The show begins with a recap of the World Heavyweight Championship match from TLC between the Undertaker and Batista. After that brief review, Theodore Long makes his way to the ring and announces that they will determine a new number one contender for that title tonight. Batista interrupts and is not pleased with Teddy or this development. Dave makes some quiet threats and Rey Mysterio decides to join the fun. Mysterio calls Batista a bully and after saying a bunch of stuff in Spanish he says he’ll keep the title away from him as revenge for his actions. Teddy makes a match between them for tonight and the winner will get a title shot on the Christmas night episode of Smackdown.
John Morrison & Matt Hardy & R-Truth vs. CM Punk & Luke Gallows & Drew McIntyre:
For those not aware, McIntyre beat for Morrison for the IC strap at TLC and as he makes his entrance we get a brief recap. Punk of course comes to the ting with the Slammy he was awarded this Monday on Raw. Hardy begins the match against Punk and takes control forcing Punk into his team’s corner with some strikes before tagging in Truth. After a double team move, Truth starts to celebrate and this allows Punk to back him into his unit’s corner and a beatdown ensues as McIntyre tags in. Truth is able to escape with minimal damage however and reaches Morrison who comes in and lights up Drew before hitting his standing shooting star press. McIntyre bails outside the ring to take a breather and the show also takes a break.
After corporate America reminds us it’s Christmas, we return to action with Morrison in control of CM Punk. Gallows creates a distraction and McIntyre lays John out with a kick. Morrison fights back from this set back but is foiled again by distraction and this time it is Gallows who lays him out with a kick as tags in. After Luke gets some shots in he tags McIntyre back in and he continues to work on the now weary John Morrison. After an extended sequence of Morrison fighting to get a tag, both Gallows comes in for some more rough housing before tagging in his mentor for an interesting double team maneuver. Punk’s stay in the ring is brief as he soon tags Gallows back in who continues the beating. Punk returns to action as he and Gallows combine for a variation of Demolition Decapitation and it gets a long two count on Morrison. John finally escapes the enemy corner and tags in Hardy who comes in full of fire and hits both his second rope elbow as well as the Side Effect for two counts. The action gets crazy for a bit as Gallows enters the ring only to be dumped by R-Truth who is then dispatched by McIntyre who is then dumped by Morrison who is then taken down by Punk. Matt uses all of this distraction to his advantage to set-up for the Twist of Fate but behind the ref’s back, Punk hits him with his Slammy and pins him for the win.
We take a peak backstage to see Maria and Mickie playing Smackdown vs Raw until Beth Phoenix unplugs the game. Beth chastises them both for lacking focus and when they respond with jokes, she promises to illustrate her point against Maria in their match tonight. We are also “treated†to DX’s holiday shilling from RAW including the new DX snuggie and fun with Hornswoggle. We also find out that DX will be making an appearance on the Christmas episode of Smackdown.
Eric Escobar vs. Kane:
After Escobar cuts a half English half Spanish promo with some insults towards Vickie Guerrero, Vickie comes out and gives him this match as a birthday present. Eric attempts to take the action right to the Big Red Machine but you can probably guess how that works out for him. After smacking him around for a bit outside the ring, Kane hits Escobar with a side slam and then a chokeslam before easily pinning him. After the match Vickie gets in the ring to cackle at him, and Escobar responds by insulting her again.
Chris Jericho vs. The Great Khali:
In his pre-match promo Jericho lets us know that he is going to continue fighting his exile from RAW and that he misses his tag-team partner and best friend the Big Show. Chris begins the match by stalling both in and out of the ring before finally attacking. His attacks do not go well and Khali is quickly in control with his standard “offenseâ€. TGK goes for his vice grip maneuver but Jericho slips out of it and the ring. After some thought, Chris decides just to take the loss via count-out and leaves.
The Hart Dynasty vs. Jimmy Yang Wang & Slam Master J:
Tyson Kidd starts off against SMJ and Jimmy is quickly tagged in as his team tries to work the arm. JYW clotheslines Kidd out of the ring, kicks Smith off the apron and then he and Jesse both hit dives onto them outside of the ring. Once back in the ring Wang can’t hold the advantage and Smith tags in and hits a very long delayed vertical suplex and then a nice overhead belly-to-belly suplex getting two counts on both moves. Wang is able to reverse another throw attempt into a DDT and both men tag in their partners. J gets the better of their exchange and hits a northern lights suplex for a quick two count. Kidd then gets dropkicked off the apron but when J tries to follow him out, Natalya attacks and slams him for good measure. Kidd tosses him back into the ring, tags in Smith and they combine to hit the Hart Attack for the pinfall victory. After the match Natalya and her boys cut a promo to say they are better than their other “Harts†that have challenged DX before and promise to end their tag-team title reign.
Beth Phoenix vs. Maria:
Before the match Michelle McCool and Layla chat with Beth so that they can make some jokes at the expense of both Mickie and Maria. But Beth doesn’t find their jokes very funny. As the match starts Phoenix wears a very serious expression and quickly controls things as she nails Maria with some strikes in the corner. Maria tries a crossbody but gets caught and eventually slammed. Maria tires a roll-up but can’t keep Beth down and gets sent back into the corner. Maria climbs on Beth’s shoulders for reasons known only to her but gets tossed off on her butt. Beth then nails her with the Glam Slam and that is more than enough for the pinfall victory.
Batista vs. Rey Mysterio:
As covered in the opening promo the winner of this match gets to lose to the Undertaker next week. Rey tries to hit and move as the bell rings but he is quickly caught by Batista and slammed into the corner. Dave tosses Rey out under the bottom rope, but he rolls thru the mover and a game of chase ensues. Dave finally catches him and looks for the Batista Bomb, but Rey holds onto the ropes to stop the move. Dave gets dumped outside the ring and Rey follows him out with a senton. Rey goes back into the ring looking for another high impact attack but it misses and Dave slams him into the ringside barricade as the show takes its final commercial break.
When we return from the break, Batista is pounding on Rey in the ring. Dave shoots him hard into the corner and then takes things outside the ring and slams him into the ringpost. After bringing things back into the ring, Batista nails a back breaker and after a big boot gets a long two count. After some choking in the corner and on the ropes, Batista levels Mysterio with a clothesline and that gets another long two count. Dave climbs up on the turnbuckle and when he delays, Rey follows him up with a Frankensteiner attempt but Batista hangs onto the ropes. Dave then tries to follow with a move and Mysterio dropkicks him during his decent. Rey hits a senton and gets a near fall from it and has Batista reeling for the first time in the match. Mysterio hits a DDT and that gets a 2.8 count. As both men rise Batista falls victim to the 619 but as Rey tries to Drop the Dime, Batista gets his knees up. Batista then answers back with a couple of slams but neither is enough for a pinfall. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but Rey turns it into a headscissors that sends Dave outside of the ring. Batista gets mad and goes for a chair, but then thinks better of it and climbs back into the ring without it. Batista nails Mysterio with a spear but it is not enough for a three count either. Dave picks up Mysterio for a spinebuster but Rey fights and turns it into a pin attempt that gives him the win and the title shot.
