OO Column: Online Onslaught by Rick Scaia (Pro Wrestling News, Analysis, and Commentary... WWE, WWF, WCW, ECW, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Rob Van Dam, Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Trish Stratus, Lita, Stacy Keibler, Divas, RAW, SmackDown, WrestleMania

ONLINE ONSLAUGHT
UPDATE: Edge Having Surgery
July 7, 2009

by Rick Scaia
Exclusive to OOWrestling.com

Following up on yesterday's OMG NEWSFLASH~!, WWE.com is reporting that Edge will, in fact, require surgery on his torn Achilles' Tendon.

As we discussed yesterday, Edge went immediately to Birmingham, AL, where he was examined by Dr. James Andrews. The decision to conduct the surgery was made on Monday afternoon, and WWE.com says the surgery will take place on Tuesday morning. Though a recovery timetable won't be finalized until after the surgery and seeing how much damage/repair was done, this makes a return around the New Year Edge's best case scenario.

By announcing the surgery on their website (and simultaneously acknowledging the injury as having taken place at a weekend house show), WWE opens the door for retro-editing this coming Friday's SmackDown to address the issue.

Originally, I'd said that they'd be unable to talk about the injury on TV or begin writing Edge out until next Monday, but this seems to indicate otherwise. Well: unless WWE is creating an alternate timeline where Edge can be both injured AND healthy on Friday, and then finally have the timelines re-merge on Monday, that is. I guess you can't discount anything when dealing with those intellectual titans.

In any case, Edge was conveniently absent from the upcoming edition of SD (I think maybe he is slated for a match on "Superstars," but I forget; and in either case, if you want to talk about an inconsequential Alternate Timeline, "Superstars" is it), and could be fairly easily removed from the broadcast. His lone in-arena contribution was a post-match run-in to attack Rey Mysterio; the heel beatdown on Rey eventually included Dolph Ziggler, as well. And while it sucks that Edge is hurt, if this results in editing out Dolph fricking Ziggler's big "breakthrough" moment, then maybe every cloud really DOES have a silver lining?

What would I do? I dunno, I'd have to think for a bit to come up with specifics, but GENERALLY speaking, I think I'd end the show early (right after the Jericho/Rey match ends -- notice how I haven't SPOILERED you at all? I'm polite like that -- and with no post-match angle). Earlier in the show, you acknowledge the injury, and then take advantage of Mr. "On Probation/Shaking-It-Up" Teddy Long's current storyline. Long, unlike the rest of the roster, isn't actually half-a-world away, and could easily be called into Stamford to tape a fake "backstage" bit to be inserted into SD... and in it, he could make any damned zany ruling he wants to regarding the injury and the Unified Tag Titles.

[Getting some footage/interview with Edge from Alabama, being all crippled and sympathetic, would also be a pretty easy deal to help fill in the extra time created by the edited finish. If only it were feasible, getting Jericho to cut a new backstage promo about this would be awesome, too -- "I already have an IC Title shot in mere minutes, and now I have to deal with THIS? Thanks for nothing, Edge, you fragile little pustule." -- but I don't think that'd be do-able, not without a lot of bending-over-backwards to make it happen, which might not be worth it just to drop a few hints and lay the foundation to Jericho's response to the injury. Let's also just say truncating things so Edge doesn't show up at the end would also add to Jericho's overall saltiness, all via the magic of retro-editing!]

Anyway, my main point is that because Long's perpetually trying to do crazy things to impress Mr. McMahon, you have literally infinite options, and you're not even bound by logic: perhaps the crazier, the better, in fact. Teddy's storyline is a handy hole card for WWE when it comes to getting out of this unfortunate situation. So let's fly him in and get crazy, dammit!

Long could announce anything from Jericho forced to defend the titles alone (which could ultimately result in Jericho holding a dickish grudge against Edge; which could tie into Edge's eventual return as a babyface), to vacant titles and introduce a wacky way to fill them, to forcing Jericho to defend the belts with a new partner (ideally, someone who would piss Jericho off; Rey would work, but since Steamboat is wrestling the tour of Hawaii and Japan, maybe it'd be cool to make Jericho team with the legend he thought he smited? If nothing else, it'd be a way for the Dragon to get a few Actual Wins on TV, instead of going out as a double loser at WM/Backlash).

Tons of options, and like I said: by going ahead and announcing this on their website, WWE opens up the possibility that they'll start addressing those options on Friday's show, rather than waiting till Monday. And no matter what they do with Friday's show, I think Teddy Long gives them plenty of interesting outs regarding the tag title situation. Stay, as they say, tuned...

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Rick Scaia is a wrestling fan from Dayton, OH. He's been doing this since 1995, but enjoyed it best when the suckers from SportsLine were actually PAYING him to be a fan.