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

The Raw crowd is consistently better every week, and this week was no different. The return of The Shield definitely had to help, Braun Strowman is a big part of this, but weekly its always having Raw with louder crowds. And Portland was no different.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

There are vast differences in each commentary team even though they both feature Corey Graves. Tom Phillips is not on Michael Coles level yet, but he will definitely get there if he stays in this position throughout his career. I will maintain my opinion saying that Graves & Phillips are the next big duo in wrestling commentating.

However, Phillips was gone this week. So we saw Cole & Graves again so the only differences would be the third wheel and that is Booker T & Byron Saxton. I'm not a huge fan of either guy as they both can be way over the top, but if I had to choose, I'd take Booker T since he has more entertainment value to me.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

Both shows were highlighted by their main events, as it should be. Raw saw Strowman and Reigns in a steel cage that for whatever reason Kane got involved in. I'll rant about that later, but really it was a good match. Roman & Strowman have a chance to be the feud of the future for this company. SmackDown saw a loaded tag match with Sami & KO going up against a fresh team of Shinsuke & Orton. The match was okay, but the promo afterward with KO with the "Hug me! Hold me tight!" was the real highlight.

Raw featured a great Tag Team Championship match with The Bar & 2/3 of The Shield making this feud one to talk about. Becuase of that match, Raw takes the win.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

Man, the promos just seemed really down for this week, and I'm not sure why. I had a feeling Raw would be promo heavy with it being a go home show, and it was to an extent, but there was no real content to some of the promos. Enzo's was kinda useless outside of Kalisto getting the beatdown. MIZTV had some substance to it with trying to find a fifth guy for the team, which somehow ended up being Kane. And Kurt Angle along with the Shield to start the show was 17 minutes of nothing in the end. Maybe they knew Kurt would have to take over and this was their way of hinting that. But outside of that, it was a useless night on the mic.

That goes for SmackDown too. Daniel Bryan had a neat interaction with Sami & KO at the start, Pulp Fashion is funny but isn't really going anywhere, and the Jinder Mahal & AJ Styles thing was a hint that AJ is getting another title shot. So really, in the grand scheme of things, at least SmackDown had some story moving promos. Oh yeah, and that "Hug me! Hold me tight!" was excellent. I'll give them the win.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

AJ Styles needs the WWE Championship. Not for him because he is arguably the best in the world alongside Kenny Omega. Not for the Championship since the likes of Steve Austin, The Rock, Hulk Hogan, John Cena, etc. have held that title. This is for SmackDown. Ratings have dropped, people are starting to care less about the title, and he can have a boost on that show if he is the top dog where he rightfully belongs. Jinder's run was different at first because no one expected it. Not one person was ready for him to become #1 Contender, and no one was ready for him to beat Randy Orton. Now, the surprise has more than worn off, and the people(for the most part) are ready for something new. Kevin & Sami are by far the best thing going for SmackDown right now, but you could argue that The Usos & New Day are leading the charge as well. I'm interested to see where the likes of Shinsuke  & Orton end up as well as I'm afraid they may be on the back burner until the Survivor Series or even the Royal Rumble. And will Jinder really face Lesnar? God, I hope not.

Raw has some things going for them. The Shield is back(even though Roman is out for TLC), Angle is returning the ring, Finn is taking on AJ Styles... I mean.. Wow. Thank God for Finn getting out of that Wyatt feud. I love both of those guys, but that just wasn't working. Why is Kane in this TLC match now? Did they know someone was sick with the virus going around, and this was just their way of putting someone in through storyline instead of just throwing them in like Angle & Styles? Regardless, I don't like it. Why even make it a 5 on 3? Just remove the last guy and make it 4 on 3 as it is still an advantage for the heels and that's what they want. It doesn't make sense to me, but the match should still be fantastic. Mickie and Alexa have made that feud mean something in my opinion. After her initial return, Mickie was almost forgotten about, but now she is in another title match. It won't matter in the long run because Asuka will be here soon and she is holding on to that belt until the match that is bound to happen between her and Charlotte. Either way I'm much happier with how Raw looks than SmackDown, so they get the win.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

SmackDown always wins here. Raw is so commercial heavy at times it takes away from a lot.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

Roman and Braun in a steel cage? Hell yeah. The Shield coming back through the crowd? Hell yeah. Regarding visuals, Raw takes the cake.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Nothing.

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


Raw wins but only on a 5-2 tally. SmackDown had a better week this week than the past few, so they are getting better. We are making some real moves to see Styles as champ other than Jinder which is desperately needed, and KO & Sami are leading a charge in the right direction. Raw is just better right now. We need the belt on every week, so Lesnar needs to drop it sooner rather than later, but I have a feeling that won't be until WrestleMania. Outside of that things are good in red right now, and that won't change for a little bit.