Since the brand split and the WWE Draft, the programming has become much better. The storylines are more cohesive, mid-carders are getting more time and it’s starting to feel like WWE finally has a clear direction it wants to go in with the ‘New Era’.
With the WWE’s two main shows now live and in direct competition with each other, it seems only fair to name a winner each week and that is what you can look forward to right here, on Sportskeeda!
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Last week’s Raw eclipsed Smackdown Live in terms of entertainment despite it being the longer show. In this slideshow I have highlighted the best of SmackDown and Raw, so let’s see who come out on top!
The Kevin Owens Show
The opening segment to Raw was fantastic this week. If we can look past the fact that Stephanie McMahon was talking into her touchpad, then what you’ll find is a segment that included the energy, ferocity, and explosiveness one used to expect on a weekly basis from the flagship show.
A far cry from the drawn out 20-minute promos we have been used to over the past few years, it had me on the edge of my seat. Mick Foley really contributed heavily to the emotion of the bit as we got a teaser that the authority figures are starting to lose their grip on the Raw roster.
Seth Rollins taking his frustrations out on Kevin Owens, followed by his suspension, then Mick immediately reinstating the former WWE World Champion, made for very exciting television!
When comparing this to SmackDown’s opening segment this week, there was only one winner.
Uso heel turn!
Let me be the first to say, I did not see that coming. Okay, that ship has probably sailed, but I am so happy that the Usos are getting a revamp. It’s exactly what they needed. I assumed they’d be like the tag team version of John Cena i.e. they were too over as faces to make the switch.
WWE impresses me sometimes with its creative decisions.
After losing in around half a minute to American Alpha, the Usos showed humility and went to shake the hands of the former NXT Champions. This was interrupted by a short sharp superkick by Jimmy..or Jey…one of them.
They proceeded to beat down the fan favourites, cementing their heel turn, and putting the health of the team for the final into question. It’ll be interesting to see what the consequences are from this beatdown at Backlash on Sunday.
Titus O’Neil on commentary
I truly rate Titus O’Neil as a competitor, performer and WWE Superstar. If he was to have to work on just one thing it would be his promo skills because even I can’t defend them. However, the big man seems to have no issue when he is on commentary and that is where he really shines.
When a part of the Prime Time Players, they both spent a bit of time on commentary and Titus really stood out. He’s funny, relevant and it’s easy to see the man has a career in commentary when he hangs up his boots.
I’m a fan of his feud with Darren Young and the brawl that happened when he left the table was entertaining and it will good to see Titus O Neil continue to develop. I’d like to see him as a permanent fixture in the mid-card, moving higher if he can.
3-0 Sheamus
I may be in the minority here but I think WWE really pulled it out of the bag creatively when they pitted the Swiss Superman against the Great White Sheamus in a Best of 7 series. It’s a great mid-card feud – the type the WWE has been missing for some time. The fact there is a championship at the end of it all makes it all the more important too.
Despite seeing this match up 4-5 times over the past couple of months, Sheamus and Cesaro are really showing off their diversity and their ability to tell a story by keeping the matches fresh. Not once have they felt stagnant to me.
This match was no exception as Sheamus really targeted the back, following from last week’s worked injury. Cesaro came out with it taped and Sheamus took advantage, securing a very unexpected 3-0 lead over Cesaro. It will certainly be interesting to see the outcome of match no.4 on Wednesday but this was a real highlight of Raw this week.
I’d take this over The Miz vs. Apollo Crews any day.
Bray Wyatt’s promo
I’m always entertained by Bray Wyatt and his mysterious character but this week’s promo really had me hooked. I was completely engrossed in the story Bray Wyatt was telling. I was a little worried when Eric Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman left the flock, but Bray Wyatt really doesn’t need followers.
If anything, Bray is a lot more effective when he has to fight his own battles and doesn’t devalue his push or his threat by having one of his disciples compete in a match on SmackDown Live, only to lose to make the crowd happy. He has upped his game since the brand split.
This was as engaging as you can be and shows the skill Bray Wyatt has when it comes to delivering content to an audience. This was a real highlight of SmackDown this week and if Bray Wyatt is to be a top guy of this brand, we can expect a lot more like this to follow.
At Backlash, predator becomes prey…
Who won?
It’s a tough one this week as both sows had amazing highlights as I’ve shown. However, it comes down to the negatives in the end. 2 squash matches, a forgettable promo by Sasha Banks, which reeked of a Mark Henry rip-off and the awful Old Day segment put Raw on the back foot this week.
I hope the WWE Network censor the Old Day skit when they upload that episode. That’s how bad it was. I thought it would never end.
SmackDown Live, on the other hand, were consistent and nothing really stood out as being particularly bad. The problem with Raw, is that the segments I highlighted in the slideshow were sandwiched between poor writing and mediocre matches. Smackdown Live had solid matches, great backstage segments and was the better show overall.
SmackDown Live pinches it this week.
Do you agree? Sound off in the comments below and let’s see who’s red and who’s blue!
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