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

Raw was in Philadelphia this week, and if you're a wrestling fan you know that Philly is one of the biggest wrestling cities in the country. They didn't disappoint on Monday night. Good or bad, at least Philly is vocal.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

Man, Corey Graves really had a rough night on Monday. That commentary team really needs him to be on par on a weekly basis as I think his cohorts are rather weak. Mauro was doing Mauro things on SmackDown even though JBL seemed out of place for whatever reason. So I'll give the win to SmackDown.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

For starters, SmackDown had some awesome matches. The tag team battle royal wasn't bad except for who won, and that main event was awesome even though I would've liked to see Luke Harper get a cool opportunity.

Unfortunately for those matches, New Day had the week of their lives on Raw this week. They had two incredible title defense matches, and beat a total of four teams. That alone is good enough to have Raw get the win here. Those matches were tons of fun, and their match in the main event was simply incredible.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: PROMOS

Really, this week was rather weak on promos. Which was surprising with Raw being a go home show for a PPV. SmackDown had a decent MIZ TV segment with AJ Styles, and Raw had a Rollins Report along with a longer segment for Mick and Sami Zayn. The Rollins Report featured Kevin Owens and Y2J, and it was just as good as it sounds as those guys are just so much together if they're being best friends or not. The Mick Foley and Sami Zayn segment there was a lot of emotion as they finally got a Sami vs. Braun Strowman match finalized. I liked both shows, but I think Raw wins here too.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

Kevin Owens and Y2J storyline is still my top priority right now. I really think there is a plausible chance we see Y2J win the Royal Rumble and take on KO at WrestleMania. Their storyline is so hot that it could easily main event there. Then the Rollins and HHH story keeps progressing as he brings up HHH more and more now, and that will lead to an eventual WrestleMania match as well.

SmackDown also has some solid stories. I'm ready to see Ellsworth move on from the title picture and see what they do with him after the Rumble. With Dolph winning and becoming the new number one contender going up against AJ Styles, I can see that being a very good match. Also, we have The Undertaker looming on SmackDown as he is sure to come back some point soon to pick his Mania target. Right now, I'm more intrigued by Raw than I am SmackDown. If we got to see The Wyatts against American Alpha and not the awful Hype Bros then I may think differently. But nope, its the Hype Bros.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

When it comes to scheduling and pacing it really is hard to beat SmackDown. They get everything done that they need to without anything pointless in their two hour time slot. They do what they have to, and be done. Nothing needless, and I like that.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

Really, its getting hard to choose here. So I basically choose off which show has the better entrances for their superstars, and thats SmackDown.

WINNER: SmackDown

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Raw gets a half point for having New Day stand tall and beat the record, and a half point for the two awesome matches for the tag titles.

POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+1 / -0) / SmackDown (+0 / -0)


Raw had an absolutely awesome go home show. Seriously great. I was preparing myself for a long, boring three hours but they blew me away. Not that SmackDown was bad, but Raw was just really good. Maybe its because my expectations for it were so low, but they get the win here this week nonetheless with a 5-3 tally.