Five nights after an epic WrestleMania, the 554th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Thomas & Mack Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Las Vegas, NV. SmackDown would feature a special challenge for the NXT Rookies as Daniel Bryan, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Michael Tarver, Skip Sheffield, Wade Barrett, and the host of this Monday’s RAW, David Otunga would go against “The Big Red Machine” Kane in a 8-on-1 Handicap Match!
Match Results
- World Heavyweight Championship: Jack Swagger def. Chris Jericho (c) by pin following the Swagger Bomb to win the World Heavyweight Title.
At the end of a confrontation between then World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho and former #1 Contender Edge, Edge ended up spearing the injured ribs of Chris Jericho. After exiting the ring, Edge was blindsided with a shot by the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase wielded by its owner, Jack Swagger. Swagger then announced that he was cashing in his Money-in-the-Bank title opportunity. After a referee came out and cleared the ring, he did his best to help Jericho up before Swagger snatched Jericho up and delivered the Swagger Bomb to Jericho en route to pinning Jericho and winning the World Heavyweight Title.
- R-Truth & John Morrison def. Cryme Tyme by John Morrison pinning Shad following Starship Pain.
- Dolph Ziggler def. The Great Khali by submission to the sleeper hold.
- Beth Phoenix & Tiffany def. Michelle McCool & Layla by Beth Phoenix pinning Layla with the Glam Slam.
- 8-on-1 Elimination Handicap Match: Kane def. Wade Barrett, Heath Slater, Daniel Bryan, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, Michael Tarver, Darren Young, & Skip Sheffield.
Detailed Results
Five nights after successfully defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Edge, but also getting speared through a barricade after the match, at WrestleMania, the show kicks off with the still World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho! Jericho stated that, he told the fans last week, that they, and Edge, are “defective” and he proved that at WrestleMania! Jericho proclaimed that he wrestled the “perfect” match against Edge and he beat Edge to retain the gold! Jericho then stated that, after the match, Edge tried to “permanently injure” him by spearing him through the barricade! Jericho stated that as he laid there as a “victim”, all he heard was the fans chanting “Spear”! Jericho says that, like Edge, the fans are “losers” and he is the champion because he is an “honest man” and he does what he says he is going to do! Jericho then says that he is not there to say that he “told them so” because “it is so”! This brings out “The Rated-R Superstar” Edge, who says that Jericho makes a “valid point”; that he and the fans have something in “common” in that they love to see Jericho get speared and they would love to see it again tonight because he wants his rematch for the World Heavyweight Title “right now”! Jericho responds by saying that Edge had his “chance” at WrestleMania and he “lost” and that Edge is a “loser” and nothing he “says or does” will change that! Jericho then tells Edge to “get out” of his ring, which Edge responds to by pummeling the World Heavyweight Champion and exposing the injured ribs of Jericho from WrestleMania! Edge then hits his Edgecution DDT before laying the champion out with the Spear! After exiting the ring, Edge is blasted from behind with the Money-in-the-Bank briefcase by it’s holder, Jack Swagger! The night then went from bad to worse for Chris Jericho as Swagger announced that he is cashing in his Money-in-the-Bank title opportunity! After a referee came out and barely got Jericho to his feet, the match started and Swagger snatched Jericho up and delivered the Swagger Bomb en route to pinning Jericho and successfully winning the World Heavyweight Championship! After Jack Swagger rocked SmackDown and the entire WWE by cashing in his Money-in-the-Bank title opportunity on Chris Jericho to take the World Heavyweight Title, how will Chris Jericho respond to the loss? How will the former #1 Contender Edge respond?
After failing to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania five nights earlier, R-Truth & John Morrison would be looking to rebound as the exciting duo would face Cryme Tyme. Truth & Morrison were able to make quick work of Shad and, with JTG not even getting to be legally involved in the match, Morrison was able to hit Starship Pain on the big man to pick up the win! The bigger story came after the match, however, as JTG helps his partner, Shad, to his feet and then, out of nowhere, Shad grabs JTG by the face before delivering a vicious big boot to the face of his partner! Shad would then blast JTG with a right hand before an unstable Shad delivers Thugnifence to his Cryme Tyme brethren!
Following his shocking attack on his partner, JTG, Shad explains his actions backstage by saying there is “no more Cryme Tyme” and it is his “time”! What does Shad mean by this and what does it being his “time” have to do with his assault on JTG?
Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre was set to be in non-title action against “The Heart And Soul of SmackDown” Matt Hardy, but before the match could begin, McIntyre attacked Matt with a big boot before throwing Matt, shoulder-first, into the ring post and, finally, the Intercontinental Champion laid Matt out with the Future Shock DDT! What is the reason for Drew McIntyre’s attack on Matt Hardy?
Backstage, new World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger confronts SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero and is granted a “State of the Championship Address” later on SmackDown! Before exiting, the new champion plants a kiss on the check of the Consultant, who responds by saying that Swagger will make a “great champion”! What will the new World Heavyweight Champion have to say in his “State of the Championship Address”? Has Jack Swagger ensured his place on top of SmackDown by impressing the SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero?
Five nights after taking part in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match, “The Platinum Superstar” Dolph Ziggler had an unenviable task on SmackDown as he would go one-on-one with The Great Khali! The determined Dolph Ziggler was shockingly able to defeat “The Punjabi Playboy” utilizing the classic sleeper hold! After the match, The Great Khali, through his interpreter and brother Ranjin Singh, announced that he has been doing some “soul searching” and has decided to head back to India to take some time off, but when he comes back, he will win the World Heavyweight Title! When will The Great Khali return to the WWE?
Five nights after losing to Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania, CM Punk and his Straightedge Society made an appearance on SmackDown. Luke Gallows takes the mic first and tells the fans to “open their ears and listen” before saying that Punk has “saved” him and they can “save” each and every one of them! Gallows continues that all his “impurities” have been “washed away” and that the time to make a “change” in their lives “for the better” is “right here and right now”! Serena then takes the microphone and tells the fans to “show some respect” and says that Punk is “perfect in every way”! Serena continues that Punk is a “healer” and is “not blinded by a world of sin and addiction”! Serena says that, if it wasn’t for CM Punk, her and Gallows would be like the fans! Serena then says that, when she looks at Punk, she sees an “angel”! Punk then finally speaks and says that, if there ever was a city that needs “saved”, it is Las Vegas! Punk then states that Vegas is a “lie” and that the inhabitants are all “liars”, just like Rey Mysterio! Punk said he was “supposed” to “save” Rey on the grand stage of WrestleMania before proclaiming that Rey “needs straightedge” and “needs CM Punk”! Punk then states that he will not “give up” before challenging Rey to a rematch! Punk says that he needs to put something on the line so that there is something in it for Rey before announcing that, if he loses to Rey in the rematch, he is willing to “sacrifice” his hair! Punk continues that he is willing to “sacrifice a piece of himself” to save Rey Mysterio! Will Rey accept the challenge of CM Punk?
The Divas were in action on SmackDown as the team of “The Glamazon” Beth Phoenix and former ECW General Manager Tiffany faced off with the Women’s Champion Michelle McCool & Layla. After hitting the Glam Slam on Layla, Beth Phoenix pinned the best friend of the Women’s Champion to pick up the win in tag team action!
Backstage, Chris Jericho confronts SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and demands that Jack Swagger defeating him for the World Heavyweight Title be a decision that gets “reversed”! Long refuses the former champion and offers Jericho the chance to get his rematch on SmackDown, but Jericho refuses and says it is because he is still injured! Long responds by saying that, if Jericho does not want his rematch, then he has nothing to discuss with the former champion! Jericho then assures Long that Jack Swagger will “not get away” with the title win! What does Chris Jericho have planned for the new World Heavyweight Champion?
Five nights after taking part in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania, “The Big Red Machine” Kane makes an appearance on SmackDown and proclaims he is getting “bored” and when he gets “bored”, he becomes “frustrated” and a “frustrated monster is not healthy for anyone”! Kane says that he needs someone to take his “frustrations” out on and “the more the merrier”! Kane then announces that he is challenging the “entire NXT roster” to a match! Daniel Bryan, David Otunga, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Skip Sheffield, Darren Young, Michael Tarver, & Wade Barrett then come out to face “The Big Red Machine” in an 8-on-1 Elimination Handicap Match! Following a big boot by Kane, Wade Barrett was the first Rookie to be eliminated from the match! After tagging himself in, Heath Slater found himself on the wrong end of a chokeslam en route to being the second NXT Rookie to be eliminated! Following a huddle on the outside, the remaining NXT Rookies decide to attack Kane all at once, which results in a disqualification! Even Kane was not able to sustain the six-on-one numbers game as the Rookies were able to leave “The Big Red Machine” laid out! Kane quickly recovered and chased the Rookies out of the ring!
Then it was time for the “State of the Championship Address” as new World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger would make his first speech as champion! A stoic Swagger states that it will be the “first of many State of the Championship Address” before telling the crowd to give him “absolute silence” for his address! The new champion lists his accomplishments before proclaiming that the fans have found their “replacement for Shawn Michaels as the greatest wrestler of all time”! An unstable Chris Jericho interrupts the new champion and tells Swagger that he is the “champion” and tells Swagger that he “stole” the title and he wants it back! Jericho says that he “heals quickly” and he will be taking his World Heavyweight Title back! The catalyst for the title loss, Edge, then came out and tells Swagger to show the kind of champion that he is by defending the gold against him! Edge then challenges Swagger to face someone who is not injured and “not afraid” of him! Jericho says that Edge has “no right” to challenge for the title and Edge tells Jericho that he hit Jericho with the two Spears that led to Jericho losing the gold before telling Jericho to “shut his mouth”! This brings out SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, who announces that, on next week’s SmackDown, Edge will go one-on-one with Chris Jericho with the winner becoming the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title! Then, following a brief distraction by Jack Swagger, Jericho hits the Codebreaker on Edge, but the injured ribs allow Swagger to take advantage to hit the Swagger Bomb on Jericho and then Edge! Who will get the first shot at Jack Swagger’s World Heavyweight Title when Edge goes one-on-one with Chris Jericho next week in a WrestleMania Rematch that will determine the #1 Contender for the gold?