Five nights after a controversial and unforgettable WWE Hell in a Cell, the 581st edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Landon Arena at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, KS. For the first since he was dealt a broken wrist by Alberto Del Rio last month, the SmackDown icon, Rey Mysterio, would return to in-ring action as Rey would go one-on-one with the brash Superstar that injured him, Alberto Del Rio!
>>Match Results<<
- Edge def. Jack Swagger (with the Swagger Soaring Eagle) by pin following the Spear.
- "Co-Unified Divas Champion" Layla def. Kelly Kelly by pin following the Lay Out.
- Non-Title: Drew McIntyre & "Dashing" Cody Rhodes def. Kaval & Kofi Kingston by "Dashing" Cody Rhodes pinning Kaval following the Cross Rhodes.
- Intercontinental Championship: Dolph Ziggler (c) (with Kaitlyn) def. MVP by pin following the Zig Zag to retain.
- Rey Mysterio def. Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) by pin following the 619 and Bullet Splash.
>>Detailed Results<<
The show kicks off with the General Manager of SmackDown, Theodore Long, who introduces the newest SmackDown Superstar that he “personally” traded for, “The Rated-R Superstar” himself, Edge, as Edge would go one-on-one with his opponent from WWE Hell in a Cell, “The All-American American” Jack Swagger, who is accompanied by his “personal mascot”, the Swagger Soaring Eagle! During the match, the Swagger Soaring Eagle would get on the apron of the ring and Edge would go for the Spear on Jack Swagger, but Swagger would dodge the move and the mascot would take the Spear! At the end of a hard-fought match, it was Edge hitting the Spear on Jack Swagger to pick up a big win in the opening bout! As the move to SmackDown has seemingly given a fresh start to Edge, the question still remains, who did Theodore Long trade to RAW in exchange for Edge coming to SmackDown?
Five nights after her LayCool partner, Michelle McCool, successfully retained the Unified Divas Title by disqualification, the self-proclaimed “co-Unified Divas Champion” Layla, with Michelle McCool, would go one-on-one with Kelly Kelly, with the Diva who narrowly missed winning the Unified Divas Title, Natalya! In the end, it was Layla hitting the Lay Out on Kelly Kelly en route to picking up the win! After the match, Natalya briefly got her hands on Layla, but as Natalya starts to lock in the Sharpshooter, Michelle McCool would pull Layla out of the ring! Natalya seems to be hot on LayCool’s heels, but will Natalya earn another opportunity at the Unified Divas Title?
An excited “World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show makes an appearance as Big Show hypes the movie, “Knucklehead”, which opens on October 22 and reveals that he has been named the team captain for the SmackDown Vs. RAW Bragging Rights Match at WWE Bragging Rights! Big Show then introduces a Superstar who can “unify” the SmackDown locker room and give them something to “believe in”, none other that the Team SmackDown mascot, Hornswoggle! Big Show then reveals that he will be looking closely at the SmackDown locker room to select the members of Team SmackDown, but Big Show is then interrupted by Caylen Croft & Trent Barreta; The Dude Busters! The Dude Busters would proceed to tell Big Show that they should be on Team SmackDown, because they could get themselves put on Team RAW, but Big Show would respond to the threat by The Dude Busters by delivering a double chokeslam to Croft & Barreta! Who will Big Show ultimately choose for Team SmackDown? Can Big Show’s team top RAW’s team, headed by the self-proclaimed team captain of Team RAW, The Miz?
The WWE Tag Team Champions Drew McIntyre & “Dashing” Cody Rhodes were in action as the tag champions would face the team of the winner of NXT Season Two, “The World Warrior” Kaval and former Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston in a non-title bout! At the end of a chaotic match, it was a distraction by Drew McIntyre that allowed “Dashing” Cody Rhodes to hit the Cross Rhodes on Kaval en route to picking up the win!
Five nights after betraying The Undertaker and ensuring that Kane retained the World Heavyweight Title inside Hell in a Cell, “The Father of Destruction” Paul Bearer made an appearance to introduce a “man who should be respected” and a “man who should be feared” and “revered”, a man who “single-handedly destroyed the myth of The Undertaker” and left him in a “pathetic writhing mass”, “the devil’s favorite son” and his son, the World Heavyweight Champion, Kane! Kane states that, when he came up with his plan years ago, he never thought it would be so “easy” to carry out his plan before saying that The Undertaker sent Paul Bearer to the “darkside”, but he brought him back because he is “more powerful” than The Undertaker could “imagine”! Kane continues that the only thing better than beating The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell was seeing the look on The Undertaker’s face when Paul Bearer betrayed him! Kane continues that all of the fans thought that, with Paul Bearer’s return, they thought that The Undertaker would regain his power, but with the “fall” of The Undertaker, all of the fans’ “dreams” came “crashing down” before stating The Undertaker is “weak, pathetic, helpless” and is at the “mercy of his superiors”! Kane continues that all of the fans “answer” to someone in their regular lives and The Undertaker “answers” to him before proclaiming that, all the fans have left is their “empty, miserable, pathetic lives”! Kane then states that The Undertaker’s “legacy” has been “shattered” and that The Undertaker has “failed” all his “creatures of the night” before proclaiming that they are just “warming up”! What could the diabolical Kane mean by these ominous words?
One week after having their Intercontinental Title match brought to an unceremonial end at the hands of The Nexus, Dolph Ziggler, with his disgruntled girlfriend, Vickie Guerrero, in his corner, would once again defend the Intercontinental Title against “The Ballin’ Superstar” MVP! During the match, Dolph Ziggler would confront his unhappy girlfriend, Vickie Guerrero, and Vickie would ultimately walk away from Dolph! However, later on in the match, Vickie’s NXT Rookie Diva, Kaitlyn, would rush down to ringside and would trip MVP up, allowing Dolph Ziggler to hit the Zig Zag en route to picking up the win and retaining the Intercontinental Title! How will Vickie Guerrero respond to the continuing interactions between Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn?
Then it was time for the main event as, after being sidelined with a broken left for a month, the SmackDown icon, “The Master of the 619” Rey Mysterio would make his return to in-ring action as Rey would go one-on-one with the Superstar who put him out of action, Alberto Del Rio! Despite the efforts of Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, Rey Mysterio would hit the 619 on Alberto Del Rio and following it up with a Bullet Splash en route to picking up the win! Now that Rey Mysterio has defeated Alberto Del Rio, is their feud finished or has Rey Mysterio only begun his quest for revenge against Alberto Del Rio?