This week, we roll it back to 2009. In WWE, a feud between two babyfaces would cause one to ascend the ladder as a heel, and the other to leave the company.
Join us as we discuss the rivalry between The Second City Saint and The Charismatic Enigma.
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Please drink some.
Make sure to follow us on all social media platforms @feudrewind
Email: feudrewind@gmail.com
Thank you!
This week, we roll it back to 2009. In WWE, a feud between two babyfaces would cause one to ascend the ladder as a heel, and the other to leave the company.
Join us as we discuss the rivalry between The Second City Saint and The Charismatic Enigma.
*water*
Please drink some.
Make sure to follow us on all social media platforms @feudrewind
Email: feudrewind@gmail.com
Thank you!
ep-6-punk-vs-hardy-i-m-better-than-you
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Benza Lance: [00:00:00] Hey, this is Ben with Feud Rewind, with a quick word from our first unofficial sponsor. Water. You need some. I need some. We all need some. We're made of it. Guess what? It comes in a bunch of different varieties. Hot, cold, frozen. You can get it flavored, you can get it plain. With bubbles, no bubbles, out of your tap, out of a bottle, out of a box.
The possibilities are endless. Regardless, you need some. Before we get started, go get a glass. I'm gonna get one too. We'll meet back here and start the show. Thank you so much. Water.
The summer of 2009 saw a unique feud barrel through the halls of the WWE. What started off as a personal feud of stark differences between two babyfaces [00:01:00] catapulted one into superstardom, albeit as a heel, and one out of the company. How did we get here? Yeah, you guessed it. We gotta rewind this one.
Welcome to this week's edition of the Feud Rewind. I'm your host, Benza Lance. The feud we're talking about this week is the feud that took place in the summer of 2009. In WWE. Between CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. Now, this feud has been universally lauded. www. Not only at the time, but in the years and decades since this feud occurred.
This is often held up [00:02:00] as one of the top feuds from WWE's Ruthless Aggression era. In 2009, not only were we talking about an entirely different wrestling landscape altogether, but our two characters involved in this feud, Jeff Hardy and CM Punk, if you can transport yourself back to 2009. Starting off with Jeff.
At this point You have to remember, Jeff hasn't had any of his legal issues that have unfortunately become synonymous with his name over the years. At this point, he has broken up with Matt, the iconic party boys tag team from the early aughts. In WWE, but he had gone on a pretty successful singles run.
He's already been the world champion. He's actually a grand slam champion going into 2009, [00:03:00] and he's getting the type of bombastic baby face responses that at this time were usually only reserved for John Cena, if not internally. Within the WWE themselves, at least in the fan's eyes, if Jeff wasn't the number one.
White hot white meat baby face at the time. He was definitely a close number two and going into the middle part of 2009 going into the summer He's in a feud with the current world heavyweight champion edge which of course has a lot of History there, which we will cover in a future episode where we will have to take a Much much long deeper dive than normal when we Dive into the tlc triumvirate [00:04:00] that is the hardy boys edging christian and the deadly boys, which will be in a future episode But for now, let's focus at the task at hand, which is another maybe not legendary, but At least believable feud between Edge and Jeff.
that anybody can get behind because Edge is still beloved at this time. Although he is heel ish he's sort of a tweener and really filling that sort of unbeatable veteran mold. Although him and Jeff have relatively similar tenureship in the ring at this point. Similar in a lot of ways at this time CM Punk was still a baby face.
We haven't seen bad guy punk yet. At this point, Punk has already been [00:05:00] an ECW champion. He has won the money in the bank ladder match and cashed in that briefcase once making him a world heavyweight champion at this time, he is. Carrying that briefcase again, he's just coming off a feud with Umaga. Umaga has been interfering on Punk's various cash ins, so they had to have a little blow off match, which Punk has won, and to put it lightly, he's on the prowl.
However, he is also very beloved and positively adored by the fans at this time. We haven't seen the cantankerous villainous punk that we've come to either know and love or know and loathe depending on what side of the fence you fall on. So where our feud between Hardy and Punk is really gonna get going is at the Extreme Rules paper event [00:06:00] which took place on June 7th 2009 at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans home of the Pelicans.
The main event for the night is gonna be a ladder match between the reigning champion Edge and Hardy. The match itself is fantastic. I'd probably rate it in the 8 out of 10 stars range. If not, maybe a little bit higher. It's just fun and edge and Jeff already in a ladder match, especially during this period where they were still in their prime and injuries.
Haven't really caught up to them yet. You sign me up for that any day of the week. Jeff comes out, the Victor here, and he doesn't really have a lot of time to. Celebrate, because Punk's music is gonna hit, and yes, for those of you who don't remember, this is way before Cult of Personality. This is when he's [00:07:00] still rockin the Killswitch Engage theme, which, to me, Punk's best theme.
So that's just me. Punk's gonna come down and attempt to cash in on Jeff. He's gonna hit a GTS, and Jeff kicks at it too. Punk's gonna have to hit a second one and this one sticks and punk successfully cashes in his money in the bank briefcase Becomes world heavyweight champion for the second time and you could tell that there is a look of disappointment on Jeff that's not just Disappointment, you're not really sure what it is, but we're not gonna have to wait too long to figure out what that emotion is.
On next week's Smackdown, Hardy is gonna admit in a promo that he's taken that cash in personally. There was no reason why Punk had a cash in on him and in fact he claims that Punk chose the wrong [00:08:00] guy. Punk, to his credit. Hey man, that's business. He chose at the beginning of the night that he was cashing in.
It doesn't matter if it was going to be Edge, Jeff Hardy, your grandmother, whoever's holding the title. Punk's cashing in on him. That's that. And that's that. And while on the surface this does seem relatively reasonable, the crowd is just so behind Hardy and they're not really buying what Punk's selling.
I'm not entirely sure if it was intentional for Punk to start turning or if it was just a really, really smart move because the crowd was gonna be Cheering for Jeff either way, but the next week Smackdown That's when Punk really starts [00:09:00] to Dig into the fact that the reason the crowd is so behind Jeff is they have a lot of the same Perceived deficiencies As Jeff Hardy, you, the crowd sees themselves in this performer on the stage.
And why wouldn't they get behind him? Of course that makes sense, but punk also sees this as a fault in the crowd and he will start to belittle them with just little jabs here and there. Classic punk promo 101. With all of your weaknesses. I implored every single one of you to just say no.
And all my empathy got Was [00:10:00] for you to love Jeff Hardy that much more than you already did. Slowly turning the wheels into becoming that bad guy that he just plays so well. So later on that same month, June 28th, 2009 from the Echo. Arena in Sacramento, WWE holds their bash, the bash, terrible name for a pay per view, the bash pay per view event where Jeff Hardy has invoked his rematch clause in his contract and will be facing Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Punk comes out first, which is not typical for a champion, but it will become a signature punk ism for most of his subsequent title reigns. Jeff Hardy comes out quite notably without face paint. This is helping to sell the seriousness of the [00:11:00] situation. The match starts going and the match itself is, well, not that great.
Near the end of the match, Punk is gonna feign that he has an eye injury and he quote unquote accidentally kicks referee Scott Armstrong in the back, causing the match to be thrown out. Since Jeff Hardy wins via DQ, Punk retains the title over the next couple weeks on SmackDown. This is going to play out with Hardy claiming that Punk is disingenuous.
That Punk just makes things up to make him look like a legitimate champion. To look like a legitimate man. To legitimize his own reality. Whereas Hardy's just living in the moment. Of course, Punk explains that [00:12:00] he was just defending himself in the match when he kicks referee Scott Armstrong, going as far to produce the prescription eyedrops that he got from the doctor.
He goes on a scathing promo against Jeff Hardy, where he is bringing up Hardy's own Real life substance abuse issues. Hardy, at this point, has been suspended and fined twice for breaking WWE's wellness policy, while Punk has been suspended no times. Punk also brings up rehab and legal issues, and as we've noted at the beginning of this episode, these don't come into play.
Play in Jeff Hardy's real life yet. Of course we do know he does have a litany of a rap sheet here in 2024, but in 2009, he is simply just [00:13:00] a sympathetic figure. That has its own demons. Coming from a family that has substance abuse issues, and I'm sure many of you listening have a friend or a family member who battles their own demons.
Hell, maybe you do. I know I do. It's hard not to get behind. That character, that person, something hits you on such a deep or level. It's really easy to sympathize with that. Conversely, punk does a great job of making himself to be the consummate asshole by just pointing out that those addictive traits make one week and why you're cheering Jeff is because.
Well hey, guess what, y'all are weak too. Later on in the month in July, Hardy keeps on trying to explain to Punk that [00:14:00] he's had mistakes and he's overcome them. He's had issues that he's had to atone for, and problems that have had to be. Rectified. He further goes to explain that he hasn't passed a drug test or failed a wellness policy check in over a year.
Punk retorts to Jeff that staying clean is no accomplishment. The fact that
Hey there, this is Benzo with Feud Rewind coming at you with a quick word from our second unofficial sponsor, The Sun. That's right. Summertime is here and the living, if you're living is like mine, It's extremely difficult, but what's not difficult is popping in your earbuds, putting on those headphones, using a little Bluetooth [00:15:00] speaker and going on to the sun while you're listening to this podcast, you and me, let's go get some vitamin D while we enjoy the sun.
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Jeff isn't sitting there. ingesting any type of nefarious substance in front of them isn't necessarily something to be celebrated to punk. That's just the baseline. The fact that you feel the need to be celebrated for not doing drugs in punk's view is. Very, very weak. Later on, Arty does try to get under Punk's skin by calling him a guidance [00:16:00] counselor.
Uh, in which point, Punk explains that he's not necessarily a guidance counselor. But he starts to almost preach his straight edge lifestyle. He's been doing it for the better part of the last couple of months and little bits here and there throughout his tenure in the WWE. But this is where it starts to go just from a, Almost like a gimmick trait To being presented in such a pious way that makes him Feel like he's talking down to people Which he most certainly is this leg of our feud is gonna See a match happen at the night of champions pay per [00:17:00] view This took place July 26, 2009 in the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.
The main event is going to feature the champion Punk versus Jeff Hardy. Before the match Punk does have an interview promo that starts in the back and ends in the arena. Punk's sermon goes on for a number of minutes. This not only ends with a chorusing round of boos. But further cements Punk's superstar status as one of the next upcoming heels in the WWE.
And surprise, surprise, surprise, Jeff wins this night of champions match. This match itself was better than the match the previous month at the bash. Goes up a couple notches on the scale. Not necessarily a barn burner. But I will take anything over the DQ. No finish finish any day of the week, [00:18:00] the month of August is what really propels the story and feud and rivalry into the next stratosphere and close to the Mount Rushmore of WWE feuds.
Honestly, this has to be held in a high regard for fuse over the past 25 years at the very, very least. What we're going to see over the course of. This month, what we see is the champion baby face, Jeff Hardy, basking in the adulation and still try to convert punk into sort of letting loose a little bit, not necessarily to.
imbibe, but just to live in the moment. This is a big point of contention as punk suggests that living in the moment is all well and good, but at the end of the [00:19:00] day, you have to step back and live in his reality. Thankful for first and foremost, I'm thankful that I'm straight edge. I'm
thankful. This makes me different. Because I certainly wouldn't want to be you. I wouldn't want to be you. I wouldn't want to be any of you people. For those living under a rock, straight edge means no drugs, no alcohol, no prescription medication. Essentially, I do not abuse my body. Straight edge. Means I'm better than you.
Punk's level of sermonizing over this month, which also does include the birth of his catchphrase, I'm better than you. Serves as what's to become the foundation of the straight edge society. [00:20:00] Which will take place next year in 2010. Right now, all he's doing is using his words and his gift to gab to bring this crowd to fever pitches every single time he's out there under the guise of him trying to save them by converting them to a straight edge lifestyle.
Obviously this is combative with. Jeff's lifestyle of living in the moment and letting people live their lives. And I would suggest that the main reason why Punk's attitude is I'm better than you catchphrase his whole idea of the straight edge society or what would become the straight edge society.
The reason why this worked to get under people's skin You don't want to be told that your beliefs or what you're doing [00:21:00] are wrong if you feel like they aren't. And you also don't want to feel like you're beneath somebody. And while Punk does have the gift of gab, he has the way with words, he knows exactly what to say.
He spent months saying it in snarky. Backhanded Almost subtle subliminal type of ways It doesn't get to a point where he just has to come straight out and say He's better than us And of course that's gonna get A negative, raucous reaction, and this does. The final leg of our feud is going to take us to SummerSlam.
The 2009 edition takes place August 23rd at the Staples Center in L. A. Most people, myself included, would consider this the pay per view of the year for WWE. [00:22:00] Most of the matches on this card are good to phenomenal. This match. What other way would we really pay off a CM Punk and Jeff Hardy feud without a TLC match or the World Heavyweight Championship?
And that's exactly what we do. For just under half an hour, these two men put on one of the better TLC singles matches Peace. That took place during this decade. My personal scale, this rates to a pretty perfect. It didn't get all the way there, but a solid 8. 5 out of 10 any day of the week. This match ends with With both men on the ladder trying to reach for that title, Punk is gonna push Hardy off and [00:23:00] grab that belt, become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
The celebration, much like how he ended Jeff's title reign back at the start of this feud. It's somewhat short lived. The house lights go off. When they come back up, Jeff Hardy, who was previously laid sprawling out on the mat underneath Sam Punk, was replaced by Undertaker. The Undertaker then chokeslams CM Punk to set up a feud between the two.
Not to say that the Hardy and Punk feud is entirely completed. We are going to have one last rematch. But we're not going to wait too long for this. It's going to take place on the next week's SmackDown. Because these two had been circling each other all summer, the special stipulation on this match was that it was a loser leaves the [00:24:00] WWE Steel Cage match.
Despite his best efforts Jeff Hardy is not able to ascend and actually gets kicked off of the cage back into the ring by CM Punk As CM Punk ascends and descends the outside of the cage waving gleefully And Jeff Hardy, who now has to leave the WWE. While CM Punk will now go on to start a feud with The Undertaker.
Unfortunately, it should be said that less than two weeks after this match, Which was Jeff's last WWE match for a number of years. Jeff is arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia. It is said that often, the best works of fiction are not fiction, but they are fact. Just turned up to their maximum volume.
This feud is a perfect illustration of that. [00:25:00] While substance abuse and addiction problems are not fiction. Are nothing to be taken lightly. This view does show that they can be used in an artistic way to not only shine light on the issue, but also to provide entertainment. However, in real life, these shouldn't be taken lightly.
And if you or anybody, you know, as an issue. or needs to get help, please do so. I fully support it, and the people who love you do too. Anyway, that's our episode for the week. I'm your host Benzelance. I greatly appreciate you listening. Until next time, this was The Feud [00:26:00] Rewind.