World’s Largest Savior.
The 634th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. After dominating World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry, putting “The World’s Strongest Champion” through the announce table before being stopped by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, Big Show has received his match for the World Heavyweight Title as “The World’s Largest Athlete” will challenge Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship in nine nights at Vengeance, but what will transpire between these two behemoths on SmackDown?
Match Results
- Largest Battle Royal in WWE History: Randy Orton def. 40 RAW & SmackDown Superstars to win the Battle Royal and receive a title match of his choosing in the main event.
- Non-Title: Beth Phoenix def. Kelly Kelly by pin with the Glam Slam.
- Sin Cara Negro def. Justin Gabriel by pin following the Sinton.
- Non-Title: Alberto Del Rio (with Christian & Ricardo Rodriguez) def. Sheamus by pin following a kick to the head.
- Kofi Kingston & Zack Ryder def. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger (with Vickie Guerrero) by Zack Ryder pinning Dolph Ziggler following Trouble in Paradise by Kofi Kingston.
- World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton def. Mark Henry (c) (with Cody Rhodes) by DQ after Cody Rhodes interferes. Mark Henry (c) retains.
Detailed Results
SmackDown kicks off with SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long and the new Interim General Manager of RAW, John Laurinaitis, as Theodore Long reveals that SmackDown has reached a milestone as SmackDown is now the second longest-running program on television. John Laurinaitis then adds that SmackDown is second only to RAW. The General Managers of RAW and SmackDown then announce that SmackDown will kick off with the largest Battle Royal in WWE history with the winner earning a title match of his choosing at the end of the night!
The Superstars of RAW are the first ones out to participated in the largest Battle Royal in WWE history as CM Punk, John Morrison, Alex Riley, Curt Hawkins, United States Champion Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, WWE Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston, Mason Ryan, Tyler Reks, Drew McIntyre, David Otunga, Primo, JTG, Michael McGillicutty, Percy Watson, Santino Marella, Jack Swagger, and the newly reinstated The Miz & R-Truth. They are then followed by the Superstars of SmackDown as Christian, “Mr. Money-in-the-Bank” Daniel Bryan, Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes, Ezekiel Jackson, Yoshi Tatsu, Wade Barrett, Jinder Mahal, Sin Cara Negro, Heath Slater, Ted DiBiase, Justin Gabriel, Derrick Bateman, Trent Barreta, Johnny Curtis, William Regal, Tyson Kidd, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Matt Striker, Sheamus, Titus O’Neil, and “The Viper” Randy Orton!
With 41 RAW & SmackDown Superstars making it the largest Battle Royal in WWE history, the history-making match gets underway with a guaranteed title match later on in the evening. After being assaulted and bagged by Cody Rhodes on the RAW SuperShow, Randy Orton wastes no time in eliminating the Intercontinental Champion from the match first! Johnny Curtis was the second to be eliminated, taken out of the match by Drew McIntyre, followed shortly by Wade Barrett eliminating JTG. Kofi Kingston then eliminates Michael McGillicutty from the Battle Royal, followed by NXT Rookie Titus O’Neil eliminating fellow Rookie Derrick Bateman and Curt Hawkins eliminating Yoshi Tatsu before Jack Swagger sends Titus O’Neil packing. William Regal then scores an elimination, taking Matt Striker out of the match.
With 32 Superstars left in the Battle Royal, Daniel Bryan manages to eliminate his former mentor, William Regal, followed by Dolph Ziggler eliminating Percy Watson. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger then work together to eliminate John Morrison before Zack Ryder surprises Dolph, eliminating the United States Champion. The newly reinstated Miz & R-Truth then eliminate Trent Barreta and Jey Uso, followed by Ezekiel Jackson powering Ted DiBiase out of the Battle Royal. The Miz then eliminates Tyson Kidd, followed Miz & R-Truth eliminating Daniel Bryan. The powerhouse Mason Ryan then eliminates both Tyler Reks & Curt Hawkins before eliminating Drew McIntyre and Justin Gabriel, as well before Wade Barrett manages to eliminate Mason Ryan from the match, leaving 19 Superstars in the Battle Royal.
CM Punk then eliminates Primo before Christian eliminates Santino Marella. The Miz then eliminates his former protégé, Alex Riley, followed by Jack Swagger narrowly managing to eliminate Kofi Kingston. Jinder Mahal then eliminates Zack Ryder, followed by Sheamus eliminating David Otunga and Jimmy Uso before “The Great White” sends Ezekiel Jackson to the outside. Sheamus then continues to rack up the eliminations by taking Heath Slater out of the match before powerbombing Sin Cara Negro to the outside on top of David Otunga, Jimmy Uso, and Ezekiel Jackson!
Sheamus then eliminates Christian from the Battle Royal before CM Punk eliminates R-Truth, but Punk gets no time to relax as The Miz comes from behind to eliminate Punk from the match. After both of their eliminations from the Battle Royal, a brawl breaks out at ringside between CM Punk and R-Truth. Meanwhile, inside the ring, an eliminated Christian sneaks into the ring to eliminate Sheamus from behind while the referees are distracted with the brawl between Punk and Truth! As Sheamus chases Christian to the back, Randy Orton eliminates Wade Barrett before sending Jack Swagger out as well following the RKO. Orton then hits Jinder Mahal with the RKO before sending Mahal out. Then, after rolling out of the ring earlier in the match, The Miz comes back into the ring, attempting to eliminate Randy Orton by surprise, but Orton holds. Both men then battle on the apron of the ring until Randy Orton strikes with the RKO on The Miz on the ring apron, sending both Superstars to the floor! However, the referees decide that The Miz’s feet hit the floor a split second before Randy Orton’s, meaning that Orton is the winner of the largest Battle Royal in WWE history and will get a shot at the title of his choosing in the main event! Immediately following the match, Randy Orton wastes no time in revealing that he will challenge “The World’s Strongest Champion” Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Title in the main event. Can Randy Orton regain the World Heavyweight Championship from Mark Henry?
Backstage, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long confronts WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio & Ricardo Rodriguez as the two are on their way out of the arena. Del Rio tells Long that he is not needed on SmackDown since Randy Orton chose to challenge Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Title, but the GM informs the WWE Champion that he will be going one-on-one with “The Great White” Sheamus.
The Divas were in action on SmackDown as, after losing the Divas Title to Beth Phoenix at WWE Hell in a Cell, Kelly Kelly, with Eve in her corner, went one-on-one with Divas Champion Beth Phoenix, with Natalya in her corner, in a non-title match. In the end, it was Beth Phoenix hitting the Glam Slam en route to picking up the win.
Sin Cara Azul was set for action on SmackDown, but before the original Sin Cara could make his entrance, Sin Cara Negro strikes backstage, leaving the blue-clad Sin Cara down before the dark Sin Cara rips the mask off of Sin Cara Azul! Sin Cara Negro then proceeds to take off his own mask, opting to leave the black mask behind in favor of the stolen blue mask
Moments after stealing the mask of Sin Cara Azul, Sin Cara Negro, sporting the blue mask of Azul, went one-on-one with Justin Gabriel. In the end, it was Sin Cara hitting the Sinton on Justin Gabriel en route to picking up the win.
Per the orders of SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, the WWE Champion was in action on SmackDown as WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio went one-on-one with “The Great White” Sheamus in a non-title match. During the match, Sheamus looked poised for victory over the WWE Champion, but Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, distracts the referee, allowing Christian to run in and knock Sheamus off his perch on the top turnbuckle. This allows Alberto Del Rio to hit an enziguri and follows it up with a kick to the head en route to picking up the win over Sheamus. After the match, the opportunistic Christian picked up the pieces, delivering the Spear to Sheamus. After Sheamus recovered from the first Spear, Christian would come back to deliver a second Spear! How will Sheamus respond to Christian’s constant interference in his matches?
With the other half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, Evan Bourne, unable to compete after the assault by Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger last week, WWE Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston teamed with Zack Ryder, with Evan Bourne in their corner, to face United States Champion Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger, with Vickie Guerrero in their corner. In the end, it was Jack Swagger trying to get involved in the match illegally, distracting the referee long enough for Kofi Kingston to come in and hit the Trouble in Paradise before pulling Zack Ryder over to the cover, allowing Ryder to pin Dolph Ziggler for the win.
Then it was time for the main event as, after winning the largest Battle Royal in WWE history earlier in the night to earn the opportunity, “The Viper” Randy Orton would challenge “The World’s Strongest Champion” Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship. During a grueling match, Randy Orton looked to be making a comeback against Mark Henry, but Cody Rhodes rushes out, distracting Orton. Orton manages to set the Intercontinental Champion up for his suspended DDT, but Mark Henry attacks from behind, allowing the World Heavyweight Champion and the Intercontinental Champion to double team Orton, bringing an end to the match. With Orton down, Rhodes heads to the outside to grab a paper bag, but before Rhodes can bag Orton again, Big Show rushes out as “The World’s Largest Athlete” brawls with Mark Henry before taking the World Heavyweight Champion down with a shoulder block. Rhodes then tries to catch Big Show off of the top rope, but Show catches the Intercontinental Champion before feeding Rhodes to Orton, who plants Rhodes with the RKO! Mark Henry then attacks Big Show from behind, but Orton brawls with the World Heavyweight Champion before sending Henry to Big Show, who plants “The World’s Strongest Champion” with a huge chokeslam! Is Mark Henry’s reign as the World Heavyweight Champion in severe jeopardy when he defends the title against Big Show in nine nights at Vengeance?
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