigure-four leglock, but this hold was broken by DiBiase. After, Rhodes performed thefigure-four leglock around the ring post on Michaels whilst DiBiase performed theMillion Dollar Dream, which resulted in Michaels submitting.
There was aSingapore Cane Match betweenKane andThe Great Khali who was accompanied to the ring byRanjin Singh. Kane used the cane to apply a submission hold to Khali's arm only for him to break it. Khali used his signatureVice Grip, but Kane broke out of the hold by hitting Khali with a cane. Singh interfered in the match allowing Khali to get the advantage, but Kane managed to get the upper hand and delivered achokeslam to Khali to get the victory.
TheECW Championship match saw defending championChristian faceWilliam Regal who was accompanied byEzekiel Jackson andVladimir Kozlov. However, before the match began, ECW General ManagerTiffany announced that Jackson and Kozlov were banned from ringside. In a physical match, Christian dodged aleft knee from Regal and executed theKillswitch to get the victory.
Pat Patterson made an appearance and was interrupted byDolph Ziggler. Ziggler then attacked Patterson, butJohn Morrison made the save.
The"I Quit" match for theWWE Championship was next which saw defending championRandy Orton faceJohn Cena, in which if anyone interfered on Orton's behalf, Orton would be stripped of the title immediately. After wrestling in the ring, Orton threw Cena towards the commentary desk and hit him with a camera monitor. Orton dragged Cena back to the ring, hoping to deliver anRKO to him onto a steel chair, but Cena countered. The action went to ringside as Orton threw Cena into the steel steps. After Orton had punished Cena with the steel steps, the referee asked if he wanted to quit to which he refused. Orton then handcuffed one of Cena's arms to the middle rope and continued to assault him by hitting him with the referee's microphone. After refusing to quit once again, Cena was placed on the steel steps in a sitting position with his arms in handcuffs hanging over the top of the ring post. Orton then poured a bottle of water over Cena and when asked if he wanted to quit, Cena spat the water in Orton's face. Orton repeatedly hit Cena with a Singapore cane and choked him with it until Cena delivered alow blow to Orton. Cena escaped from the ring post only to be hit with a steel chair by Orton and handcuffed with one arm to the bottom rope outside the ring. Cena managed to give a one-armedAttitude Adjustment to Orton, took the key from around Orton's neck and handcuffed himself to Orton. Whilst still handcuffed together, Cena dragged Orton inside the ring and Orton hit anRKO on Cena. Orton reached for the key to the handcuffs at the other side of the ring but was unsuccessful as Cena held him back. Cena then applied theSTF, tugging at the handcuffs to hurt Orton's wrist. As a result, Orton said the words 'I quit', to which Cena was victorious.
The main event was a submission match for theWorld Heavyweight Championship between defending championCM Punk andThe Undertaker. Immediately after the bell rang, Punk retreated outside the ring and once back in the ring, he cornered The Undertaker with multipleelbows to the back of his head. The Undertaker tossed Punk out of the ring, Punk ran back to the ring and The Undertaker hit him with aclothesline. The two ended up at ringside, The Undertaker threw Punk into the barricade and missed abig boot. Punk began to attack The Undertaker with a steel chair. The two returned to the ring and Punk countered The Undertaker's signatureOld School and delivered asuperplex from the top rope. The Undertaker later went for achokeslam, but was met with aroundhouse kick from Punk. The Undertaker eventually appliedHell's Gate and Punk tapped out. However,Theodore Long interrupted the celebration by informing everyone that The Undertaker's submissionHell's Gate was banned byVickie Guerrero. Long ordered the match to be continued, when the bell rang Punk immediately applied theanaconda vise and the bell rang to signal the match was over although The Undertaker did not submit. Regardless of this Punk retained the title thus mimicking theMontreal Screwjob.
Breaking Point would be a one-off event for WWE, as the event's September slot was replaced withNight of Champions in2010, which was previously held in July.[15] Montreal would later receive another pay-per-view event whenElimination Chamber was held on February 18, 2023.[16]
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