[Stardust]

WWE Smackdown T.V. Opener: John Lauranitis & The Full Roster

The show opens with the roster outside the ring. John Lauranitis is in the ring. He hops on the mic and addresses them. Lauranitis says Triple H has lost control of WWE. He mentions how he fired R-Truth and The Miz. Lauranitis says he changes his mind. Now he thinks HHH has control of things. Lauranitis then introduces the new World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry.

In-Ring Promo: Mark Henry

Mark Henry comes out and the entire roster slowly splits into two sections, making way for the intimidating new champion. Henry gets in the ring with Lauranitis. Henry says it's taken him 15 years to earn the title, and it'll take 15 more before someone can take it away from him. He looks at all the roster outside the ring and says none of you can take it from me. He tells Ezekiel Jackson he didn't believe in him. Teddy Long either. HHH's music hits.

In-Ring Promo: Henry, Triple H and Christian

Out comes the C.O.O. of WWE, Triple H, suit-and-all. HHH enters the ring with Henry. HHH puts his hand out for the microphone, but Henry won't give it to him. Several moments later he does. Before HHH can say a word, out of nowhere Christian has a microphone and enters the ring. Christian in a cheesey way complicates HHH on the job he's doing as C.O.O. Christian sucks up some more and then mocks Henry as champ, saying he can't envision him on a box of cereal, talking to school kids, etc. Christian says he deserves to be the face of Smackdown. He needs to be the World Heavyweight Champion. He says he deserves one more match for the title. HHH asks Christian if he's done talking. He thanks all the Smackdown roster for coming out tonight. He ensures them he's in control of the company. HHH says he's tonight there will be a LumberJack match. It will be Christian vs. Mark Henry. The winner of that match will face Randy Orton at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. HHH walks off. Christian looks worried. Henry closes in behind Christian. Christian finally turns around, sees Henry, and immediately exits the ring.

Backstage: Sheamus

Backstage we see Sheamus in his lockerroom. Josh Matthews announces that after the break, Sheamus will be in action next. On that note, we head to our first commercial of the evening.

Heath Slater vs. Sheamus

We return from commercial and Tony Chimel introduces Heath Slater, who is already in the ring. Next, he introduces Sheamus. Sheamus makes his entrance and we're about to begin our first match on tonight's Smackdown. Slater uses his speed to get some offense in on Sheamus early on. It doesn't take long, however, for Sheamus' power to counter-act that and change the momentum of the contest. Sheamus repeatedly shoulder-blocks Slater down to the mat - hard. Michael Cole does a bunch of crappy comedy on commentary, while Sheamus continues to dominate with ease in the ring. Slater gets in a little offense now, knocking the big man off his feet. Slater has Sheamus in a rear chinlock. Sheamus powers out and is again in firm control of the bout. The finish comes when Sheamus hits a flying shoulder-block off the top rope and follows it up with his big boot finisher for the clean pinfall.

Winner: Sheamus

Backstage: Christian and The Great Khali

Backstage we see The Great Khali warming up. Christian walks up and tries to convince him to help him in the LumberJack match tonight. Christian thinks Khali can't understand him. Khali finally responds, "I understand you are small" in english. Christian tells him good joke and asks him if they've got a deal. Khali just keeps calling him small. Christian thinks he's on his side and leaves happily. We head to commercial.

Wade Barrett vs. Justin Gabriel

We return from commercial and out comes Wade Barrett to the ring. A clip from last week's show airs, showing Justin Gabriel hitting the 450 splash on Barrett and pinning him in the tag-team match last week. Out comes Gabriel. It's Barrett vs. Gabriel in one-on-one action now. Barrett immediately goes to work on Gabriel. Barrett lands some big knees and then hits Gabriel with a big boot to the face that knocks him out of the ring. Cole and Booker T bicker back-and-forth a bit on commentary. Gabriel manages to counter Barrett's attack and knock him out to the floor. Gabriel runs and flies over the top rope, hitting Barrett with a front-flip onto the floor. Gabriel throws him back in the ring and hits a moonsault off the top rope for a nearfall. Barrett cuts Gabriel off with another big boot and floors him. Barrett immediately follows up with his Waste Land finisher for a quick pinfall victory.

Winner: Wade Barrett

Josh Matthews pushes a Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes match for later tonight on Smackdown as we head to another commercial break.

Backstage: Matt Striker Interviews Randy Orton

Backstage, Matt Striker is with Randy Orton. He asks if he cares to comment about his match with Rhodes tonight. Orton says no. Striker asks him what's been going through his mind since losing the title. Orton says he's been thinking about going to hell, referring to Hell In A Cell. Orton says he's going to drag Mark Henry to the depths of hell with him. He says maybe it'll be Christian. Regardless, when he comes back from hell, he's bringing the World Heavyweight Championship with him. With that said, the former champ walks off.

WWE Hell In A Cell PPV Hype

The commentators hype up the upcoming Hell In A Cell PPV in nine days. A video package airs, highlighting the history of the WWE Hell In A Cell match. Clips of Mick Foley, Undertaker, and many others are shown, showcasing how barbaric the match is, historically speaking.

Backstage: Christian and Ezekiel Jackson

Backstage, Christian is with Ezekiel Jackson. He's doing the same thing he was doing with Khali earlier, trying to persuade him to help him as a LumberJack against Henry later tonight. Same result as Khali, Christian walks off assuming he's got his back even though he never says it.

A.J. & Kaitlyn vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya

We return from commercial and A.J. and Kaitlyn are already in the ring. Next, Beth Phoenix and Natalya are introduced. It's time for some Diva tag-team action. Kaitlyn and Natalya start things off. Kaitlyn controlling the action early. Phoenix hits Kaitlyn with a cheap shot from behind the ref's back, allowing Natalya to gain control. Natalya tags in Phoenix and Phoenix continues to go to work on Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn finally tags A.J. in. A.J. is on fire and immediately goes to work on Phoenix. Natalya tries interfering during a pin attempt, so Kaitlyn runs in as well. They fight to the floor while Phoenix hits A.J. with the Glam Slam inside the ring. Phoenix scores the pin and the victory for her team.

Winners: Beth Phoenix & Natalya

We head to commercial, and are told on the way out that after the break it will be Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes next on Smackdown.

Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes

We return from commercial and immediately Randy Orton's music hits. Out comes the former World Heavyweight Champion. Out next is the current WWE Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes. One-on-one action is getting underway. The bell rings and Orton simply throws Rhodes out of the ring. Orton goes out after him and brutalizes him on the floor, slamming him into the barricade, etc. The match returns to the ring. Orton's leg gets caught up in the ropes and Rhodes takes advantage, gaining the upper hand in the match. Rhodes is focusing his attack on Orton's leg now. Rhodes takes the turnbuckle off the top rope simply as a distraction to the ref. While the ref is distracted, Rhodes takes his face mask off and blasts Orton with it. He tries to pin him, but Orton kicks out at two. Orton blatantly hits Rhodes with the mask in the face and the ref calls for the bell. Orton is disqualified. Rhodes wins.

Winner by DQ: Cody Rhodes

After The Match: The Viper Strikes

After being DQ'd, Orton goes ballistic and attacks Rhodes. He hits him repeatedly with his own face mask. Orton hits Rhodes with the middle-rope draped DDT move. Two referees try and get Orton to stop. Orton picks Rhodes up and throws him out of the ring. Orton follows him out. Orton hits Rhodes with an RKO on top of the announce table. As expected, Rhodes being busted open and bleeding is heavily edited as expected. After the RKO all we really see is Orton, kind of covered in blood on his body, walking away.

n for Friday, September 23, 2011.