The 527th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK.
Quick Match Results
- John Morrison & Finlay def. Dolph Ziggler & Mike Knox by John Morrison pinning Mike Knox following Starship Pain.
- Kane def. Slam Master J by pin following the Big Red Chokeslam.
- Batista def. Big Show (with Chris Jericho) by DQ after Chris Jericho interfered.
- David Hart Smith (with Tyson Kidd & Natalya) def. JTG (with Shad & Eve Torres) by pin following the Saito Suplex.
- Non-Title: CM Punk def. The Undertaker by Count-Out.
Match Quality
- CM Punk Vs. The Undertaker
- John Morrison & Finlay Vs. Dolph Ziggler & Mike Knox
- David Hart Smith Vs. JTG
- Batista Vs. Big Show
- Kane Vs. Slam Master J
Detailed Results
The show kicked off with the controversial "Straightedge Champion" CM Punk, who said that all the fans have "forgotten his accomplishments". The World Heavyweight Champion then "reminded" the fans that he is the "only Straightedge World Heavyweight Champion in history", and he is also the only Superstar to have won back-to-back Money-in-the-Back Ladder Matches at WrestleMania, and he is the first Superstar to force The Undertaker to tap out. Punk then stated that he did it all without "the influence of drugs". The confident champion then demands that someone in charge come out and inform him of his next challenger! "The Straightedge Champion" waited a few minutes and then proclaimed that there was "no one left" for him to defeat. With that, the arena lights dimmed to an eerie, dark blue and the familiar army of druids appeared carrying a casket! Undertaker’s mysterious and long-time henchmen carried the signature casket and set it at ringside, before leaving. Believing that The Undertaker was hiding in the casket, CM Punk grabbed a steel chair for back up as he dared Undertaker to come out of the casket. After nothing happened, Punk slowly approached the box of death and started waylaying the casket with the steel chair, trying to force Undertaker out. The apprehensive World Heavyweight Champion then slowly opened the casket to discover that SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long was inside the casket, bound and gagged! CM Punk breathed a sigh of relief and proclaims that The Undertaker is "afraid" of him. "The Second City Saint" then helped Long out of the casket and helped the GM untie his hands and remove the gag. Finally freed after an unknown amount of time, a fear-driven Long grabbed the microphone from Punk before falling to the mat. The General Manager then announced that the ban on The Undertaker’s Hell’s Gate submission move has been lifted! Long assured everyone that Hell’s Gate is now "100% legal". As if that did not upset Punk enough, Long then revealed that CM Punk will be defending the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker inside the demonic Hell in a Cell in nine days! Still in shock from what he had just heard, Long then announced that CM Punk would go one-on-one with The Undertaker in the main event on SmackDown! Just over a week before he defends the World Heavyweight Title inside Hell in a Cell, CM Punk must face off with his challenger, The Undertaker in a non-title match in the main event! With Hell’s Gate now legal, will The Undertaker force CM Punk to tap out, again, to pick up the non-title victory en route to his own "playground", Hell in a Cell or will CM Punk somehow escape the wrath of "The Deadman"?
The opening match of the night saw Intercontinental Champion John Morrison team up with "The Fighting Irishman" Finlay to pick up a tag team win over the team of the #1 Contender for the Intercontinental Title at WWE Hell in a Cell, Dolph Ziggler, and his partner, Mike Knox. The end of the match came when the referee was tending to Dolph Ziggler and Finlay seized the opportunity and leveled "Monstrous" Mike Knox with the shillelagh! This led to John Morrison hitting Starship Pain on Knox to pick up the win for himself and Finlay! Will "The Guru of Greatness" have the same success when he defends the Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler in nine days at WWE Hell in a Cell or will Dolph Ziggler finally win the Intercontinental Title?
Backstage, Slam Master J approaches Cryme Tyme & Eve Torres and the duo from Brooklyn then dare Slam Master J to go into the office of SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and deface some property with some graffiti. Desperate to earn the respect of Cryme Tyme, Slam Master J obliged and, to the surprise of Cryme Tyme, J came back out having done the graffiti and even managed to walk out with a couple of new DVD’s! When they heard an irate Theodore Long discover the "calling card" of J, Cryme Tyme quickly split from the scene, leaving Slam Master J alone face-to-face with the GM with the spray paint can in his hand! A furious Theodore Long informed J that he would be in a match before "leading" Slam Master J to the ring!
Slam Master J certainly earned his punishment and then some from the GM as "The Mac Daddy" was forced to face off with "The Big Red Machine" Kane! "Big Red Evil" made quick work of Slam Master J, leaving him laying with a chokeslam! Kane has not been pinned or made to submit since returning to SmackDown, who will be the one to end this reign of Kane?
WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon also made a special appearance on the show! The Chairman reminded everyone that next week’s SmackDown will be a special "Decade of SmackDown" episode that will celebrate the last ten years of the blue brand. Mr. McMahon touted the appearance of all three brands in the WWE, including appearances by the likes of WWE Champion John Cena and D-Generation X! Mr. McMahon then introduces a new SmackDown Superstar who, he says, reminds him of himself! The WWE Chairman reveals that he signed this new competitor himself and proclaimed that this new addition to the roster is a "future World Heavyweight Champion" before introducing Drew McIntyre! "The Evil Scotsman" comes to the ring and proclaimed that it took the Chairman of the WWE to notice his "greatness" and says that he is the "future" of SmackDown. McIntyre then announced that there would be a party would be held in his honor and proclaimed that "the party was just getting started". A man who McIntyre has took it upon himself to get to "know" very well over the past few weeks, R-Truth, then made his way to the ring! Truth "welcomed" McIntyre to SmackDown before attacking the Scotsman and initiating a brawl with McIntyre! Referees rushed to the ring and was eventually able to pull R-Truth off of McIntyre as McIntyre escaped the brawl. This war is just getting started between these two SmackDown Superstars, when will we see the two of them go one-on-one? Who will come out on top when they do?
Then it was time for the colossals to collide as it was "the unstoppable force meeting the unmovable object" as Batista went one-on-one with "The World’s Largest Athlete" Big Show! After losing to "The Animal" last week, Chris Jericho was at ringside for the contest. The two men clashed back-and-forth before "The Animal" pulled a new move out of his arsenal and locking an Ankle Lock on Big Show! Seeing that his large partner on the verge of tapping out, Chris Jericho rushed the ring, but was met with a spinebuster by Batista! "The Animal" then locked his new submission maneuver on Chris Jericho, forcing the Unified Tag Team Champion to tap out! The Unified Tag Team Champions gingerly returned to the backstage area. Has "The Animal" become even more unstoppable now that he has discovered the devastating Ankle Lock?
Backstage, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon confronts General Manager Theodore Long. The Chairman demands to know where his picture is that was supposed to be hanging on the wall. The GM told the Chairman that it wasn’t "finished" yet and said that it needed a new frame, but when McMahon ordered Long to get the picture, the GM had no choice and brought out the picture. The Chairman was furious when he saw that the picture had been defaced with graffiti reading "Vinnie To Da Mac" in red spray paint! Mr. McMahon blamed Theodore Long for the act of disrespect as Long tried to explain that he was not the one responsible. What kind of backlash will the GM face from Mr. McMahon?
In the on-going rivalry between Cryme Tyme & The Hart Dynasty, Cryme Tyme’s JTG went one-on-one with The Hart Dynasty’s David Hart Smith. The chaotic match came to a close after Natalya placed David Hart Smith’s foot on the bottom rope to prevent the second-generation Smith from getting pinned. Seeing what the referee did not, Eve Torres made a beeline for Natalya and attacked The Hart Dynasty Diva, who rolled into the ring. This temporarily distracted the referee long enough for Tyson Kidd to deliver a vile kick to the head of JTG! As Shad made his way to Kidd, David Hart Smith pinned JTG to pick up the win! What is the next level in this tag team feud between these two entities?
Shortly after his match with Big Show, "The Animal" Batista was interviewed backstage and Batista revealed that he is challenging Big Show & Chris Jericho for the Unified Tag Team Titles at WWE Hell in a Cell! When asked about who his partner would be, "The Animal" replied that the partner is a good friend of his and that he and his partner have the "numbers" of the Unified Tag Team Champions and his partner’s "number" is "619"! With the huge announcement that Rey Mysterio will return at WWE Hell in a Cell to team with "The Animal" and challenge Big Show & Chris Jericho, who will walk out of the Prudential Center as the Unified Tag Team Champions? Batista & Mysterio have teamed up in the past and have even held the WWE Tag Team Titles together! Will their match with Big Show & Chris Jericho have the same result or will the dominant champions find a way to endure the challenge of the two former World Heavyweight Champions?
Then it was time for the much-anticipated main event as World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk went one-on-one in a non-title match with his Hell in a Cell opponent, The Undertaker! "The Straightedge Champion" held his own against "The Deadman", but when Undertaker locked in the devastating, and now legal, Hell’s Gate on the champion, CM Punk quickly got into the ropes, forcing the break. CM Punk quickly escaped to the outside and grabbed the World Heavyweight Title belt, but was met on the outside by The Undertaker! "The Phenom" got a hold of Punk and was going to deliver the Last Ride to the champion through the announce table, but the wily champion escaped disaster and quickly rolled in the ring at a count of "nine" by the referee. Undertaker tried to get back into the ring, but was just shy of doing so, earning CM Punk the victory by count-out! As quick as he rolled in the ring, Punk left the ring with a big smile on his face as he once again found a way to get past The Undertaker. What will happen a week from Sunday when there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide for CM Punk inside Hell in a Cell? Will "The Straightedge Champion" find some way to miraculously keep the World Heavyweight Title or will Punk’s time as the World Heavyweight Champion come to an end at the hands of "The Deadman" inside The Undertaker’s personal torture chamber, Hell in a Cell?