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 - January 18, 2021 - Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL
WWE Friday Night SmackDown - January 22, 2021 – Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:
RAW vs. SMACKDOWN
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
Raw = Raw struggled to captivate me with the quality of it's matches this week, with most matches coming across as insipid or uninspiring. This was evident with Charlotte Flair vs Peyton Royce, which was more about the storyline between Flair and Lacey Evans, rather than the match itself.
One shining light was Ricochet vs AJ Styles, which was the match of the night. The finish of a Suplex off the ropes into a Styles Clash was mesmerising, coming off as a truly spectacular moment.
SmackDown = This week’s show featured a number of odd matches, including Sasha Banks taking on Reginald. This was a fun match, however it didn’t really serve to further develop the narrative between Banks and Carmella. Bayley took on Bianca Belair in an Obstacle Course Challenge, which turned out to be more entertaining than it had any right to be.
The scheduled main event of Paul Heyman vs Adam Pearce was replaced by Roman Reigns vs Pearce, which was essentially a giant beat down of Pearce before Kevin Owens turned up to destroy Reigns. Whilst match quality wasn’t high this week, it was most certainly different.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
Raw = The Dirt Sheet featured one of the worst segments in recent memory, with Gillberg and ‘Drew McIntyre’ coming out to square off. I cannot explain enough how torturous this segment was.
SmackDown = As ever, Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman killed it during their promos. Simply put, they are the highlight of the show.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
Raw = Raw tried to build some momentum for Drew McIntyre vs Goldberg, but failed spectacularly. The saving grace of the show was the debut of Alexa Bliss’ in ring alter ego, with Bliss finishing off Asuka with ease. Bliss remains the most compelling character on Raw, which says a lot about the dearth of real storylines on the show.
SmackDown = Roman Reigns’ issues with Adam Pearce ramped up once more, with Kevin Owens getting involved to further increase the hostilities between both men. This is the premier storyline on SmackDown, and as such, it feels the most fleshed out. Props also have to be given to Bayley and Bianca Belair for getting their feud over.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
Raw = Raw was a poor show overall, coming across as a show largely bereft of ideas. The pacing was poor, which made the show feel like a chore to watch.
SmackDown = SmackDown was a rather fun show this week, being easier to to digest than Raw. It wasn’t perfect, but at least the show felt fresh for featuring different themes.
WINNER: SmackDown
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
Raw gains points for the memorable finish to Ricochet vs AJ Styles.
Raw loses points for the absolute farce that was Gillberg and ‘Drew McIntyre’. Awful. Simply awful!
SmackDown gains points for using Otis to put over how strong Bianca Belair is.
SmackDown also gains points for making the Royal Rumble match seem important.
SmackDown loses points for yet again making Billie Kay look a fool. Surely her character is dead at this point?
POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+1 / -1) / SmackDown (+2 / -1)
THIS WEEK'S WINNER = SmackDown
With a score of 5 to 0, SmackDown wins this week’s Battle of the Brands. Raw was a terrible show this week, whilst SmackDown actually came across as a much more interesting show, taking more risks with the content of their matches and segments.
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!
Subscribe to Smark Out Moment on YouTube, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
0 comments: