WWE Announces Alberto Del Rio Defeats Big Show for World Title at SmackDown

Alberto Del Rio got the better of Big Show to become the promotion's new World Heavyweight Champion on Jan. 8's taping of SmackDown, according to Alex Giannini of WWE.com.

While the match will not officially take place until Friday night’s airing of the card, Del Rio is the new World Heavyweight Champion.

The promotion’s announcement indicated Del Rio’s victory came in a brutal Last Man Standing Match against The World’s Largest Athlete.

Big Show fought tough, but The Mexican Aristocrat would not be denied his first World Heavyweight Championship belt.

The victory gives him his third World Title of his career and sets him up for a continued push that he has been riding over the past few months.

Perhaps the biggest question, other than why the title changed hands during a taped event, is why the promotion announced the results prior to airing of the show.

Sure, The Rock is making his much-anticipated return to the ring, but spoiling its own twist is bad form.

It also brings into question recent rumors that pitted Del Rio against Big Show for the same title at Royal Rumble at the end of the month.

This could definitely still be the direction the promotion chooses to go in, but the defending champion will be different than expected after this change of events.

SmackDown is gearing up to celebrate its 700th episode next week, so the WWE could be setting up for any number of scenarios to help celebrate the milestone.

Could Dolph Ziggler be in its plans to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase?

You’ll have to wait until next week to find out, since you already know what’s going down on Friday night.