WWE Friday Night SmackDown June 24, 2011 Results

Five nights after a hard-hitting and controversial Capitol Punishment, the 618th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. After his World Heavyweight Title opportunity against Randy Orton ended in controversy with his foot being under the bottom rope during the three count, as well as being blasted in the head with the World Heavyweight Title belt after the match, Christian would appear on SmackDown to air his grievances over the title match.

Match Results

• Sin Cara def. Ted DiBiase by pin following the Cara Go Round.
• Cody Rhodes (with Ted DiBiase) def. Daniel Bryan by pin following Cross Rhodes.
• Intercontinental Championship: Ezekiel Jackson (c) def. Wade Barrett by submission to the Torture Rack to retain.
• Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel def. Jimmy & Jey Uso by Heath Slater rolling up Jimmy Uso.
• Title Rematch On The Line: Kane def. Christian by DQ after Mark Henry interferes.
• Title Rematch On The Line: Christian & Mark Henry def. Randy Orton & Kane by Mark Henry pinning Randy Orton following the World’s Strongest Slam. As a result, Christian receives another shot at the World Heavyweight Title.

Detailed Results

After the controversial ending to the World Heavyweight Title match at Capitol Punishment, the show kicks off with SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long as the GM wastes no time in getting down to business as the GM states that the referee at Capitol Punishment made a “controversial decision” and he is going to “address” the issue. Theodore Long then calls Christian to the ring and Christian complies, but tells Long that he “deserves” another opportunity at the World Heavyweight Title. The GM then shows the footage from Capitol Punishment that depicts Randy Orton hitting Christian with the RKO and going for the pin, but while the three count took place, Christian placed his foot under the bottom rope, which should have prompted the referee to call off the three count, but the referee did not, leading to a successful title retention for Randy Orton. After showing the footage, Long admits that the referee made a “bad call” and apologizes to the WWE fans before stating that, whether Christian likes it or not, the referee’s decision is “final”.

Christian interrupts and says “who cares” what the fans think before going on a tangent about why he deserves yet another shot at the World Heavyweight Title and demands to know when he will get his shot at the World Heavyweight Title. Theodore Long tells Christian that it “depends” on if Christian “earns” another World Heavyweight Title and Christian asks why he has to “earn it” before saying that Long admitted that the referee made a “bad call”. The GM interjects and states that he also said that the referee’s decision was “final” before telling Christian that he “lost”. Long then makes the announcement that, if Christian wants another title shot, then he will have to defeat “The Big Red Machine” Kane! Christian then gets in the face of the General Manager as the two of them shout at each other. Can Christian defeat Kane to earn another World Heavyweight Title match?

After an error in the text voting for RAW Power To The People that saw Mason Ryan mistakenly voted into a match against Evan Bourne, the rightful winner in the poll, Sin Cara, will face Evan Bourne on RAW. However, “The International Sensation” Sin Cara went one-on-one with Ted DiBiase on SmackDown. In the end, it was Sin Cara hitting the impressive Cara Go Round on Ted DiBiase en route to picking up the win. Who will emerge victorious this Monday night on RAW when Sin Cara faces Evan Bourne in a high-flying, high speed one-on-one match?

Four nights after leading a two-on-one attack on Daniel Bryan on RAW where he laid Bryan out before placing a paper bag over Daniel Bryan’s head, Cody Rhodes appeared on SmackDown as Rhodes says that he loves “chocolate” and, in the chocolate capital of the world, Hershey has made people the world over “fat and ugly”. Rhodes continues that it is ironic that, in a place all about chocolate, all he sees is “bleak, plain vanilla faces” before ordering the fans to put paper bags over their heads. Daniel Bryan then interrupts and admits that he will “never be on the cover of GQ”, but he knows that a “cup” belongs in one’s “pants”, not on one’s “face”. Bryan continues and tells Rhodes that “looks aren’t everything”, but Rhodes refutes that it sounds like something an “ugly person would say”. Bryan then presents a photo of Cody Rhodes’ father, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, as Bryan explains that Dusty is “not the most attractive person”, but he was “charismatic, inspiring, and genuinely a good person”, which are all things that Cody Rhodes is “not”. Daniel Bryan then tells Cody Rhodes that the thing that’s “wrong” with Rhodes is that he is a “bitter, arrogant jerk who realizes that he will never live up to the standards of his father”!

After exchanging strong words towards each other, intense rivals faced off on SmackDown as “The American Dragon” Daniel Bryan goes one-on-one with Cody Rhodes, with Ted DiBiase in his corner. During the match, Daniel Bryan quells any interference by Ted DiBiase by taking DiBiase out of the equation with a plancha dive to the outside. However, the distraction still paid off for Cody Rhodes as Rhodes hits Daniel Bryan with the Beautiful Nightmare kick, which leaves Bryan’s leg tied up in the ropes. Then, after stomping away at a defenseless Daniel Bryan, Bryan finally gets out of the ropes, but is met with a second Beautiful Nightmare kick by Cody Rhodes followed by Cross Rhodes en route to Rhodes picking up the win. After the match, Cody Rhodes once again placed a paper bag over the head of Daniel Bryan.

Backstage, the winner of NXT Season Four, Johnny Curtis, appears and states that there are a lot of “rumors” going around about why he has not made his SmackDown debut yet. Curtis continues that, perhaps he is too “young” or too “cocky”, but they are all “wrong” before showing a bottle of ketchup, a bottle of mustard, and a bottle of mayo. Curtis then takes the ketchup and the mayo before telling the mustard that it did not “make the cut”, a reference to the phrase “cutting the mustard”.

Five nights after he was driven through the Spanish announce table with the World’s Strongest Slam by Mark Henry at Capitol Punishment, “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show appears backstage. Big Show is asked about his condition following the attack and Show simply says he is “fine” before being asked about allegations that Big Show has “lit a fire” under Mark Henry that prompted Mark Henry to destroy Big Show at Capitol Punishment and Kane on RAW. Big Show responds by saying that it is a good thing that Mark Henry is “on fire”, because he is going to “need it”. Mark Henry then comes out of nowhere, tackling Big Show through the backdrop, which was comprised of steel! Henry then shouts that “bigger isn’t always better” because “better is better”. Henry then continues to swat a referee away who tries to help Big Show. Mark Henry then shouts that “nobody is going to make it until he’s happy” and he means it. How will Big Show respond to Mark Henry’s backstage attack?

Five nights after finally defeating Wade Barrett to become the new Intercontinental Champion at Capitol Punishment, Ezekiel Jackson was set to make his first title defense against former champion, Wade Barrett. However, Wade Barrett would attack Ezekiel Jackson from behind on the outside of the ring, sending Ezekiel spine-first into the steel ring post and hurling Ezekiel into the ringside barricade. Barrett then rolls Ezekiel back into the ring, delivering a vicious kick to Ezekiel’s mid-section. The referee then checks on the condition of Ezekiel Jackson and the proud Ezekiel tells the referee that he still wants to compete, leaving the referee no choice but to ring the bell for the Intercontinental Title match to begin! In the end, Ezekiel Jackson overcame the pre-match attack to put Wade Barrett in the Torture Rack, forcing Barrett to tap out to successfully retaining the Intercontinental Title.

Moments after failing to regain the Intercontinental Title, Wade Barrett was confronted by his former Corre teammates, Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel, as Gabriel sarcastically states that Barrett has had a “great week” losing the Intercontinental Title, as well as his rematch. Slater adds that Barrett was “so right” when he said that he did not need either one of them. Barrett responds by saying that he’s got “much bigger and better plans” for himself on SmackDown and asks where Slater & Gabriel have been for the last two weeks. The duo responds by saying that they are about to do what Wade Barrett could not by winning a rematch.

After losing to Jimmy & Jey Uso on last week’s SmackDown, former WWE Tag Team Champions Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel looked to rebound in a rematch against The Usos. In the end, it was Heath Slater getting his knees up when Jimmy Uso went for the Superfly Splash. This allows Slater to roll Jimmy into an inside cradle en route to picking up the win.

The undefeated Jinder Mahal, with The Great Khali, was scheduled for action against Yoshi Tatsu on SmackDown, but Mahal opts to beat Tatsu down, which ends with his signature full nelson side slam. Khali then follows this up with a chop to the skull before tossing Tatsu out of the ring. Jinder Mahal then states that The Great Khali’s “only mission is to serve” and “nothing can stop the Eastern winds from blowing” through the entire WWE. With The Great Khali by his side, can anyone come close to stopping Jinder Mahal?

Then it was time for the main event as, per the orders of SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, Christian would have to defeat “The Big Red Machine” Kane in order to earn another shot at the World Heavyweight Title. In the middle of the match, Kane looked ready to put the finishing touches on the match as he readied himself for the chokeslam on Christian, but Mark Henry rushes down and attacks Kane, leading to a disqualification loss for Christian! Christian and Mark Henry then double-team Kane, sending Kane out of the ring. SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long then makes an appearance to admit that Christian’s loss was not Christian’s “fault”, so he is allowing Christian one more chance to earn another title opportunity. This time, Christian must win a tag team match where he teams with Mark Henry to face Kane and the World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton!

Due to Mark Henry’s interference in the one-on-one match between Christian and Kane with Christian’s rematch for the World Heavyweight Title on the line, General Manager Theodore Long ordered a tag team match pitting Christian & Mark Henry against Kane and World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and, if Christian’s team wins, then Christian gets his title rematch. In the end, it was Randy Orton being isolated by Christian and Mark Henry, but Randy Orton was able to fight out of the World’s Strongest Slam before hitting the RKO on Christian. However, Randy Orton turns right into the waiting Mark Henry as Henry delivers the World’s Strongest Slam to Orton en route to pinning the World Heavyweight Champion and earning Christian another shot at the World Heavyweight Title! When will Christian get his World Heavyweight Title opportunity? After so many chances to win the gold, will this title shot finally see Christian defeat Randy Orton and become the new World Heavyweight Champion?

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