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 - May 2, 2022 - Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina
WWE Friday Night SmackDown - May 6, 2022 - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York
BATTLE OF THE BRANDS:
RAW vs. SMACKDOWN
FACTOR 1: MATCHES
Raw = AJ Styles defeating Damian Priest was my highlight of the week, but Raw's matches overall this week were solid.
SmackDown = No single match impressed this week, with the Table match coming off as awkward, whilst Drew McIntyre vs Sami Zayn was just plain boring.
WINNER: Raw
FACTOR 2: PROMOS
Raw = The show opening promo delivered by Paul Heyman was fantastic! It felt more impactful with the attack from RK-Bro that came after it.
SmackDown = Each and every week, either Charlotte Flair or Ronda Rousey completely invalidate the rest of the promos by delivering their own mistake. This week, it was The Queen who dropped a turd.
WINNER: Raw
FACTOR 3: STORYLINES
Raw = The Bloodline vs RK-Bro and Drew McIntyre was understandably the prominent storyline, being presented as strongly as it truly needs to be.
SmackDown = Aside from Sheamus and Ridge Holland vs Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, the show mainly focused on The Bloodline vs RK-Bro and Drew McIntyre. However, Raw executed this much better.
WINNER: Raw
FACTOR 4: SCHEDULING / PACING
Raw = Despite a few pacing issues, Raw was more than enjoyable for the most part.
SmackDown = SmackDown was paced much better this week, but Charlotte Flair immediately put the show on the backfoot by robbing the start of the show of much needed momentum.
WINNER: Raw
EXTRA CREDIT BONUS ROUND!!!
Raw gains points for giving AJ Styles a victory that he so sorely needed.
Raw also gains points for presenting Judgement Day with such a cool visual tone.
Raw loses points for Mustafa Ali lacking real conviction in his statements.
SmackDown gains points for the sumptuous GUNTHER squash.
SmackDown also gains points for Roman Reigns continuing his... ahem... reign, as the top dog in the company.
SmackDown loses points for displaying once again how unsafe Ridge Holland is. Every single match he competes in fills me with dread.
POINT ADJUSTMENTS: Raw (+2 / -1) / SmackDown (+2 / -1)
THIS WEEK'S WINNER = Raw
With a score of 5 to 1, Raw easily wins this week's Battle of the Brands. Featuring a better compliment of matches and storylines, Raw simply triumphed.
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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