Just two nights before Capitol Punishment, the 617th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, RI. Before he challenges Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Title at Capitol Punishment, “The Personification of Domination” Ezekiel Jackson would team with “The International Sensation” Sin Cara and “The American Dragon” Daniel Bryan to face Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, & Ted DiBiase in a 6-Man Tag rematch from RAW.
Match Results
- 6-Man Tag: Ezekiel Jackson, Sin Cara, & Daniel Bryan def. Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, & Ted DiBiase by Daniel Bryan pinning Ted DiBiase following a corner dropkick.
- Jinder Mahal (with The Great Khali) def. Vladimir Kozlov by pin following the full nelson side slam.
- 6-Diva Tag: Tamina, Rosa Mendes, & Alicia Fox def. Natalya, A.J., & Kaitlyn by Tamina pinning A.J. following the Samoan Drop.
- Jimmy & Jey Uso def. Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel by Jey Uso pinning Justin Gabriel following the Superfly Splash.
- One-on-One or Triple Threat at Capitol Punishment: Christian def. Sheamus by pin after sending Sheamus face-first into the top of the steel ring post. As a result, the World Heavyweight Title match at Capitol Punishment will remain a one-on-one match.
Detailed Results
Two nights before defending the World Heavyweight Title against Christian at Capitol Punishment, the show kicks off with World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton as the champion states that it is true that he suffered a concussion last week, but it is also true that he does not “give a damn”. Orton continues that he is “ready to fight” before saying that Christian got what he “wanted”, so he should get what he “wants” and that is to “beat the living hell” out of Christian. The World Heavyweight Champion would then be interrupted by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long as the GM states that he has not received Orton’s “official medical clearance” and that, it might just be a “formality”, but he is not going to “let” Orton fight until Capitol Punishment.
The source of Randy Orton’s consternation, Christian, would then interrupt as the #1 Contender states that he gave Orton something that he “needed”, because Orton can “blame” the concussion on losing the World Heavyweight Title to him at Capitol Punishment, even though he is “just plain better”. Christian then polls the audience, asking the fans if they will think “less” of Randy Orton after he wins the World Heavyweight Title this Sunday before saying that, if Orton is lucky, then he will let Orton have a title shot five nights after he is crowned the new champion. “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus then comes out and touts that he pinned the World Heavyweight Champion last week, so he is more deserving of a title shot than someone who has lost their rematch. Christian refutes that the title match has already been set, so Sheamus will have to wait his turn. Theodore Long then interjects and announces that Christian will go one-on-one with Sheamus and, if Christian wins, the match will remain the same, but if Sheamus wins, then the World Heavyweight Title match this Sunday will become a Triple Threat Match! The GM then tells the World Heavyweight Champion that he is going to allow Randy Orton to sit at ringside for the match, but he is not to get physically involved. A seething Randy Orton then warns Christian and Sheamus that there will be “serious consequences” tonight. What does Randy Orton have in store for Christian and Sheamus? Will the World Heavyweight Title match at Capitol Punishment remain a one-on-one match between Randy Orton and Christian or will Sheamus be added to the mix?
Then it was time for a rematch from RAW as “The Personification of Domination” Ezekiel Jackson would team with “The International Sensation” Sin Cara and “The American Dragon” Daniel Bryan to face Ezekiel Jackson’s Capitol Punishment opponent, Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, & Ted DiBiase in a 6-Man Tag Match. In the end, it was Daniel Bryan hitting a corner dropkick on Ted DiBiase en route to picking up the win for himself, Sin Cara, and Ezekiel Jackson.
The undefeated Jinder Mahal would be in action on SmackDown as Jinder, with The Great Khali in his corner, would go one-on-one with “The Moscow Mauler” Vladimir Kozlov. In the end, it was The Great Khali delivering a chop to the skull of Vladimir Kozlov behind the referee’s back that would allow Jinder Mahal to hit his full nelson side slam on Kozlov en route to picking up the win.
Two nights before he goes one-on-one with Alberto Del Rio at Capitol Punishment and four nights after returning to RAW after being ran over by the car of Alberto Del Rio, “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show would make a special appearance on SmackDown. SmackDown commentator Josh Mathews would conduct an interview with Big Show as Mathews asks Big Show why he is on SmackDown and Show reveals that he heard that Alberto Del Rio will be on SmackDown. Mathews then asks Show how he feels and Show claims that he feels “fine”, but “The World’s Largest Athlete” would be seething with rage as he paces back-and-forth. SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long would then come out and reveal that Big Show will “not lay a finger” on Alberto Del Rio because “criminal and civil charges” are being “contemplated” against Big Show for Show’s attack on Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez on RAW! Long continues that, if a similar incident takes place on SmackDown, then he will lose his job as the GM and Big Show will lose his job as well. Long then announces that, since Big Show invited himself to SmackDown, then he is going to put Big Show in a match against Mark Henry.
Per the orders of SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show would go one-on-one with “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry on SmackDown. With his emotions visibly ravaging Big Show, an unbalanced “World’s Largest Athlete” would not even let Mark Henry into the ring before blasting Henry with a kick to the skull. This was just the beginning of the scary destruction as Big Show would destroy Mark Henry with countless right hands to “The World’s Strongest Man” before delivering vicious knees to the head of Henry and, finally, Big Show would deliver the final blow to Mark Henry by blasting Henry with the WMD Knockout Punch. As Big Show finally makes his exit, EMT’s and referees would rush out to attend to Mark Henry as the unconscious Henry is stretchered from the ring. What is the condition of Mark Henry following this brutal attack? What will be the ramifications of Big Show’s attack?
After her new protégés lost in tag team action two weeks in a row, Natalya would team with her protégés, A.J. & Kaitlyn, to face Tamina, Rosa Mendes, & Alicia Fox in a 6-Diva Tag Match. In the end, it was Tamina avenging her one-on-one loss to A.J. last week by hitting the Samoan Drop on A.J. en route to picking up the win for herself, Rosa Mendes, and Alicia Fox.
Backstage, the winner of NXT Season Four, Johnny Curtis, would make an appearance as Curtis would putt a golf ball into a hole with an Ace playing card before saying that he’s got the Ace, symbolically saying that he’s got an “Ace in the hole”.
One week after splitting themselves from Wade Barrett, former WWE Tag Team Champions Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel would face Jimmy & Jey Uso in tag team action. At the end of an exhilarating and hard-fought tag team match, it was Jey Uso hitting the Superfly Splash on Justin Gabriel en route to The Usos picking up an impressive win. Have Jimmy & Jey Uso earned themselves a shot at the WWE Tag Team Titles?
After witnessing the annihilation by Big Show on both his personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, on RAW, and Mark Henry earlier in the night, “The Mexican Aristocrat” Alberto Del Rio would make an appearance on SmackDown two nights before his match against Big Show at Capitol Punishment. Del Rio states that there are “rumors” that he is “negotiating” his return to SmackDown because he is “too afraid” of Big Show. Del Rio continues that he is “not afraid” of Big Show and it is his “destiny” to be the WWE Champion and not even Big Show can stop him. Del Rio then reiterates that Ricardo Rodriguez running over the leg of Big Show last month was an “accident” before showing footage of Big Show’s attack on Ricardo Rodriguez on RAW. Del Rio states that what Big Show did on RAW was “not an accident” before saying that Rodriguez was his “best friend” and what Big Show did was “wrong”. Del Rio continues that Ricardo Rodriguez has a little girl and a wife and Rodriguez will get his “revenge” and he is dedicating his match against Big Show at Capitol Punishment to Ricardo Rodriguez. Del Rio then states that, if Big Show was right there in the ring, he would “spit in the face” of Show. Having heard all this, Big Show would come out before making a beeline for the ring, but Alberto Del Rio would narrowly escape Show’s wrath as Del Rio would escape through the crowd.
This would cause Big Show to completely snap as “The World’s Largest Athlete” would run to the announce table and, as Michael Cole, Josh Mathews, and Booker T barely get out of the angry giant’s way, Show would tip the announce table over! Big Show would then strip the protection off of the ringside barricade before hurling the bare steel at the ring post! Big Show then stands in the center of the ring and glares up at Alberto Del Rio in the crowd as Del Rio looks back with uncertainty in his eyes. What kind of mass destruction awaits Alberto Del Rio when Big Show comes for his revenge this Sunday night at Capitol Punishment?
Then it was time for the main event as, two nights before his scheduled one-on-one title defense against Christian at Capitol Punishment, World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton would be limited to being seated at ringside as Christian would go one-on-one with “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus and, if Christian wins, then the title match will remain one-on-one, but if Sheamus wins, then Sheamus will be added to the title match, making it a Triple Threat Match. In the end, it was an innovative move by the veteran, Christian, that would spell the end of the match for Sheamus as, with Sheamus in control of Christian on the top turnbuckle, Sheamus would briefly become distracted by Randy Orton’s glare from ringside. This distraction would allow Christian the time to counter Sheamus, dropping Sheamus face-first onto the steel ring post en route to picking up the win and retaining his one-on-one opportunity at the World Heavyweight Title this Sunday! After the match, Randy Orton would rush in the ring with the intent of blasting Christian with the World Heavyweight Title belt, but Christian would very narrowly escape Orton as the #1 Contender would scramble up to the stage. The World Heavyweight Champion would then send a strong message to Christian as Randy Orton would deliver the vicious and career-jeopardizing punt directly to the skull of Sheamus! Will a similar fate await Christian at Capitol Punishment or will Christian walk away as the new World Heavyweight Champion?
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