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 - March 29, 2021 - Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL
WWE Friday Night SmackDown - April 2, 2021 – Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:
RAW vs. SMACKDOWN
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
Raw = Drew McIntyre's two matches against Ricochet and Mustafa Ali were great exhibitions of the talents of all three men, even if they did come at the cost of the remaining credibility of Ricochet and Ali. Riddle vs Sheamus was a solid and entertaining match, but no other match on the show came across well, with Raw preferring to highlight storyline development over match quality.
SmackDown = SmackDown featured a better complement of matches this week in comparison to last week's show. The 8 Man Tag Team match was a fun prelude to next week's Fatal 4 Way SmackDown Tag Team Championship match, allowing all four teams an opportunity to shine. The highlight of the night, however, was the Street Fight between Daniel Bryan and Jey Uso, who once again put on a wonderful display. Their match was exciting and engaging, superbly adding to the hype for the most anticipated match at WrestleMania.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
Raw = Rhea Ripley once again succeeded with her promo skills against Asuka, more than holding her own in the contract signing for their Raw Women's Championship match at WrestleMania. Ripley continues to straddle the line between heel upstart and face prospect, but her promo skills are definitely starting to get her noticed as an all round performer.
SmackDown = Edge's show opening promo was absolutely gripping, as he cemented his transition to the darker side of The Rated R Superstar character. His cadence was perfect, with his words striking such an effective chord.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
Raw = King Corbin taking out Drew McIntyre at the climax of the show was highly disappointing, as it was not exciting at all. Corbin is not the calibre of wrestler that should be taking out McIntyre, and he has absolutely no right being associated with Bobby Lashley. Any goodwill created by McIntyre in his pursuit of Lashley and the WWE Championship was rendered null and void with this development.
SmackDown = The WWE Universal Championship match was the hottest angle on the show, allowing all three men to stake their claim as the most appropriate man to hold the title. Seth Rollins and Cesaro also progressed their feud, creating a sense of intrigue and anticipation for their upcoming WrestleMania match.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
Raw = Raw was not as tightly paced as it needed to be, often feeling like a mess at times.
SmackDown = SmackDown was paced fairly well this week, allowing matches, promos and storylines time to shine.
WINNER: SmackDown
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
Raw gains points for showcasing Drew McIntyre's pursuit of a challenger backstage, which was funnier than it should have been.
Raw loses points for featuring the killing blow to the last shred of credibility to Ricochet and Mustafa Ali's characters.
SmackDown gains points for the level of smarm exhibited by Paul Heyman, who continues to be a highlight of each and every episode of SmackDown.
SmackDown also gains points for creating intrigue over Carmella's involvement in the show. What is it that she is about to engage in?
SmackDown gains even more points for how effective and hilarious Sami Zayn's trailer was.
SmackDown loses points for the cliched development in the Women's Tag Team Championship scene, as all teams involved descended into choas to try and sell their WrestleMania match.
POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+1 / -1) / SmackDown (+3 / -1)
THIS WEEK'S WINNER = SmackDown
With a score of 6 to 0, SmackDown wins this week's Battle of the Brands. Raw was simply awful again, which allowed the better efforts on SmackDown to shine brightly.
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!
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