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.
WWE Monday Night Raw - February 22, 2021 - Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL
WWE Friday Night SmackDown - February 26, 2021 – Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:
RAW vs. SMACKDOWN
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
Raw = Bobby Lashley vs Braun Strowman was a pure hoss battle, however, I was impressed with just how dominant Lashley was. John Morrison vs Riddle was another good match, with Riddle starting his United States Championship reign with a victory. Most of the remaining matches were poor, with The New Day vs RETRIBUTION coming across as a major disappointment, whilst Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler vs Asuka and Charlotte Flair was poor.
SmackDown = SmackDown featured some solid matches this week, with the main event match coming across well, despite the disappointing finish. Daniel Bryan and Jey Uso work well together, therefore it was great to see them expand on their rivalry. Apollo Crews enjoyed a strong victory over Shinsuke Nakamura, and Otis and Chad Gable reaffirmed their dalliance with the dark side by once again taking out Rey Mysterio. Honestly, the only disappointment was Tamina vs Liv Morgan, but overall, the match quality was good this week on SmackDown.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
Raw = Randy Orton's promo was fairly entertaining, that was until he ended up spewing up black ink. The entire point of the promo felt undermined, and although it made sense, it just came across as poor. Thankfully, Bobby Lashley opened the show against The Miz, producing arguably his best promo in WWE.
SmackDown = Apollo Crews gave a strong promo this week, highlighting his Nigerian royalty, and the heritage of his ancestors. As the promo went on, he slipped into a Nigerian accent to accentuate the change in his character. This was a solid promo, and one that makes his feud with Big E even more intriguing.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
Raw = Bobby Lashley rose to the occasion this week, defeating Braun Strowman with ease to ensure that his WWE Championship match against The Miz next week remained a one on one contest. Lashley continued to be presented as a cool tweener, but make no mistake, he has cemented his position in the main event picture for the forseeable future. Overall, storylines were chugging along on Raw, but Lashley vs The Miz was a glowing example of how good both men can be.
SmackDown = This week's show was rightly dominated by Roman Reigns, which is more than acceptable. He had Jey Uso take out Daniel Bryan, whilst advising Edge that he can reconsider choosing him as his main event match at WrestleMania 37. The Tribal Chief continues to be the jewel of SmackDown, but Edge and Daniel Bryan both played their roles well this week.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
Raw = Raw was a difficult show to fully enjoy, as the highs were extremely entertaining, but the show dragged in many places. Overall, it was an improvement over recent weeks, but not by much.
SmackDown = SmackDown was a solid show this week, featuring a good mix of storyline development and matches. The pacing of the show was better than recent weeks, with the show having a logical and enjoyable schedule to it.
WINNER: SmackDown
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
Raw gains double points for finally letting Bobby Lashley off his leash. He is a monster, but a very entertaining monster.
Raw loses points for trying to make Charlotte Flair's feud with Lacey Evans boil down to the legacy of the Flair name. Evans was inconspicuous in her absence, which hurt the overall storyline.
SmackDown gains points for creating a sense of intrigue about the status of the WrestleMania 37 main event. Are we looking at a Triple Threat match?
SmackDown also gains points for finally embracing a character that Apollo Crews can use to the best of his ability.
SmackDown loses points for continuing to push Tamina. She is just not good enough!
POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+2 / -1) / SmackDown (+2 / -1)
THIS WEEK'S WINNER = SmackDown
With a score of 5 to 1, SmackDown wins this week's Battle of the Brands. There was little to enjoy on Raw outside of Bobby Lashley, whilst SmackDown succeeded on many levels.
That's my pick for the better show of the week, but how do YOU stand?
Which was better, Raw or SmackDown?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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