Just two nights before Night of Champions, the 578th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI. Two nights before their epic match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions, World Heavyweight Champion Kane would appear on SmackDown to answer the challenge of his brother, The Undertaker, who last week challenged Kane to make their World Heavyweight Title match at Night of Champions a No Holds Barred Match! Also, two nights before they defend the WWE Tag Team Titles against still unknown opponents at Night of Champions, WWE Tag Team Champions The Hart Dynasty would face “Dashing” Cody Rhodes & “The Sinister Scotsman” Drew McIntyre in a non-title match!
>>Match Results<<
- Non-Title: Drew McIntyre & "Dashing" Cody Rhodes def. The Hart Dynasty (with Natalya) by Cody Rhodes pinning David Hart Smith following the Cross Rhodes.
- Kofi Kingston def. Jack Swagger by pin following Trouble in Paradise.
- Layla & Michelle McCool def. Kelly Kelly & Rosa Mendes by Layla pinning Rosa Mendes following the Lay Out.
- CM Punk (with Alberto Del Rio) def. Christian by pin following the GTS.
>>Detailed Results<<
Before going one-on-one with CM Punk later in the night, the show kicks off with “Captain Charisma” Christian as Christian presents The Peep Show, but before Christian can even introduce his guest, Christian is interrupted by Ricardo Rodriguez, Alberto Del Rio’s own personal ring announcer, as Rodriguez introduces the self-proclaimed “honest man” as Alberto Del Rio comes out! Christian welcomes Del Rio to The Peep Show and states that Del Rio has made quite the “impression” since coming to SmackDown with his own ring announcer, his classic cars, and his fancy attire! Christian then states that he may be looking “two different guys” as there is the guy who stands before him and then there’s the guy who everyone saw in the introduction videos before he made his debut! Christian then asks if it is the guy who is “great” or the guy who is like a “cheap fajita” and is “all sizzle, no steak”! Alberto Del Rio responds by saying that all that Christian or anyone else needs to know about him is what he did to Rey Mysterio! Christian then states that he has been around the WWE for a long time as he has seen them all; he has seen “The Next Big Thing”, he has seen a group of “male cheerleaders”, and he has even seen a guy who eats worms and calls himself “the boogeyman”! Christian then states that he has “outlasted” them all before asking Alberto Del Rio if he is a “flash in the pan” like the others or is he “as advertised”! Alberto Del Rio responds by saying Christian has done a lot, but he is the man who is going to “change” the WWE “forever” before proclaiming that he is going to bring “pride” to his people! Christian then states that his “pride” is telling him to test to see if Del Rio has the “goods” before challenging Alberto Del Rio to a one-on-one match at Night of Champions! Alberto Del Rio responds by refusing the challenge, saying that he does not want Christian to become a “peasant” by losing to him and says he will “think” about accepting the match before putting his hands on Christian and calling him “baby”! Christian responds by delivering a hard slap t the face of Del Rio, angering Del Rio! However, Del Rio would leave the ring and, from the stage, would smile and once again say “no” to Christian’s challenge! What will Christian have to do to get Alberto Del Rio to accept his challenge?
Two nights before they defend their WWE Tag Team Titles against still unknown opponents at Night of Champions, WWE Tag Team Champions The Hart Dynasty would face “Dashing” Cody Rhodes & “The Sinister Scotsman” Drew McIntyre in a non-title match! In the end, it looked like The Hart Dynasty would win after setting up for the Hart Attack, but Drew McIntyre would pull Tyson Kidd out of the ring, which would allow “Dashing” Cody Rhodes to hit the Cross Rhodes on David Hart Smith en route to picking up the non-title win! After pinning the champions, will “Dashing” Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre be the ones to challenge The Hart Dynasty for the WWE Tag Team Titles at Night of Champions?
Two nights before he challenges Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Title at Night of Champions with the stipulation that, if Dolph is disqualified or counted out, he will lose the title, Kofi Kingston would make an appearance on SmackDown as Kofi states that the “only reason” that Dolph Ziggler is the Intercontinental Champion is because of Vickie Guerrero! Kofi continues that Dolph Ziggler “hides” behind Vickie and calls Vickie a “loud mouth, nasty, beast of a woman” and states that Vickie has ensured that her “flavor of the month” keeps the title by “any means necessary”! Kofi then reminds everyone that, if Dolph Ziggler gets disqualified or counted out, he will win the Intercontinental Title before vowing that, this Sunday at Night of Champions, he will “rid the WWE of the most repulsive couple in SmackDown history” because, as soon as the Intercontinental Title is “removed” from Dolph Ziggler, then Vickie will “remove” herself from Dolph Ziggler before proclaiming that, at Night of Champions, there will be “trouble in paradise”!
After his guarantee to win the Intercontinental Title and put an end to the relationship between Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero at Night of Champions, Kofi Kingston would go one-on-one with “The All-American American” Jack Swagger! At the end of an incredibly hard-fought match, it was Kofi Kingston finally being able to hit Trouble in Paradise on Jack Swagger en route to picking up the win! Can Kofi Kingston make his guarantee come true this Sunday at Night of Champions by winning the Intercontinental Title and bringing an end to the relationship between Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero?
Two nights before one of them face Divas Champion Melina in the Women’s & Divas Title Unification Lumberjack Match, the self-proclaimed “co-Women’s Champions” Layla & Michelle McCool, with SmackDown’s newest Superstar, Kaval, in their corner, would face two of the Lumberjacks in the match in Kelly Kelly & Rosa Mendes, with Kelly Kelly’s NXT Rookie Diva, Naomi, in her corner! In the end, it was Layla hitting the Lay Out on Rosa Mendes en route to picking up the win! Can either Layla or Michelle McCool defeat Divas Champion Melina this Sunday night at Night of Champions to become the unified Women’s & Divas Champion?
Backstage, Layla & Michelle McCool are with the winner of NXT Season Two, Kaval, as McCool presents her hat filled with both of their names and whoever’s name is drawn will face Divas Champion Melina in the Women’s & Divas Title Unification Lumberjack Match! After having Kaval draw the name, it was revealed that Michelle McCool will be the one to face Melina in the Unification Match! After McCool exited, Kaval revealed to Layla that all of the names in the hat said Michelle McCool on them! An angry Layla says that she is not “surprised” by McCool putting only her name in the hat, but McCool will be “surprised” when she does not accompany McCool at Night of Champions! Without Layla in her corner, can Michelle McCool prevail this Sunday against Melina in the Title Unification Lumberjack Match?
Two nights before he goes one-on-one with Big Show at Night of Champions, “The Straightedge Savior” CM Punk would go one-on-one with “Captain Charisma” Christian, with Alberto Del Rio serving as a guest on commentary! In the middle of the match, Alberto Del Rio stands up and begins to address Christian, distracting Christian long enough for CM Punk to take advantage by hitting the GTS en route to picking up the win! After the match, Alberto Del Rio grabs a steel chair and unfolds it over Christian before sitting on the chair so that he could keep Christian from attacking him before, once again, telling Christian “no”, he will not face Christian at Night of Champions! This brings out Big Show, who comes to the aid of Christian, but with Big Show distracted by Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk comes in from behind, allowing Del Rio to escape before delivering a few right hands and a kick to Big Show’s head, all to no avail as Big Show would fire back and lay Punk out with a vicious Knockout Punch! Will this be the same result when Big Show & CM Punk go one-on-one this Sunday?
Two nights before he defends the World Heavyweight Title against The Undertaker at Night of Champions, World Heavyweight Champion Kane would appear on SmackDown to answer his brother’s challenge from last week to make their title match a No Holds Barred Match! Kane states that the “final chapter” in his and The Undertaker’s rivalry will end at Night of Champions, but will not end like it has in the past with The Undertaker emerging victorious! Kane then states that he will be the “author of The Undertaker’s demise” and it will end the same way it started, with The Undertaker laid out at his feet before stating that the “dark side” will “betray” The Undertaker, because he now has the “powers” of The Undertaker! Kane then proclaims that his “plot” will be “realized” this Sunday when he makes The Undertaker “nothing more than a distant memory” before shouting that, this time, it will end on his “terms”! Kane then reveals that having the match being No Holds Barred was exactly what he “wanted” and this Sunday, there will be no rules to stop either of them before vowing that, at Night of Champions, he will make The Undertaker “rest in peace”! However, Kane is then interrupted by none other than his brother, The Undertaker, as “The Phenom” makes his way to the ring to come face-to-face with his brother, but as The Undertaker approaches the ring, the lights completely go out and, when they come back on, Kane is standing behind The Undertaker with World Heavyweight Title belt in hand as Kane blasts his brother in the mid-section with the title belt before a brawl between the brothers ensue on the outside of the ring! Kane would ultimately gain control and would throw The Undertaker into the ring and would proceed to hit Undertaker’s signature “Snake Eyes” maneuver before laying his brother out with the chokeslam! Kane would then proceed to plant The Undertaker with Undertaker’s own Tombstone Piledriver just like at SummerSlam before Kane does the signature kneel of his older brother! After everything that has gone down between these brothers and with Kane getting the better of The Undertaker almost every time they come in contact with each other, can The Undertaker find a way to stop his diabolical younger brother this Sunday at Night of Champions when they face off in a No Holds Barred Match for the World Heavyweight Title or will Kane prove that he truly is the “dominant brother” by defeating The Undertaker and retaining his title?