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: MATCHES

Raw = The match quality on offer on Raw was largely poor, with multiple matches struggling to interest fans. Drew McIntyre defeated Akira Tozawa in a match which had no sizzle, whilst Erick Rowan destroyed No Way Jose to no reaction.

Thankfully, The Kabuki Warriors vs Charlotte Flair was a quality match. Flair fought valiantly against the Women’s Tag Team Champions, but the overall strength and guile of The Kabuki Warriors proved too much to handle. This match was evidence of the increased focus on the women’s division, with the match highlighting the strength of the women’s division perfectly.

SmackDown = SmackDown’s match quality was consistently mediocre this week, with no match standing out as a real highlight. Lacey Evans enjoyed a squash match victory, which allowed her to regain a sense of importance as she prepares an assault on the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Alexa Bliss vs Mandy Rose was particularly poor, whilst Roman Reigns vs Dolph Ziggler was no better. With TLC taking place next week, it was disappointing to see most matches had no real consequences.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 2: PROMOS

Raw = Seth Rollins delivered a promo to open Raw, calling out Kevin Owens to explain he had nothing to do with The Authors of Pain taking Owens out last week. AOP came out and bailed, with Rollins leaving the ring as he still insisted he has no connection with AOP. This was interesting as it hinted at a larger storyline, but the execution of the larger storyline has thus far been flawed.

Buddy Murphy had a promo segment in which he claimed he is the man to take down Aleister Black. This came off well as Buddy Murphy has already proved he is capable in the ring, so it is nice to see him excel on the microphone.

SmackDown = The Miz stated his desire to establish what had really happened with Daniel Bryan following the attack last week at the hands of The Fiend. Bray Wyatt interrupted him however, warning The Miz about how he wanted to be played with. Wyatt followed this up with a creepy reference to The Miz’s wife and children, which highlighted how truly psychopathic Wyatt really is, even when he is not in character as The Fiend. This promo was well executed and was the highlight of the show.

Sasha Banks came out to run down Lacey Evans, which firmly established Evans as a face. Banks played her role as a slimy heel perfectly, whilst Evans was believable as a face. This promo segment was better than it should have been, with everyone involved looking strong.

WINNER: SmackDown

FACTOR 3: STORYLINES

Raw = The Rusev, Lana and Bobby Lashley storyline took an interesting turn this week, with Rusev taking out Lashley to a raucous pop from the fans in attendance. Not only was Rusev able to take out Lashley, but Lana and Lashley were arrested for assaulting the minders assigned to look after them. This was admittedly funny, but the overall storyline is still atrocious.

The Authors of Pain once again took out Kevin Owens, however this was not adequately expanded on. Seth Rollins’ potential involvement with AOP was again hinted at, but not followed up on. This means WWE want to slow roll the involvement, or have no idea if they should actually team up. This is negatively impacting on the quality of AOP’s storyline with Owens, which is a real shame for all involved.

SmackDown = Daniel Bryan was not present at SmackDown this week, with The Miz inheriting his feud with Bray Wyatt. The Miz is extremely talented in the ring and on the microphone, therefore the promo battles between himself and Bray Wyatt should make for compelling viewing, whilst also putting on serviceable matches.

Roman Reigns’ feud with King Corbin will continue, and it was announced they will compete at TLC in the titular match. Their feud doesn’t seem to fit the requirements for a TLC match, but it should be able to mask the issues within this feud, which in all fairness should have culminated by now.

WINNER: Raw

FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING

Raw = Raw was a lot harder to watch this week than usual. The matches were uninteresting, the feuds were lacklustre, and worst of all, the 3 hour run time dragged.

SmackDown = SmackDown was easier to watch than Raw, mainly due to the 2 hour run time. Neither show excelled this week, but SmackDown felt like less of a chore to get through.

WINNER: SmackDown

EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!

Raw gains points for once again elevating The Kabuki Warriors over Charlotte Flair. Flair will forever be the pinnacle of WWE's women's division, whilst The Kabuki Warriors need to maintain their current upward trajectory to re-establish themselves as a true force. By once again toppling Flair, albeit in a handicap match, they have been well and truly elevated to the upper echelon of female wrestlers on the Raw roster.

Raw loses points for featuring Lana on the microphone. She has an awful promo delivery, and her inane shrieks are receiving go away heat. Lana is quite simply a drag on the product.

Raw also loses points for not following up on The Authors of Pain dragging Kevin Owens backstage. They had an opportunity for destructive mayhem, but this was overlooked for no apparent reason. This was definitely a missed opportunity.

SmackDown gains points for making Lacey Evans feel like a believable face. It will be interesting to see what she can do in the role.

SmackDown also gains points for the way Bray Wyatt called Ramblin’ Rabbit a stupid little rabbit. This was a subtle way of showing just how much Wyatt is beginning to hate the puppet. Wrestling doesn’t always need to be serious, and this made me laugh.

SmackDown loses points for not adequately following up on last week’s attack on Daniel Bryan. WWE seems to have an issue with adequately resolving their storylines.

POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+1 / -2) / SmackDown (+2 / -1)


With a score of 3 to 1, SmackDown wins this week's Battle of the Brands. It was admittedly a poor week for WWE, however SmackDown was better than Raw, but only just. Both shows need to improve next week to build anticipation for TLC.