The 560th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY. Nine nights before CM Punk puts his hair on the line against Rey Mysterio, who would essentially put his freedom on the line as, if he loses to Punk, he will be forced to join The Straightedge Society, CM Punk would go one-on-one with Rey Mysterio in a preview to their WWE Over The Limit showdown! After refusing to cease his assault on Matt Hardy last week, Drew McIntyre was suspended, stripped of the Intercontinental Title, and ultimately fired by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, which left the Intercontinental Championship vacant! After advancing in a four-man tournament last week, this week’s SmackDown would see “Captain Charisma” Christian go one-on-one with Kofi Kingston with the winner being crowned the new Intercontinental Champion!
Match Results
- Intercontinental Championship Tournament: Finals: Kofi Kingston def. Christian by pin following Trouble In Paradise to win the Intercontinental Title.
- Shad Gaspard def. Jesse Guyver (jobber) by pin following the STO (Shad Taking Over).
- MVP & JTG def. The Dude Busters by MVP pinning Trent Barreta following the Play of the Day.
- Women’s Championship: 2-on-1 Handicap Match: Team Lay-Cool def. Beth Phoenix (c) by Layla pinning Beth Phoenix (c) after Beth Phoenix (c) & Michelle McCool’s heads collide; As a result, Layla wins the Women’s Title.
- Kane def. Chavo Guerrero by pin following the Big Red Chokeslam.
- WWE Over The Limit Preview Match: Rey Mysterio def. CM Punk (with Luke Gallows, Serena, and a mystery man) by DQ after the mystery man attacks Rey Mysterio.
Detailed Results
With the Intercontinental Title belt in his possession, the show kicks off with SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, who announces that the opening match of the night will be for the vacant Intercontinental Championship before taking a seat at ringside as “Captain Charisma” Christian would go one-on-one with Kofi Kingston with the winner being crowned the new Intercontinental Champion! In a grueling match that saw both men give it absolutely everything they had, it was Kofi Kingston who struck out of nowhere with Trouble In Paradise to finally put Christian down for the three count to allow Kofi to become the new Intercontinental Champion! After the match, Christian showed his respect for Kofi Kingston and the match they just had by shaking the hand of the new Intercontinental Champion! SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long enters the ring and presents the Intercontinental Title belt to Kofi and congratulates the new champion! After being stripped of the Intercontinental Title and fired last week, Drew McIntyre appeared on SmackDown! McIntyre entered the ring and, without saying a word, handed Theodore Long some sort of paper and, after Long read the document, the GM turned to Kofi and informed Kofi that he has to take the Intercontinental Title from him! Kofi refused, saying that he just beat Christian to win the vacant, but begrudgingly handed the Intercontinental Title to Theodore Long, who, in turn, handed it back to Drew McIntyre, who celebrated with the title! What did the letter say? How will Kofi Kingston react to having the Intercontinental Title taken away from him?
SmackDown Color Commentator Matt Striker got a hold of the letter that Drew McIntyre handed to General Manager Theodore Long and read the letter from the Chairman of the WWE, Mr. McMahon! Striker read the letter that stated that Long’s “abuse of power is appalling” and that McIntyre is a “gentleman” and a “voracious competitor” before reading the announcement that the Chairman has “overruled” Theodore Long and Drew McIntyre has been “reinstated” and is still “recognized” as the Intercontinental Champion! How will SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long react? How will Kofi Kingston react to losing the Intercontinental Title in such a manner?
Shad Gaspard was in action on SmackDown as Gaspard went one-on-one with local competitor Jesse Guyver. In the end, it was Shad picking up the dominant win over the preliminary competitor after hitting the STO; Shad Taking Over! What is next for Shad Gaspard?
The new team of MVP & JTG were in action on SmackDown as the new team took on The Dude Busters! In the end, it was MVP hitting the Play of the Day on Trent Barreta en route to picking up the win for himself and JTG! Can this new team ascend the tag team ranks in the WWE?
With his various trophies and other accomplishments on display in the ring, World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger makes an appearance on SmackDown! The confident champion proclaims that he achieves more in “one day” than most people do in a lifetime! “The All-American Champion” states that he brought all his trophies and other awards to the ring to show everyone and to show his WWE Over The Limit opponent, Big Show! Swagger continues that, at age five, he was “better” than everyone’s children and he is “better” now! Swagger says that he still “upholds the scout’s honor” at all times and that he was literally “king” of his high school and that he brought a brain surgeon who was in her thirties to the high school prom! Swagger states that there is “more” to Jack Swagger and he wants the fans to see that before dubbing himself a “national hero” and touting that he is a National Scrabble Champion before the World Heavyweight Champion is interrupted by the arrival of his #1 Contender, “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show! Big Show calls Swagger’s accomplishments “impressive” and says he is “jealous” of Swagger’s status of a National Scrabble Champion! Swagger asks Big Show to not touch his awards and Big Show responds by “accidentally” smashing the framed Scrabble award and dancing with Swagger’s ballroom dancing trophy before breaking it! The frustration of Jack Swagger leads to Swagger attacking Big Show, but Big Show fights back and Swagger makes a hasty exit! As Swagger watches from the outside, Big Show methodically destroys all of Swagger’s various trophies, awards, and memorabilia before picking up the World Heavyweight Title belt and holding it high before placing it over his shoulder! Can Big Show make the World Heavyweight Title his come WWE Over The Limit or will Jack Swagger find a way to take “The World’s Largest Athlete” down and retain his gold?
In a rematch from last week’s WWE Superstars, Buffalo’s own Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix went one-on-one with Rosa Mendes in a non-title bout on SmackDown, but before the match got underway, SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero comes out and tells Rosa to leave the ring before announcing that Michelle McCool has invoked her rematch clause for the Women’s Title and Beth Phoenix would defend the gold in a tornado-style 2-on-1 Handicap Match against both members of Team Lay-Cool; Michelle McCool & Layla! After Beth Phoenix & Michelle McCool’s heads collide, McCool gets knocked to the outside and Layla crawls to the cover on Beth Phoenix to win the Women’s Title! SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero & Michelle McCool then get in the ring as McCool celebrates the title win of her best friend! How will Beth Phoenix respond to losing the Women’s Title in her hometown to Layla?
After being on the receiving end of a chokeslam by Kane a couple of weeks prior, Chavo Guerrero went one-on-one with “The Big Red Machine” on SmackDown! While Chavo tried his best, Kane still picked up the dominant victory after hitting the chokeslam!
Backstage, the new Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre confronts SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and Long informs “The Chosen One” that he will go one-on-one with the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title in “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show on next week’s SmackDown!
Then it was time for the main event as, nine days before CM Punk puts his hair on the line against Rey Mysterio, who would join The Straightedge Society if he loses at WWE Over The Limit, CM Punk and Rey Mysterio went one-on-one on SmackDown! Despite interference by Luke Gallows, Rey Mysterio hit the 619 on CM Punk and was set to defeat Punk, but the hooded ally of The Straightedge Society entered the ring and Rey cornered the individual and the individual unmasked to reveal it was Serena! The real hooded ally of The Straightedge Society then blasted Rey from behind and hit Rey with a modified neckbreaker, which led to Luke Gallows hitting the Gallows’ Pole on Mysterio! Gallows and the mysterious ally then placed Rey on the shoulders of CM Punk to allow Punk to deliver the GTS to Rey! With Rey in a helpless state, Punk placed the hand over the heart of Rey and forced Rey to “pledge allegiance” to The Straightedge Society! Will Rey be forced to join The Straightedge Society in nine nights at WWE Over The Limit?