The 548th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO. For the first time since returning to the WWE and winning the 2010 Royal Rumble Match, “The Rated-R Superstar” Edge would go one-on-one with “The Animal” Batista. After “The Hitman” was involved in an unfortunate accident in the parking lot on RAW, SmackDown would feature an update on Bret Hart. Following the end of ECW, every ECW Superstar became “free agents” who can opt to join either RAW or SmackDown; a status that the team of Caylen Croft & Trent Barreta did not waste any time with as Croft & Barreta have joined the SmackDown roster and would make their SmackDown debut on this week’s show.
Match Results
- Kane def. Dolph Ziggler (with Drew McIntyre) by pin following the Big Red Chokeslam.
Drew McIntyre came out and temporarily distracted Kane long enough for Dolph Ziggler to get a sleeper on Kane, but Kane gets out of the sleeper and ends up chokeslamming Dolph en route to getting the win.
- Cryme Tyme def. Caylen Croft & Trent Barreta (in their SmackDown debut) by Shad pinning Trent Barreta following Thugnificence.
- The Straightedge Society (with Serena) def. R-Truth & John Morrison by referee stoppage following an ankle injury by John Morrison.
- 6-Person Mixed Tag Match: The Hart Dynasty def. Matt Hardy, The Great Khali, & Maria by Natalya pinning Maria following a discus clothesline.
- Edge & Batista fight to a No Contest after The Undertaker appears.
Match Quality
- Edge Vs. Batista
- The Straightedge Society Vs. R-Truth & John Morrison
- Kane Vs. Dolph Ziggler
- Cryme Tyme Vs. Caylen Croft & Trent Barreta
- 6-Person Mixed Tag Match
Detailed Results
The show kicks off with one of the five challengers for the World Heavyweight Title inside the Elimination Chamber this Sunday, Chris Jericho, who states that he has done what everyone else can not do and says that he “always comes out on top” against insurmountable odds. Jericho then proclaims that he “drove” The Undertaker to his “knees” before “beating” him last week! Jericho then vows to win the Elimination Chamber Match and claim his sixth World Title. Jericho then states that he does not have to “hide” from anything and that he will be the World Heavyweight Champion this Sunday! Jericho is then interrupted by the 2010 Royal Rumble Winner, Edge, who tells Jericho that it’s “refreshing” to hear that Jericho realizes how big a win over The Undertaker is! “The Rated-R Superstar” clarifies that he did not spear Undertaker to “help” Jericho last week as it was his retaliation for a big boot by Undertaker. Edge then tells Jericho that, if Edge has not speared Undertaker, then Jericho would not have defeated The Undertaker last week! Jericho then reiterates to Edge that he is “going to win” the World Heavyweight Title this Sunday and tells Edge to “stay away” from him or else he will “hurt” Edge! Edge says that the more Jericho talks, the more he wants to “knock the look” off of Jericho’s face “for good”! Edge then warns Jericho that Jericho should not be concerned about what Edge can do to him in the “future”, but what he can do to him “now”! As “The Rated-R Superstar” backs Jericho into the corner, the lights in the arena buzz and flicker; distracting Jericho long enough for Edge to hit the Spear on Jericho! Will this ever-escalating feud between Edge & Jericho, is Jericho more motivated than ever to regain the World Heavyweight Title this Sunday or has the intensity of the 2010 Royal Rumble Winner made Jericho rethink the possibility of facing Edge at WrestleMania XXVI?
Two nights before he challenges Drew McIntyre for the Intercontinental Championship, “The Big Red Machine” Kane went one-on-one with Dolph Ziggler. Kane was poised for victory over Dolph, but the arrival of Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre distracts Kane long enough for Dolph Ziggler to latch a sleeper hold on “The Big Red Machine”! Despite the distraction, Kane was able escape the sleeper and plant Ziggler with a chokeslam en route to winning the match! As soon as the bell rang for the match to end, McIntyre entered the ring and attempted to hit the Future Shock on Kane, but Kane counters and sends McIntyre packing! Will Kane end the Intercontinental Title reign of Drew McIntyre this Sunday at WWE Elimination Chamber or will “The Chosen One” defeat Kane to retain the title in his biggest challenge to date?
It was announced during SmackDown that the last ECW Champion, Ezekiel Jackson, is coming to SmackDown! When will “Big Zeke” make his return to SmackDown?
While Ezekiel Jackson is coming to SmackDown, there will be no wait for The Dudebusters to come to SmackDown as Caylen Croft & Trent Barreta made their SmackDown debut on Friday Night, taking on Cryme Tyme! The SmackDown debut of Croft & Barreta was not a winning effort as Shad hit Thugnificence on Trent Barreta en route to picking up the win for Cryme Tyme!
After their one-on-one match was cut short last week due to an ankle injury by John Morrison, “The Friday Night Delight” would team with R-Truth to face fellow Elimination Chamber participant, CM Punk & Luke Gallows; The Straightedge Society. Before the match, CM Punk proclaims that he is the “greatest thing” that has happened to the fans and, whether they like it or not, they are all part of his “crusade”! Punk then states that, this Sunday, he will win the World Heavyweight Title and “fill” the lives of the fans with “straightedge”!
Following his declaration to become a four-time World Heavyweight Champion this Sunday, CM Punk & Luke Gallows were in tag team action as The Straightedge Society would face two of Punk’s fellow Elimination Chamber participants, R-Truth & John Morrison. During the match, the action came to a stand-still when The Undertaker’s pyro exploded on the stage! Later on in the match, John Morison went for a kick on CM Punk, but Punk dodged the attack; resulting in Morrison smashing his ankle into the steel ring post! Punk relentlessly attacked the ankle, which led to the referee again deeming Morrison unable to continue! After the match, Punk continued to attack the ankle, but R-Truth intervened. However, Luke Gallows got involved and laid out Truth with the Gallows’ Pole! The Straightedge Society was set to deal out more damage to R-Truth, but Rey Mysterio rushed out and prevented any further attack! Unfortunately, Rey found himself on the wrong end of an attack by The Straightedge Society and, similar to last week, Mysterio was laid out by The Straightedge Society! With three of the six Elimination Chamber participants strewn in and out of the ring, CM Punk and his Straightedge Society stood tall! Will CM Punk be standing tall with the World Heavyweight Title this Sunday?
It was revealed on SmackDown that, following his accident on RAW, Bret Hart has suffered a broken right leg with nerve and tendon damage.
Backstage, Women’s Champion Mickie James tries to apologize to SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero for the cottage cheese incident last week. Vickie responded by informing Mickie that she will defend the Women’s Title against Michelle McCool on next week’s SmackDown with Vickie as the Special Guest Referee! Can Mickie overcome the odds and retain the Women’s Title next week or will Vickie ensure that Michelle McCool regains the gold?
A 6-Person Mixed Tag Match took place on SmackDown as Matt Hardy, The Great Khali, & Maria teamed up to take on all three members of The Hart Dynasty. In the end, it as the powerhouse Diva, Natalya, hitting a discus clothesline on Maria en route to picking up the win for herself, Tyson Kidd, & David Hart Smith!
Then it was time for the main event as the 2010 Royal Rumble Winner, Edge, would be in action for the first time since winning the Rumble as “The Rated-R Superstar” takes on “The Animal” Batista. Almost as soon as the match begins, Batista did a repeat of his actions a couple of weeks ago as he walks out on his match! Refusing to allow Batista to walk out, Edge grabs a microphone and states that John Cena was right in calling Batista “spineless”! This enrages “The Animal” enough to come back to the ring and continue the match! Edge looked to have the match in hand after landing a Spear on Batista, the familiar darkness falls over the arena and The Undertaker appears in the ring and delivers a chokeslam to Edge as Batista escapes! The night was not over for Edge as, after The Undertaker left the ring, Chris Jericho came out of nowhere and hit the Codebreaker on Edge! The Undertaker & Chris Jericho then locked eyes as both men signaled that they would emerge from the Elimination Chamber this Sunday as the World Heavyweight Champion! Who will leave the Elimination Chamber this Sunday as the World Heavyweight Champion? Have the confrontations between the World Heavyweight Champion and the 2010 Royal Rumble Winner over the last couple of weeks convinced Edge to challenge The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania XXVI? Will The Undertaker even be champion after WWE Elimination Chamber this Sunday?