#7 Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk (SmackDown - August 28, 2009)
Hardy and Punk had the best rivalry of the year
CM Punk had finally begun using his ‘ straightedge’ persona as a heel tactic in mid-2009. He won Money in the Bank at WrestleMania 25 for his second year in a row and decided to shockingly cash in on Jeff Hardy immediately after, the future Brother Nero, successfully defended his World Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match.
They traded the belt back and forth a couple of times, all the while, with CM Punk using Jeff Hardy's history with drug abuse, as the driving force in the rivalry between the two contrasting characters. It finally came down to a Loser Leaves Town Steel Cage match on the final episode of SmackDown in August 2009.
Most people were aware, that Jeff was already on his way out and that he would be back in TNA soon, but that didn't stop the match from being great. Punk got the win when he left the cage, forcing Jeff to leave WWE. He hasn't been back since.
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About the author
Nicholas A. Marsico
I got my first big break writing for 411Mania back in 2004. I did a small spot in a big weekly piece that was written by one of the site's top writers. I quickly added the duty of being the live recapper for episodes of SmackDown, and in 2005 was given my own weekly column, which I did for a few years. I gave up writing (mostly) to start a family but got back into it, still at 411, a little over 3 years later. For another couple of years, I wrote 2-3 columns per week for the website before finding paid work elsewhere, and eventually wound up at SportsKeeda.
I am also the co-founder of the RBR: Weekly Wrestling Talk podcast, which started in the summer of 2005 and is still going strong today, almost 15 years later. Due to school, work, and family commitments, I left the team in 2011 but still remain a part of the family.
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