The 18^th May 2012 episode of Friday Night SmackDown! starts with a video recapping the events involving John Cena and John Laurinaitis and their match at Over The Limit, from the end of Monday Night Raw (click here for our Raw report), followed by John Laurinaitis making his way to the ring to kick off this episode of SmackDown!.

Laurinaitis says that he disagrees with the decision made by the WWE Board Of Directors, and that he feels like he has been put in harms way. He realises that he asked for the match between himself and Cena, but that the Board restricted the very way that he was to compete with Cena.

He says that on Sunday it is like leading a lamb to slaughter, which is not fair, pointing out that he is approaching forty years old and is not as flexible as he used to be, and as such he asked the WWE Board Of Directors to reconsider – and they said no.

Laurinaitis asks the fans to find it in their heart to support him in this lopsided match, and says that he doesn’t expect them to cheer him, but asks that they say a prayer for him before going to sleep tonight.

CM Punk’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring, where he says that everybody around the world has been praying, and that their prayers have been answered, as on Sunday the only way that Laurinaitis can win is by pinfall or submission, and if anyone interferes, they will be immediately terminated.

He says that the best part is that when Cena beats Laurinaitis, John Laurinaitis will be the one to be terminated, so Punk wishes him the best of luck on his future endeavours. Punk says that a party will be thrown that starts on the upcoming episode of Monday Night Raw and will continue to next week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown!.

Punk asks John Laurinaitis if he is aware of how miserable he makes people and how much he has abused his power, then talking about Laurinaitis making The Big Show beg for his job with a smile on his face on Raw, just like the smile that Punk demonstrates.

He says that Laurinaitis constantly insults the intelligence of the WWE Universe, is out of touch, belittles and humiliates Teddy Long, somebody who made SmackDown! the great show that it is, so he wants to know how it feels to be on the other end of the stick for once.

Laurinaitis says that he is not there yet, as he is still the General Manager of Raw and SmackDown!, and can do what he wants and make any match he wants, so as a result, CM Punk is going to face Kane one-on-one later on in this episode.

CM Punk says that he won’t pretend that he’s not concerned that he’s facing Kane, but he also won’t run to the WWE Board Of Directors and ask to get out of the match, because he is a man, and that the funny thing about it all is that when it comes to Kane, he can respect him, which is more than he can say for Laurinaitis.

He says that when it comes to next week, Punk will still be the WWE Champion, but Laurinaitis will be in the unemployment line. Punk then leaves, but Laurinaitis complains that the harder that he works, the more the fans like to crap on him, so if it is going to be his last night, then he wants the fans to remember his last words – that they can all go to hell.

Next, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth take on Titus O’Neil and Darren Young in a tag team match which sees Truth get the victory for his team, when he hits Young with the jumping reverse STO for the 3-count.

After a video hyping Ryback, Damien Sandow is set to be pitted against Yoshi Tatsu, but before the match takes place, Sandow wants to talk about how is here to set us all free from the chains of ignorance.

He says that a fortnight ago, he stood on the precipice of ushering in a new era of enlightenment that the ignorant masses desperately yearned for, but upon his arrival at ringside, he saw that he was pitted against an unworthy opponent, one which he rejected so that he didn’t subject any of us to such an abhorrent contest.

Sandow says that he finds himself in the same position again, calling Tatsu an unworthy opponent, and saying that he cannot and will not demean himself by engaging this “ignoramus”, and he claims that he does it for the benefit and well-being of the fans.

As he starts to leave however, Tatsu calls Sandow a chicken, causing Sandow to hit the ring in anger and attacking Tatsu, with the match never officially getting started.

After a video recapping the events over the past couple of weeks involving Sheamus and Randy Orton, Matt Striker interviews Sheamus and Randy Orton about their Fatal Four-Way match at Over The Limit, in which Sheamus says that is able to harness his aggression, and Orton says that he can’t think of a better way than to beat the current champion in the match despite it not being a requirement.

Sheamus comments that at least one of his opponents had the guts to say it to his face and that he could Brogue Kick Orton right now, but won’t because he a nice guy, and Orton agrees that Sheamus is a nice guy, but points out the old expression that “nice guys finish last”.

Next up, Zack Ryder goes against Daniel Bryan in a match which sees Bryan get the victory, when he hits Ryder with a kick to the head, and follows it up with the Yes Lock, forcing Bryan to tap out.

Daniel Bryan joins commentary as CM Punk takes on Kane in a match which sees Kane get the victory as a result of a disqualification, when Bryan hits Kane from behind with a steel chair. Afterwards, Bryan drops the chair and Punk picks it up, apparently causing Kane to think that Punk was the one who hit him with it.

Kane enacts his revenge by hitting Punk with the steel chair, followed by hitting him with two chokeslams in the middle of the ring, as Bryan watches on from the stage.

Now, Santino Marella is pitted against Cody Rhodes in a match which sees Marella get the victory, when he hits Rhodes with The Cobra for the 3-count.

After a video recapping the events involving John Laurinaitis and The Big Show on Monday Night Raw, which resulting in Laurinaitis firing Show, Randy Orton goes against Sheamus in a match which sees Sheamus get the victory, when he counters Orton’s RKO attempt into a roll-up for the 3-count.

Afterwards, both men stand face to face and then shake hands, which is quickly followed up by Orton hitting Sheamus with an RKO.

Orton stands over the downed Sheamus, as SmackDown! goes off the air.