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 - October 4, 2021 - Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee
WWE Friday Night SmackDown - October 8, 2021 – SAP Center in San Jose, California
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:
RAW vs. SMACKDOWN
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
Raw = Aside from Charlotte Flair vs Bianca Belair, no match was afforded the time or respect to come across as anything other than mediocre.
SmackDown = Although none of the King of the Ring and Queen's Crown tournament matches were excellent, the attention afforded to the matches made the tournaments feel important. Finn Balor also benefited immeasurably by defeating Cesaro.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
Raw = Goldberg's promo just fell flat, making me incredibly apathetic to his feud with Bobby Lashley.
SmackDown = Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman engaged in a compelling promo to effectively advance their storyline with Brock Lesnar. Heyman easily remains the best talker in WWE.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
Raw = Shayna Baszler was once again presented as a clear and present danger to the women's division, but in Doudrop, she has found someone who will not put up with her shit.
SmackDown = Roman Reigns' suspicions of Paul Heyman continued, leading to an entertaining segment. The biggest storyline development this week, however, was the reveal that Naomi will face Sonya Deville next week. Finally, this storyline is being utilised correctly.
WINNER: SmackDown
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
Raw = Hampered by six Draft rounds, Raw felt longer than usual this week.
SmackDown = SmackDown absolutely flew by, feeling fresh and strongly paced.
WINNER: SmackDown
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
Raw gains points for positioning Shayna Baszler and Doudrop against each other.
Raw also gains points for ending the show with Sasha Banks on top, which was a much needed outcome.
Raw loses points for feeling disjointed in it's booking this week.
SmackDown gains points for throwing up some surprise results in the Queen's Crown tournament.
SmackDown also gains points for continuing to tease dissention between Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio. I am officially intrigued.
SmackDown loses points for not giving Carmella a pink mask to go with her outfit.
POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+2 / -1) / SmackDown (+2 / -1)
THIS WEEK'S WINNER = SmackDown
With a score of 5 to 1, SmackDown wins this week's Battle of the Brands. Quite simply, it was the fresher and more engaging show of the two.
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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