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

Philadelphia is always a big one for WWE, or any wrestling promotion for that matter, so I'm not surprised they showed out for Raw on Monday night.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

Meh.. I was hoping to see Tazz on SD Live as he was a huge part of the building of SmackDown as a brand. So I'm pretty disappointed they couldn't have him on for a short time. I'll give Raw the win as I still like their group the most.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

Raw just had some sort of mix of The Shield vs. The Dogs of War or whatever they're calling themselves now. Oh, and then they had a six-man tag match for the 85th time. I like this feud, but come on. We can do something different.

The Usos took down Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles in a tag match which actually felt like a big deal to me, honestly. The Miz defeated Rusev for a spot in the World Cup Tournament (poor Rusev never gets the love he deserves...). The Bar are your new SmackDown Tag Team Champions and I am totally cool with that. In what was a super fun main event, Rey Mysterio defeated Shinsuke Nakamura for a spot in the World Cup tournament. I am not surprised SmackDown went all out on the 1000th episode. They get the win here.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

I'll tell you right now, SmackDown wins here. It really isn't even close. TruthTV with all the McMahons was awesome. Vince McMahon is the greatest on screen character in TV history, and he only gets better with taking extended breaks from TV and only showing up when it really matters. The Cutting Edge with Charlotte and Becky was fun, and seeing Edge back on wrestling TV is a beautiful thing since he is one of my all time favorites. Evolution was back together, and the best part is they didn't even get along. They were all still their individual characters just like when they separated. Orton was still a dick, Batista and HHH still hate one another, and Ric Flair was there to be Ric Flair and who doesn't like that?!

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

I DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE BELLA TWINS. Ronda vs. Nikki just does not appease me as a fan in the slightest bit. Ronda is a bonafide fighter, and Nikki hasn't had a three star match yet. Granted, Nikki never really had a great dancing partner in the midst of her record breaking run, but my point stands. Dogs of War vs. The Shield has been so drawn out that I think we may see another six-man tag at 'Mania in 5 months or whatever it is. I am loving the Kurt Angle as the Conquistador vs. Baron Corbin storyline business. I think its pretty funny stuff. And I still love DX vs. Brothers of Destruction. I'm glad that Trish and Lita are teaming against Alexa Bliss and Mickie James. That is much better as a tag match then as two singles.

I think the AJ vs. Daniel Bryan storyline is going to get really good with the two starting to doubt the respect that one has for the other. You don't need a heel here, but we know that either guy could pull that off and switch up at any moment. The more it goes on I'm enjoying Charlotte and Becky going at it, and the crowd is staying solidly behind Becky which is what we need right now. The Bar is now SmackDown Tag Team Champions, and I like it. New Day is always fun, and they'll remain fun while chasing the belts as baby faces, and The Bar is a great team. No reason to think this won't be good stuff. Rey Mysterio won a match on SmackDown again! I'm not a huge Mysterio fan, and never have been, but even I enjoyed that match with Shinsuke. SmackDown wins here again. The only bad thing I can say about SD Live is that Rusev needs more. He is so stinkin' good, and deserves more overall.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

SmackDown does such a great job with this. They always do. I was nervous that SmackDown 1000 would have some really odd skits trying to fit every major person in, but they did a good job celebrating the past while keeping it in the present.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

Evolution back together in full, The Undertaker on the brand he helped build, Edge and Rey Mysterio, and that incredible video package at the beginning of the show.. It is all SDLive 1000 here.

WINNER: SmackDown

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Nada.

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


SmackDown 1000 was a hell of a show. Absolutely great stuff, and very few things could have made it better in my opinion. The Rock would have helped, of course, as he was a pure SmackDown guy, but you have to understand why he isn't there. Unfortunately, a few of the famous SmackDown Six are gone, but at least we got Edge and Rey with a few tearjerking videos of Eddie. It was an amazing celebration of a five star accomplishment, and I am glad I tuned in to watch it.