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 - October 31, 2022 - American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
WWE Friday Night SmackDown - November 4, 2022 - Enterprise Center of St. Louis, Missouri
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:
RAW vs. SMACKDOWN
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
Raw = Bianca Belair vs Nikki Cross was a solid, if unspectacular match to start the show. It was better than the Trick or Street Street Fight, which I was not a fan of as I hate the themed battles we get around the holidays. Thankfully, Seth Rollins vs Austin Theory was fantastic, fully highlighting how strong both men have been in 2022. Rollins is quite simply fantastic, whilst Theory is a dark horse I am low key looking forward to watching each and every week.
SmackDown = Shayna Baszler vs Natalya was downright awful, which is a shame as Baszler deserves much better than being hung out to dry by a clearly past it 'star'. Natalya offers nothing the ring, or outside of it to be quite frank. It gives me great excitement to allay the fears of a poor show by noting just how exciting GUNTHER vs Rey Mysterio was. It was clear as day that GUNTHER would retain his WWE Intercontinental Championship, but he and Mysterio made the journey a much more enjoyable one than I anticipated. Fantastic work all round!
WINNER: Dead Heat
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
Raw = JBL was a great character... in 2004. But this is 2022, and he is simply contributing to the worst promo segments on the red brand. Who knew Baron Corbin could be made even more boring?
SmackDown = MVP against Braun Strowman is something I can watch every week. MVP is superb on the microphone, but he is elevating and challenging Braun Strowman to improve to his high level.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
Raw = Crown Jewel was built to superbly this week, with strong storyline advancement and feud development. I do have to highlight how Johnny Gargano vs The Miz vs whoever the hell wants to join in is poor. Gargano has transformed from a real threat on Raw to a poor imitation of what he can bring to the red brand.
SmackDown = Storylines were advanced this week, but the amount of time afforded to them was not as wisely used as the red brand.
WINNER: Raw
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
Raw = Raw continued to make the three hour runtime feel much shorter than it is. The show's runtime is not perfect, but week after week it remains solid viewing.
SmackDown = Although the overall pacing was not bad, it was clear that the show was taped in advance, which hurts the overall quality of this week's offering.
WINNER: Raw
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
Raw gains points for Mustafa Ali continuing his ascent up the card. It is great to see WWE push him despite the obvious issues he has had with the company over the previous few years.
Raw also gains points for the organic manner in which Omos is getting over, largely thanks to his association with MVP.
Raw loses points for Damage CTRL losing the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. Yes, I may come across as a Damage CTRL fanboy, but to have the change in order to have another change at Crown Jewel reeks of short term-ism. And I do not like that approach.
SmackDown gains points for GUNTHER shining as WWE Intercontinental Champion.
SmackDown also gains points for another intriguing Bray Wyatt promo.
SmackDown loses points for the women's scene feeling pretty anaemic.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!
Seth Rollins vs Austin Theory - a fantastic match!
DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE WEEK!!!
Damage CTRL losing the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. It just seemed to be an unwarranted title change.
POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+2 / -1) / SmackDown (+2 / -1)
THIS WEEK'S WINNER = Raw
With a score of 3 to 2, Raw just about edges it to win this week's Battle of the Brands. Overall, it was a solid week for WWE, epitomised by the number of matches and segments I was genuinely excited for.
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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