WWE: Is Smackdown Beating RAW at Its Own Wrestling Game?

Take away everything you heard over the last month with CM Punk and Vince McMahon. Take away the “Angry Black Man” shtick of R-Truth and look at the bigger picture of things. Based on performance in the ring, can you honestly say RAW is a better product than SmackDown?

The CM Punk angle is compelling and speaks to people on so many levels about right to free speech, getting what is fair in the job place and of course, the ability to stick it to your boss and humiliate him in the best way you can.

It is all fine and good, but the product itself with wrestling and the angles and the rivalries, it is very watered down for my taste and maybe yours as well.

Tonight was an example of the issue I have with two WWE brands on television and while they compete with and against each other, there is too much cross contamination of late. But the product on Friday nights, with its creative team, is beating the leading show from Monday night.

As a side note, I think TNA is kicking both of them in the groin right now. For some reason, Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo are putting the screws to Vince and the boys in WWE land. AGAIN!

John Cena, the WWE champion, has been in two angles of late with R-Truth and CM Punk. Truth has built himself into a formidable champion contender. But it got stale quickly and the creative team had to hurry to get Punk back in the mix. The wrestling itself has been average at best.

Let’s hope all the drama from the past few weeks and some of the best shoots in wrestling history are not wasted this weekend at Money in the Bank.

Personally, I say Punk wins and captures gold, but does not walk out of Chicago with the belt. The MITB winner cashes in (Alberto Del Rio) and saves RAW from a great embarrassment. Our, like before with the Corporate Champion (The Rock), Punk and McMahon screw Cena and he takes a hiatus from the company to heal and be ready for the fall events.

Either way, the talk is outplaying the action.

Teddy Long is making things interesting on SmackDown. There are many angles which are tested each week and aside from the Cody Rhodes “Dr. Lechter” routine, we can see growth.

I am not saying the Christian/Randy Orton is the best possible road to travel since it is continual and Christian still is a crowd favorite. But the creative team is putting together matches that make sense and with Sheamus, Kane, Wade Barrett and Mark Henry, any combination of power vs. power is a welcome sight in the eyes of the fans.

Randy Orton has become a true face in the eyes of the WWE universe and although he will never be Stone Cold or Triple H or The Rock, he has earned the right to be called one of the all-time greats.

Another thing is the creative team is looking to expand its roster and make the wrestlers more compelling.

Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Slater is something we all wanted to finally see. Gabriel, like an Alex Riley, has the chance to be a champion quickly in this business. If Riley wins on Sunday in the RAW edition of MITB, then I think Gabriel will win from SmackDown, much like Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit captured gold on the same night in 2004.

Packaging is everything in this business. We, as writers and readers, sit and complain about the brand and the coverage and the lack of depth the shows put on. There are hits and misses.

The creative team on RAW was kicking SmackDown every night for years and now the right formula is working on SmackDown. Mary Henry and the Big Show. Kane trying to capture some of his evilness again (enter Paul Bearer) and Sheamus trying to kick the crap out of Orton and Christian.

It seems much better than Miz/Riley or Kofi Kingston/Dolph Ziggler.

And in the end, the underdog wins out because people in the end, pay to see the wrestlers wrestle, not give us the long version of how things should be.