Controversy Over CM Punk; John Morrison and Mickie James Retain

The Hell in a Cell pay-per-view has replaced No Mercy with the promise of instilling a Hell in a Cell match for each of its main events. The three matches advertised as Hell in a Cell matches were D-Generation X vs. Legacy, CM Punk vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title, and John Cena vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Title.

But the night started off, much like No Mercy 2007, with a World Title match. I know! But when the chime of the bell rung and the ramp was filled with the mist and fog, it could only be a sign that the World Heavyweight title was underway.

The first match was The Undertaker challenging CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Title inside the confines of Satan's Structure. A match that was assumed to take place last was bumped as the opening bout. Undertaker is usually rooted as the favorite in these type of matches, but after "losing" to CM Punk at Breaking Point, it would seem that WWE would allow CM Punk to avoid from being laid to Rest in Peace from the Phenom. But the match was short and simple, with CM Punk just failing to overcome the mere strength and power of the Deadman. And despite having Hell's Gate ban removed, it was The Tombstone Piledriver that won Undertaker his 7th World Title. It's been reported that due to Jeff Hardy's departure from the company, Undertaker had to come back sooner than expected, postponing much needed hip surgery, to fill in the void of the main event scene. It's also the reason why Batista was sent over to SmackDown, to one day hold the title again. But why give Taker the title? Well, CM Punk is under bad terms with the WWE company over an incident that occurred overseas in their European tour. According to Wayne Daly @OfficialXWS, it was an issue of how CM Punk was dressed and when questioned of his attire he replied, "What about John Cena?" WWE management took this as Punk believing he is better than Cena, and was reprimanded. Thus, not only did CM Punk lose the title, but the WHT match was bumped as the opening match.

The following match was John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship. For those that don't remember, Dolph Ziggler won a #1 Contenders match over a month ago in a Triple Threat match on WWE Superstars. However, due to Rey Mysterio's failure with the Wellness Policy, Rey Mysterio was forced to drop the title. But instead of dropping the title to Ziggler, who was set to win the title at the Breaking Point ppv, the title was dropped to John Morrison instead, in what was one of the best matches in recent SmackDown history. The title match was scrapped from the Breaking Point ppv, in order to build the feud. Morrison has mostly had the upper hand when it came to making fun of Ziggler, or Mr. Ziggles, but on the Decade of SmackDown taping, Ziggler pinned Morrison with the Zig Zag, building him momentum for the match. What was an intense match of counters and close calls, eventually boiled down to John Morrison knocking down Ziggler for Starship Pain. Thus, John Morrison retained the Intercontinental Title in a hard fought match. Which was a lot better than the Ziggler-Mysterio title matches.

Then the Divas Title match between Mickie James the champion against Alicia Fox the challenger was no more than an I told you so. Fox was able to showcase some of her moves, a body scissors hold, a shoulder breaker, and an attempted scissors kick - but in the end Mickie James connected with the MickDDT. Ever since Alicia won the contender's Fatal Four-way, she has not wrestled to prove herself, instead Mickie fought each week. Sure Alicia could study her opponent all she wants, but if she is not up to par with her own ability then what's the use? Some people were upset with Alicia Fox losing, but honestly, she had no business playing with actual wrestlers.

Congrats to Undertaker for his 7th World Title Reign and for John Morrison and Mickie James on retaining their titles.