The 556th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the O2 Arena in London, England. Just nine days before they go one-on-one at WWE Extreme Rules, CM Punk and Rey Mysterio would be in action on SmackDown as Rey would team with The Hart Dynasty to face The Straightedge Society and CM Punk’s NXT Rookie Darren Young in a 6-Man Tag match.
Match Results
- Non-Title: Drew McIntyre def. Kane by DQ after Matt Hardy interferes.
As Kane was set to deliver the chokeslam, Drew McIntyre exits the ring and was going to take a count-out loss, but Matt Hardy came out and tossed McIntyre into the ring where Kane planted McIntyre with the chokeslam. However, Matt’s interference gave McIntyre the win via disqualification and, as a result, Kane also laid Matt out with the chokeslam.
- Dolph Ziggler def. R-Truth by submission with the sleeper hold.
- Non-Title: Michelle McCool (with Layla & Vickie Guerrero) def. Mickie James by pin following a big boot.
- 6-Man Tag: Rey Mysterio & The Hart Dynasty def. The Straightedge Society & Darren Young by David Hart Smith pinning CM Punk following the running powerslam.
- JTG def. Caylen Croft by pin following a modified neckbreaker.
- World Heavyweight Championship: Triple Threat: Jack Swagger (c) def. Edge & Chris Jericho by pinning Chris Jericho following the Spear by Edge to retain.
Detailed Results
One week after his #1 Contender’s Match for the World Heavyweight Title against Edge ended in a Double Count-Out, Chris Jericho opens the show on SmackDown! Jericho states that Randy Orton is on RAW, yet he is challenging Jack Swagger for the World Heavyweight Title, a championship exclusive to SmackDown, at WWE Extreme Rules. Jericho then claims that he brought the World Heavyweight Title to “prominence and glory as the greatest champion of this or any other generation”! Jericho continues that, despite having a guaranteed rematch for the championship as the former World Heavyweight Champion, he does not have a rematch for the gold! Jericho then blames SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and calls the GM a “buffoon” and tells Long to “rectify” the situation by handing in his “resignation” and announcing that he get a title shot at WWE Extreme Rules as soon as the World Heavyweight Title match between Jack Swagger and Randy Orton is over! Jericho is then interrupted by his intense rival, “The Rated-R Superstar” Edge! Edge agrees that the World Heavyweight Title belongs to SmackDown, but calls Jericho “damaged goods”; citing that he has speared him numerous times over recent weeks, leaving Jericho injured! Edge then suggests that Jericho give up his rematch clause because he is injured! Jericho asks Edge if he thinks that he can beat Swagger & Orton and Edge responds by threatening to Spear Jericho! This brings out SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long who tells Jericho that Randy Orton would not have been named the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title had Edge & Jericho not gotten themselves counted out last week! Long says that it is his decision regarding Jericho’s rematch for the title before announcing that Jericho will get his rematch for the World Heavyweight Title against Jack Swagger on SmackDown! Long then says that he also believes Edge could be the one to keep the World Heavyweight Title on SmackDown before announcing that Jack Swagger will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against both Edge & Chris Jericho in a Triple Threat Match on SmackDown! Who will emerge from this huge SmackDown main event as the World Heavyweight Champion?
The opening match of the night saw the Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre go one-on-one with “The Big Red Machine” Kane in a non-title bout! Kane was poised for victory as he was set to deliver the chokeslam to Drew McIntyre, but McIntyre opted to roll out of the ring and was content to take a count-out loss, but, after suffering two weeks in a row at the hands of the Intercontinental Champion, a revenge-fueled Matt Hardy came from behind and tossed “The Chosen One” back in the ring where Kane planted Drew McIntyre with a thunderous chokeslam! However, Matt’s interference gave McIntyre the win via disqualification and Kane was none too happy with Matt costing him the match as he also planted Matt Hardy with a chokeslam!
One week after senselessly attacking announcer and interview Josh Mathews by placing Mathews in the sleeper hold, Dolph Ziggler was in action on SmackDown, but before his match, Dolph stated that he has been ordered by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long to issue an apology to Josh Mathews for his attack last week! After delivering a less than half-hearted apology to the announcer, Dolph Ziggler’s opponent, R-Truth, came out and tells Dolph that he has no “heart” and no “soul” and tells Dolph that he did not “mean” a word that he just said but that he will show Dolph that “the truth hurts”! However, in the end, Dolph Ziggler was able to catch R-Truth in the sleeper hold, which led to Dolph getting the win! What is next in the career of Dolph Ziggler?
Women’s Champion Michelle McCool was in action on SmackDown as she went one-on-one with the Diva that the took the title from in controversial fashion as McCool, with Layla and SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero at ringside, squared off with Mickie James! With a big assist by Layla, Michelle McCool was able to defeat a very game Mickie James after laying Mickie out with a big boot! After the match, McCool was looking to deal out some more punishment on Mickie, but Beth Phoenix made the save and ran McCool & Layla from the ring! When will Beth Phoenix finally get her revenge on Michelle McCool?
Nine nights before they go one-on-one at WWE Extreme Rules with CM Punk’s hair on the line, Rey Mysterio and CM Punk would be in action on SmackDown as Rey would team with The Hart Dynasty to face the team of The Straightedge Society and CM Punk’s NXT Rookie Darren Young in a 6-Man Tag Match! In the end, it was the 619 of Rey Mysterio that led to David Hart Smith hitting the powerslam on CM Punk en route to pinning “The Straightedge Savior” and picking up the win for his team! With their Extreme Rules showdown rapidly approaching, will CM Punk emerge from the event with his hair intact or will Rey Mysterio ensure that Punk is shaved bald?
Two weeks after the shocking breakup of Cryme Tyme saw his former friend and partner Shad Gaspard lay him out with a big boot, JTG was in action as he went one-on-one with one-half of The Dudebusters, Caylen Croft, as Shad Gaspard watched from ringside! In the end, it was a modified neckbreaker that led to JTG picking up the victory! After the match, Shad Gaspard entered the ring and tried to lay out JTG for the third week in a row, but it was JTG who planted Shad with the Mug Shot before an enraged Shad exited the ring as a fired up JTG dared Shad to re-enter the ring! What is the next step in this broken partnership turned intense rivalry?
Then it was time for the huge main event as “The All-American Champion” Jack Swagger would make his first defense of the World Heavyweight Championship against the former World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho and the Superstar partially responsible for Swagger winning the gold, “The Rated-R Superstar” Edge, in a Triple Threat Match! In an incredible war over the gold, it looked like Edge was going to claim the World Heavyweight Title after laying Chris Jericho with the Spear, but the opportunistic Jack Swagger would pull Edge off of the cover and out of the ring before taking advantage of Edge’s Spear and pinning Chris Jericho to retain the World Heavyweight Championship! After the match, Jack Swagger sent a message to his Extreme Rules opponent, Randy Orton, by planting Edge with the Swagger Bomb in the middle of the ring! Things then went from bad to worse for Edge as Chris Jericho would deliver a heinous attack to the surgically-repaired Achilles tendon of Edge; an attack that ended with Jericho placing the ankle of Edge in between the steel steps and the steel ring post and smashing the ankle of Edge! What is the status of Edge following this vicious attack at the hands of Chris Jericho?