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 = Match quality was good overall, with the main event of Drew McIntyre and Asuka vs Dolph Ziggler and Sasha Banks excelling in every single aspect. The match performance was strong, whilst the character and storyline work was superb.

Ricochet vs Bobby Lashley was a fantastic match, mainly due to the fact that Ricochet bumped wildly for Lashley. This was exactly what Ricochet vs Brock Lesnar should have been booked like, with Lashley looking dangerous and dominant. Ricochet lost nothing in defeat, which shows just how good the match was. It was also a change in pace from the remaining matches on the show.

SmackDown = The quality of matches on SmackDown this week was of a high quality, with AJ Styles vs Drew Gulak the clear match of the night. Gulak once again highlighted how far he has come since he started his association with Daniel Bryan, whilst Styles proved why he is in the top tier of WWE performers.

Matt Riddle vs John Morrison was another strong offering, with Riddle once again highlighting just how talented he is. Matches like this are exactly what he needs to ingratiate him with fans who may be unfamiliar with his work in NXT, which is great for fans as a whole. His movements are crisp, whilst his moves look devastating in execution.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 2: PROMOS

Raw = Raw opened to Sasha Banks and Bayley battling with Asuka as part of the contract signing segment, which was a fresh way to start the show. This made the show feel unpredictable, with the subsequent promos adding to the overall enjoyment of the segment. Banks showed a fire and passion in her voice that has been sorely missing from her work recently. A cocky Banks is one thing, but a fired up Banks is even better.

SmackDown = Matt Riddle opened the show with an extremely odd promo, noting how he wrestles barefoot because he nearly lost his toes as a child to frostbite. Whether true or not, it was a memorable promo as his delivery is unlike any other wrestler in WWE.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: STORYLINES

Raw = Storylines were again highlighted well on Raw this week, with Zelina Vega and the team of Andrade and Angel Garza featuring heavily. The tension within the team finally exploded when Andrade abandoned Garza, allowing The Big Show to knock him out.

MVP secured a pinfall victory over Apollo Crews to further extend their feud, providing his actions with a level of credibility that he had previously been missing. MVP’s courtship of Crews has been compelling, with his victory this week adding to the intrigue of the storyline.

SmackDown = This week marked the continuation of Jeff Hardy’s feud with Sheamus, with The Celtic Warrior hosting a tasteless toast to The Charismatic Enigma. The interactions between these two are great, however the backdrop to their feud is tasteless and detracts from the overall quality of the feud.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING

Raw = Raw was a fun show to watch, with a heavy emphasis on storylines allowing the show to feel interesting. The show was logically paced, with most matches coming off well in terms of performance and entertainment.

SmackDown = SmackDown was a strong show this week, blending together a strong mix of matches and promos. The show never outstayed it’s welcome which helped the show feel fresh. The only real issue was the flat end to the show, as Jeff Hardy's toast was not a great way to close out a strong show.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Raw gains points for the frenetic opening to the show. It felt unpredictable and highly entertaining.

Raw also gains points for Seth Rollins’ destruction of Humberto Carrillo. Time and time again, Rollins is able to evidence why his Monday Night Messiah gimmick is not only his best gimmick yet, but one of the best gimmicks in WWE at the moment by a country mile.

Raw loses points for how Ruby Riott was presented. She appears to be stuck in creative limbo, but this week was egregious as she seemed extremely cookie cutter, lacking any real personality.

SmackDown gains points for continuing Matt Riddle’s positive start to his main roster push. Riddle is now 2-0 and feels like an important part of the show.

SmackDown loses points for Daniel Bryan’s promo interruptions during AJ Styles vs Drew Gulak as they did nothing to add to the match.

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


With a score of 4 to 1, Raw wins this week’s Battle of the Brands. It was a strong week overall for WWE programming, but it was Raw which came across as the better main roster show overall. Raw’s feuds were better developed, whilst the promo work was better executed on the red brand. SmackDown wasn’t a bad show at all, but it felt lacking in comparison to Raw.