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 7, 2022 - Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio
WWE Friday Night SmackDown - March 11, 2022 - Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:
RAW vs. SMACKDOWN
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
Raw = The WWE Raw Tag Team Championship match was fantastic, giving R-K-Bro a much deserved win. This was in stark contrast to the wrestlecrap that was Dana Brooke vs Tamina!
SmackDown = Let me just get this out of the way - Ridge Holland is quite frankly a dangerous embarrassment in the ring. Breaking Big E's neck, whilst completely devoid of any malice, has been a long time coming. I genuinely feel the shock of E's broken neck botch led to the disjointed matches that followed.
WINNER: Raw
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
Raw = Kevin Owens setting up his interaction with Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania was well curated, and I feel it was executed as well as could be expected.
SmackDown = Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman engaged in a solid promo, but oh my days is Ronda Rousey poor on the microphone!
WINNER: Raw
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
Raw = Edge vs AJ Styles and Kevin Owens vs Stone Cold Steve Austin were solidly advanced this week, with the majority of the show feeling strong as we continue on The Road to WrestleMania.
SmackDown = Ronda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair is dying a slow death on televison. Despite the strengths of Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar, SmackDown is just one poor show after another. Storyline development just does not seem vital on the blue brand.
WINNER: Raw
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
Raw = Raw was enjoyable, again. It was paced well, again. Enough said really.
SmackDown = The blue show was yet again a poor mix of matches and segments with no coherent or enjoyable pacing.
WINNER: Raw
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
Raw gains points for pulling the trigger on Kevin Owens vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, in spite of which form this may eventually take.
Raw also gains points for The Miz killing it as a heel in his hometown.
Raw loses points for the awful WWE 24/7 Championship shenanigans. Once more. I feel like a broken record.
SmackDown gains points for Ricochet retaining his newly won WWE Intercontinental Championship.
SmackDown loses points for ending the show with such a shit angle between Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair.
POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+2 / -1) / SmackDown (+1 / -1)
THIS WEEK'S WINNER = Raw
With a score of 5 to 0, Raw annihilates SmackDown to win this week's Battle of the Brands. SmackDown was a huge mess, whilst Raw was more than enjoyable.
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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