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 - March 1, 2021 - Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL
WWE Friday Night SmackDown - March 5, 2021 – Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:
RAW vs. SMACKDOWN
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
Raw = Bobby Lashley defeated The Miz to win his first WWE Championship, winning in emphatic fashion as The Miz’s antics finally caught up with him. Watching Lashley destroy The Miz was an amazing visual, and whilst the match quality wasn’t anything special, it genuinely felt like a monumental changing of the guard.
It was thoroughly amazing to see Drew McIntyre and Sheamus beat the living daylights out of each other for over 20 minutes, proving just how strong they are. The finish was intense, perfectly capping off a fantastic match.
SmackDown = SmackDown featured some positive matches this week, although the match quality was not as high as it could have been. The Street Profits excelled in their matches, however Chad Gable and Dominik Mysterio didn’t do much with the time they had. Thankfully, Daniel Bryan vs Jey Uso was a fun Steel Cage match, featuring a finishing stretch that was different to the typical finish.
WINNER: Raw
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
Raw = The promo segment in which Randy Orton duelled with an evil version of himself was just plain silly. I love The Fiend and his antics, but this was simply lazy writing.
SmackDown = Daniel Bryan’s emotional promo to start the show was excellent, whilst Roman Reigns’ condescending remarks were the perfect addition to really get over how important it is for Bryan to headline WrestleMania 37.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
Raw = The premiere storyline this week revolved around The Miz dodging his WWE Championship match against Bobby Lashley. It was significantly refreshing to see such a narrative take place on Raw, whilst the pay off was more satisfying when Lashley finally secured his first WWE Championship.
SmackDown = Daniel Bryan’s inspiring quest to main event WrestleMania 37 was great to watch unfold, however, Apollo Crews and his development into a Nigerian Prince was fascinating to watch. I cannot wait to see how he interacts with Big E next week.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
Raw = Raw was an odd show, as it was rather dull outside of the shenanigans between The Miz and Bobby Lashley. The pacing was off, which hurt the overall enjoyment factor.
SmackDown = SmackDown was a decently paced show, making it a slightly better watch than Raw overall.
WINNER: SmackDown
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
Raw gains points for making Bobby Lashley’s WWE Championship win feel seismic.
Raw also gains points for the creative finish to Drew McIntyre vs Sheamus.
Raw loses points for Charlotte Flair simply declaring herself as Asuka’s next opponent. Looks like we have Super Flair again...
SmackDown gains points for Apollo Crews continuing to display more charisma than ever before.
SmackDown also gains points for finally having Carmella get rid of Reginald. Can we now get back to pushing her, please?
SmackDown loses points for having Natalya and Tamina claim they should be next in line for the Women’s Tag Team Championship. They are awful, and should be kept far away from the belts.
POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+2 / -1) / SmackDown (+2 / -1)
THIS WEEK'S WINNER = SmackDown
With a score of 4 to 2, SmackDown wins this week’s Battle of the Brands. Despite the momentous victory for Bobby Lashley in which he secured his first WWE Championship, SmackDown was the better show overall thanks to a more direct approach.
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!
Subscribe to Smark Out Moment on YouTube, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
0 comments: