The 576th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. Four nights after Kane seemingly baited The Undertaker into getting attacked and laid out by The Nexus on the 900th Episode of RAW Celebration, the intense brotherly rivalry between The Undertaker and World Heavyweight Champion Kane would continue as the two brothers would come face-to-face on SmackDown with Kane promising a “major announcement” regarding The Undertaker!
>>Match Results<<
- Christian def. Drew McIntyre by roll-up.
- Michelle McCool def. Kelly Kelly by pin with the Faith Breaker.
- Non-Title: Dolph Ziggler def. Chris Masters by pin following the Zig Zag.
- 2-on-1 Handicap Match: Big Show def. CM Punk & Luke Gallows (with Joseph Mercury) by Luke Gallows submitting to Big Show’s Colossal Clutch.
- "Dashing" Cody Rhodes def. Matt Hardy by pin following the Cross Rhodes.
>>Detailed Results<<
With a celebratory set-up in the ring, the show kicks off with SmackDown’s newest Superstar, Alberto Del Rio, who reminds everyone what he did last week to Rey Mysterio where he assaulted the arm of Rey Mysterio to the point that Rey suffered a fracture in his left wrist! Del Rio proclaims that he is holding a celebration because he “removed” Rey Mysterio from the WWE and states that Rey is “weak” and is a “pathetic representation” of Mexico! Del Rio continues that Rey Mysterio is just like the piñata he has set up in the ring before proceeding to destroy the piñata and proclaiming that, at the end of the day, Rey Mysterio is nothing but a “broken churro”! Del Rio then proposes a toast to himself, referring to himself as “everything”, but Alberto Del Rio is then interrupted by “Captain Charisma” Christian, who introduces himself and states that he knows who Del Rio is before calling him “JBL; Juan Bradshaw Layfield”, before correcting himself and calling Del Rio “Enrique Iglesias”! Christian then gets serious and tells Alberto Del Rio that he did not “appreciate” what Del Rio did to a good friend of his in Rey Mysterio last week before saying that Del Rio is the only “jackass” he sees! Del Rio then states that Christian wants to end up like Rey Mysterio by being put in the hospital! Christian responds by stating that, even though he is already scheduled for a match, he has “no problem” fighting Del Rio right now! Alberto Del Rio then comes face-to-face to Christian before smiling and leaving the ring and telling Christian there will be “another place and another time” before vowing that Christian is going to “pay” for interrupting his celebration! As Christian’s gaze is locked on Alberto Del Rio, Drew McIntyre comes from behind and knocks Christian out of the ring where Alberto Del Rio pours champagne on Christian! Then it was revealed that, during the commercial break, Drew McIntyre continued his attack by sending Christian ribs-first into the steel steps!
After an intense confrontation with Alberto Del Rio that ended with Drew McIntyre blasting him from behind and Del Rio dumping champagne on him before McIntyre would ultimately send Christian ribs-first into the steel steps, “Captain Charisma” Christian would go one-on-one with “The Sinister Scotsman” Drew McIntyre! Despite the injured ribs, the resourceful Christian was able to come out of nowhere to catch Drew McIntyre with a roll-up to pick up the win! How will Drew McIntyre respond to the loss? How will Christian respond to the actions and words of Alberto Del Rio?
Just a few weeks before the Divas & Women’s Title Unification Lumberjack Match at WWE Night of Champions, one-half of the self-proclaimed “co-Women’s Champions” Michelle McCool would go one-on-one with one of the Lumberjacks in the Title Unification Match, Kelly Kelly! At the end of the blonde battle, it was Michelle McCool hitting the Faith Breaker en route to picking up the win! Will Michelle McCool be the member of LayCool to go one-on-one with Melina in the Title Unification Match at Night of Champions?
Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler was in action on SmackDown as Dolph would go one-on-one with “The Masterpiece” Chris Masters in a non-title bout! In the end, Dolph Ziggler would narrowly avoid being locked into the Masterlock before hitting the Zig Zag en route to picking up the win! With every championship on the line at WWE Night of Champions in just a few weeks, who will Dolph Ziggler be defending the Intercontinental Title against?
After their confrontation on the 900th Episode of RAW Celebration, “The World’s Largest Athlete” would face “The Straightedge Savior” CM Punk & “The Straightedge Enforcer” Luke Gallows of The Straightedge Society in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match! At the end of a hard-fought match, it was Big Show locking in the Colossal Clutch on Luke Gallows, forcing Gallows to tap out to pick up the win! After the match, an irate and seemingly unstable CM Punk hoisted Luke Gallows and delivered the GTS to his first “Straightedge Disciple”! After weeks of unsuccessful endeavors against Big Show, has CM Punk & The Straightedge Society came completely unraveled?
One week after defeating MVP, via disqualification in the Jack Swagger, Sr. Invitational Amateur Wrestling Contest and subsequently attacking MVP and locking on the ankle lock, forcing MVP to tap out, “The All-American American” Jack Swagger hosted what Swagger called “The All-American VIP Lounge” with his special guest, his father, Jack Swagger, Sr.! At the request of his father, Jack Swagger would proceed to do push-ups before being interrupted by “The Ballin’ Superstar” MVP, who questions Swagger’s choice of guest, calling Swagger’s father a “tired old man in a wheelchair”! Jack Swagger responds by saying that he is trying to have a “moment” with his father! MVP responds by saying that The VIP Lounge is “under renovation” before proceeding to throw a couple of Swagger’s trophies out of the ring and saying that they have all they “need”! MVP would then start to confront Jack Swagger, but Swagger would jump behind his wheelchair-bound father to try and protect himself from MVP and Swagger would ultimately launch his father out of the wheelchair onto MVP, keeping MVP occupied long enough to make his escape! Jack Swagger would then abandon his father once again as MVP would proceed to hit the Ballin’ Elbow on Jack Swagger, Sr.! How will Jack Swagger respond to MVP crashing his night hosting The VIP Lounge and hitting the Ballin’ Elbow on his father?
Just a few weeks after having his ankle assaulted by Drew McIntyre and just a couple weeks after being attacked by Drew McIntyre & “Dashing” Cody Rhodes, Matt Hardy would return to action as Hardy would go one-on-one with “Dashing” Cody Rhodes, but before the match began, Cody Rhodes would run down the looks of Matt Hardy and would refer to Matt as “Matt Hardy Version Done”! After insulting Matt Hardy, “Dashing” Cody Rhodes would go one-on-one with a fired up Matt Hardy! After working over the injured ankle of Matt Hardy, “Dashing” Cody Rhodes would hit the Cross Rhodes en route to picking up the win!
Then it was time for World Heavyweight Champion Kane to make his promised “major announcement” regarding his brother, The Undertaker, as Kane appears on the big screen and reveals that, at WWE Night of Champions, he will defend the World Heavyweight Title against The Undertaker! Kane then states that his “sin of envy” only makes him “more powerful” and states that he has longed for the “powers” of The Undertaker and they are finally his! As Kane laughs maniacally, a group of droids wheel a casket to ringside! The casket would then pop open to reveal that Kane was inside and Kane proclaims that there is nothing The Undertaker can do to “stop him” and that The Undertaker now lives in his “shadow”! Kane continues that he sees the “weakness” in The Undertaker and states that it was proven that The Undertaker is no longer “The Phenom” after The Nexus laid The Undertaker out on the 900th Episode of RAW Celebration! Kane then states that he knew that The Undertaker would not sit up and would only “lay there” like the “mangled wretch” that he knows The Undertaker is and that the “powers” of The Undertaker are now his! Kane then proclaims that when their “saga” is over, The Undertaker will become a “memory known as Kane’s brother”! Kane then proclaims that there is “nothing” The Undertaker can do to stop his own “demise” before Kane shouts that “nothing can stop me”! Kane is then interrupted by the familiar gong and dimming of the lights that signify the arrival of The Undertaker as Undertaker emerges and makes his way to the ring! A seething and irate Undertaker would then enter the ring, ready to do battle with his brother when the lights go out and, when the lights come back on, Kane is nowhere to be found! The Undertaker would go to the casket only to find that Kane is not in there either, but Kane would appear on the big screen and states that The Undertaker was “wrong” to assume that he has “anything left to learn” about being “evil” before proclaiming that, after Night of Champions, The Undertaker will become known as “the brother I destroyed”, referring to himself! Has Kane truly taken over as the “dominant brother” over The Undertaker? What will happen when these brothers collide with the World Heavyweight Title on the line at Night of Champions?