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

Man, there is something about the Canadian crowds. SmackDown had a fun one, I think. It usually doesn’t work that way, but they get the win tonight.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

The last couple weeks I just haven’t enjoyed the commentary from either group at all. I really haven’t. However, for the sake of keeping this post the way it’s supposed to be, I’ll give the point to SmackDown. Corey & Tom are just good together.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

We’re going to go through the important matches for this weeks episodes. The Revival got a win.. I repeat.. The Revival got a win! Nonetheless over Roman & Lashley. Doesn’t matter how it happened, the results say they got a win. Braun & KO (tag team of the year) beat Corbin & Balor after they start to brawl. Then Seth wins via DQ over Ziggler when his buddy McIntyre interferes.

SmackDown saw Rusev get a win over Woods, and Daniel Bryan gets a DQ win over Harper after interference from Rowan setting up the return of Team Hell No. Clearly, Raw had more in terms of matches. Nothing new here at they get the win.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

Promos were tough all around this week, man. Real tough. Lesnar didn’t want a multi-man match, so there isn’t going to be a multi-man match anymore. Classic Brock(I know it isn’t really his call). Mojo and No Way Jose just isn’t my thing, but I can see the entertainment value for some people. If it’s me making decisions, your (what seems like mandatory) opening 25-minute promo is all KO & Strowman because those two are great together.

SmackDown had a bad MIz TV segment which I usually really enjoy, but this one was boring. GLOW cast was there, but meh.. Not my thing either. It’s a terrific show and I understand the partnership here, but this wasn’t for me I guess. Little significance. Kane coming back out for the Team Hell No revival is fantastic and is going to lead to some fun stuff.

Like I said, rough week here. I think I have to go with SmackDown though. This Team Hell No stuff is going to be good and it got a decent reaction.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

So, it’s clearly going to Lashley or Reigns taking on Lesnar at SummerSlam, right? I would rather see Lashley at this point since we’ve seen Reigns and Lesnar a couple times already. However, I expect a triple threat. I am waiting for the McIntyre turn on Ziggler and make that story a triple threat as well because Ziggler, McIntyre, & Rollins would be a hell of a match. Ronda is set up to lead not only the Raw women, but the WWE women’s division as a whole. But Alexa is going to be a main player as well. I also have a feeling the Authors of Pain are poised to get a tag title shot soon enough. I can’t get enough of KO & Strowman together, and I am starting to come around to this “Constable Corbin” gimmick. At first I thought it was a “Corporate Kane” rip-off, but Baron is definitely trying to make it stand out.

I feel like they could’ve had AJ or Nak on the show instead of the GLOW cast because not seeing either main champ on either show in the week isn’t good at this point in the business, but again I get the partnership here. Rusev is on a roll right now, and he needs it. The guy is so overly talented & can be a big big player. Team Hell No is going to be a great addition back to SmackDown, and that is going to be crazy entertaining. Outside of that, nothing really happened there this week & Raw gets the win.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

It’s almost always SmackDown here, and this week doesn’t change. This show just felt better for me.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

Team Hell No is back! Hard not to put that here seeing those two together again.

WINNER: SmackDown

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Nada.

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


SmackDown wins 5-2, and is gaining momentum with the moves their making. I’m excited to see Team Hell No back in action & Rusev is on fire. Raw has a lot going for it with KO and Strowman too. But this week belongs to the brand.