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 - August 2, 2021 - Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois
WWE Friday Night SmackDown - August 6, 2021 – Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:
RAW vs. SMACKDOWN
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
Raw = Match quality was disappointing this week, with no single contest really standing out. Nikki A.S.H. defeating Charlotte Flair was great, but Riddle vs Omos was disappointing for a match that was announced ahead of time.
SmackDown = Most featured matches this week on SmackDown were of decent quality, however, some of the matches felt disappointing in their execution. Apollo Crews vs Shinsuke Nakamura was more about the overall angle than the match itself, whilst Tamina vs Tegan Nox was just downright poor.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
Raw = Goldberg’s promo was awful. MVP and Bobby Lashley trying to generate some heat for the feud was awful. The entire storyline itself is awful, and I don’t want to see it.
SmackDown = Edge, Bianca Belair, and Finn Blair all produced strong promos that highlighted their position as top faces on the blue brand. Seth Rollins also contributed to a solid night of promos.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
Raw = Goldberg vs Bobby Lashley was the main storyline of the week, but it felt so bad that it makes their WWE Championship match feel like a waste of time. Nikki A.S.H. was able exact a level of revenge over Charlotte Flair, but this too did not feel exciting.
SmackDown = Roman Reigns and The Usos took out Finn Balor to close out the show, adding another layer to the WWE Universal Championship scene. This was also reinforced by the not so subtle inclusion of Big E, and the threat he poses as the current Money in the Bank holder.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
Raw = Raw was simply bloated and didn’t flow well this week.
SmackDown = SmackDown was a fairly strong show this week in terms of pacing, featuring a much more palatable scheduling.
WINNER: SmackDown
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
Raw gains points for at least trying to make Nikki A.S.H. feel important.
Raw loses points for Goldberg feeling like a huge distraction. I genuinely feel he offered very little to the show.
SmackDown gains points for giving Finn Balor some sort of purpose this week after being screwed out of his SummerSlam match.
SmackDown also gains points for teasing some issues between Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio. I’m intrigued to see where this goes.
SmackDown loses points for making Zelina Vega look absolutely ineffective. Remind me why they brought her back?
POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+1 / -1) / SmackDown (+2 / -1)
THIS WEEK'S WINNER = SmackDown
With a score of 5 to 0, SmackDown wins this week’s Battle of the Brands. Raw continues to be a turgid mess of a show, but SmackDown also has aspects of the show that are failing to entertain. Overall, WWE television is not great at the moment, but SmackDown does at least feature the interesting WWE Universal Championship feud.
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: