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 30, 2021 - Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
WWE Friday Night SmackDown - September 3, 2021 – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:
RAW vs. SMACKDOWN
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
Raw = The match quality on the red show was much better this week, with Damian Priest defeating Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in an absolute banger of a contest. It was intriguing to see Charlotte Flair vs Nia Jax devolve into a shoot style mess, whilst R-K-Bro defeating Bobby Lashley and MVP in the main event was a solid way to end the show.
SmackDown = SmackDown featured some high quality matches this week, with the undisputed standout being the WWE Universal Championship match. Cesaro vs Seth Rollins was a great encounter, as was The Street Profits vs The Usos. Although both matches ended in a disqualification, they made sense from a storyline point of view and didn't detract from the enjoyment value. Overall, it was an entertaining night of wrestling.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
Raw = I actually enjoyed Damian Priest's show opening promo, especially as both Drew McIntyre and Sheamus added real fire to the segment. Priest seems more comfortable on the microphone with each passing week, which is great to see as he is clearly being groomed for great things in the company.
SmackDown = Becky Lynch tried hard to sound heelish, but her cadence just makes her promos feel annoying and irritating. I was impressed, however, that Bianca Belair conducted herself well in opposition to Lynch. The KO Show segment was surprisingly good, however.
WINNER: Raw
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
Raw = The main event scene on Raw was the focus of the show, as Drew McIntyre made his quest for the WWE United States Championship known. R-K-Bro managed to make a big deal out of defeating Bobby Lashley and MVP, which suggests that The All Mighty may be soon defending his WWE Championship against Randy Orton. Overall, I was satisfied with Raw's storyline development this week.
SmackDown = Roman Reigns' struggle to hide his irritation at Brock Lesnar contacting Paul Heyman to announce his return to SmackDown next week was compelling. Heyman played his role perfectly, whilst Big E's cameo was hilarious. The pre-match attack on Finn Balor by The Usos also made for a fantastic addition to the storyline.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
Raw = Raw was paced better this week, but unfortunately, it still dragged in areas.
SmackDown = SmackDown featured better pacing than Raw, feeling much more palatable.
WINNER: SmackDown
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
Raw gains points for Doudrop absolutely decimating Eva Marie. Here's hoping she can return to her Piper Niven moniker.
Raw also gains points for being host to a potentially fractious shoot between Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax. This match looked too stiff for comfort.
Raw loses points for not giving us John Morrison vs The Miz as planned.
SmackDown gains points for giving Bianca Belair a platform to sound fantastic against Becky Lynch.
SmackDown also gains points for the intrigue over Brock Lesnar contacting Paul Heyman.
SmackDown loses points for trying to relegate Toni Storm to being the object of Dolph Ziggler's attention. She deserves much better than that!
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. Both shows were entertaining, but it was SmackDown that was the more consistent and enjoyable show.
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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