One night before Halloween and five nights after WWE Bragging Rights, the 532nd edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, NY. After Batista assaulted Rey Mysterio after the Fatal 4-Way Match for the World Heavyweight Title at Bragging Rights, both men would appear on SmackDown to discuss the situation.
Quick Match Results
* Non-Title: Dolph Ziggler def. John Morrison by Count-Out.
* Beth Phoenix (in her SmackDown in-ring debut) def. Jenny Brooks (jobber) by pin following the Glam Slam.
* Matt Hardy def. Eric Escobar by pin following the Twist of Fate.
* CM Punk def. Scott Armstrong by pin following the GTS.
* #1 Contender’s Match for the World Heavyweight Title: Chris Jericho def. Kane by pin following the Codebreaker to be added to the Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Title at Survivor Series.
Match Quality
1. #1 Contender’s Match
2. CM Punk Vs. Scott Armstrong
3. Dolph Ziggler Vs. John Morrison
4. Matt Hardy Vs. Eric Escobar
5. Beth Phoenix Vs. Jenny Brooks
Detailed Results
As the General Manager of the winning brand at Bragging Rights, Theodore Long proudly made his way to the ring to open the show. The SmackDown GM started by congratulating Team SmackDown on their win over Team RAW at Bragging Rights and clinching the 2009 Bragging Rights trophy. Long proclaimed that, with the win at Bragging Rights, SmackDown is now officially the “a show” in the WWE! Long’s mood changed as he discussed a darker portion of Bragging Rights that took place after the Fatal 4-Way for the World Heavyweight Title where Batista viciously assaulted his friend, Rey Mysterio. Long vowed that the two would “settle their differences” later in the night! The GM starts to discuss Big Show becoming the new #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title when the co-captain of the winning Team SmackDown, Chris Jericho, interrupted Long! As has been the case all week, Jericho was carrying the Bragging Rights trophy, until Jericho arrived in the ring as Long told Jericho that the trophy is the “property of SmackDown” and took the trophy from an unhappy Jericho. Jericho tells the GM that the trophy “belongs” to him and proclaims that he is the one, and only one, who is responsible for Team SmackDown’s win at Bragging Rights. The narcissistic Jericho then said that he didn’t win for SmackDown or Theodore Long, that he won it for himself! Jericho then turns his attention to the World Heavyweight Title picture and calls Long’s decision to make Big Show the #1 Contender “underhanded” seeing as Big Show is not even a SmackDown Superstar. Jericho then proclaimed that he should be the champion, before the other co-captain of Team SmackDown, Kane, interrupts! “The Big Red Machine” reminds the Unified Tag Team Champion that he was a co-captain of the team and that Jericho did not do it alone. Kane then states that he deserves a title shot! In a questionable move, Jericho stood up to Kane and states that he is the won who scored the winning pin in the Bragging Rights Tag Match and calls himself the “hero of SmackDown” before telling Kane to get out of his face! Fed up with Jericho’s bravado, Kane grabbed Jericho by the throat and was ready to chokeslam Jericho until Theodore Long pleaded with Kane to put Jericho down. Kane eventually listened and aggressively put Jericho down. Once the two Superstars were separated, Long, in an effort to match the RAW main event, announced that the World Heavyweight Title match at Survivor Series will be a Triple Threat Match as The Undertaker defends against Big Show and either Chris Jericho or Kane! Long then proclaims that Kane and Jericho will face off in the main event to determine who will be the third man in the championship match! Who will win the match and become the third piece of the Triple Threat puzzle at Survivor Series? Will the Triple Threat be a “monster mash” between The Undertaker, Big Show, & Kane or will Jericho be the “wild card” in the Triple Threat?
As familiar adversaries, Intercontinental Champion John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler were set to face off in a non-title match, Dolph Ziggler proclaims that he “likes his chances” against John Morrison since Morrison was the only SmackDown Superstar to lose at Bragging Rights! Dolph then states that “they” did their part, but Morrison did not do his. The Intercontinental Champion responded by calling Dolph’s proclamations “premature” seeing as Dolph was not even a part of Bragging Rights, following it up by saying that Dolph is familiar with being “premature” and that Maria knows all about it!
After the insults flew, it was time for these two to face off as Intercontinental Champion John Morrison squared off with Dolph Ziggler in a non-title bout. The match came to an end when both men were on the outside of the ring and Dolph lifted Morrison up and slammed him on the announce table! Dolph then rushed into the ring and was able to defeat the Intercontinental Champion via count-out! With this win, will Dolph get another shot at the Intercontinental Championship?
Backstage, CM Punk confronts SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon protesting the World Heavyweight Title match at Survivor Series, saying that he should be in the match and that he would be champion had it not been for referee Scott Armstrong last week. Mr. McMahon agrees with the statement made by CM Punk and announces that CM Punk will be in action later in the night against referee Scott Armstrong! How can Scott Armstrong possibly survive a one-on-one match against a three-time World Heavyweight Champion?
“The Glamazon” Beth Phoenix made her in-ring SmackDown debut as she picked up a dominate win over a childhood rival of hers; Jenny Brooks! Phoenix looks to be a tear en route to getting a shot at the Women’s Title. Will Phoenix get a shot at regaining the gold?
In a rematch from two weeks ago, Matt Hardy took on Eric Escobar and, even with an injured knee, Matt was able to place the first loss on Eric Escobar! How will Escobar and girlfriend Vickie Guerrero react to this loss?
An emotional and confused Rey Mysterio made an appearance on SmackDown to try and get some answers for the savage beating he suffered at the hands of Batista at Bragging Rights. Rey stated that Batista hurt him more emotionally than he did physically, but that he still considers Batista his “family” and that their friendship means more to him than seeking revenge for the attack! Rey then says that he is giving Batista the “benefit of the doubt” and states that he is “disappointed” in Batista’s actions. Rey then asks Batista to come to the ring so they can “settle things like family”. An emotionally void Batista comes out and says that Rey “doesn’t get it” and states that he is going to be the “bigger man” and give Rey the chance to exit “his ring”. Mysterio contemplated the offer, but refused! Mysterio then told Batista that he is willing to “let it go” if Batista does the same and says that “brothers fight all the time” and that they will always be “family”. Batista responded by saying that it took “little effort” for him to leave Rey laying at Bragging Rights and orders Rey to get out of the ring. Rey said that if he knew the consequences, he would have never would have taken part in the Fatal 4-Way Match for the World Heavyweight Title at Bragging Rights and that accepting the match was a big “mistake”. Batista again tells Rey to leave the ring, but Rey refuses again, saying that he is not leaving until things are settled between them! Rey reminds Batista of all the times, good and bad, that they have been through and tells Rey to “look at Eddie”. Batista responds coldly by saying that “Eddie’s dead” and says that he is not thinking about Rey, that he is thinking about himself! Batista then exits the ring, leaving a stunned Rey Mysterio alone in the ring. It seems as though Rey has received more questions than answers in his confrontation with Batista. What has caused Batista to act this way and say such harmful things to a man he once considered his “family”? What will Mysterio’s reaction be?
After his confrontation with Rey Mysterio, Batista is confronted by Matt Hardy backstage, who tells “The Animal” that he knows about “brothers with conflicts”, saying that there are a lot of things he has said or done to Jeff that he wishes he could take back and pleads with Batista not to make the “same mistakes” that he has in the past. Batista smirks at Matt before leaving, but as Matt turns his back, Batista reemerges and blindsides Matt, leaving Hardy lying on the concrete!
Later in the night, it was announced that, on next week’s SmackDown, Matt Hardy will get his shot at revenge against Batista as he faces “The Animal” one-on-one! Will Matt Hardy extract revenge for the attack or will this new frame of mind by Batista lead to Matt being at the mercy of “The Animal”?
Before his scheduled match, Drew McIntyre congratulated Team SmackDown on their win at Bragging Rights and revealing that he never wanted to be a part of the team in the first place! McIntyre then proclaims that he is out to make his “own impact” and that, for this opponent, “the party is over”! McIntyre’s opponent would be a member of the winning Team SmackDown at Bragging Rights, Finlay! However, before Finlay could enter the ring, McIntyre blasted “The Fighting Irishman” with a big boot! McInyre then brutally assaulted Finlay and left Finlay laying on the outside before exiting with a smile on his face as referees tend to Finlay. How will Finlay respond to this unexpected attack by Drew McIntyre?
With Halloween just a day away, Cryme Tyme appeared on SmackDown to host a Halloween Divas Costume Contest! Cryme Tyme then introduced the Divas of SmackDown as Women’s Champion Michelle McCool came out dressed up as the “devil’s advocate”, Natalya as a matador, Layla as the late, great “King of Pop” Michael Jackson, and Mickie James as Elektra! After each presenting their costumes, the audience unanimously decided that Mickie James was “Miss Halloween 2009”! After the contest had been determined, a brawl broke out between the four Divas; a brawl that ended with Michelle McCool leaving Mickie James lying! With so many Divas gunning for Michelle McCool and the Women’s Championship, how much longer can McCool survive as champion?
Then it was time for the unique match made earlier in the night by WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon as referee Scott Armstrong was forced to compete against CM Punk! Showing no remorse, “The Straightedge Superstar” verbally abused the respected referee; blaming Armstrong for him not being the champion and calling Armstrong “old man”. Having his manhood and pride called into question, Armstrong fought back against Punk with a short flurry of punches before CM Punk started the heinous assault of Armstrong! Punk continued to assault Armstrong and finally ended the one-sided contest with the GTS. After the match, Punk stood over a broken Armstrong and smiled about his “accomplishment”. Though Punk got “revenge” in his mind, it does not change the fact that Punk is not in the World Heavyweight Title match at Survivor Series. Will Punk continue to work towards a title shot or will Punk target someone else on the SmackDown Roster?
In the main event, it was Unified Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho who won a hard-fought match over Kane with an impressive Codebreaker to earn his spot in the Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series! Jericho will now be placed in a match against, not only reigning champion The Undertaker, but also against his tag team partner; the other half of the Unified Tag Team Champions Big Show! Will Jeri-Show team up against The Undertaker or will the “every man for himself” environment lead to the tag champions butting heads in the contest? Who will walk out of Survivor Series as the World Heavyweight Champion?