Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Battle of the Brands from Smark Out Moment, where we compare this week's episodes of Raw and SmackDown and determine which one of the two was the better show.

BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:

RAW vs. SMACKDOWN

FACTOR 1: CROWD

This was one of those occurrences where both SmackDown and Raw were in the same arena, and so it's usually the same feel for each show. This holds true, but this is Toronto. Bizarro World. Both crowds were on fire, but SmackDown was far hotter. Chanting dumpster fire at Baron Corbin, chanting all show long. They definitely pick up the win.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

I'm enjoying both commentary teams; however, Raw just seems far better right now. I love Corey Graves, and Booker is really pushing as a heel commentator which is a cool change of pace. All three guys flow well together, more so than the SmackDown crew. I'm waiting for another shake-up and we see Corey and Tom back together like the golden days of NXT.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

I don't know why SmackDown just has a consistently slow show when it comes to matches especially with the roster they have. After last week with Cena and Shinsuke, I was expecting something better this week. Instead we got another Jinder vs. Randy. And it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. With incredible singles matches waiting for them with Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger they are throwing them away by having them be a subpar tag team.

Raw had a decent set of matches with Dean and Cesaro having a pretty good match, and then their main event being just excellent. With those two, and then some fun stuff with Sheamus and Seth even though that wasn't my favorite, I give Raw the win.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

MizTV did another phenomenal job last week. The Miz is a Hall of Famer without question, and is arguably the best pure heel the WWE has had in years thanks to the length of his heel run. The promos between Dean and Seth, which I'll talk more about in the storyline section, have been good too and that continued this week as well.

John Cena did what John Cena does best. He came out and gave a great, crowd engaging, and included promo along with Baron Corbin. That got the crowd going right from the start of the show, and I think it helped them get through it on a high note as well. Shane also gave a really good, heated promo with AJ and KO where KO had some incredible heel moments. Saying that Hart deserved to be screwed, that he is the greatest Canadian wrestler ever, etc. It was great, and helped SD get the win.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

I cannot believe that we are two weeks out from SummerSlam and the WWE Championship feud members haven't even gone face to face yet. Thats the main belt of the company, but the Universal Championship is taking precedent over it which blows me away. I still want to see the match since its Shinsuke, but man it's not being done right. The United States Championship feud is the only one that remotely intrigues in a story sense thanks to Shane's relationship to both men involved.

Jason Jordan has started off as a dud. Not his in-ring work as he is great there, but the crowd is crapping on him hard. Granted, this was Canada. Better known as Bizarro World thank to their tendency to go against the grain as fans. He got zero reaction. He should be the pure babyface working with a crazy good heel like The Miz, but no one cares enough to even boo the guy right now. We're going to see Alexa vs. Sasha thanks to Bayleys injury, and I'm okay with that as long as Alexa keeps the gold. Dean and Seth winning the tag titles and having a good long run with them until after Survivor Series is best for business. The main event is what everyone wants to see. That fatal four way could be truly legendary, and the build has been nothing short of it. I'm far more intrigued by what Raw is offering as SmackDown has stuttered to a halt.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

SmackDown has dominated this section, and that stays true.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

I hate that this is the deciding factor. This is so hard to decide because both shows are just so similar. The only thing different here is the Bray and Finn promo where they used the classic appear and disappear act. So, due to that, Raw wins.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Nothing to really note here.

POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+0 / -0) / SmackDown (+0 / -0)


SmackDown has really lost some steam. About two or three months ago I was thinking that at this point we would be talking about how SmackDown was dominating the WWE landscape, but instead Raw has turned the tables thanks to the great feud of Braun and Roman along with the star power of Brock Lesnar. Raw wins 4-3 here, and I don't see that trend changing unless SmackDown really steps it up.