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

It was Canada vs. Arizona this week. It had been a few weeks since we've seen the two shows this far apart in terms of cities, and Canada showed up to play this week. SmackDown crowds have been shockingly low for a few weeks now if you haven't seen the pictures circulating the web recently, and I'll be surprised if Vince doesn't do something drastic here soon with the brand. Raw wins in Canada.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

Adding Corey Graves to both teams was the best move they could've made. He is their top dog up and coming in the commentary arena. With that being said, his original home on Raw is still my favorite team. I love Corey, Booker can be entertaining, but I've always been a big fan of Michael Cole. He catches a lot of heat for whatever reason, but he is true to the company and in the top 3 or 4 announcers of all time with Bobby Heenan, JR, and King/Gorilla Monsoon. So I'll go with Raw here too.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

As far as I'm concerned, SmackDown had one match to note. Sami vs. KO. I hate how they just have KO absolutely decimate him time and time again as this match was another referee stoppage ala their NXT Championship match some years ago.

Seeing Jason Jordan team with Matt Hardy was pretty cool. (On a side note: PLEASE GIVE US THE BROKEN GIMMICK IN MEEKMAHONS WWE!) Braun had another great show after he takes out Ambrose and Curt Hawkins this week, and is slated for a big-time showdown with Rollins next week.  Roman and The Miz was cool, and I'm looking forward to the title match next week. So, in terms of matches, I'm all for Raw.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

I love the McMahon vs. Owens storyline. It has given us some good promos, and this week we got another one that included Sami Zayn this time.

On Raw we had The Miz and Roman in a verbal altercation, which Miz ran circles around him even though he lost the match. The Mickie and Alexa promo was really pretty fun, and Mickie had some really good lines. I am done with Enzo Amore. I think it is a joke that he is the Cruiserweight Title holder, and believe it could and should be anyone else. However, the promo at the end wasn't super bad. Raw wins here too.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

The Jinder Mahal experiment has failed. Or run its course at least, however you want to look at it. Crowds have dropped, interest has dropped, and it's all happened with Jinder on top. Maybe he is nothing but a victim of circumstance, but he is the champ and will get the blame. I have lost interest in SmackDown Tag Titles, and really the only thing keeping me there is KO and Shane along with AJ as the United States Champion.

Raw has some big guns. I love Dean and Seth as tag champs, I love The Miz as the IC Champ, Braun has given me every reason to call him the MVP, and Mickie James in the title picture is pretty cool too. The only thing I cannot get behind is Enzo as the Cruiserweight Champion. You're telling me with all those incredibly talented guys like TJP, Neville, Akira, etc... That Enzo is the champ? He's a manager at best. Plain and simple. All that aside, Raw is definitely kicking it into gear. Miz vs. Roman should be fun, I love the tag team scene. So, really, its an easy choice.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

Even though SmackDown isn't nearly on Raws level, they schedule their show well. Limit commercials, and place things where they need to be in the show. Granted, this is the only thing SmackDown has on Raw.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

Braun Strowman is the man right now. And visually, everything he does is impressive. I don't care if it's all gimmicked up when he throws people through things, I love it nonetheless.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Nothing.

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


Something has to change on SmackDown, and it starts with Jinder. I was a huge proponent of his when he first won. I thought it was an amazing change of pace at the top, but maybe WWE's whole thing here is to prove to us that not just anyone can draw on top because Jinder certainly is not drawing. Raw just needs to keep doing what they're doing, because it is definitely working.