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

I think Raw had more to cheer for this week, and the crowds response mirrored that. The interaction with what I thought was a fun John Cena segment, and the cheering when Roman was "suspended". Raw gets the win here.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

At one point on Raw, Coachman said that Reigns was "beloved" by the WWE Universe. I did not sense much of a sarcastic tone to him, but there were so many other things he could've said here. "He illicits such a reaction from the WWE Universe." There could have been other things said here, and this was his first "WTF" since his return. Even with this odd remark, I think that the Raw crew is still way better.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

SmackDown featured three total matches. AJ winning by DQ against Rusev, Jinder beating Roode clean, and Carmella beating Naomi with a pinfall. Nothing really stands out to me there.

Raw sees Sasha beat Sonya Deville, Finn beat Seth, Asuka beat Mickie by submission, Nia get a win, and Braun Strowman win the tag team battle royal for a Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania. At this point, I am loving them taking a risk and doing something weird like Braun getting a Tag Titles match by himself. Get weird with it and lets see what happens. I also enjoyed the Finn and Seth match too. So Raw gets a W here too.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

So both shows were 90% promos. So we're gonna hit the highlights for each show.

Raw had a fun MIZTV segment with Finn & Seth as guests, and Kurt starting the show off with the whole Ronda Rousey thing. We set the stage for Nia vs. Alexa at 'Mania too with Nia turning face after a video plays about Alexa and Mickie calling her big and so on. Arguably the best promo of the week comes from John Cena challenging The Undertaker at WrestleMania. He started by saying he is just going to be a fan at WrestleMania since he doesn't have a match, and he goes into the crowd to practice. Starting chants and just having a good time. Then he challenges Taker at 'Mania. I think that should have been taken a bit more seriously, but regardless I thought it was a good.

SmackDown had one big time promo that went throughout the show. It revolved around Sami, KO, and Shane-O-Mac. Throughout the whole show, KO and Sami were talking about their hatred for one another. However at the end of the show Shane comes out to say that after tonights show he was taking a leave of absence from SDLive. So, out comes KO and Sami and give him a heck of a beatdown. As refs come out and try to stop them they beat the crap out of them too. I loved this. It was a great way to write Shane off TV and continue the KO/Sami/Shane storyline. All around I love how this was going throughout the show too. You don't see that much anymore. For that, they get the W.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

I am intrigued to see what happens with Shane, Sami, and KO. Does Shane get some kind of partner for WrestleMania or is he the special guest ref for a match between the two? I like it so far and hope they make the right choice. AJ vs. Nak is going to be special. Charlotte vs. Asuka is going to be special. I'm just waiting for the announcement of Jinder vs. Roode vs. Orton. Bludgeon Brothers are just awesome right now along with all of SmackDowns tag division. They're on a roll in the blue brand.

This whole Braun Strowman thing is a risk, but could pay off. Does he find a partner or just embarrass the tag champs by beating them on his own? This could either be really fun, or plain awful. I don't understand why they "suspend" Reigns and advertise Lesnar when he didn't show up. Especially when they're your big time match. I am so looking forward to that IC Championship triple threat. I really think that it could steal the show. Nia vs. Alexa does not even compare to Charlotte vs. Asuka on any level. Raw still has time to catch up, but right now SmackDown has the better stories going for me.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

I still think SmackDown at 2 hours is so much better paced.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

I was torn here. It was either Braun taking out the entire tag division on his own or KO & Sami wreaking havoc. I'm going with Braun winning an entire battle royal against teams on his own.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Nothing.

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


I think SmackDown SHOULD be winning these weeks building up to 'Mania. They have the better stories, but they're matches on SmackDown themselves just aren't comparing to Raw and that is what is hurting them so far. I think they'll take over leading up to it, but it will take some time. This week, Raw wins 4-3.