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 am not the least bit surprised that Houston had the much better audience on Raw. Oh, and did you hear that pop for Brother Love? Well, you know.. He used to be over.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

This is going to Raw too. Hard to overlook the vast improvements Coachman has made to an already *decent* squad. Also, Graves dropping a "Well, you know.." when Prichard made an appearance.. Can't overlook that.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

Okay so I thought this week was pretty weak matches wise all across the board. I was surprised to see Elias and Jinder beat the Ambrose-less Shield, but really that is about it for Raw. I was disappointed to see KO and Finn end in a DQ, but I get it. Oh, and James Harden got a win. Yeah, the basketball player.

SmackDown was just as "meh" but had some better stuff at face value. It was fun to see Becky and Charlotte back at each others throats, and The New Day got a win over Samoa Joe, The Miz and Rusev. So SD Live gets the W here.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

I did not understand this Baron Corbin garbage at all on Raw, and I'm not a big Lone Wolf fan so I can't say I enjoyed him this week a single bit. However, Elias should get 15+ minutes of promo time every week because the man is just too good. Sami Zayn and Bobby Lashley are having the worst feud ever, and the promos are also the worst things I've ever seen.

SmackDown had a Carmella segment. Meh. But The New Day and The Miz had a fun bit with Miz getting himself into some pancake batter. Outside of that, nothing. The contract signing was ridiculously boring, and nothing else mattered. However, I hated the Corbin and Sami Zayn stuff so much that I can't give anyone a win here.

WINNER: It's a cop out, but no one wins. 

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

We're just going to take the ladder matches out of this since they are dual branded this year.

Nia keeps running through people in her build up for Rousey. Which is understandable. She needs to look like a dangerous champ going into a match with the new female golden goose. Personally, Rousey needs to be on TV more if she is going up against anyone not named Charlotte Flair, Asuka, and maybe Sasha Banks because no other woman has the star power or ability to hold a feud on her own. And sadly, that means Nia. This just isn't doing it for me, but that may change when Rousey gets more airtime. This Jinder and Roman thing could be done way better in my opinion. Just like everything Roman seems to be involved with. How they haven't made more drastic changes with his character, I do not understand. Putting two guys that the people hate up against one another usually doesn't work well. Next is Lashley and Zayn. Ugh. Why even bother here? This is a dead duck and has been since that terrible skit Sami tried with Lashley's "sisters". Who cares? Lashley should be gearing up for Brock because honestly I just want to see those two in the same ring. Seth Rollins is carrying this Raw show. Finn and Strowman are helping, but Seth is THE guy right now. Him and Elias have been consistently rock solid almost every week.

Big Cass and Bryan is just "Booking 101". Big heel vs. small face always equals a good story. Especially when that story teller is one of the best in Daniel Bryan, and Cass is making his way to being a great heel. We cannot forget how that guy can go. I am really looking forward to this match. Asuka is going to be the next champ. There is no doubt about it, and she is going to hold that title until WrestleMania at least, if not further. However, I'd like to see Carmella be that "chicken-sh*t" heel that does whatever she has to do to leave with the belt. That'll make Asuka beating her down that much more enjoyable when she gets the belt. The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Good Brothers will just be good tag wrestling, brother (sorry, had to). Not much in the way of a story, but they'll tell a good one in the ring and for tag teams that will be more than enough. Joe and Miz are on a roll on the blue brand solidifying that SmackDown is where the workers are, and put the more than over Rusev Day in there and it's gold all around. That brings us to the Last Man Standing feud. I hope this is the last time these two match up for some time. I'm looking forward to the match, but they need some time apart for a bit. Regardless, I've enjoyed everything up to this point. Could it have been better? Sure. But I'll take what I can get this day and age. Needless to say, SD Live has the best of it going on right now.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

SmackDown being streamlined and just an all around more enjoyable watch. I was begging for Raw to end with three hours this week, but not SmackDown. That proves a big point.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

James Harden is 1-0 in his WWE matches. That was something to see. Alongside Rollins and Reigns actually taking an L this week.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Raw is losing points thanks to this Lashley and Zayn thing. Every bit of it has been awful, so awful to the point I would cheer louder if they just dropped it with no explanation.

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


SmackDown wins 3-2 thanks to Raws terrible story arcs. SmackDown has the right formula too I think. We don't see each storyline every week because they don't have the time to do that. They put what the NEED to get done each week, because they don't have time to waste. And its working. Especially when you have AJ, Nak, DB, Joe, and The Miz as you're core guys. Hard to do something wrong there.