Mark Henry came out to the ring and talked about inducting people into Hall of Pain and declared that he will be the champion after Night of Champions. Zakk Ryder came out and said that as assistant to Teddy Long, he needed to let Henry know that tonight both he and Randy Orton will be in action and Teddy Long has put a no contact rule in place between the two men. As Ryder was ready to leave, Henry stopped him and guided him back to the ring and asked who the champion would be in Ryder’s opinion after Night of Champions. Ryded joked that Beth Phoenix has Kelly Kelly’s number, but got serious and said that Henry can’t ask him that because if he says Orton, Henry will run him over. Henry said that Ryder needs to realize that if he can’t put his hands on Orton tonight, then he needs to put his hands on someone and held Ryder by his jacket. Ryder stood still for a few seconds, and decided to start punching Henry in order to avoid a beating. But Henry nailed him with a back hand swipe, sending Ryder flipping backwards to the mat. At this point Ezekiel Jackson’s music played and he came out to the ring and Henry’s opponent.
Match 1: Mark Henry v. Ezekiel Jackson
Jackson seemed to put up a fight, and was almost on the brink of going toe to toe with Henry, but after several minutes into the match, he fell victim to the World’s Strongest Slam, and was pinned, giving Mark Henry the win.
Winner: Mark Henry
In Teddy Long’s office, Oksana said that ring announcing isn’t the only special thing she can do with her mouth, and as Long got uneasy, she said she could sing too. Long excused himself to go “check on Zakk Ryder”.
Match 2: Tyson Kidd v. Sin Cara
The momentum shifted back and forth in the match. When Kidd thought he had the upper hand, he kicked Sin Cara in the leg and charged off the ropes, only to be back slammed to the mat. Sin Cara then hit Kidd with the combination Senton, back flip somersault and scored the win. Josh Matthews came to the ring and asked Sin Cara what was up with Sin Cara’s aggressive actions, including kicking Daniel Bryan after their match last week. Sin Cara surprised everyone by responding in perfect English that formerly he held back his real attitude out of respect, but now that he has established himself in the WWE, the real Sin Cara, the aggressive competitor people saw is who is here to stay. This prompted Daniel Bryan to come out and tell Sin Cara that he is surprised by his speaking English as well as the kick to the head after their match last week. Bryan would then challenge Sin Cara to a rematch next week, and Sin Cara responded by kicking Bryan and putting him in Bryan’s own Le Belle lock, to which Bryan quickly tapped, though it took the ref several attempts to get Sin Cara to break the hold.
Winner: Sin Cara
In the back, Randy Orton was interviewed and talked about how Cody is an unstable man, and unstable can be dangerous. He then said that Henry’s attack on him last week was smart and unpredictable, which are not terms usually used to describe Mark Henry, but they are now. He then said that there is a counter for Henry’s danger factor, and that is the RKO.
Match 3: Kelly Kelly v. Natalya
Natalya dominated the early and taunted Kelly when the Divas Champion was down. When Natalya continued trash talking as Kelly was on the ropes, Kelly slapped her in the face. An angry Natalya lifted Kelly over her head and spun her around, but Kelly hooked on to the ropes and was able to escape. Natalya wouldn’t let this last long as she dodged Kelly’s kick, and tripped her up, attempting to lock in the sharp shooter. But Kelly would slickly reach up and roll Natalya over, scoring the roll up win.
Winner: Kelly Kelly
As the ring announcer was about to announce the next match, Christian came out with a microphone and said that the following match and the rest of the matches for the rest of the show have been postponed because Teddy Long refused to do the right thing. Christian went on to talk about being forced to compete in the main event on RAW where he was a victim of a double team by Sheamus and John Cena, but manned up and competed for the World Championship the next night on Smackdown. Christian said that the right thing to do is to give him one more match. Sheamus came out and made fun of Christian comparing him to a sick pup from a litter. When Christian told him to shut up, Sheamus came into the ring and told Christian that everyone knows he is out of matches, out of chances, and out of excuses, but most importantly, he is going to get out of the ring so Sheamus’s match can start. Christian got in Sheamus’s face, but ended up stepping out of the ring. As he walked to the back, Wade Barrett came out and headed to the ring.
Match 4: Sheamus v. Christian
In the closing moments of a back and forth match, Sheamus hit Barrett with a leaping shoulder tackle from the top rope, Christian rushed down to the ring and attacked Sheamus from behind. He and Barrett put the boots to Sheamus, but he fought back chasing Christian out of the ring and nailing Barrett with a jumping front kick to the face. Christian came back in the ring and almost got hit with the High Cross, before escaping and backing away from ringside.
Winner: Sheamus (by disqualification)
Match 5: Great Khali & Ginder Mahal v. Air Boom
After a short offensive by Bourne, Mahal and Khali took control of the match. Bourne was able to make it to his corner and tag in Kofi who went to town on Mahal, but missed the Trouble in Paradise finisher. Kofi retained control, but only briefly when Mahal took him down. Bourne came in to help, but was launched out of the ring by Khali. Mahal got in Khali’s face and after pushing Khali, he slapped Khali in the face. An angry Khali then shoved Mahal’s face causing Mahal to stumble backwards and turn around right into Kofi’s Trouble in Paradise. Kofi then scored the winning pin, and after Air Boom left the ring, Khali stood over Mahal for a moment and then left the ring. Mahal crawled to his knees and yelled at Khali, who left ringside without turning around.
Winners: Air Boom
Match 6: Cody Rhodes v. Randy Orton
Before the match, Cody, who came to the ring with a microphone spoke to the crowd, addressing the situation with him assaulting and bagging Ted DiBiase last week. He said that he tried to help DiBiase, but DiBiase just wanted to be himself and not be helped, so Cody dropped him. He then addressed Orton, saying that Orton has inspired him to show how unstable Cody can be. At that point Orton came to the ring. The match started off somewhat slowly with the two men exchanging lock ups and headlocks. Cody tried to sneak a small package on Orton, but Orton quickly kicked out. Cody got a few shots in on Orton but dropped down on his back when Orton swung away his drop kick. Orton would go to work on Cody, stopping Cody’s attempts to fight back several times, but Cody used his mask, hitting Orton in the face and took control of the match. This didn’t last long when Orton fought out of the corner, but missed a dropping knee on Cody, allowing Cody to take control again, going after Orton’s knee. Cody launched Orton in the ropes, but yanked him back by the arm, hitting him in the stomach with a knee. Cody made a mistake of turning around for a moment and was thrown to the ring apron, then pulled half way in by Orton for a DDT. But Cody escaped, tossing Orton over the top rope and onto the ring apron, then nailing him with a jumping kick, sending Orton to the floor. Back in the ring, Cody continued to dominate Orton. Cody would dominate for several minutes, even after nailing the steel post with his shoulder. But when Cody went for a bulldog, Orton shoved him off and went after Cody hitting hi m with two clotheslines and a power slam. Orton charged Cody in the corner, but Cody kicked in the face. Cody went for a suplex, but it was reversed by Orton, who began to pound on Cody again. When Cody ended up on the ring apron, Orton DDTed him into the ring and preaped for the RKO. Noticing it, Cody rolled out of of the ring. Orton chased him around ringside and back into the ring where Cody caught him with a kick to the gut. Cody went for the Cross Rhodes, but Orton got away and turned around, stunning Cody with and RKO. Once Orton got the winning pin, Mark Henry marched to the ring and got in Orton’s face. Even with the no contact rule in place, Orton threw punches at Henry’s head, but Henry would fight back, hitting Orton with the World’s Strongest Slam twice. He then went to the outside and brought a chair into the ring. He positioned Orton in the center of the ring and positioned the chair over his throat. He pressed down as he taunted Orton about being able to take him completely out, and the title that he wants is the only reason he doesn’t break Orton fully.
Winner: Randy Orton