#22
The Undertaker vs. CM Punk
Hell in a Cell ’09
These two just couldn’t make the magic happen their first go-around. After a career-making program with Jeff Hardy earlier in the year, expectations were immense heading into CM Punk’s first real high-profile feud against a legend the likes of the Undertaker. Unfortunately, after a downright poor showing at Breaking Point several weeks prior, they were only given a mere 10 minutes to work inside Hell in a Cell.
Let me clarify: this match isn’t terrible. They worked through all their signature spots, and I believe Punk and ‘Taker did all they could to perform within a very limited time frame. It was a little odd that they chose to have Punk work an injury angle against someone like the Deadman. Something about his two decades in this business at that point – also, that he claims to literally be undead – makes it hard to buy into the character when he’s selling a bum calf five minutes into the action.
From the story-telling side of things, they also couldn’t seem to decide which angle to approach from. Punk has always been a very real, down-to-Earth type of “character”. In their later feud, leading into a much better WrestleMania match, they nailed the blending of reality and mysticism perfectly. Here, they had Undertaker abduct Teddy Long (buckle up, Teddy!), and messed with the finish to the previous PPV by working in a ban on the Hell’s Gate submission hold.
Nothing about this clicked the way they needed it to, and the combination of story, booking decisions and time constraints led to a disappointing flop at the inaugural Hell in a Cell PPV.
