Welcome to the Raw Deal. This week's Raw was a rare taped show that was filmed immediately after last week's live Raw in San Jose because of the Raw crew going on tour in Australia last week. I read the results a week ago quickly, so I had an ideas as to what was coming this week. That didn't sour the show on me. To me, if it's a good show then it's good regardless of whether it was live or taped. There's a lot to get to this week first with my thoughts on Edge's injury, the usual rundown of what happened on Raw, some emails with my responses and then the opportunity for you to determine what I write about in the future will bring us home.

The Deal on…Edge's Injury
This one sucks. In case you don't know, Edge was wrestling Jeff Hardy during a house show in San Diego when he landed from a typical leapfrog spot and collapsed to the mat with a torn Achilles tendon. That was terrible to read on Saturday morning and it sucks just the same today. (Much to my surprise, WWE.com put up an article on the injury that you can read about here if you want a bit more info on it.) We don't know the exact diagnosis, but from watching sports over the years as much as I have I know that tearing your Achilles tendon is a severe injury that will put somebody on the shelf for eight months at least. It's usually the result of wear and tear over the years. He likely had pain in his foot for months, continued to work through it and then it just snapped on him doing a regular bump in the ring that he's done many times before. It's different than tearing the ACL in your knee, which can happen to the healthiest of people in an instant. Anyway, the question is what does WWE do now?

Edge is the co-holder of the unified tag titles with Chris Jericho appearing on all brands whenever they want. This week's Raw and Smackdown are already taped, so the writing time has well over a week to figure out what they want to do with Edge's injury. I'm assuming he's on crutches right now and can't even walk out to the ring without some type of help. My suggestion is a simple beatdown by Jericho. They can mention Edge got hurt in a non-televised match, he can come out in street clothes, on crutches and maybe with a boot on his foot to protect it. He can forfeit his half of the belts, Jericho can be furious about it and beat him down brutally. Then, in 8 or 9 months (right around WrestleMania) hopefully Edge is healthy enough to come back, he can be a babyface in a return feud with Jericho that would likely be great considering the two guys involved. He's better as a heel, but he'd be fresh in that role and I think it would work fine. I guess we'll find out next week.

In my opinion Edge has been the best performer in WWE over the course of the last four years since he's been put in a main event role. He's had the best combination of character development, in-ring matches and promos of anybody in the company. On the other hand, it's the opportunity for others in the company to step up and fill the void, so that when he does get back there will be fresh feuds for him. Have to try to make a positive out of a negative. Get back soon, Edge. We'll miss ya.

Taped from San Jose, California here's the Raw Deal…

This Week's GM is...Ted Dibiase
Good. Love this man. He was truly one of my favorites growing up and my opinion is that he, along with Mr. Perfect and Owen Hart, is the best wrestler in company history to not be a World Champion. The theme song might be my favorite ever too. And the Million Dollar belt is great as well. Dibiase worked for WWE for years as a road agent, but he's moved on now. Obviously he's still got close ties there and I think it's likely that he'll be in the joke WWE Hall of Fame this year or next. We learned no more title defenses until Night of Champions and that Edge & Jericho would defend against Rhodes & Dibiase. Of course this was before the Edge injury, which WWE correctly did not acknowledge. Dibiase makes Rhodes wrestle Henry (did you hear those piped in cheers for Henry’s name?) and his son Dibiase Jr. wrestle Orton, which drew a nice reaction. I like the idea. Fun opening segment carried by one of the best talkers in company history, which is no surprise to me.

Mysterio vs. Jericho one more time on Smackdown this week. I hear it's awesome. Maybe the last match in what's been the feud of the year so far.

Edge & Jericho d. Carlito & Primo (*)
This was a typical TV tag match. The heels dominated the action as they should, Primo got the hot tag, he did his flips and while that was impressive it wasn’t enough for them to get the win. Love the Codebreaker into a Spear finish. That was awesome. I’m so sad that this is the last TV match of the great Edge/Jericho team for a while at least. Post match, Carlito beats the crap out of his brother because they lost three matches in a row. I don’t like it. What's the point of breaking up the Colon brothers? Do they think fans are clamoring for a feud with them? Trust me, nobody is. They’ve attempted to push Carlito in singles multiple times and it never really worked. Finally he was in a role that he seemed to excel at and they cut it off way too soon. Fans like tag team wrestling and they’re the best babyface team in the company, yet here they are ending it before they should.

Orton tells Ted Jr. that he’s going to win their match and Teddy gets all up in his face saying his dad was better than Orton’s dad. This is true. I guess it’s on, bitches.

Mickie James & Gail Kim d. Maryse & Alicia Fox (*1/4)
This was a lot better than the match from the week before probably because Gail Kim was involved. She’s arguably the best performer of the females in WWE although you’d never know that from the brief time she was on Smackdown because she was never used. I like that they let her show off her athleticism. I’m definitely a fan of the Maryse/Mickie feud because they’re not rushing. They’re taking it slow and it’s working. It also helps that I find both of them to be spectacular to look at. I may finally be over my Trish withdrawal. Maybe.

Cody talks with Ted Sr. and he basically wants out of the match against Fat Henry. Not happening. He even sings his dad’s common man song. This wasn’t very good. At least it was better than that godawful Teddy Long/John Morrison segment from last week’s Smackdown. If they want to kill Morrison’s babyface momentum that segment did a great job of doing it.

Mark Henry d. Cody Rhodes (DUD)
Rhodes didn’t want to fight him, but Dibiase made him. So what does Cody do? He takes off after less than two minutes. If the booking was more consistent, Dibiase would send him back out there, Henry would squash him, pin him and then Rhodes would be really pissed about what happened. As it is, Cody basically outsmarted Dibiase by simply bailing on the match. I’d imagine that next week they do the match again with Cody losing clean although really I don’t care a whole heck of a lot about anything regarding Mark Henry. How’s the prosthetic hand he fathered with Mae Young doing? It’s got to be about 9 or 10 years old now. Maybe old enough to grow little hairs on his fingers. How cute. If you have no idea what I’m talking about believe me you’re better off. I wish I was making it up.

Randy Orton d. Ted Dibiase Jr. (**1/4)
I enjoyed it. I think what I said last week about Henry getting cheered because he was against Orton rang true this week as well with Dibiase getting some cheers by the end of this. To his credit, he earned it as well. He really showed a lot in the ring, which is great because they really don’t have him wrestling on TV enough. He should be in matches on Raw every week and on Superstars every three weeks or so. You can’t improve without working on TV. I think he’s got a very bright future. I liked the chemistry of these two as well. They’re probably good friends, so I’m sure they enjoyed working this match as well. The strong rumor is that Dibiase’s going to be turned babyface by year’s end when his movie, The Marine 2, comes out. I think it would be too soon to break up Legacy, but that’s how they do things in WWE. They rush title changes and they rush character turns. It’s a shame that they do it because patience is so key in telling stories in wrestling. With all that said, this was a very effective match in terms of showing how good Ted Jr. will be in the ring when he gets a chance to show it. I like his potential a lot.

Triple H talks. Nothing to see here.

Next up was the VIP Lounge with MVP hosting Jack Swagger. I think this segment benefitted both guys even though I’m not crazy about Swagger’s promos. Good idea to bring up MVP’s history in prison because I don’t think a lot of fans know about it and by doing that it humanizes the guy more. When he talks about trying to help youth avoid the same problems he had growing up I like it. I also enjoy Swagger saying MVP is beneath him and then walking away by saying he doesn’t fight criminals. And hey, they didn’t end up brawling like everybody else in this company does when they argue. Build to it. I like the potential of this feud.

Teddy Jr. was pissed that his dad put him against Orton because he thinks Ted Sr. did it to make him fail. Ted Sr. basically insinuated that he did it to help make Teddy Jr. better, but the son didn’t agree and gave him a hard slap. Family on family violence = good times. I think Ted Sr. turned heel and face about 18 times in this show. Doesn’t matter really because it’s not a permanent role for him.

Evan Bourne d. Kofi Kingston
Buckle your seatbelts, this is going to be exciting...and it's over in three minutes? Huh? Kingston has zero momentum since winning the US title in a great match that I thought would elevate him going forward. I thought this match would be exciting, but it was rushed and weak as a result. Big Show beat the crap out of both of them afterward. Bourne sure knows how to take a bump.

Now Cena talks. It’s been too long since he got to say “The Champ Is Here” apparently. He was champion at the end of April, so I guess just over two months is a long time. Do they really think all their fans are idiots all the time? I’d love to have that answered question by somebody that works in the creative department of WWE. Please enlighten me.

John Cena and Triple H wrestled to a double disqualification (***1/4)
This is not the biggest match in Raw history. It’s the biggest match in Raw history since HHH wrestled Orton in a Last Man Standing match for the title a few weeks ago. I guess saying it’s the biggest match ever is better than saying the biggest match in about three weeks. That’s genius marketing. Give that person a raise! I liked the match in terms of the pacing because they took their time. It was slow, it was methodical and they really did a good job of making every move seem important. I love the “trading punches” spot they do in big matches. You can tell the crowd liked it too based on the way they were cheering for every punch. This is what I mean by slowing things down. I also liked how neither guy hit their finisher despite each of them being close to it. They really booked this match smartly by making it even the entire way through. I enjoyed it. Then they did the obvious thing by having Ted and Cody attack each guy to force a DQ in the most obvious ending ever. It’s better than a double countout, at least.

Post match, Orton said he had the goons break it up because that means nobody wins and nobody faces him at Night Of Champions. Ted Sr. comes out to say you’re wrong and that Night of Champions will be a triple threat with Orton defending against Cena and HHH. I hate triple threats. They are overdone way too much. It’s lazy booking and a formulaic match that doesn’t appeal to me nearly as much as one on one matches do. Then again, it spares us from another HHH/Orton singles match, so it’s good in that sense.

Three Stars of the Show
1. Ted Dibiase Sr. – It’s good to see him. Love the laugh, the music and the belt.
2. Ted Dibiase Jr. – They put him in a good match and he delivered the goods. I was impressed.
3. HHH & Cena – Very good TV main event. They brought a special feel to it.

Final Thoughts
Two straight above average shows. You know why? Because they didn’t make them promo heavy. They had to tape four hours of Raw in one night, so they allowed the stories to be told in the ring and that means a better show overall. It’s much better than the shows where only one match gets over five minutes, everything else seems rushed and they throw in bad comedy segments to fill the two hours. They need to format the shows like this more often. They do Smackdown this way and it works. Raw can work this way too. I doubt they’ll do it, but we can hope.

No idea on who next week's GM is. My three guesses are Virgil, the Shamwow guy that got arrested for assaulting a prostitute (dude you gotta pay her!) or the Repo Man.

Rating: 7 (out of 10)
Last week: 6.5

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Now it's time for some emails that I've got over the last couple of weeks. I'll put the reader comments in green font with my thoughts immediately following.

First up is this one from Brent Garrison writing about the final score of 3 I gave for Raw on June 22:
Hey John,
I am really just curious...What is it you want Gerwitz, DJ, and Vince to do? You have to stop living in the Hulkamania/Austin era. It's a new time. I think you guys lose sight of the fact that for two hours a week, we watch an infomercial for the next ppv. Still a huge fan of your work...just questioning your 3...thanks!

In terms of what I want WWE to do, it's a better job of building new storylines and giving us interesting angles to invest our time in. Look at what Smackdown's doing. The CM Punk heel turn is going really well and they had John Morrison narrowly beat Edge one week, then beat Punk clean the next week. That elevates him. What does Raw do? They don't use MVP or Kofi Kingston at all on a commercial free show even though the fans clearly like both guys. They're pushing Miz, which is nice, but they're not even letting him have a regular TV match, which lets me know that maybe they don't have faith in the guy getting over based on his ring work.

I'm so tired of Orton vs. HHH and Cena vs. Show. Those feuds have been going on for YEARS now. Freshen it up a bit. The talent is there. The wrestlers are good. The writers are being uncreative and lazy, so I'd like to see some kind of change implemented. I doubt it will happen because Vince seems to be stuck in his ways, but I hope I'm wrong and that he realizes he needs to adjust things a bit.

(After the 06/22 show Miz got a long match against Cena on the 06/29 Raw that impressed me and they did some trades, so at least some minor change has been implemented.)

Next up is this one from Thomas Mayer about why he thinks Smackdown's better than Raw:
In the latest report, I read something that kinda got me thinking and provoked a response. I tried to figure out why I don't watch/like Smackdown, and I guess the problem I have with it goes back to what I hated about wrestling in the past (even though I really loved it) and that was too much fabrication via taping. Smackdown is taped, and the reason it comes off better then RAW in alot of cases is because of editing room/re-shot spots. Yes, they have chosen smackdown to be the more wrestling-oriented show, but keep in mind, RAW is live. If they goof up on RAW, they can't go back between tuesday night-friday night to re-edit the show.

I do see what you're saying about Smackdown benefitting from being a taped show. The thing is, that doesn't always mean it's a better product. It's the wrestlers. It's the booking. Obviously they can re-shoot things and it makes it better if they do fuck something up. However, in the days of JBL as champion was Smackdown better? No. When Khali was champion was it better? No. The reason it's better is because they let the wrestlers actually wrestle. The talent they have on the show is better. When HHH was on Smackdown for a year it wasn't
much better either because he made it boring. Being taped helps, but it's not that much of a difference really. It's always based on the talent and how the show is booked. At least that's how I feel.

This one's about TNA from Christian in Milford, CT:
I'm not sure if you follow TNA at all or much but my question is: Who do you think is doing a better job at selling angle's and stories currently at the moment on cable TV, WWE or TNA?

My two cents: WWE is very predictable at who is going to be put over, win a match, or come out as the winner in a story or feud. The no blood policy WWE has employed is making stories and angles weaker in my opinion because I think someone wearing that "crimson red mask" just adds so much more to a feud and story line. TNA has been impressing me lately with story lines with the MEM (especially the ending to the King of the Mountain Match at Slamiversary!). The attempts by two top x division tag teams trying to unmask and find out who is suicide, Mick Foley's hysterical and crazy antics, the sheer performance value the knockouts put in their matches compared to diva's matches (Thank God Victoria aka Tara seems to have more control over her character and moves....thank goodness the widow maker is back...it's been ages since we've seen that move in WWE). I love the bloody and somewhat violent matches between Abyss and Dr. Stevie, Raven, and Daffney. It's also great to see TNA using the smaller guys to their fullest potential and wowing the fans with their insane spots, aerial moves, and amazing ability to wrestle and but on a show and break out chants from the crowd.

Wrestling is my drug and I watch everything from what's on TV to the indy's (ROH and CZW have potential in my eyes to get cable time or more PPV slots) I'm not ashamed but am proud to admit I'm a fan, a mark at times, and a 24 yr old guy who enjoys wrestling. I have a lot of respect for what everyone in the business does, the dangers they put their bodies on the line, and the fact there is no such thing as an off season.

To answer your question, I do think some of TNA's angles are pretty good. The problem with them is they don't have long enough matches on TV to help establish people as good workers in the company. On PPV, they seem to do the same stuff every month or have matches with gimmicks that fans don't even understand. King of the Mountain is a terrible match from a booking sense. I like a lot of the wrestlers there especially Angle, Styles, Joe and then the underused guys like Lethal too. It just seems like they have too many things going on at once. Foley's got five different angles at once it seems, so it's hard to know who you should care about sometimes. You have to keep it simple. Russo's booking style is usually too complicated. Like with WWE, there are things I like and things I don't like. I'd say Raw is better by a bit, but Smackdown's the best by a lot.

The last one for this week comes from Anthony about the trades that happened last week as well as the new performers that debuted on ECW:
That was a great read. Interesting thoughts on how the trades affect each show. I definitely agree with the new faces on Raw and Smackdown. I think that they need something new desperately and also hopefully MVP gets a bigger push. I actually liked the ECW trade even though they lost so much, it worked out really well with the Superstar initiative bringing in all those FCW talent. Abraham was kind of entertaining. Sheamus is pretty cool (poor man's Finlay), and Yoshi Tatsu could be good but came off with a corny theme song. It reminded me of another member of Kaientai. Hopefully they let him do what he can do. I would love to see guys like Dos Caras Jr in there soon as well. Smackdown of course to me is the dominant brand mixed with great young talent already established or on the rise. What are your thoughts on the new guys from FCW and guys that might be coming to main roster soon (hopefully Low Ki)?

I made it a point to catch ECW this week to see the new talents I had read about. Some first impressions:

Abraham - It was fine. The Bella twins are terrible actors, but he was alright in the spot. He wasn't nearly as funny as they wanted him to be, but that's WWE comedy of late. It's usually pretty bad.

Sheamus - Wow, he was really white! He stood out immediately because of his unique look and I love the facial hair too. He comes off as really physical kind of like Finlay, so that's good.

Tatsu - They clearly wanted to position him as a plucky underdog type of babyface and the fans popped for it, so in that sense the debut worked. I don't know if it will lead to a push or if he'll be another Jimmy Wang Yang jobbing to the bigger names.

I'm very familiar with Low Ki and look forward to seeing what he can do there. I think he'll work a lot differently because WWE's style is a lot tamer than what he did in ROH or TNA, so it'll be interesting to see how they use a guy like him. Hopefully they focus on is striking offense as well as his natural athleticism because those are the things that will separate him from other wrestlers.

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I appreciate any feedback you guys can give so please send me your thoughts at oratoryjohn@gmail.com about anything related to WWE past or present. If you add me on facebook (just head to Facebook.com/thejohnreport) you'll see the links to my columns as well because I post them there just as soon as I post them on this website. It's an account that I use only for my wrestling columns rather than a personal one. I've talked to a number of you on facebook chat in the last week too, so that's another way for you to talk about wrestling with me.

If you're into MMA like me (I'm picking Lesnar, GSP and Bisping in the top three matches this Saturday) check out the MMA Roundtable at the Oratory located right here as they talk about UFC 100 as well as everything else going on in UFC these days. It's a good read for the MMA fan, I promise you. We also have a lot of regular MMA reviews posted by my good friend Scott Newman at the Oratory that I highly recommend as well.

Lastly, I'm taking column requests. What do you want to see me write (other than the Raw Deal, which I will continue to write)? If you've got ideas for things like a list column, a single column about a particular wrestler, a question you may have about something form the past or something else on your mind please let me know. I'm very open to ideas right now. I was going to do a full WWE roster evaluation, but those can be quite long and I don't know if I'm up for it. I still might do it towards the end of this month. I'm planning on some end of decade list type columns (best wrestlers, best feuds, best matches, best PPVs, etc.) although those will take time and probably be on the horizon towards November or December. Basically I'm giving you a chance to tell me what you want me to write about it, so what will be? Email me (or facebook message me if you have added me there) to let me know.

Look for the review of the very historic WWF Survivor Series 1997 PPV to be posted here probably on Friday or Saturday at the latest. Other than that, see you in a week for the next Raw Deal.

Smell ya later,
John Canton - oratoryjohn@gmail.com
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