EDGE kicks off Smackdown with his entrance theme.

...claims he is the face of Smackdown.

Teddy Long came and told EDGE that without Matt's help he could not be the champion and said at Extreme Rules he is gonna face Jeff Hardy again.

Edge protested and Jeff came down to the ring...challenged Edge one on one in a winner chooses stipulation for extreme rules match.

Teddy Long make it official with a littlt help from the WWE Universe.

1.] 6-man Tag Team Match :

Shalton Benjamin,Charlie Haas & Ricky Ortiz vs Cryme Time & John Morrison

winner : Cryme Time & John Morrison

2.] #1 Contender Match :

Michelle vs Gail Kim

winner : Michelle

3.] Rey Mysterio interviews about his wins @ Judgment Day and about his mask.

4.] C M Punk vs Chris Jericho

Result : Umaga interupts  & challenge C M Punk in a Samoan strap match at Extreme Rules pay-per-view.

5.] Dolph Ziggler vs R-Truth

winner : Dolph Ziggler ... as expected The Great Khali came down to the ring after the match but Ziggler escaped.

6.] Jericho claims a match with Rey Mysterio @ Extreme Rules to the general manager of smackdown Teddy Long & it was approved.

7.] Main Event : EDGE vs Jeff Hardy

winner : Jeff Hardy

He choses ladders match @ Extreme Rules.

The Ultimate Opportunist struck again !

EDGE defeated Jeff Hardy with a little help from Matt Hardy.

Due to Rey Mysterio suffering a knee injury during his match with Shelton Benjamin that was taped for WWE Superstars, the entire Smackdown show reportedly had to be rewritten on the fly.

I have no idea what the original script looked like, but Plan B definitely gets an "A" grade from me

Friday night's Smackdown episode featured good-to-great wrestling and a terrific post-match brawl that ended the go-home show for Sunday's Judgment Day pay-per-view on a high note. Mysterio, by the way, is expected to be able to wrestle Chris Jericho on Sunday, as his injury is not believed to be serious.

Smackdown opened with a fantastic tag team match that saw CM Punk and John Morrison defeat Benjamin and Charlie Haas, and closed with an entertaining match between two of the top heels in the business, Jericho and Edge. Apparently, none of the aforementioned wrestlers had much time to prepare for their matches, so the fact that they came off so well is really a testament to their vast talent.

After Edge's victory by disqualification over Jericho, Jeff Hardy ran in and hit a Twist of Fate on Edge on the chair. Punk then came out and prepared to cash in his Money in the Bank title shot, but he again was thwarted by Umaga. Eventually, Mysterio also got involved, and a melee ensued. The opponents at Judgment Day - Edge/Hardy, Jericho/Mysterio and Punk/Umaga - all paired off and brawled in the crowd and on the stage.

You never want to see anyone get injured, but perhaps WWE should consider tearing up the original script at the last minute more often.

Other thoughts on Friday's show:

Teasing that Punk is going to be cashing in his MITB opportunity is a good way to build anticipation for the eventual payoff, and having Umaga stand in his way is an effective way to get the Samoan powerhouse back in the mix. I'm still waiting for an explanation as to why Umaga is out to get Punk, though. I would think it has to be that Umaga is acting as a henchman for someone (Edge?). ...

Benjamin and Haas reminded everyone why they once were known as The World's Greatest Tag Team. As good as they are together, however, I would rather see Benjamin get a singles push - unless, of course, WWE is going to make tag team wrestling mean something again. ...
Morrison's split-legged corkscrew moonsault rivals Evan Bourne's Shooting Star Press as the most breathtaking move in WWE. ...

I enjoyed the Hardy-Ricky Ortiz and Dolph Ziggler-Jimmy Wang Yang matches. Ortiz looked the best I have seen him, and I like Ziggler more every time I watch him. ...

The women's tag match - which saw Melina and Gail Kim defeat Michelle McCool and Alicia Fox - wasn't bad. Heck, even the backstage catfight between Eve and Layla was entertaining. ...

It was really good to see R-Truth get a victory (over Mike Knox). Hopefully, it's the start of a winning streak.

Triple H has been expected to remain out of action, despite Shawn Michaels and Undertaker already being on the shelf, and the possible loss of Jeff Hardy soon. However, it's been confirmed that Triple H is currently officially booked to return to house show schedules immediately after the upcoming WWE Judgment Day pay-per view. It's very likely that Triple H will be returning at the PPV unadvertised. There has been talk about doing an angle where he costs Batista his match in the main event. This would even the score with Batista, who cost Triple H the title and an "injury" to Randy Orton while distracted by "The Animal" during the match.

Here's the updated card for tomorrow's WWE Judgment Day pay-per-view after Shelton Benjamin vs. John Morrison was added last night.

WWE Title Match
Batista vs. Randy Orton

World Heavyweight Title Match
Jeff Hardy vs. Edge

ECW Title Match
Jack Swagger vs. Christian

WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio

John Cena vs. Big Show

CM Punk vs. Umaga

John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin