Smark Out Moment

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.

BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:

RAW vs. SMACKDOWN

FACTOR 1: CROWD

I saw some fantastic signs in the crowd for Monday Night Raw, and I wish I had caught a picture of some of them. But I do remember laughing pretty hard about a couple of them. So, they get the win. Nothing beats good crowd signs.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

I don’t know if you have gotten to see the video of The New Day on commentary during SD Live, but you have to go out of your way to see it. They are the personification of entertainment.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

A rough week for matches to say the least. SD Live had a fun tag team match between The Bar and The Usos, but that is it really. Vega vs. Lana wasn’t fun for me at all, and Charlotte toppled Carmella. Shocking.

Raw wasn’t much better, but they get the win since they had a bit better lineup. Corbin vs. Balor, Seth vs. McIntyre, The Revival vs. The Eaters of Worlds. It could’ve been better, but it was way better than what SD Live offered.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

Ugh, tough week here too. We got the same ol’ same ol’ from Heyman and Reigns, Stephanie is Stephanie, and then we got the fun stuff. I love the B-Team. I think they’re so entertaining. And I liked the ending promo with Lesnar snapping on Heyman.

I loved the promos we saw on SD Live. I like Joe vs. Styles storyline, I loved seeing heel Orton and heel Nak working together, and Miz and DB are the highlight of pro wrestling right now.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

On Raw, we’re seeing a lot of the same old stuff. Especially with Roman and Brock. That is what is killing Monday Night Raw here. For the last, I don’t even know how many big PPV’s, we’ve heard the same promo’s and seen the same match at the top of the card with Brock and Roman. I like KO and Braun for the briefcase and their mind games so far. Ronda Rousey is going to be a total Rockstar in this business, and she is carrying the women’s division as of right now. I am liking the Seth vs. Ziggler/McIntyre stuff, but the constant matches and distractions thing is getting old. Also, the B-Team is THE team.

AJ vs. Joe is WWE for the WWE Championship at the second biggest PPV of the year. I love it, and I love where the story is going right now. I don’t think Charlotte was necessary for the Women’s Championship, but she certainly doesn’t hurt. The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Bar or The Usos will be fun, and I am loving heel Nak and heel Orton sort of working together to get Jeff Hardy out of the limelight. Daniel Bryan and The Miz are the stars of WWE right now, and I can’t wait for it.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

I think SmackDown did it again here. The only thing I wish was that Charlotte and Carmella led the show off with the tag match being the main event. But, I understand why they did it the way they did it.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

We have to go with Lesnar putting his hands on Heyman here.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Nothing.

POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+0 / -0) / SmackDown (+0 / -0)


SmackDown takes home the W this week with strong storylines helping out the most. The matches weren’t the best, but the most important part is the storylines heading to SummerSlam and I think they have the best of them right now. That helps them get a 4-3 win this week, and I think they’ll keep this streak up.