Slaying The Giant.
With just nine nights to go before WrestleMania XXX, the 762nd edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the TD Garden in Boston, MA. Since returning to the WWE in January, Batista has made more enemies than friends, but this past Monday on RAW, “The Animal” may have crossed the line and made an enemy out of someone who could potentially make his life a living hell when he insulted WWE Principal Owner Stephanie McMahon, which resulted in a slap across the face for Batista. With the Triple Threat Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between challenger Batista, champion Randy Orton, and either Triple H or Daniel Bryan just around the corner at WrestleMania, “The Animal” will kick off SmackDown to address what happened on RAW.
Another man with a big night on his hands at WrestleMania is Bray Wyatt, who will make his WrestleMania debut against John Cena in a one-on-one encounter. Over the last couple of weeks, The Wyatt Family has made no bones about the fact that they want to end John Cena and destroy his legacy, but on SmackDown, Bray Wyatt would encounter another man with quite the legacy in the WWE as, for the first time ever, Bray Wyatt would go one-on-one with “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show! Faced with his largest opponent to date, can Bray Wyatt send a strong message to John Cena by defeating Big Show?
After dolling out justice to their attackers on RAW by laying waste to Kane’s hired hit men, Rybaxel and The Real Americans, The Shield would be in action on SmackDown as The Shield’s Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins would face a team who was also present for the uncomfortable beat down of The Shield last week, 3MB’s Jinder Mahal & Drew McIntyre.
Also on SmackDown, several of the participants in the 30-Man Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania would be in singles competition as Sin Cara would face Damien Sandow, Goldust would go one-on-one with Fandango, and The Miz would square off with “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry!
Match Results
- Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins def. Jinder Mahal & Drew McIntyre by Dean Ambrose pinning Drew McIntyre following the Dirty Deeds.
- Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins def. Rybaxel by Seth Rollins pinning Curtis Axel following the Curb Stomp.
- Sin Cara def. Damien Sandow by roll-up.
- Fandango (with Summer Rae) def. Goldust by pin following a kick to the head.
- Sheamus def. Batista by DQ after Batista uses a steel chair.
- The Bella Twins (with Tamina Snuka) def. AJ Lee & Tamina Snuka by Brie Bella pinning AJ Lee following the Bella Buster.
- Jack Swagger def. Jimmy Uso by submission to the Patriot Lock.
- Mark Henry def. The Miz by pin following the World’s Strongest Slam.
- Bray Wyatt (with Luke Harper & Erick Rowan) def. Big Show by pin following the Sister Abigail.
Detailed Results
As promised, SmackDown kicks off with the #1 Contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, “The Animal” Batista. Batista says that, from the day he left the WWE back in 2010, the fans begged him to come back to the WWE, but when he did, they booed him. Batista continues, saying that they boo him, but they cheer for a guy like Daniel Bryan, something he considers a “personal slap in the face”. Batista then shows the footage from RAW where he got the sunglasses slapped off of his face for insulting Stephanie McMahon, followed up by a Spear to a chuckling Randy Orton. Batista then vows that, whether they like it or not, he is walking out of WrestleMania as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Batista says that he does not care who makes it into the Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania, commenting that Stephanie probably hits harder than any of his opponents come WrestleMania.
WWE COO and the husband of Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, then comes out, suggesting that they leave Stephanie out of it. Batista does not comply, saying that Stephanie is the reason that Triple H is the COO of the WWE and Triple H would not have any of this had he not married the boss’ daughter. With a smile on his face, Triple H says that the glory of the “reality era” is that it does not matter “how” he got his position of power, it just matters that he does have it. The COO then asks why Batista is trying to make things “personal” between them, but “The Animal” claims that it was Triple H who made it personal by accusing him of trying to relive “past glories”. Batista continues, reminding his former mentor that Triple H has never defeated him and, now, Triple H wants to implant himself or Daniel Bryan in his title match, saying that Triple H is not going to stop him from winning the title. Still not losing his cool, Triple H admits that it is true that he has never beaten Batista, but that was a “long time ago”. Triple H says that, when he turned Batista into the “hungry animal”, Batista eventually got “full” on his success in the WWE, so he quit and he went to Hollywood, where he just sat back eating craft services while watching his “stunt double” do all the work. The COO continues, saying that, for whatever reason, Batista decided to come back to the WWE and, since Batista has been back, he has not seen “The Animal”. Triple H says that he showed what he could do last week when he destroyed Daniel Bryan, reminding Batista that Daniel Bryan is the guy that Batista could not beat a number of weeks ago. Triple H then asks Batista when he is going to show him what he can still do, saying that he is willing to “help” Batista again. The COO then tells Batista that he is going to give him the opportunity to unleash “The Animal” when Batista competes here tonight against a man who reminds him a lot of the old Batista as Batista will go one-on-one with Sheamus!
Nine nights before they face Kane & The New Age Outlaws at WrestleMania, The Shield was on SmackDown as The Shield’s Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins, with Roman Reigns in their corner, would face two of the men responsible for the attack on them last week, 3MB’s Jinder Mahal & Drew McIntyre, with Heath Slater in their corner, in the opening match of the night. In the end, it was Dean Ambrose hitting the Dirty Deeds on Drew McIntyre, pinning McIntyre for an impressive win. After the match, Kane & The New Age Outlaws come to the stage, Kane said that, unlike The Shield, they are not going to “ambush” them like The Shield did to their next opponents! Rybaxel then comes out, making their way to the ring.
Moments after they defeated 3MB’s Jinder Mahal & Drew McIntyre, Director of Operations Kane would force The Shield’s Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins into action against a team they assaulted on RAW, Rybaxel. In the end, it was Seth Rollins hitting the Curb Stomp on Curtis Axel, pinning Axel for the win. After the match, The Shield would send a message to Kane & The New Age Outlaws, who remained on the stage, as Seth Rollins dives to the outside, taking Ryback out. The Shield then rolls Ryback back in the ring where Roman Reigns blasts Ryback with the Superman Punch before The Shield executes their three-man powerbomb on Ryback.
In the first of three matches pitting the participants of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal against each other, the high-flying Sin Cara would go one-on-one with Damien Sandow on SmackDown. It was a quick win for Sin Cara, who rolls Damien Sandow up for the victory.
Before they both take part in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania, “The Bizarre One” Goldust would go one-on-one with Fandango, with Summer Rae in his corner. In the end, it was a pivotal distraction from Summer Rae that would allow Fandango to blast Goldust with a kick to the head, pinning Goldust for the win.
Per the orders of WWE COO Triple H, the #1 Contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, “The Animal” Batista would go one-on-one with “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus on SmackDown. During the match, Sheamus was on the cusp of a huge win as he sized Batista up for the Brogue Kick, but “The Animal” would quickly roll out of the ring. Batista would then grab a steel chair, driving it into the mid-section of Sheamus, resulting in the disqualification. After the match, Batista would deliver a chair shot to the back of Sheamus before “The Animal” sends Sheamus face-first into the steel ring post. Batista then rolls Sheamus into the ring, planting Sheamus with the Batista Bomb. Batista then grabs a microphone, asking if Triple H is happy and if the fans are happy, again proclaiming that he is leaving WrestleMania as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
The Divas were in action on SmackDown as Divas Champion AJ Lee would team with her bodyguard, Tamina Snuka, to face The Bella Twins, with SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero a guest on commentary. During the match, AJ Lee and Tamina Snuka would again have problems, but this time, Tamina shoves AJ down before tagging the Divas Champion into the match and shoving AJ into the ring! As Tamina watches from ringside, Brie Bella hits the Bella Buster on AJ Lee, pinning AJ for the win.
Before The Usos defend the WWE Tag Team Titles in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Match against Rybaxel, Los Matadores, & The Real Americans at WrestleMania, one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, Jimmy Uso, with Jey Uso in his corner, would go one-on-one with one-half of The Real Americans, Jack Swagger, with Cesaro & Zeb Colter in his corner. In the end, it was Jack Swagger locking in the Patriot Lock on Jimmy Uso, forcing Uso to tap out to pick up the win.
With both of them taking part in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal in nine nights at WrestleMania, SmackDown would see The Miz take on the unenviable task of going one-on-one with “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry. Despite The Miz’s best efforts, Mark Henry would plant The Miz with the World’s Strongest Slam, pinning Miz for the win.
Then it was time for the main event as, for the first time ever, the leader of The Wyatt Family, Bray Wyatt, with Luke Harper & Erick Rowan in his corner, would face his toughest test to date as he would go one-on-one with “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show. During the match, Bray Wyatt would take Big Show off of his feet and, with Erick Rowan distracting the referee, Luke Harper would hit Big Show with a right hand from the outside. This would allow Bray Wyatt to hit Big Show with the Sister Abigail, pinning Big Show for an unreal victory.
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