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 = Raw featured a mix of good matches and meaningless matches, with Asuka vs Bayley the undoubted match of the night. The quality of their contest was high for a free match on television, with Asuka picking up the win to book a Women’s Tag Team Championship match next week with her Kabuki Warriors partner. Kairi Sane and Sasha Banks added to the match quality in a manner which did not detract from the match performance.

The Big Show and The Viking Raiders vs Randy Orton, Andrade and Angel Garza was a match which was memorable for the storyline development within. The internal conflict between Andrade and Garza was addressed by Orton during the match, whilst the ongoing feud between Orton and Show was largely teased to stretch out their inevitable one on one match.

SmackDown = SmackDown featured a decent mix of matches this week, with Bayley and Sasha Banks performing well against Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. Although not a classic, it did well to highlight the strengths of all four women, whilst putting on an interesting and intriguing contest.

The New Day vs Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura was a strong match, that was until the contest devolved into a straight up fight. The match went to a no contest, with Cesaro and Nakamura ending the night by slamming Kofi Kingston through a table with a prone Big E upon it. The action was great, but the finish was more about setting the stipulation for their Extreme Rules match.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: PROMOS

Raw = Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater all contributed to a stellar promo segment to open Raw, with Ziggler attempting to highlight how McIntyre had failed as a friend by abandoning Slater. The emotion of Slater’s words was intense, which contributed to a raw and realistic promo. The only issue I had with the segment as a whole is that it did not paint the face WWE Champion in the best light.

SmackDown = Miz TV opened SmackDown, with Jeff Hardy acting as the guest this week. The Miz and John Morrison taunted Hardy for his demons, which The Charismatic Enigma did not appreciate. The promo segment itself was serviceable, but it lacked any real emotion to make it more impactful.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: STORYLINES

Raw = Raw focused heavily on MVP yet again, with Bobby Lashley self appointing MVP as the new United States Champion. Despite only beating Apollo Crews in a non title match last week, MVP unveiled a new design for the title to underline how he is the greatest United States Champion of all time. In addition to becoming the so called new title holder, he also courted Cedric Alexander to join his stable. Rightfully so, MVP is a large part of Raw at the moment.

SmackDown = Storylines on SmackDown were touched upon, however they were not developed as much as the storylines on Raw. Miz TV was used as vehicle to advance Jeff Hardy vs Sheamus, whilst Braun Strowman vs Bray Wyatt was rather neglected by only using highlights of their Money in the Bank match to further advance their feud.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING

Raw = Raw was a solid show this week, with a strong mix of matches, promos and storyline development. The show was well paced, whilst segments felt logical and impactful.

SmackDown = SmackDown was a good show, focusing on solid matches and promos. There was a good level of storyline development, however the presentation was not as smooth as Raw.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Raw gains points for using Heath Slater and his real life release from WWE as a storyline to make Dolph Ziggler vs Drew McIntyre a more tantalising prospect. It may be in bad taste for some, but the reality of the situation helped make the feud feel more visceral.

Raw also gains points for unveiling a new United States Championship design. I have to admit that the new design is slowly growing on me, whilst MVP calling himself the new champion is highly entertaining.

Raw also gains points for having Nikki Cross on commentary for the main event, albeit it briefly. She was extremely funny, which added to the overall enjoyment of Asuka vs Bayley.

Raw loses points for continuing to make Ruby Riott look completely ineffective. It is clear they are building to something with Riott, but her character is looking potentially irreparably weak in the process.

SmackDown gains points for Bayley and Sasha Banks once again proving how strong they currently are. No matter the brand, they are able to put on a quality performance with ease.

SmackDown also gains points for teasing the slightest of dissension between The Miz and John Morrison.

SmackDown loses points for the absolute shitshow that was the Karaoke Showdown. This was just awful!

POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+3 / -1) / SmackDown (+2 / -1)


With a crushing score of 6 to 1, Raw wins this week’s Battle of the Brands. Raw was a much better show overall, with a stronger mix of matches, promos and storyline development. With just one week to go before Extreme Rules, SmackDown needs to improve quickly to pique interest in their matches for the event.