Welcome back to Brand Warfare, SLTD Wrestling’s one stop shop for all things Red vs. Blue.
With the announcement that Raw and SmackDown Live will be going head-to-head in three pivotal matches at Survivor Series next month, the title of this column couldn’t be any more appropriate.
The battle lines have been drawn, and while the commissioners and general managers of the WWE’s primary brands get ready for competition, the war rages on right here as we continue the discovery into which brand – Raw or SmackDown Live – is truly superior on a week-to-week basis in the eyes of the fans.
Last week’s proceedings left Monday Night Raw in the dust once again with three out of three votes from Team SLTD and a whopping 72% of the SLTD Community leaning heavily towards SmackDown to give the blue brand it’s tenth overall victory against the red team since the brand extension got underway back in July.
With a 2-10 disadvantage, does Raw have a chance of getting back in the game, or will Brand Warfare remain SmackDown country for the unforeseeable future? Let’s check in with Team SLTD to discuss this week’s action.
Colin Hebert – @ColinHebert614 – The Curtain Jerker
“This was another lackluster week in WWE programming as they try to make us care about a Hell In A Cell PPV that looks weak on paper, and we are a few weeks away from a brand-co-op Survivor Series PPV. It looks like we will be looking at bad WWE programming for the next couple of weeks.
I actually loved the beginning and ending of RAW. The opening segment with Chris Jericho, a veteran of Hell In A Cell matches, about the dangers of the match, really talked up what should be a good bout between the WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins. I could’ve done without the “Sparkle Crotch” remark from Seth Rollins to Chris Jericho, but the segment was baby steps forward.
The last segment with the return of Goldberg after a 12-year absence was also a home run. He seemed very genuine in his promo. I was never a big Goldberg guy, but this Goldberg is someone I can get behind and if I allow myself to mark out, I would love for him to beat up on Brock Lesnar.
The interviews Lita had with WWE RAW Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and Charlotte for their history-making match inside Hell In A Cell were odd. This is the structure that is supposed to shorten careers and people are never the same after the match, but here they are almost downright giddy that they are going into it. Seeing how sloppy they have been lately against each other, I’m extremely worried about both of them going into it.
SmackDown Live had a main event of WWE World Champion and… James Ellsworth. The Ellsworth phenomenon is not over and it won’t be for a long time after this match. The match was OK, but James Ellsworth is the most over man in the company outside of Goldberg right now. It’s really amazing. And with him winning by DQ, does this mean that Ellsworth is still the #1 contender to AJ’s title?
They also did right by Alexa Bliss this week. I am admittedly a huge Alexa Bliss fan and having her lose to Naomi at No Mercy stuck in my crawl a little bit. But she came back strong in her victory over Naomi and she is on her way to her SmackDown Live Women’s Title match on November 8th in Glasgow, Scotland.
One thing that I absolutely hated is that it looks like they are going in the direction of giving The Spirit Squad a shot at Heath Slater and Rhyno’s SmackDown Tag Team titles. The Usos – even though they have been beaten twice – and American Alpha would make much better opponents. I have no idea where this could be headed and I do not want The Spirit Squad as my tag-team champions.”
Winner: SmackDown Live
Rachel Brimble – @Chica_SLTD – Wrestle Chica
“The battle of the brands continues to heat up and each of them are pulling everything out of the bag to win!
RAW for me was one of the best ones we’ve had, and although I still think they are seriously lacking in storylines, it is good seeing them working on these and starting to get some hype around the championships.
I’ve really enjoyed the Universal Championship build for Hell in a Cell, and think we are definitely going to see an interference from Jericho on the night. The U.S. Championship has gotten somewhat stale, and I don’t understand where they were going with the whole “Family Rusev” bit. I agreed with the crowd – it was quite boring!
I do think that has always been RAW’s problem though, they find it really hard to invest in multiple titles at a time.
Ending with Goldberg was a great go-home and the hype around this match is great, however I think two powerhouses together just doesn’t work and this match is going to be a huge letdown.
That said, seeing Goldberg in a WWE ring again was fantastic, slightly going off track but does anyone get reminded of a Zelda game when his entrance music hits? Just me?
SmackDown for me just flows a lot better, but could they really beat the return of Goldberg? The Orton-Wyatt rivalry is fantastic and I love that they have incorporated Kane and Harper into this as I think it works perfectly for them. After this week, I am definitely expecting some sort of casket match to be announced soon!
Ziggler, being the Intercontinental Champion, has huge shoes to fill as The Miz was fantastic as the champ, and at the moment, I’m not really feeling it even though I wanted him to win. This whole Spirit Squad thing is awful and they need to get back to how they were before that, as they were both doing some of their best work!
I am loving Nikki and Carmella at the minute. They are both showing how good they are and their promos have been so good! I’m excited to see where this goes and love that Nikki isn’t in the title picture right after her return.
The only thing letting them down is James Ellsworth, and I hope I’m not the only who thinks so. I don’t think he’s needed, and the whole thing would flow a lot better without him, as Ambrose and Styles work brilliantly together.
Now the question is; who’s won this week? Honestly I have to say for me it’s SmackDown yet again. Yes, Goldberg returning was amazing, however SmackDown has a better base with all of their superstars and rivalries and the interaction between everyone is just so much better that they win this week for me!”
Winner: SmackDown Live
Matt Rutherford West – @maruwe22 – What Would Matt Do?
“I had really high hopes for this weeks Raw; the return of Goldberg made me hope and pray for something to change on Raw… and it really didn’t. It had a good viewership but if you take out the returning Goldberg, how many do you honestly think would have watched the entire show?
Look at the show they had – an average segment with Charlotte and Sasha Banks, no real indication of what to do with Nia Jax after months of booking her strongly as she wasn’t even on the show. The segments and matches were either over too quickly or felt like they were recycled from Raw three months prior.
I’m pretty sure that this show was put together whilst the creative team were watching David Arquette winning the WCW Championship. Meanwhile, onto the blue side of WWE…
Worst. SmackDown. Ever. This year. Simple as that.
If I had the time I’d do a creative meme from The Simpsons a la Comic Book Guy. Hell, that would be more creative than the entirety of SmackDown was. SmackDown is the *wrestling* show of WWE, but where was it?
Where are the wrestlers of SmackDown? Where is the continued story development? The best moments of SmackDown came from the mouth of Carmella and the fact that WWE Shop have finally figured out that James Ellsworth can sell merchandise. David Otunga grinds my gears too, what exactly does he bring to the table?
I’ve tried to be as honest as I can with Raw and SmackDown this week and I really want to say that one was a clear winner, but there really isn’t anything between them. So my winner for Brand Warfare this week is…. NXT.”
Winner: Draw
It seems the blue brand may have edged it once again, but there is a hint of doubt there. The consistency of the SmackDown product might be all that stood between Raw and redemption in the eyes of Team SLTD this week, with one member opting out of the vote altogether, so if a monumental return like Goldberg’s isn’t enough to earn Raw a victory, it’s worth wondering if SmackDown is a lock to win each week from here on.
Do you agree with the conclusion that SmackDown was better this week? Or did the re-emergence of “The Myth” put the flagship show back in the driver’s seat, even if just for one week?
Let us know in the comments and leave your vote below to help us determine the winner of the thirteenth week under the brand extension. Follow @SLTDWrestling for more, and be sure to call back next week!
Which brand put on the better show this week? #BrandWarfare
— SLTD Wrestling (@SLTDWrestling) October 20, 2016
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
Recent Comments