Five days after Judgment Day, WWE Friday Night SmackDown! opened up with Rob Van Dam arriving to the ring. On most nights, RVD is full of positive energy, but tonight, he meant business. After congratulating Kane on beating him for the World Heavyweight Championship, Van Dam said that he wanted to invoke his rematch clause as soon as possible. He didn't want to wait for Extreme Rules in three weeks, and he didn't want to wait until next week. He was ready to fight, and he wanted his rematch tonight. However, instead of his challenge being answered, RVD was interrupted by the team of Batista and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Neither man believed that Van Dam deserved another World Heavyweight Championship match, and if anybody was next in line to challenge Kane, it was one of them. "If you guys really think that, how about I beat you two tonight and prove that I deserve that shot?," RVD asked.
SmackDown General Manager The Rock arrived right after. Rock said that Van Dam is contractually obligated to receive a rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship, and he'll get his rematch later that night against Kane. However, since the Big Gold Belt has to be defended at Extreme Rules, Rock didn't want SmackDown to go off the air without determining who the next #1 contender would be. That's when he booked Batista against Piper. The winner would challenge the World Heavyweight Champion at Extreme Rules.
Later that night, Van Dam was found incapacitated backstage. Michael Cole reported that RVD was assaulted by an unknown figure, and both Rock and SmackDown Assistant GM Teddy Long were conducting a full investigation into the attack. However, due to Van Dam's condition, the title match between him and Kane was cancelled. It meant that whoever won between Batista and Piper would have a date with Kane in three weeks time. The #1 contender main event was hard-hitting, with both men needing the World Heavyweight Championship more than anything. It looked like Batista was closing in on the victory when he hit a Batista Bomb, but Piper kicked out. Batista put the thumbs down one more time, and went for a second Batista Bomb, but Piper escaped and hit him with the Brogue Kick. It didn't take Batista down completely, so Piper hit another one and went for the cover. It was over. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper was next in line for a World Heavyweight Championship match. As the Scotsman celebrated, Kane made his entrance. He stood on the stage and held up his newly won title while laughing. Piper had a strange mixture of frustration and intimidation on his face.
A week later, it was announced that Van Dam would be out of action for the next couple months due to injuries he had sustained during the backstage assault. In reality, Van Dam had been dealing with injuries for weeks and requested time off after Judgment Day. Apparently, he was supposed to retain the World Heavyweight Championship against Kane, then move on to a feud with Batista and Piper. With the match at Extreme Rules set, Piper had Kane as a guest on his talk show Piper's Pit. Piper gave Kane his word that Batista was banned from ringside during the segment. While things were casual in the beginning, it quickly turned intense when Piper became brutally honest. He believed that Kane didn't deserve to be World Heavyweight Champion, and he was taking an opportunity away from guys way more talented than him, like Piper. He brought up the fact that he held the World Heavyweight Championship for a year, from SummerSlam 1998 to SummerSlam 1999. During that time, Piper was the man. He made SmackDown exciting, and the Big Gold Belt was the most relevant title in all of WWE.
Then he lost the title, and everything went to hell afterwards. People no longer took him seriously, and he got treated like a joke for months afterwards. The only person who believed in him, the only person who thought that he could be World Heavyweight Champion again, was Batista. Piper also stated that Kane's accomplishments meant nothing to him, because he was being looked at the same way two years ago. In 1998, along with the World Title, Piper won the Royal Rumble and the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania XIV. The match at Extreme Rules was it for him. "This is my last shot to be the man, my last shot to prove I'm still somebody, and you're standing in the way," Piper said. Kane grabbed his challenger by the throat, and said that he didn't care about Piper's insecurities. "If you really don't have anything left after Extreme Rules, I will have no problem taking you out of your misery," Kane warned. That was when Piper fought back, and the brawl was on between the two. However, it didn't last long when Batista came to make the save.
Things went downhill from there for Kane. Within seconds, Batista and Piper were taking turns beating him down. "You're telling me that this wasn't planned? That Batista just came out here to help his buddy? Please," Cole said with disgust. At that point, Batista pulled out a set of handcuffs and used them to lock Kane to the bottom rope. "Oh, come on, Kane is handcuffed!" "Cole, I tell ya, somebody has to come out here, stop these two before it gets worse," Tazz said with concern. To make matters worse, Piper brought a steel chair into the mix. At the same time, Batista signaled for a steel cage to be lowered. That's when Piper announced that at Extreme Rules, his match with Kane would be a Steel Cage Match. Both him and Batista took turns brutalizing Kane with the chair, eventually leaving him busted open when they hit him in the skull with it. Referees had to come unlock the cage to help Kane as Piper and Batista held up the chair with blank expressions on their face. "This is disgusting. Ladies and gentlemen, what you just saw here was an absolute mugging," Cole said.
Extreme Rules was now 48 hours away, but Piper wasn't letting up after the ambush from last week. He opened up the show with a promo, stating that guys like Kane have the look, and the size, but never the talent. He still thinks about the loss at SummerSlam last year that left him without the World Heavyweight Championship, and everything he's done since then has led up to this. He's more dangerous than he's ever been in his career, and he doesn't care how he beats Kane in two days. "I'll kick him in the skull and pin him, I'll make him tap out, I'll slam that cage door in his face as I'm walking outta there, then come back to spit in his eye while holding his title. I don't give a damn how it happens, all that matters is that it happens. At Extreme Rules, I'm taking back my World Heavyweight Championship, and SmackDown will once again have a champion they can be proud of," Piper said. He also said that if Kane wants to show how much of a man he is, he'll come meet him face-to-face in the ring later that night...inside the steel cage.
Batista didn't trust Kane, and demanded to stand guard during the face-to-face in case Piper got into trouble. Rock refused to have Batista anywhere near the ring, and banned him from interfering. If he didn't comply, he would be fired. Piper came to the ring holding a set of handcuffs and a beat up steel chair, the same tools used to leave Kane unresponsive a week ago. It was played up on commentary how deranged Piper has become in his attempt to win the World Heavyweight Championship, and on Sunday, that steel cage is only going to make it worse. "I hate to say it, Cole, but in order to beat a guy like Kane, you have to do some of the things Piper's been doing lately. You need to go in there like you have a death wish or you won't be champion," Tazz said. Piper entered the cage, then sat down on the chair and called Kane out one last time. "You better come out here, Kane. There's no Batista, no referees, no security. Just a man with nothing to lose," Piper said. At that point, "Slow Chemical" by Finger Eleven started playing. Piper looked unfazed as the arena was bathed in red lighting and he waited for the World Heavyweight Champion. However, instead of coming to the ring, Kane was already there. The monster created a hole in the mat and came up from underneath. The audience went crazy as Piper slowly turned around and walked right into a chokeslam before he could even get some offense in. Kane then folded the chair, positioned it, then got Piper up for the Tombstone Piledriver, which he hit on the chair. With the Big Gold Belt wrapped around his waist, Kane posed for the crowd as he looked around the cage, then at Piper with nothing but a blank stare.
At Extreme Rules, the World Heavyweight Championship will be decided between two psychopaths in a Steel Cage Match. If you can't pin your opponent or make them submit, the only other way to win is by escaping the cage with both feet touching the floor. Will Kane take down his first challenge and prove that he belongs on top of SmackDown? Or will "Rowdy" Roddy Piper redeem himself as the man and win the World Title for a second time? And what role, if any, will Batista play in the outcome?
