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

It isn't about being a nice crowd, it's about being an involved, active, and part of the show. The crowd Monday night was not nice in the slightest to Roman Reigns, but dang did they have so much to say. Really, it was the same thing over and over, but they said it loud and proud.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

I want Renee back on Raw. I loved her being a part of the show, and they could keep her there forever if they wanted to. No one deserves it more than she does either. Unfortunately, she wasn't there, but fortunately that didn't hinder the show from a commentary perspective whatsoever. Michael Cole is a Hall of Famer right up there with Jim Ross in my opinion. JR is still the tippy top, but Cole deserves everything he has gotten. He has been the voice of WWE for almost my entire fandom, and Corey Graves is being groomed as the next voice. They are a great tandem, so Raw wins.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

Raw had some solid matches, and one of them was Dean getting his return victory over Dolph Ziggler. Obviously, bigger things are to come for Ambrose and Co. later on in the show but his big return win was nice too. We saw a couple tag teams face each other in single competitions as The Revival crew took out the B-Team in singles action. The AOP push has gotten a bit of fire underneath it now with getting a win over Titus Worldwide. Lashley beat Baron Corbin, who I'm sure wishes his NXT days were back at this point. Hawkins losing streak is something like 0-219 now after Elias took him out, and The Riott Squad beat Sasha, Bayley, and Ember Moon. The main event saw Roman Reigns take down Finn Balor to retain the Universal Championship.

Rusev & Lana got a mixed tag win, and Peyton Royce beat Naomi, who was champ not really all that long ago. The heel Orton is in full swing getting a DQ win over Jeff Hardy when Hardy hits a low blow on Orton. My favorite match of the week came on SD Live when New Day captured their fifth tag title reign beating The Bludgeon Brothers in a no-DQ match. I love New Day getting titles back so much, that they get the win here.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

Heyman tried to get Lesnar his rematch at Hell in a Cell, but Angle says no in a scene that got no reaction until Angle said "forget about it" in that Brooklyn accent. Only furthering the point that no one wants to see Reigns v. Lesnar XXXXX. I love how Roman handles himself in front of hostile crowds like Monday night, and he could be such a great freakin' heel if they'd just pull the trigger(which we'll talk about soon). I love Braun just straight up calling people out with the briefcase. Like, "Hey, I've got this thing, so be ready cause I'm gonna use it. AND YOU'RE GONNA GET THESE HANDS!" Love it. I liked the Rousey celebration deal. It is a big deal for her to win, and this stuff with Stephanie could be kind of fun if done right.

BECKY LYNCH IS NOT A HEEL. I will yell and scream about that in the storyline section. She tried so hard to be a heel, and we know she can be one from NXT but the crowd just won't have it. The Miz and Daniel Bryan promo was only "meh" for me, but mostly because I hate the direction they're going with it. Really, nothing else of note happens. So, Raw is the clear winner here.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

So much to talk about here. So, here we go. First of all, Braun Strowman is THE man. No if's, and's, or but's about it. He is the guy the crowd wants, and has wanted for months now. Ronda Rousey was the right choice to win the Raw Women's Championship, and moving straight to Stephanie is the right move, and here is why. There is not a single person the roster, outside of Asuka maybe, who could pose a single threat to Ronda Rousey. Charlotte could I guess, but they are on opposite shows now with her on SD Live. So moving straight to the storyline with Stephanie could lead to a Survivor Series elimination match with them both having teams or something while WWE builds up a suitable opponent for Rousey. Right now, there isn't a single woman that I'd believe could beat her. So, this buys them some time. The Revival need a better shake. The B-Team is fun and all, but it's time that The Revival and AOP get the gold. The Intercontinental Championship feud has been one of my favorites to date, and Seth is the perfect guy to carry that strap. With Dean in the mix and The Shield reunion, it's only going to get better. Roman winning the Universal Championship was "meh"and expected at best. But WWE revealed they had a long-term plan after all with the revival of The Shield on Monday night. Vests and all. I loved it because they felt like heels again, and that was the best version of the trio. Taking out Strowman(the most over guy on Raw) to protect Reigns is a huge heel tactic, and I expect this to only get way better as it goes.

I love heel Randy Orton, and I hope he just keeps being a dick like always. I hate mixed tag matches. I think they're ridiculous, and always have especially since the whole men can't fight women thing. So I have zero excitement for Miz & Maryse vs. Bryan & Brie just like I had zero excitement for the mixed tag match at 'Mania with Miz & Maryse losing to Cena & Nikki. I just don't care. Nakamura winning is the right move, and I hope he gets a big time feud soon. The New Day winning the tag titles again is the right call. I know that the speculation is that they won because Rowan is hurt, but regardless these guys should have the belts. They're way too good. AJ and Joe is a as personal as it should be, because personal issues always play better in hell in a cell, and that is exactly where this is going. I like it.

Overall, there are great storylines all around, but with The Shield back in play I cannot wait to see what happens.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

I'm telling you, Raw did everything right here. The show even felt good with its timing, and thats rough to do with a three hour show.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

The Shield put Strowman through the announce table with the triple power bomb, and Rousey went after Stephanie McMahon. Need I say more?

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Plus one to Raw creative for proving that Roman winning the belt had other plans attached to it all along. Great work with The Shield coming back.

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


Raw hit on all cylinders this week winning 6-1, and I'll be incredibly interested to see if that can keep up. I loved just about every move they made, and they followed up a stellar PPV with a stellar Monday Night Raw. The Raws after 'Mania and SummerSlam are so important, so I'm glad they knocked this one out of the park.