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 = In only their second match on Raw, RETRIBUTION engaged in an entertaining contest against The Hurt Business to kick off the season premiere of Raw. It was a fun match, with The Hurt Business straddling the line between cool heels and dominant faces, whilst RETRIBUTION came across as the surprisingly cool heels. The action was good, coming across better than the first match RETRIBUTION took part in.

The main event of Raw featured Keith Lee vs Braun Strowman, but the outcome of the match was disappointing. Lee lost by pinfall, which once again felt like a true lack of direction for The Limitless One. The match was ok, but it could have been so much better.

SmackDown = Bianca Belair defeated Zelina Vega in a solid squash match to highlight how much of threat she poses to SmackDown's women's division, whilst Lars Sullivan also enjoyed a squash victory over Shorty G. Both matches were solid, expertly getting the winners over well.

Seth Rollins vs Murphy was a solid match, mixing strong storytelling with hard hitting action. Both men are capable of great matches, therefore it was great to see them blend their ongoing issues with superb wrestling. Overall, the matches on SmackDown this week served their role well, with no single match coming off poorly at all.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 2: PROMOS

Raw = Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre both gave strong promos to make fans care about their upcoming match at Hell in a Cell. McIntyre once again delivered his promo in style, proving he is the complete package. Despite not being a fresh feud, these promos helped to make Sunday's match feel intriguing.

It was Mustafa Ali's promo in which he revealed himself as the SmackDown Hacker that made the biggest impact on Raw this week. It was an extremely strong promo, with Ali proving he is more than capable of taking his heel character and running with it. The impact of the promo was great, and I cannot wait to see what happens next with him, however I am still cold on RETRIBUTION as a whole.

SmackDown = Bayley gave a strong promo this week, noting how she is annoyed that interviewers have been asking her the same question about why she hasn't signed the contract for her Hell in a Cell match. Bayley once again came across as a slimy and self-centred heel, which is exactly what her character needs.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: STORYLINES

Raw = Raw was dominated by Randy Orton vs Drew McIntyre, with both men excelling on the microphone. Orton believed he had outsmarted the WWE Champion, however McIntyre evened the odds and took the fight to The Legend Killer. This feud has been one of the lone bright spots of Raw, but it is clear they are building up The Fiend for an assault on the rest of the roster.

SmackDown = Law and Otis was a hilarious spoof of Law and Order, with JBL, Ron Simmons, and Teddy Long expertly playing their roles to a high comedic level. JBL being bribed by The Miz was absolutely stunning, allowing the storyline to be progressed further.

Roman Reigns revealed the consequences for his upcoming match with Jey Uso at Hell in a Cell, noting he would excommunicate The Usos from their family if Jey refused to fall in line. This was not the announcement I was expecting, but it was effective in it's own right.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING

Raw = The season premiere of Raw was a decent show, with some aspects of the show coming off better than others. The opening was very strong, but the second hour was hard to enjoy. The pacing was off, which was a real shame when compared to how tight the season premiere of SmackDown was last week.

SmackDown = SmackDown was an enjoyable show, featuring a good mix of matches and promos. The pacing of the show was good, however it wasn't as exciting as last week's effort.

WINNER: SmackDown

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Raw gains points for the stunning visual of The Fiend and Alexa Bliss kicking off the season premiere of Raw, only to be interrupted by RETRIBUTION.

Raw also gains points for causing a stir by going off the air just as Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton were about to clash. This just increased the anticipation for their upcoming match.

Raw loses points for Elias' live concert. As much as his music may be entertaining, this segment was not.

Raw also loses points for having RETRIBUTION lose clean. I don't care how entertaining and intriguing the storyline will be with The Fiend or The Hurt Business, I just cannot take the stable seriously. Thank you WWE for undermining Mustafa Ali once agin.

SmackDown gains points for the Law and Otis segments. They were so much fun, with JBL being bribed coming off well.

SmackDown also gains points for finally getting rid of the train wreck that is the Shorty G name. Now Chad Gable is back, can we please have a strong direction for the former American Alpha?

SmackDown loses no points as there wasn't anything on the show that was overly negative.

POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+2 / -2) / SmackDown (+2 / -0)


With a score of 5 to 1, SmackDown wins this week's Battle of the Brands. Although not a perfect show, SmackDown was a lot more consistent than Raw, which has slowly turned into a disappointing affair. Hopefully we will see The Fiend inject some life into the show, whilst Mustafa Ali appears to have turned the corner with RETRIBUTION.