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 actually thought the crowd in Detroit was pretty good for SD Live. I don't know why I got a different vibe from them than most SmackDown crowds, but I definitely did.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 2: COMMENTARY

Renee Young came back to the squad on Monday Night and again proved to be exactly what they need there. Make it happen on a permanent basis already.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: MATCHES

I'll just hit the main matches for Raw since they had quite a bit of action this week. The Bella Twins are back and won and nobody cares at all. Why are they trying so hard to push them as legends? Alexa Bliss beat Natty by submission. Ziggler & McIntyre won the Raw Tag Team Championships after defeating The B-Team. Awesome stuff there. AOP won while debuting their new manager.. 205 Live GM Drake Maverick. And then Braun Strowman beat Finn Balor by pinfall.

Bryan defeated Almas, Rusev Day beat both SAnity and The Usos to move on and face The Bar. Naomi beat Peyton Royce, and The Miz lost to R-Truth in the main event.. I think the winner here is pretty clear.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 3: PROMOS

Whew.. What a rough week for promos. SmackDown had nothing to note here. Charlotte and Becky did this weird split screen promo on the jumbotron, and Joe talked about AJ's wife again. Oh and Daniel and Brie did some stuff, but I just cannot get behind the Bellas being back.

The Shield got arrested to start the night which we hadn't seen for a bit. I love McIntyre and Ziggler asking if they can get a title shot if The Revival can't go, beating them up backstage, then winning the belts. Love that. And HBK and Undertaker give me some major nostalgia. Obviously, Raw wins here.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 5: STORYLINES

Oh boy. Most of the feuds going on now are just rematches from the last PPV, but I get it. It' just that most of them aren't moving forward in anyway special. Samoa Joe is saying the exact same thing that he was before SummerSlam, The Miz and Daniel Bryan are doing the same thing with distractions, but now their women are involved. Becky is somehow still being pushed as a heel even though every crowd around the world refuses to accept that. Something I do love though is that Rusev Day is inching closer to a tag title match, and that would be incredible.

I am loving Ziggler and McIntyre as tag champs. I love it. I do not like Braun as a heel, but if he is being paired with a group I am glad it's those two. That one seems to be one of the only storylines that WWE is really working on. HHH and Taker are randomly fighting again, but hey we know it'll be a good match. And the Bellas are back on both shows, and I don't know a person that seems to care. Regardless, the stuff with The Shield and Ziggler, McIntyre, and Strowman gets Raw the win. I don't agree with Braun being heel, but at least this storyline is going somewhere.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 6: SCHEDULING / PACING

Even though their programming may have been a dud this week, SD Live still had the better pacing.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 7: VISUAL PRESENTATION

Braun is a pure heel now alongside the new Raw Tag Team Champions. HBK and Taker were back in the ring, and hinted at a possibility of one more match. It looks like Shawn could still go and be better than some of these guys today.

WINNER: Raw

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Nothing.

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


SmackDown was a dud to me this week. The promos were not great, and the matches were about the same outside of Rusev Day getting a big win. The only thing holding my WWE fandom together right now is that storyline on Raw with The Shield and Ziggler, McIntyre, and Strowman. Everything else is just.. Meh... Right now. Here is to hoping that changes. Raw wins 5-2.