The 545th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH. With just two days to go until the Royal Rumble, SmackDown would host two big championship matches as D-Generation X would return to SmackDown to defend the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles against CM Punk & Luke Gallows and, in a No DQ Match, Drew McIntyre would defend the Intercontinental Title against former champion John Morrison.
Match Results
- Triple H def. CM Punk (with Serena & Luke Gallows) by DQ after Serena interferes.
- R-Truth def. Chris Jericho by roll-up.
- Intercontinental Championship: No DQ: Drew McIntyre (c) def. John Morrison by pin following the Future Shock on the Intercontinental Title belt to retain.
- Women’s Championship: Michelle McCool (c) def. "Piggy James" by roll-up to retain.
"Piggy James" was Layla dressed in a fat suit with Mickie James-style clothes on.
- Shawn Michaels & Rey Mysterio fight to a No Contest after Batista interferes.
Batista interferes in the match by spearing Rey Mysterio and setting Shawn Michaels up for the Batista Bomb.
Match Quality
- Shawn Michaels Vs. Rey Mysterio
- Triple H Vs. CM Punk
- Intercontinental Championship
- R-Truth Vs. Chris Jericho
- Women’s Championship
Detailed Results
The show kicked off with the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions D-Generation X as they were set to defend their titles against “The Straightedge Superstar” CM Punk and his “Straightedge Disciple” Luke Gallows. Before DX could even begin their trademark introduction, they were interrupted by the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title, Rey Mysterio! Rey confronts Shawn Michaels and tells Michaels that he “respects” HBK, but he does not think that HBK “respects” him! Rey states that HBK is planning to win the Royal Rumble Match and get his WrestleMania rematch with The Undertaker via a World Heavyweight Title opportunity and, by doing so, HBK thinks that Rey will not win the World Heavyweight Title from The Undertaker at the Royal Rumble! Michaels responds by telling Rey that’s “exactly” what he thinks! HBK then asks Rey what he thinks he is doing getting in his face. Triple H interrupts and tells Rey that Hornswoggle is not there and suggests that Rey “runs along”! Rey responds by telling the duo that he is going to do what neither of them could do at WrestleMania and what they will never have the chance to do again by defeating The Undertaker! Michaels then asks what happens if Rey does not make it to the Rumble and Rey poses the same question to HBK and suggests that they settle it in the ring if HBK has a problem! “The Straightedge Superstar” CM Punk, along with Luke Gallows and the newest member of “The Straightedge Society”, Serena, interrupt and proclaims that they will be the first “Straightedge” Unified WWE Tag Team Champions in history! Triple H responds by saying that he is relieved to hear Punk is “straight” and states that no one cares about the “straightedge” lifestyle! Triple H says that Punk does not drink, smoke, or do drugs, but he looks like he has been hanging out with Amy Winehouse and suggests Punk shave the “squirrel” shaved off of his chin and says one of them needs to shower! SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long comes out and proclaims that CM Punk & Luke Gallows will not be getting their title match on that edition of SmackDown! Long explains that, for the first time ever, Rey Mysterio will go one-on-one with Shawn Michaels and CM Punk will go one-on-one with Triple H, with the latter happening right away!
While he and Luke Gallows would not be getting their shot at the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles on SmackDown, CM Punk would face off in a one-on-one match with “The Game” Triple H! The proud veteran Triple H even opted to compete in the match without Shawn Michaels at ringside, while Luke Gallows & Serena were at ringside in support of their leader and savior, CM Punk! Triple H has CM Punk set up for the Pedigree to end the match, but Serena rushed into the ring and jumped onto the back of Triple H! Luke Gallows then entered the ring and pummeled “The Game” before CM Punk joined the beat down. Luke Gallows then pulled out the clippers to do the unthinkable to Triple H by shaving his head! Luckily for Triple H, Shawn Michaels rushed to the ring and saved his tag team partner from the embarrassment of having his head shaved! Together, DX rid the ring of Gallows and set their sites on CM Punk, but Punk propped Serena in front of him to prevent an attack by DX! After HBK feigned a super kick, Serena quickly got out of the ring! How will Michaels fair when he goes one-on-one with Rey Mysterio? How will DX do in the Royal Rumble Match this Sunday?
Following their confrontation on WWE Superstars, Chris Jericho and R-Truth went one-on-one on SmackDown. R-Truth was able to block a Codebreaker attempt and roll-up Jericho to pick up the win! How will Jericho & R-Truth fair in the Royal Rumble Match this Sunday night?
Then it was time for the Intercontinental Title to be on the line as Drew McIntyre would defend the title against former champion John Morrison in a No DQ Match. In a brutal back-and-forth battle, it was Drew McIntyre planting John Morrison, face-first, onto the Intercontinental Title belt with the double-arm DDT known as the “Future Shock” that kept the title around the waist of McIntyre! Who will be the next Superstar to step up and challenge McIntyre for the Intercontinental Championship?
Women’s Champion Michelle McCool made an appearance on SmackDown and proclaimed that she sent Mickie James “back to the barnyard” last week. McCool then states that she is a “fighting champion” and challenges any SmackDown Diva to come out and challenge her for her Women’s Title! The challenge was answered by Layla dressed up in a fat suit as “Piggy James”! Believe it or not, the Women’s Title match actually took place with McCool getting the easy win to retain the Women’s Title. How will McCool fair against the real Mickie James this Sunday with her Women’s Title on the line?
Backstage, Batista confronts Shawn Michaels and tells HBK that he does not care about Michaels’ desire to have a rematch with The Undertaker and threatens Shawn Michaels by telling HBK to “stay out his way” in the Royal Rumble Match! HBK tells Batista that he always thought “The Animal” was “overrated”! Triple H then stepped in before anything could go down between his longtime friend, Shawn Michaels, and his former protégé, Batista. Triple H got into the face of Batista, but “The Animal” decided to back off! What will happen this Sunday when all three of these men take part in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match?
Then it was time for the main event as, for the first time ever on SmackDown, the #1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title, Rey Mysterio, would go one-on-one with one-half of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions, Shawn Michaels. The stellar match came to an abrupt halt once Batista interrupted and hit Rey Mysterio with a Spinebuster! “The Animal” then sets Shawn Michaels up for the Batista Bomb, but Triple H came to the aid of his tag team partner and sacrificed himself to take Batista over the top rope! With Rey Mysterio & Shawn Michaels down in the ring, the familiar gong of The Undertaker sounded and “The Phenom” appeared and simultaneously laid out both Mysterio & Michaels with a double chokeslam! The World Heavyweight Champion then stood tall in the center of the ring. Will this be the case come the Royal Rumble this Sunday or will Rey Mysterio upset The Undertaker and claim the World Heavyweight Championship? What will go down between Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Batista, and the rest of the competitors in the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match? Who will be “the one” who gets a World Title opportunity at WrestleMania?