MILWAUKEE – Just two nights before The Bash, things erupted in the land of SmackDown, culminating in an epic "Rage in the Cage" Match, featuring some of Friday night's biggest Superstars.

Edge & Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho def. Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio
With World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk as guest referee, Edge & Chris Jericho went to war with Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio in a "Rage in the Cage" Match. In the end, it was "Team Ego" who prevailed when The Rated-R Superstar avoided a Twist of Fate from Hardy and stunned the high-flyer with a hard-hitting spear.

After the match was over, CM Punk, perhaps being sarcastic, offered up his praises for Hardy, saying he fought a good fight despite losing the match. On Sunday, the two will clash for Punk's World Heavyweight Championship at The Bash.

A visit from the Chairman
The epic main event was orchestrated by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long. Long was put under pressure to deliver a quality night by none other than the Chairman himself, Mr. McMahon, who paid a rare visit to SmackDown.

During the night's opening segment, the Chairman insisted that the night better be good, and put Long on "probation." The Chairman never let up on Teddy. After the night's main event, Mr. McMahon said he expected really big things from him at The Bash and told him to "perform as if your job depended on it."

R-Truth def. Shelton Benjamin
Performing his signature entrance song "What's Up?!," R-Truth crossed paths at ringside with the Chairman. When offered the chance to respond to the famous question, Mr. McMahon had nothing to say.

After the rapping was over, R-Truth endured a vicious verbal assault from his opponent, Shelton Benjamin. The mean-spirited lashing fueled a quick and aggressive offense from Truth during their match. Benjamin eventually turned the tables, putting Truth on the defensive. But in the end, Truth prevailed when he dropped The Gold Standard with a Lie Detector.

Michelle McCool & Alicia Fox def. Women's Champion Melina & Gail Kim
With the upcoming Women's Championship match on their minds, Michelle McCool and Alicia Fox went to work, punishing reigning champion, Melina. Their strategy worked, keeping Kim out of the ring for most of the contest. When Kim finally entered the fray, she was stopped cold by McCool with a devastating Faithbreaker. After it was all over, Melina was clearly still feeling the effects of the encounter. Can she recover in time to defend her title against McCool at The Bash?

John Morrison def. World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk (Non-Title)
Last week on SmackDown, John Morrison went toe-to-toe with former World Heavyweight Champion Edge, giving him a run for his money. Although The Friday Night delight came up short against The Ultimate Opportunist last week, on this night, he found a way to defeat the reigning champion. Perhaps feeling uncomfortable with his loss to the younger Superstar, Punk offered a congratulatory handshake to Morrison, only to crush him with a Go to Sleep. After the loss, Punk must put it behind him if he is to successfully defend his title against No. 1 contender Jeff Hardy at The Bash.

Source: WWE.com

The current World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk was at the Rancid/Rise Against show last night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at Summerfest. Rancid even dedicated the song "Last One to Die" to Punk, who was watching the show from the side of the stage. Later, Rancid's guitarist and vocalist Lars Frrederiksen threw his water bottle at Punk, who flipped him off in return.

A number of personalities from the wrestling world have commented on the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Here are their posts taken from Twitter.

Chris Jericho: "I saw Michael in concert in '93 and he blew my mind. One of the best entertainers of all time."

Jericho on Farrah Fawcett: "Farrah Fawcett was sooo hot. I had many evil dreams about her in my wonder years."

Eve Torres: "What an amazing icon of our time... RIP Michael. Thank u for sharing ur incredible talents with the world!"

"Ok, Heal the World just came on. Now I'm in tears."

Howard Finkel: "Rest in peace, Michael and Farrah. An amazing entertainer and an original 'Angel' are gone."

Hurricane Helms: "Just heard Farrah Fawcett has passed. RIP."

Helms on Michael Jackson: "Huge fan of Thriller, not really big on the child molesting stuff. Either way, RIP to the King of Pop!!"

Maria: "How can Michael Jackson die? He is one of the staples of my childhood. He Thrilled us, he Healed the World, he Rocked with You. So sad."

Maryse (picture): "Farrah Faccett! the muse of my current hairstyle choice - its so sad"

Maryse on Michael Jackson: "michael jackson! wow hard to believe!"

Matt Hardy: "Sad to hear about the deaths of Farrah & Michael Jackson today.. Don't take your loved ones for granted, you never know what tomorrow holds."

The Miz: "I cannot believe the King of Pop is dead."

Angela Fong: "Wow so crazy about Michael Jackson...rest in peace."

Awesome Kong: "I'm sad that Michael Jackson has died. A bunch of us were just talking about him this morning. I remember seeing him live at the Super Bowl."

Elijah Burke: "This is literally the first movement I've made since the news. Pope is deeply saddened. This is a day I will never, ever forget! ~ PHS"

Eric Bischoff: "Condolences to the family and friends of Farrah Fawcett. She was a celebrity who lived her life with dignity and class."

Lauren Jones: "Michael Jackson, you are an eternal legend. You inspired so many. R.I.P. So sad. :("

Shannon Moore: "RIP Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett."

Shelly Martinez: "Poor michael Jackson"

Taz: "Sad to hear about Farrah Fawcett...RIP."

On tonight's edition of iMPACT!, TNA will be promoting the Bobby Lashley (picture) vs. Bob Sapp mixed martial arts fight, which takes place Saturday Night at the Ultimate Chaos MMA event at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Meanwhile, Mikey Batts, who worked for TNA when they were on Fox Sport, will have his first mixed martial arts bout this weekend in Rhode Island at the Naga 2009 East Coast Submission Championship event. Batts has been doing his MMA training with American Top Team.

Missed Sunday's TNA Wrestling "Slammiversary" Pay-Per-View epic event? You can still catch the replay all month long on Pay-Per-View! Check your cable programming guide for availability!

Preshow: The British Invasion defeated Rhino & Jesse Neal when Brutus Magnus beat Neal. Rhino's original partner Eric Young walked out on him during the bout, leading to Neal coming to try to help his mentor.

QUICK RESULTS:
- X Champion Suicide won the first King Of The Mountain match
- Daniels defeated Shane Douglas
- Knockouts Champion Angelina Love defeated Tara
- Abyss & Taylor Wilde beat Raven & Daffney in Monster's Ball
- Sting defeated Matt Morgan
- Beer Money beat Team 3D to win the Tag Team Title
- Kurt Angle won the King Of The Mountain to become new World Champion, thanks to Samoa Joe turning his back on his friends and fans to help Angle!

COMPLETE PAY-PER-VIEW RESULTS:

- Suicide retained the X Division Championship in the first King Of The Mountain match to open the broadcast, beating the members of The Motor City Machineguns and Lethal Consequences in a high-flying ladder match!

- Daniels defeated "The Franchise" Shane Douglas in the "Second Chance Match" after Daniels hit the Best Moonsault Ever.

- Angelina Love successfully defended the TNA Knockouts Championship over Tara when Velvet Sky interfered on behalf of her Beautiful People partner. Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne interfered throughout. Velvet sprayed hairspray in Tara's eyes, allowing Angelina to hit her finisher and get the pin to retain the gold.

- Abyss and Taylor Wilde defeated Raven and Daffney in the "Monster's Ball" match when Abyss reversed a DDT into the Black Hole Slam for the pin on Raven. The chaotic bout also saw Wilde and Daffney go hardcore on each other with weapons and tacks!

- "The Icon" Sting defeated "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan after Sting escaped from Morgan's "Hellavtor" finisher and Sting hit the Scorpion Death Drop for the win. Sting remains the leader of the Main Event Mafia.

- Beer Money, Inc became the new TNA World Tag Team Champions by defeating Team 3D. The British Invasion got involved in the bout, ultimately costing Brother Ray and Devon the gold! After Team 3D hit their finisher, Rob Terry of the Invasion climbed up on the ring apron - causing a battle between Team 3D and the British Invasion. This allowed Beer Money to hit their finisher on Brother Devon to get the win!

- Kurt Angle became the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion by winning the King Of The Mountain main event, beating Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett and AJ Styles...with help from Samoa Joe!!! As Joe was climbing the ladder to win it, he handed the gold to Angle! Joe shocked the wrestling world with his actions - the question is, what will be the fallout from what he did?

Source: TNAwrestling.com

Former ECW General Manager Paul Heyman wrote a lengthy blog for the UK Sun in which he discussed what's next for the CM Punk (picture) character. "In the coming weeks, I am sure Punk will display personality traits of both hero and villain," Heyman wrote. "Fan favorite and subtle rulebreaker. Babyface and heel."

"His character, based on his real life discipline of abstaining from drugs and alcohol, can be presented as both a man of principles, and a champion who, with the exception of the drugs and alcohol he is above, will do anything to remain the World Heavyweight Title holder." Click here to read the full blog post.

ROANOKE, Va. – A strange brew of trickery, retribution and pure squared-circle aggression consumed SmackDown, just nine days before The Bash unleashes itself upon the WWE Universe.

Jeff Hardy def. Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho (count-out)
Prior to his match with Chris Jericho, The Charismatic No. 1 Contender was confronted by World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk about their World Championship Match at The Bash. Punk voiced no regrets about cashing in his Money in the Bank opportunity at Extreme Rules, nor with his actions in Monday Night Raw's Triple Threat Match. An intense Hardy expressed his determination to take his title back at the upcoming pay-per-view.

Hardy's attention then turned to Jericho. In the culmination of their heated battle, as the nine-time Intercontinental Champion was throwing Hardy back into the ring, Rey Mysterio suddenly emerged from a seat in the crowd. He attacked Jericho, driving the stunned Superstar into the ring post before returning to his seat next to two other identically dressed fans. This surprise onslaught led directly to a Hardy victory when Jericho couldn't answer the 10-count. After the bell, The Charismatic Enigma put the exclamation point on the win, hitting the disoriented Jericho with the Twist of Fate and Swanton Bomb combination.

World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk def. Rey Mysterio
Later, Mysterio accepted the challenge from the reemerging Jericho to put his sacred mask on the line against Jericho's gold at The Bash. The nine-time Intercontinental Champion then joined Hall of Famer Jim Ross & Todd Grisham at the broadcast table. But in a critical moment of Mysterio's match with Punk, Jericho "evened the score" for his masked adversary's earlier attack, slamming The Master of the 619 into the steel ring post. Though Mysterio answered his 10-count, the World Champion quickly finished him off with the GTS.

After the bell, an angry Jeff Hardy charged into the ring to dispute the decision. He was clearly still seething after being stripped of the World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules. But the confrontation only ended in a staredown, with Punk still walking off with the victory over Mysterio. At The Bash, things will finally come to a head when Punk and Hardy collide in a rematch.

Edge def. John Morrison
The Friday Night Delight may have matched The Master Manipulator in a war of words before the bell, but The Rated-R Superstar ultimately reigned supreme, hitting the spear in the climax of their tremendously hard-fought battle. Morrison heroically fought through injured ribs, but couldn't stop the former World Champion at the finish line.

Dolph Ziggler def. The Great Khali (disqualification)
While the referee was distracted, the incomparable Ziggler threw a chair toward The Great Khali before falling to the canvas as if injured. When the referee turned around, The Punjabi Playboy was holding the steel and was therefore disqualified. Once again, Ziggler appears to have outsmarted Khali, giving himself another victory over his irate adversary.

Melina def. Alicia Fox
Melina reigned supreme over "A-Fox," flipping herself downward off Alicia's back and using her momentum to whip Alicia over for the pinfall. Michelle then attacked, hurling the Women's Champion from the ring before viciously kneeing her into the broadcaster's table. The No. 1 contender promised to humiliate Melina at The Bash and become the first Diva to hold both the Divas and Women's Championships.

R-Truth & Cryme Tyme def. Ricky Ortiz, Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin
Amidst mass confusion both in and outside the ring in a six-man brawl, R-Truth caught Benjamin with a powerful kick as The Gold Standard was leaping from the top rope. Truth followed up with the hurricane-like Corkscrew Elbow to prove triumphant.

Source: WWE.com