The 577th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, MD. For the first time since May, just before he was left in a vegetative state by his brother, Kane, the one and only “Phenom” of the WWE will return to action on SmackDown as The Undertaker will go one-on-one with familiar adversary, “The Straightedge Savior” CM Punk just nine nights before The Undertaker challenges his brother Kane for the World Heavyweight Title at Night of Champions!
>>Match Results<<
- Jack Swagger def. MVP by submission to the ankle lock.
- Alberto Del Rio def. Matt Hardy by submission to the cross armbreaker.
- Drew McIntyre def. Kaval (in his SmackDown debut) by pin following the Future Shock DDT.
- Kofi Kingston & Chris Masters def. Dolph Ziggler & Chavo Guerrero by Kofi Kingston pinning Dolph Ziggler following Trouble in Paradise.
- The Undertaker (in his in-ring return) def. CM Punk by submission to the Hell’s Gate.
>>Detailed Results<<
The show kicks off with the lights going out and the familiar gong sounding as, when the lights came back on, The Undertaker stands in the middle of the ring and Undertaker states that his brother, Kane, has always been a “disturbed freak of nature” and he has protected Kane on various occasions; not only from others, but from Kane himself! The Undertaker then states that he will have “no regrets” doing what he “must do” at Night of Champions! Undertaker continues that, by assaulting him and leaving him in a vegetative state, Kane has given himself a “false sense of confidence” and that Kane thinks he has the “power of the darkness” before The Undertaker states that the powers are still his and he is still “in control”! The Undertaker then proclaims that Kane will remember Night of Champions as the night that his “more evil, dominant brother” took back the World Heavyweight Championship! The Undertaker then states that, when him and Kane do come face-to-face that they will “open the gates to hell” and give it their all and that he “can’t wait”! The Undertaker continues that there are “no rules that will be able to stop” them when they do face each other before proclaiming that their match at Night of Champions will be a “fight” and it must be No Holds Barred! The Undertaker then calls out his brother, Kane, to answer his challenge, but The Undertaker is instead met by a familiar face in “The Straightedge Savior” CM Punk, who asks the fans to give The Undertaker a “standing ovation” before saying that they should applaud Undertaker because, after Night of Champions, The Undertaker will be no more! Punk continues that he sees nothing “phenomenal” about The Undertaker and all he sees is a “beat up, broken down man whose had one too many fights” and that The Undertaker is “delusional”! The Undertaker responds by saying that he sees CM Punk as his “next victim” and CM Punk responds by saying that he will defeat The Undertaker and, by doing so, he will be sending a “message” to the WWE fans and Big Show that nothing can compare to the “power of Straightedge”! The Undertaker responds by saying that the results will be the “same as always” as CM Punk will “fail” before telling Punk that he will “rest in peace”! In his first match since May, can The Undertaker prove to his brother, Kane, that he is completely healthy and ready to combat Kane for the World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions?
One week after crashing Jack Swagger’s night hosting The VIP Lounge and ended up hitting the Ballin’ Elbow on Swagger’s father, “The Ballin’ Superstar” MVP would go one-on-one with “The All-American American” Jack Swagger! In the end, it looked like MVP was set to pick up the win, but Jack Swagger would escape to the outside of the ring and would lure MVP out to the outside of the ring where Swagger would kick the steel steps into the ankle of MVP and would ram the same ankle into the steel ring post before locking on the ankle lock, forcing MVP to tap out and pick up the win!
One week after having his celebration for injuring the wrist of Rey Mysterio interrupted by Christian only to tell Christian that they will battle another time, the self-proclaimed “honest man” Alberto Del Rio would go one-on-one with another good friend of Rey Mysterio in Matt Hardy! In the end, it was Alberto Del Rio sending Matt Hardy shoulder-first into the steel ring post before locking in his cross armbreaker, forcing Matt to tap out! After the match, Del Rio looked like he was set to lock in the move again when Christian rushes to the ring and fends off Alberto Del Rio! After telling Christian that they will have a match another time, when will the time come for Alberto Del Rio to face off against Christian?
Ten nights after winning NXT Season Two, “The World Warrior” Kaval would make his SmackDown debut and would go one-on-one with “The Sinister Scotsman” Drew McIntyre! Despite an impressive showing in his SmackDown debut, it was Drew McIntyre dumping Kaval on his head on the outside of the ring that would lead to Drew McIntyre hitting the Future Shock DDT on Kaval in the middle of the ring en rout to picking up the win! How will Kaval bounce back from losing his debut match on SmackDown?
After weeks of retaining the Intercontinental Title by any means necessary, even getting himself disqualified and counted out, it was announced that, at Night of Champions, Kofi Kingston will challenge Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Title for a fourth time, but this time, if Dolph Ziggler is disqualified or counted out, Dolph will lose the Intercontinental Title! Will Dolph Ziggler retain the Intercontinental Title when he is forced to win by pin or submission to retain or will Dolph find himself disqualified counted out and without the Intercontinental Title?
With her NXT Rookie, Kaitlyn, in tow, SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero would introduce her boyfriend, Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler as Dolph would team with Vickie’s nephew, Chavo Guerrero, to face Dolph’s Night of Champions opponent, Kofi Kingston and “The Masterpiece” Chris Masters! In the end, it was Kofi Kingston hitting Trouble in Paradise on Dolph Ziggler en route to pinning the Intercontinental Champion just nine nights before he gets his shot at the gold! Can Kofi Kingston do the same to win the Intercontinental Title from Dolph Ziggler at Night of Champions?
Before the main event, CM Punk orders his Straightedge Society to the back as the main event would see The Undertaker, competing for the first time since May, going one-on-one with “The Straightedge Savior” CM Punk! At the end of a hard-fought match, it looked like CM Punk would pick up a big win after hitting the GTS, but when Punk went for the pin, The Undertaker would lock Punk in the Hell’s Gate, forcing Punk to tap out and earning Undertaker the win! After the match, The Undertaker went for his legendary pose, but when he did so, the familiar explosion of fire on all four ring posts and the explosion of fire on the stage ignited while the maniacal laugh of Kane was heard1 Does Kane truly have control of The Undertaker’s powers? Will Kane accept the No Holds Barred stipulation to the World Heavyweight Title match at Night of Champions?