Shortly after John Cena made fairly easy work of R-Truth at Saturday Night's Main Event, Truth was informed his WWE contract would not be renewed and he would be released from the promotion. Fan and locker room backlash to WWE's decision was so strong that WWE reversed course and gave Truth a new deal.

Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown" kicked the build to Night of Champions into high gear and continued the push toward a massive clash between CM Punk and John Cena.

SmackDown on June 13 took place at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., and featured several King and Queen of the Ring opening-round matches. The first Friday show after Money in the Bank saw John Cena appear multiple times throughout the show as he struggled to deal with Ron Killings.