The Great American Bash (2005) - Aftermath

Aftermath

The feud between Batista and JBL continued after the Bash. On the July 28 episode of SmackDown!, JBL defeated The Undertaker after interference from Randy Orton to become the number-one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. The following week on SmackDown!, Batista and JBL held a scripted official contract signing, where it was announced that their match at SummerSlam would be a No Holds Barred match that allowed for no disqualification. At SummerSlam, Batista defeated JBL to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. The feud between the two ended when Batista defeated JBL in a Texas Bullrope match on the September 9 edition of SmackDown!, a match where the objective is to touch all four ring corners while tied to one's opponent with a bullrope.

On the edition of SmackDown! following The Great American Bash, Eddie Guerrero revealed the secret he had been keeping; he was Dominick's real father, not Rey Mysterio (was thought to be). At SummerSlam, Mysterio defeated Guerrero in a ladder match, where the goal is to climb a ladder to retrieve an object that is suspended in the air. As per pre-match stipulations, Mysterio gained complete custody of Dominick. On the September 9 edition of SmackDown!, Guerrero defeated Mysterio in a steel cage match to end the feud. Guerrero then began a feud with Batista when Guerrero was given a title match at No Mercy. Guerrero, however, died unexpectedly of heart failure on November 13, 2005. In 2006 Guerrero was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Mysterio, his nephew Chavo Guerrero, and Chris Benoit.

The feud between Chris Benoit and Orlando Jordan continued. At SummerSlam, Benoit defeated Jordan for the WWE United States Championship in a match that lasted 25.5 seconds. On the September 1 edition of SmackDown!, Benoit once again defeated Jordan for the title, but this time the match lasted 23.4 seconds. The following week on SmackDown!, Benoit defeated Jordan in another title match, where the match lasted 22.5 seconds.