Judgment Day (2009)

The card included eight matches resulting from scripted storylines with results predetermined by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands.[6][7] Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows Raw, SmackDown, and ECW.[8]

Batista, challenger for the WWE Championship at Judgment Day.

The main rivalry heading into Judgment Day from the Raw brand was between Randy Orton and Batista, who were feuding over the WWE Championship. Since January 2009, Orton had been feuding with the McMahon family, attacking Vince, Shane and Stephanie McMahon en route to his match with Stephanie's husband Triple H for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXV, which Triple H won.[9][10][11] At Backlash, Orton, along with his protégés, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase (collectively known as The Legacy), defeated the defending WWE Champion Triple H, Batista and Shane McMahon in a six-man tag team match to win the title.[12] On the April 27 episode of Raw, Batista defeated The Big Show via countout to earn a WWE Championship match against Orton at Judgment Day.[13]

ECW's primary contribution to Judgment Day was announced on the April 28 episode of ECW on Sci Fi by the interim general manager of the show, Tiffany.[14] She announced that ECW Champion, Christian, would be defending his championship against the previous champion, Jack Swagger, who had chosen to invoke his rematch clause guaranteed to him after losing the title at Backlash.[14]

On the May 1 episode of SmackDown, a match took place to determine who would face Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship at Judgment Day. Jeff Hardy defeated Kane, Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio in a fatal four-way elimination match to become the number one contender.[15]

At Backlash, during the World Heavyweight Championship match, The Big Show interfered and threw the former champion, John Cena through a spotlight, resulting in Cena being incapacitated enough to lose the World Heavyweight Championship to Edge, as well as receiving storyline internal injuries.[12] During the match to determine the number one contender for the WWE title on the April 27 episode of Raw, Cena entered the arena and distracted Big Show, leading to him losing the match against Batista.[13] The following week on Raw, The Big Show demanded a match against Cena, only to have the general manager, Vickie Guerrero, set up a match between the two for Judgment Day, when Cena would be medically cleared.[16]

At WrestleMania XXV, CM Punk won the Money in the Bank ladder match, which meant he earned a guaranteed chance to challenge any world champion at any time over the course of the next year. On the May 1 episode of SmackDown, Punk was about to invoke his championship match against the World Heavyweight Champion, Edge, only to have Umaga interfere and assault him.[17] The following week, Punk was given another match against Edge but was again attacked by Umaga. It was announced later that night that Punk would face Umaga at Judgment Day.[18]

Following Randy Orton's retention of the WWE Championship against Batista at Judgment Day by getting himself intentionally disqualified, Ric Flair, an associate of Batista's, announced on the May 18 episode of Raw that, as ordered by the Raw General Manager, Vickie Guerrero, Orton would face Batista in a steel-cage match at Extreme Rules. This match stipulation would prevent both interference from outside parties and deliberate disqualifications.[20]

Also, on the May 18 episode of Raw, it was announced that The Big Show would have a rematch with his Judgment Day opponent, John Cena at Extreme Rules as well; this time, however, the match was to be a submission match, which a wrestler can only win by forcing an opponent to submit.[20]

On the SmackDown immediately following Judgment Day, SmackDown general manager, Theodore Long, felt that Edge's retention of the World Heavyweight Championship was questionable due to Matt Hardy's interference, so he declared that Jeff Hardy would have a rematch for the championship at Extreme Rules. Hardy and Edge had a match that night, with the stipulation that whoever won would be allowed to choose the stipulation for the match at Extreme Rules. Hardy won the match and chose a ladder match, which requires the competitors in the match to climb a ladder to obtain the title belt suspended over the ring in order to win.[21]

After defeating CM Punk at Judgment Day, Umaga continued to attack Punk. He interfered in Punk's match with Chris Jericho on the May 22 episode of SmackDown, assaulting Punk with a leather strap and issuing a challenge to Punk for a Samoan strap match at Extreme Rules.[21]

After Christian retained the ECW Championship against Jack Swagger at Judgment Day, Swagger attacked Christian on the following episode of ECW and pushed him off the entrance ramp.[22] Two days later, on Superstars, Swagger interfered in a title match between Christian and Tommy Dreamer, resulting in the match being ruled a no contest.[23] On the May 26 episode of ECW, Swagger announced that he would have a rematch against Christian at Extreme Rules, but the ECW general manager, Tiffany, stated that Dreamer had been added to the match, making it a triple threat hardcore match, a match with no disqualifications or countouts, and the first man to score a pinfall or submission would win. As Dreamer's contract with the company was set to expire one day before the show, it was announced that he had signed a one-day extension to give him a chance at winning the title; if Dreamer were to fail to win the title, he would no longer wrestle for ECW.[24]

Following Mysterio's victory over Jericho at the event, Jericho went to SmackDown general manager, Theodore Long, and demanded a rematch for the title the next month at Extreme Rules. Long then announced that would happen in a No Holds Barred match at the event.

The show received generally mixed reviews. Brian Elliot, writing for the Canadian Online Explorer's wrestling section, called it, "intriguing in more ways than one." He commented on how three of the company's big stars (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and The Undertaker) were absent from the show; he also commented on the fact that all seven of the matches were singles matches and commented, "...there was hope that the better in-ring performers on the show would have the opportunity to wrestle – a rarity in today’s over-the-top wrestling climate." The show was rated average, but "fun", with the highest score being 6.5/10 for Punk versus Umaga, the Intercontinental title match, and the World Heavyweight title match.[25] Well-known wrestling journalist, Dave Meltzer, of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, summarized the show by saying, "No great matches but six or seven matches were good to very good. A lot of good finishes." He also praised The Miz in speaking role, calling it the "best mic work Miz has ever done".[26]

• The official Judgment Day website