SmackDown! will not air until Friday, but WWE has already confirmed a major development from Tuesday’s tapings.
Similar to the recent situation with Wade Barrett winning the Intercontinental Championship, WWE is apparently toying with the mindset that prematurely revealing big storyline developments will boost interest in taped broadcasts.
In this case, that means revealing that there was a major title change at the SmackDown! taping.
“On the same night The Rock made his eagerly anticipated return to Friday night’s best show, Alberto Del Rio seized the spotlight and defeated Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match to claim the World Heavyweight Championship,” confirmed WWE.
Del Rio was conspicuously absent from Monday’s WWE RAW telecast, but based on this development, that was anomaly rather than an indication he will miss considerable time. He is now in possession of the second-most important belt.