Title Turmoil, The Age of Uncertainty
By mid-2008, the era of lengthy feuds and long title matches was becoming a thing of the past. The brand split had, in theory, ended. Superstars from both Raw and Smackdown participated in every PPV by this point, and had for several years, but there was still a distinct seperation between the two brands. Because of this uncertainty, the World Heavyweight Championship was tossed between the two shows frequently, starting off with a CM Punk Money in the Bank cash-in over Edge. The title was then made exclusive to Raw once again, however WWE quickly brushed over Punk’s cash-in by having Randy Orton and his Legacy faction attack the Straight Edge Superstar before a title defense at Unforgiven. Chris Jericho replaced him in a Championship Scramble, winning the belt. This started a new trend for the World Heavyweight title, being passed around from person to person in quick succession, no reign lasting longer than a few months at a time.
Jericho feuded briefly with Batista, who made his return to Raw, and the two traded the title back and forth, until John Cena made his return from injury to capture the gold at Survivor Series. Cena and Jericho continues to feud through the end of the year. The title went back to Smackdown for an extremely short window of time, as Edge inserted himself into the Raw-brand Elimination Chamber match in February of 2009. As Edge was a Smackdown Superstar, winning the title for a fourth time brought the World Heavyweight Championship back with him. However, in the rematch at WrestleMania 25, John Cena defeated both Edge and the Big Show to become World Champion. Raw’s time with the “big gold belt” wouldn’t last long, however, as the rekindled rivalry between Edge and Cena saw the “Rated-R Superstar” win a Last Mand Standing match at Backlash, shipping the belt back to Smackdown, where it would stay until the brand split completely ended.
Charismatic Engima, Straight Edge Savior
Edge would begin a feud with an old rival, Jeff Hardy, as both men had grown from tag team pioneers to bonafide main event stars. Jeff was screwed out of the World Heavyweight Championship by inches, after interference from his brother Matt Hardy. At Extreme Rules, in a phenomenal main event, Hardy defeated Edge in a Ladder Match to become the new champion. However, just minutes into celebrating his victory, CM Punk ran down to the ring and, for the second time, cashed in Money in the Bank to become World Heavyweight Champion. This kicked off an intense and personal rivalry between the two that lasted through the summer, that would see Jeff’s departure from WWE. Punk retained in a triple threat match on Raw against Edge and Jeff Hardy, and again via disqualification at The Bash, after assaulting a referee. Hardy managed to win the title back in July 2009, but dropped it to Punk at SummerSlam in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. Their feud ended with a Steel Cage contest on Smackdown, which Punk retained, forcing the “Charismatic Enigma” to leave the WWE for good.
Because of Jeff Hardy’s drawing power during this time period, and because of the solid feuds that surrounded him, Edge, and CM Punk throughout 2009, the World Heavyweight Championship was in the main event of several PPV events between WrestleMania and the end of the year. Another major factor that played a role in the title’s main event presence was the return of The Undertaker. After Punk defeated Hardy in their TLC contest at SummerSlam, the lights in the Staples Center went out, an iconic gong sounded across the arena, and when the house lights returned, Jeff Hardy’s lifeless body had been replaced by that of the Deadman. Punk went on to defeat the Undertaker in a “screwjob” recreation in Montreal later that year, as the referee called for the bell when Punk applied his signature Anaconda Vice. The Phenom won his third and final World Heavyweight Championship inside Hell in a Cell later that year, and held the title for 140 days; the longest reign since Batista vacated the belt in 2006.
Don’t Miss These Matches:
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (No Mercy 2008)
John Cena vs. Kane vs. Chris Jericho vs. Mike Knox vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Edge (Elimination Chamber 2009)
John Cena vs. Edge (Backlash 2009)
Edge vs. Jeff Hardy (Extreme Rules 2009)
Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk (SummerSlam 2009)
