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: MATCHES

Raw = Baron Corbin and Chad Gable competed in the best match of the evening, with Corbin winning to become the King of the Ring. Throughout the tournament, Corbin has been raising his game with every match, and this week was no different. Gable made fans believe he could win, whilst Corbin continues to show clear signs of improvement.

Sasha Banks and Bayley vs Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross was a surprisingly great match, and despite the Women’s Tag Team Championship not being on the line, the match felt important. All 4 women raised their game, highlighting the strength in depth of the women’s division.

Unfortunately there were a couple of dud matches on Raw, and this was no more evident than Mike Kanellis vs Ricochet. This match was a minute long, however as part of the backdrop to Maria Kanellis and her gender reveal party, this felt poor and insulting. Raw’s consistent streak of great matches on each show sadly ended this week.

SmackDown = SmackDown only featured 3 matches, however 1 of these was a great 6 man tag team match between The New Day and the team of Randy Orton and The Revival. The match was highly entertaining, with all 6 men shining. The New Day won, which was the right call.

Charlotte defeated Sasha Banks in a good match, however Banks should not have lost here as she needs all the momentum she can find to beat Becky Lynch at Hell in a Cell.

The main event of SmackDown was Heavy Machinery vs The B Team, which was a poor excuse of a match. Raw may not have had a full show of great matches, but they didn’t have something as insulting as this match on offer.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: PROMOS

Raw = Bray Wyatt delivered his best Firefly Fun House promo yet, as he traded barbs with Seth Rollins to build towards their upcoming Hell in a Cell match. Wyatt perfectly tapped into his 2 personalities during the promo, expertly transitioning from his usual jovial tone to a more sinister and dark attitude. This promo perfectly set up Wyatt as a danger to Rollins, whilst also providing Rollins with a platform to defend himself. I cannot praise this segment enough.

Overall, Raw was light on proper promos, however the Maria Kanellis segment was pure trash. Not only is her character insufferable, but too much time was wasted focusing on the gender reveal of her baby, in addition to the cringeworthy reveal of Rusev as the baby’s father.

SmackDown = Paul Heyman delivered a great promo to set up Brock Lesnar’s challenge to Kofi Kingston and his WWE Championship on October 4. Kingston also delivered a great rebuttal to Heyman which made him look strong. This segment was a great and highly effective way to build to their upcoming match without making Kingston look weak.

Unfortunately, the promo segment between Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens was torture to watch. McMahon continues to be a charisma vacuum, whilst Owens was made to look like a whiny and entitled loser. As much as I love Owens, this segment made me want to stop watching SmackDown.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: STORYLINES

Raw = Bray Wyatt vs Seth Rollins is now the main storyline on Raw, and this can only be a good thing as The Fiend is such a captivating character. Fans react to everything Wyatt does, whilst Rollins is still adored by a large portion of the fan base. The dynamic between the 2 is already great, therefore the next few weeks will be compelling viewing. The Fiend is proof that WWE can indeed capture lightening in a bottle, but the hard task is making sure they capitalise on his burgeoning popularity.

Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks took a logical step towards the next instalment of their feud, as Lynch responded to Banks’ challenge by stating she wants the match to take place inside Hell in a Cell. This provides Banks with an advantage as she has competed inside the demonic structure before, and similar to the feud for the Universal Championship, the match taking place inside Hell in a Cell feels logical and exciting.

Raw storylines as a whole have cooled off as the more prominent storylines are featured heavily, however the sheer quality of the storylines has been so good that they remain interesting. Bayley continues to embrace her heelish side whilst The OC remain a force to be reckoned with.

SmackDown = Brock Lesnar is now Kofi Kingston’s next challenger to the WWE Championship in what promises to be a great feud, as Lesnar can be as dominant and destructive as he wants. Kingston will sell effectively for Lesnar, whilst trying to sell the idea that he is out of his depth. The threat Lesnar poses to Kingston’s fairytale reign is clear, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks.

Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens are destined to continue their feud, and unfortunately they are taking time away from more talented wrestlers such as Ali and Aleister Black, who cannot seem to get booked consistently or effectively. This feud is already dead on arrival, with fans clamouring for it to end as soon as possible.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING

Raw = Raw felt a little sluggish this week, however the show itself was structured well. Paul Heyman has gotten into a groove with Raw, in which every show feels like a stark improvement on shows from 6 months ago. This week was a step below previous weeks, but the show felt strong overall.

SmackDown = The show was easy to watch, however the pacing of some segments made the show feel longer than 2 hours. The show wasn’t as exciting as Raw, however it was a massive improvement on the efforts from previous weeks.

WINNER: SmackDown

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Raw gains points for R-Truth losing his 24/7 Championship as a result of running into a padded post. It was such a telegraphed move that it somehow felt even funnier than it should have been.

Raw loses points for dedicating so much time to Maria Kanellis and her gender reveal party. Not only was it in bad taste, but Ricochet and Rusev now feel like damaged goods due to their injection into this storyline. This segment did nothing but drive viewers away.

Raw also loses points for having Cedric Alexander lose. Last week he felt like a made man, however in the space of 2 nights, his stock has dropped and it seems like WWE will fail to capitalise on his increased popularity.

SmackDown gains points for Chad Gable interfering in Baron Corbin’s coronation. It is nice to see that they have a plan for Gable after his great King of the Ring performances.

SmackDown loses points for dedicating far too much time to Shane McMahon. He is everything that is wrong with WWE, yet he remains one of the best pushed wrestlers on SmackDown.

POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+1 / -2) / SmackDown (+1 / -1)


With a score of 2 to 1, Raw just edges SmackDown to win Battle of the Brands this week. Raw wasn’t as consistent as it has been recently, however the show was still entertaining. SmackDown did well to noticeably improve this week, however a few glaring issues mean the show as a whole still has a way to go in order to be as entertaining as Raw.

This was ultimately a strong week for Raw and SmackDown, therefore I hope the high quality of each show continues as we build towards Hell in a Cell, which has the potential to be a strong show.