PROVIDENCE, R.I. – As the cloud of a new Guerrero regime returned to the blue brand, SmackDown turned up the heat with an incredible night of whirlwind action with its sights set on SummerSlam.
While returning SmackDown General Manager Booker T and his Senior Advisor Theodore Long both looked to the WWE Universe to settle the question of who should run the blue brand moving forward, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon had other plans.
Photos: Check out the look on Booker T and Teddy Long's faces when Vickie got named GM
Aiming to impress the head of WWE, Teddy made a huge Intercontinental Title Match, pitting titleholder Curtis Axel against Chris Jericho! Booker, in turn, put World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio in the main event against Randy Orton! Then, in a surprise effort to steal the job for himself, the new General Manager of Raw, Brad Maddox, emerged to announce the return of RVD to SmackDown for the first time in 8 years!
Despite their efforts, Mr. McMahon made the shocking announcement that the new permanent GM of SmackDown would be none other than the recenty fired GM of Raw Vickie Guerrero! The ecstatic Queen Diva was “back with power!”
While the referee didn’t exactly see Antonio Cesaro interfere in his fellow Real American Jack Swagger’s match against Dolph Ziggler, enough suspicion was raised to get both the disruptive Superstar and Zeb Colter ejected from ringside. Then, as ex-girlfriend and Divas Champion AJ Lee and Big E Langston looked on from the back, Ziggler overcame his controversial opponent by escaping the Patriot Lock to hit the Zig Zag for the three-count.
Photos of The Showoff's victory | AJ's response to getting dumped | Painful WWE Breakups
After the bell, The Showoff took the opportunity to get the last laugh on his erratic ex-boo, sending the message that he was sorry … sorry that he didn’t end things sooner. This threw AJ into a major meltdown. And as Big E worked to calm her down, it seemed as if a passionate moment nearly occured between them.
After The Usos thwarted The Shield’s attempt to interfere with the World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match on Sunday, Jimmy & Jey once again looked to go to war against the WWE Tag Team Champions in a pay-per-view rematch. But before the bell could even ring, the two teams engaged each other and chaos ensued.
Can't-miss photos from the melee
When United States Champion Dean Ambrose joined the fray, things seemed ready to go from bad to worse. That is, until Mark Henry – who suffered a thunderous triple powerbomb courtesy of The Shield on Raw – plowed his way into the situation and helped The Usos clear The Hounds of Justice from the ring.
After being named the No. 1 contender to the WWE Championship by John Cena himself Monday on Raw, Daniel Bryan overcame the brutal Barrett Barrage on SmackDown with the “Yes!” Lock.
Check out photos of Bryan's latest victory
The submission specialist continues to pick up huge victories week after week. But will he overcome the 11-time WWE Champion at SummerSlam?
After being appointed the new General Manager of SmackDown by WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon himself, Vickie Guerrero wasted no time getting back in the swing of things, delivering an earth-shattering slap to Raw General Manager Brad Maddox and having Teddy Long thrown off SmackDown altogether.
Utterly disgusted with the level of depravity reached by Paul Heyman in his controversial situation with CM Punk, The Miz uncharacteristically opted not to ask a single question to the outspoken advocate, choosing instead to simply give him the floor.
Photos of Miz's confrontation with the outspoken Paul Heyman
Following up on his nefarious actions against Punk at Money in the Bank and Brock Lesnar’s assault on The Straight Edge Superstar on Raw, Heyman used the time to speak on behalf of The Anomaly, "pleading" with his former best friend to stay down and disappear or Brock would be forced to deal with him.
A disgusted Miz walked out of the ring, leaving Heyman to welcome Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel to the arena for his pending title showdown against Y2J.
Thanks to a distraction by the crafty Paul Heyman and a devastating swinging neckbreaker, Curtis Axel scored a near-perfect triumph in a fierce Intercontinental Title Match against Chris Jericho.
Intercontinental showdown photos | Y2J farewell message to WWE | Money in the Bank: Jericho vs. Ryback
Then, as the dust was still clearing, Ryback stomped to the ring with mal intent. Despite Y2J’s attempts to fight back, the war-torn six-time World Champion tasted a meat hook clothesline/Shell Shocked combination, courtesy of “The Human Wrecking Ball.”
After stealing the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match victory away from his longtime friend Cody Rhodes on Sunday, The Intellectual Savior of the Masses attempted to smooth things over with the son of a son of a plumber.
Unfriendly face-to-face photos between Sandow & Rhodes
Calling Rhodes to the ring, the Enlightened One “forgave” Rhodes for attacking him Monday on Raw and offered his would-be cohort the “honorable” position of “Protector of the Case.”
In response, Rhodes brained Sandow with the briefcase!
After disposing of an interfering Titus O’Neal, the ultra-explosive RVD reigned supreme over Darren Young with the Five-Star Frog Splash – chalking up a victory in his first SmackDown match in more than eight years!
Photos of RVD's explosive return to SmackDown | RVD in action at Money in the Bank
On Sunday, Randy Orton emerged victorious in the Money in the Bank All-Stars Match, overcoming five other former World Champions to claim a WWE Title contract that he can cash in any time in the next year.
Photos of The Viper's triumph over Del Rio
With no rest for the serpentine supreme, The Viper took on World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio in SmackDown’s main event. And in the final moments of the furious match, Orton rolled out of the titleholder’s dreaded Cross Armbreaker attempt, ducking out of the way of a wild kick to hit the RKO and pin the World Champion for a non-title victory!
Despite his huge win, the nine-time World Champion did not walk away unscathed.