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

Being from Indiana I may be a little partial to the Indy crowd, but really I think they're always solid for WWE. Indy and The Shield have somehow formed a synonymous bond that gained another milestone this week. Grand Rapids is a beautiful city, and the Van Andel is a beautiful arena. But my heart is saying to go with Indy, so that is what I'll do.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

I am so happy that Corey Graves is on both shows. If anyone deserves the recognition of hard work it is most definitely him. He makes both of these crews work, but if he worked well with anyone this week it is Tom Phillips. Those two have worked together for years now, and it is really starting to show that they are the tandem of the future. Oh, and there is Byron. Who is better than Otunga, but still not good.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

This was a down week for matches from both shows. It was cool seeing Shinsuke and Orton tag together for what I'm guessing was the first time ever for those two. At least on television. Other than that SmackDown had a decent main event that saw Corbin retain his belt against AJ Styles.

Raw had a lot of Cruiserweight action. We saw a tag match, and then we got Kalisto winning the title from Enzo Amore(thank goodness). I don't have anything against Enzo, I just think that the Cruiserweight division should be all about the wrestling, and with Enzo on top of that division, the wrestling would be subpar, to say the least.

Having to choose between which show had the better matches... I'll go with SmackDown simply because of Orton & Nak together, then Corbin retaining his title. Oh, and Shelton Benjamin is on his way to becoming tag champ again! Maybe.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

This is Monday Night Raws win and it isn't even close. That opening promo with The Sheild reuniting was the highlight of the week in WWE, and The Miz along with The Miztourage & The Bar sold it like a million bucks. Everyone involved is on their A game, and that's only getting better as we build towards Survivor Series.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

Even though it seemed like a down week for both shows, a lot also got done in terms of storyline. I have completely blocked out all of the Wyatt & Balor stuff since I think it has taken a weird and awful turn. But things are about to get even better on Raw with The Sheild coming back. Now, will it be The Sheild of old that ran through WWE like it was nothing and surrounded the ring to terrify their opponents, or will they be a different version of the same stable? Personally, I hope we see a lot of the same stuff. This reunion makes sense with the common enemies, but also with Survivor Series coming up. That's traditionally a team-oriented PPV, so bringing back one off the greatest teams ever assembled makes sense here. I'm hoping we see/hear something more about the Universal Title here soon, and it really shouldn't be so easy for a brand to put its main title on the back burner like Raw has. Kalisto being champ is best for business, and I wouldn't mind a title run from Mickey James.

Baron Corbin & The Usos are now new champs. Corbin winning the US Title wasn't a big surprise, but him beating AJ to retain kind of was. I think SmackDown needs Styles in the main event picture to get the business back where it needs to be, so this is best for business. I like the heel Usos. And I like Gable & Benjamin challenging them. Charlotte & Natty could be stepped up some, but it isn't bad. Also, it's time Jinder isn't WWE Champion. Him retaining made more sense with the more active WWE scene in India over the last week. He has a title match against KO in India on December 9 and 10, so he'll have that belt a while longer. Also, WWE signed their first Indian Women's Wrestler. Which is big and Jinder had a big hand in promoting that. So him keeping the belt is making more sense even though I'm not a fan of it. KO & Sami Zayn coming together. I loved the turn, and I think I love where it's going.

All in all, it was a good week. But Raw takes the cake with the work of The Miz & Miztourage, The Bar, The Shield, and Braun Strowman. It has the making of a big Survivor Series match if they aren't doing cross-brand rivalry this year.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

SmackDown always tops Raw here.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

I mean come on.. The Sheild coming back together is all I need to say here.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

You're probably tired of this but.. The Sheild is back! They waited the perfect amount of time for this. All three men are former world champs, Seth & Dean are running the tag scene and Roman could be IC Champ before this is all said and done. It all makes sense, they did this right, and they're getting some points.

POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+1 / -0) / SmackDown (+0 / -0)


Raw wins on a 5-3 tally thanks to some bonus points. You know, I wasn't really expecting this week to be as close between the two brands, but SmackDown wasn't as bad as usual. Either way, Raw is on top and thats that.