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 = The No Disqualification match between Aleister Black and Kevin Owens was a very entertaining contest, with Owens coming out on top to underline how resilient he is. The match featured a number of hard hitting spots, especially those involving the use of steel chairs. It was a great match to highlight the hatred between both men, and it left me wanting more.

Ricochet vs Cedric Alexander was a fun little match which was boosted by the storyline surrounding it. Both men are talented in ring generals, and they both put on a strong performance. Ricochet came out on top which was exactly what he needed, whilst Alexander didn't lose any real momentum as he is still a valued member of The Hurt Business, and Ricochet only came out on top because he summoned the cheating spirit of the late Eddie Guerrero.

SmackDown = SmackDown featured an evening of consistent matches. Lars Sullivan underlined the threat he poses to the SmackDown roster by decimating Jeff Hardy, whilst The New Day went out on a high as they defeated the team of Sheamus, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. Both of these matches were high octane and very entertaining to watch.

The main event of the evening saw Roman Reigns defend his WWE Universal Championship against Braun Strowman. The Monster Among Men put up a great challenge, with the contest featuring some extremely hard hitting action. The finish had Reigns win by submission, which was a great development for his character as he rarely, if ever, uses submission moves. Overall, this was a fantastic main event.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 2: PROMOS

Raw = Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre duelled on the microphone to kick off Raw. Both men sounded passionate and driven to destroy the other, with McIntyre in particular coming across as an absolute badass.

Miz TV returned to Raw this week, but it felt sterile and ineffective. It was clear the segment was being used to build to Lars Sullivan destroying John Morrison, therefore the segment with Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke never felt impactful.

SmackDown = The New Day gave a passionate promo as they explained how much fun they have had tagging with each other. It was genuinely touching seeing them well up and become emotional as they realised they would no longer work together as a unit, and all three men contributed greatly to a strong promo segment.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 3: STORYLINES

Raw = The Fiend and Alexa Bliss brought their new breed of creepiness to Raw as they targetted Andrade and Zelina Vega, hitting them each in stereo with a Sister Abigail. It is clear that this is only the start of The Fiend's reign of terror on the red brand, whilst Bliss immediately sent a message to the women's division that she means business.

Ricochet attempted to seek clarity over his status with The Hurt Business, anticipating that he would be left on Raw alone. By offering The Hurt Business a chance to recruit him or leave him alone for the forseeable future, it made for an interesting dynamic. Ricochet was able to win, but I think it was a missed opportunity to not have him lose and be forced to join the group.

SmackDown = Bayley and Sasha Banks had a contract signing for their match at Hell in a Cell, but Bayley refused to actually sign the contract. This led to Banks calling her a coward, as their feud reached new heights of intensity and hatred. It was a great segment, with Bayley coming across as a slimy coward as intended.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING

Raw = Raw was a much improved show this week, however some of the improvement can be attributed to the intrigue of the WWE Draft. The pacing was off, as we only had one match in the first hour of the show. The final hour of the show felt particularly rushed.

SmackDown = SmackDown was a strong show, featuring a great mix of matches and promos. The show had a special atmosphere, with the entire show being well paced.

WINNER: SmackDown

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Raw gains points for The Fiend and Alexa Bliss hitting Andrade and Zelina Vega in stereo with a Sister Abigail each. It was a stunning visual, and I cannot wait to see what they will do next.

Raw also gains points for the segment in which The Street Profits and The New Day exchanged their respective Tag Team Championships. It was a brief but impactful way to clarify the status of the titles.

Raw loses points for Elias' interview with Charly Caruso. It made no sense whatsoever, and it took away the shine of his return to Raw.

Raw also loses points for trying to get me to care about the Natalya and Lana split. I don't care. Not one bit.

SmackDown gains points for one of the best openings to a WWE show in years. The brand wide brawl was really fun to watch.

SmackDown also gains points for allowing The New Day to go out on a high with their victory.

SmackDown also gains points for ending the show with a great interaction between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso. Reigns is genuinely the coolest and most badass character on the roster, whilst Uso is being suitably elevated through this feud.

SmackDown loses points for still not giving me a reason to root for Sasha Banks. She hasn't organically turned into a face, therefore it is hard to buy into her as the face in her feud with Bayley.

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


With a score of 5 to 1, SmackDown wins this week's Battle of the Brands. Raw featured a number of glaring issues that contributed to a poorer show overall, whilst SmackDown's season premiere was successful in many respects. The matches were better, promos were tighter, and the show was just better overall. Raw has it's season premiere next week, and I have high hopes for the show as Raw has an updated roster that can easily compete with SmackDown.