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

Rhode Island had the life sucked right out of that venue with the beginning announcement of Roman Reigns, but they did everything they could to stick with the show and for that I commend them.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

Commentary was neither here nor there for me this week. Nothing stuck out, and that certainly isn't ever a bad thing. I just really like that Raw squad right now.

WINNER: Raw 

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

The Usos got a win over the dysfunctioning duo of champion and challenge in AJ and Bryan. Rusev shows his old-self beating his old Rusev Day partner Aiden English. Rey Mysterio beat The Miz, and Randy Orton beat Jeff Hardy for the 80th time.

Finn Balor got a win (YES!) and it was by beating Bobby Lashley (YES!!!). Ruby Riott took down Sasha Banks, Elias got revenge on Apollo Crews, Ember Moon got a win in a fatal four way, and Dean and Seth won the Raw Tag Team Championship minutes before Dean turned on his former brother. If not for that main event, Raw would have been a drag in terms of matches. So, SmackDown gets their first point.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

Roman Reigns announces his relinquishing of the red strap, DX doing their thing, and Paul Heyman all on the same show. It has to go to the Monday show here.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

Storylines got flipped and turned crazy this week for so many things. Roman is gone for the foreseeable future, Dean turned on Seth and is now heel, and superstars like Cena and Bryan are pulling out of Crown Jewel thanks to the murdering going on in Saudi Arabia. Bryan was even supposed to challenge AJ for the WWE Championship, so everything could be thrown off if the rumors of him pulling out are true. However, nothing is official, so we're going to go with nothing is wrong *insert meme of dog in burning room with thought bubble saying "this is fine"*

Raw lost their workhorse champion due to the worse circumstances ever. Losing Roman is already hard, losing him for who knows how long to leukemia is even worse. I think this solidifies Braun as the new guy and beating Lesnar for the belt at Crown Jewel. Going with Lesnar would be a huge mistake, but I'm still awfully nervous of the outcome here. The turn by Dean throws a lot of other things into the mix here, and that includes what happens with Dolph and McIntyre as their whole partnership was built on taking out The Shield which just imploded for the second time. I have no clue what the plan is here, but seeing Dean and Seth go at it again with Dean as a bonafide heel is going to be fun. Especially since they have the tag belts currently. There are a lot of options here, and very few are bad ones. I don't know if its official yet, but rumor has it Alexa is out of Evolution due to a concussion at the hands of Rousey at a house show, and is being replaced by Alicia Fox just to simply have Trish and Lita on the card. If true, God, I feel terrible for Bliss. She is a huge part of this movement, and not having her is going to hurt that PPV.

If Daniel Bryan does decide he is not going to Crown Jewel, number one, good for him and WWE should have followed him. Number two, where does that leave AJ for the big Saudi PPV? I'm guessing The Miz knocks Bryan off the card with an attack and takes his spot to tackle AJ. I'd be okay with that and it may be their best logical option. The tag team scene on the Blue Brand has been great, and that still stands. However, SD Live doesn't stand a chance with everything going on on Raw.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

Always SD Live here. I love the two-hour format.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

This might be the easiest category of the week. Monday Night Raw was loaded with "WTF?!" moments and incredible visuals. Roman delivering what I could only imagine is the hardest promo he ever had to give, his Shield brethren coming to his aid in front of the crowd, and then Dean turning on Seth AFTER winning the tag belts.. Wow. What a night for them.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Empty.

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


Raw wins with a 5-2 tally. Whew, a lot happened on this show. It was emotional, and it was rewarding to watch. They made a gutsy call turning Dean regardless of the announcement earlier in the show, and I commend that choice. Do something, and stick with it. I think I speak for everyone at Smark Out Moment when I say we all can't wait to see Roman back in the ring and healthy.