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 some solid wrestling this week, with the 3 on 2 Handicap match coming off well. Pretty much anything Drew McIntyre touches at the moment is pure gold, and this match was yet another example of why he is the WWE Champion.

Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton was an intriguing match, as it was not a wrestling classic, yet I was still enthralled. The transition at the end of the match from Wyatt to The Fiend was superb, adding to the overall enjoyment factor of the contest.

SmackDown = Montez Ford vs Dolph Ziggler was an intriguing glimpse into how talented Ford would be as a singles star, not that I am advocating for him to split up The Street Profits. At least not yet. His movement was crisp, whilst Ziggler was as solid as ever. The finish was satisfying enough, continuing the feud in a manner that did not detract from Ford's growing reputation.

The main event was not as entertaining as it should have been, as it eschewed top quality in ring action for storyline development. The disqualification finish was also absurd, especially as many wrestlers get away with much worse without punishment. Sasha Banks and Carmella tried hard, but I just did not feel it.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: PROMOS

Raw = Firefly Fun House was a riot as always, whilst Randy Orton's show opening promo had real fire. Overall, Raw's promos have been consistently effective.

SmackDown = The show opening promo segment between Sasha Banks and Carmella was solid, however Roman Reigns' address to Kevin Owens' family was much better. Once again, The Tribal Chief delivered.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 3: STORYLINES

Raw = The 'will he, won't he' tease of Sheamus attacking Drew McIntyre was extremely turgid, as it is unimaginative booking at it's worst. Thankfully, the show was rescued by Randy Orton vs The Fiend, which is a surprisingly compelling storyline.

SmackDown = SmackDown was very much built around the WWE Universal Championship and the SmackDown Women's Championship. This wasn't an issue, but the fact that other feuds are receiving little to no airtime is a concern.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING

Raw = Raw was scheduled much better this week, featuring a level of pacing that helped the show feel fresher than it's three hour runtime would suggest.

SmackDown = SmackDown was paced strongly this week, with most segments coming off well. The start of the second hour dragged slightly, but not enough to be an issue.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Raw gains points for the incredibly creative finish to Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton.

Raw also gains points for making me want a longer match between Asuka and Shayna Baszler. I thought the ship had sailed on these two battling over something important.

Raw loses points for yet another uninspiring and irritating edition of Miz TV. The Miz is now flat out annoying in the worst way possible.

SmackDown gains points for how banged up Kevin Owens looked. It is greatly helping the feud to see him struggling physically.

SmackDown also gains points for making Carmella look dangerous as she took out Sasha Banks. Her new character may not have been warmly received at first, but it is certainly a credible persona now.

SmackDown loses points for Otis and Chad Gable not meshing well together. I am unsure as to why they are paired up, and this shows in the poor quality of their segments.

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


With a score of 4 to 2, Raw wins this week's Battle of the Brands. Raw was a much more consistent and enjoyable show, with SmackDown seemingly resting on their laurels.