by Another week, another series of Smackdown vs. Raw. After a terrible few weeks, WWE Stomping Grounds is this Sunday. Will Raw do another clean sweep, or will Smackdown take the lead once again?
1. Best Match
Raw: Braun Strowman vs. Cesaro vs. Ricochet vs. Bobby Lashley vs. The Miz-The Elimination match really helped this one. Braun eliminated Cesaro after a fun exchange, and shortly after Braun eliminated Lashley. Lashley and Cesaro helped Ricochet eliminate Braun, and Ricochet won after pinning Miz after a 630. Cesaro looked especially impressive.
Smackdown: Xavier Woods vs. Dolph Ziggler- These two are really fun to watch. It was good until Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn came out to attack The New Day. After everyone was ejected from ringside, it was a really good match. Xavier was very impressive, and Dolph looked unhinged when he won.
Winner: Raw: Both matches were great, but the Raw match meant more. I can’t wait to see Ricochet vs. Samoa Joe, which could be match of the night.
2. Best Non-Wrestling Segment
Raw: Join Us At Firefly Fun House: This felt like a finale to this mini series. Bray starts out gardening, saying that our minds our like gardens. If you nourish them, they grow. He said he wants everyone to come to the Fun House, where the world isn’t round and dinosaurs exist. Then it returns to Bray’s Fiend, and the rest of the cast saying “Join Us”. Priceless.
Smackdown: Drake Maverick 24-7: This was awesome. R-Truth tried to run away with his title, but Drake Maverick was disguised as Carmella, rolled up Truth for the win, and drove off with the referee’s car. This was short, but fun.
Winner: Raw: Bray’s Fun House continues to be a treat. I cannot wait until he debuts on television.
3. Main Event
Raw: Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan- This match ends immediately after Rowan gets involved. A random brawl happens between multiple teams and the match is restarted with everyone banned. Seth wins with The Stomp, but he is attacked by Baron Corbin. It was fun, but I am not into Corbin vs. Rollins.
Smackdown: Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (2 Out of 3 Falls): The stipulation was kind of pointless. For the second night in a row, they pin Sami immediately, so what is the point? Kevin made it funny. This was also a fun, but ultimately pointless match. Kevin’s trash talk is funny. Rollins wins with The Stomp on Owens.
Winner: Smackdown: Raw left a bad taste in my mouth at the end. Smackdown ended on a high note, although not by much.
4. Biggest Story Angle
Raw: Drew McIntyre Makes Things Personal: Drew was awesome on Raw this week. He brutally attacked his old friend Heath Slater, and verbally decimated Roman in the ring to the point where he went backstage and tore apart Shane McMahon’s party. This actually made me want to see a match for Sunday.
Smackdown: A Moment of Bliss- Well, this is what this feud needed. Bliss asks for her coffee, but Bayley brings it out. They verbally trade jabs at each other, a lot of which feel very real, they begin to brawl until Nikki breaks it up.
Winner: Smackdown: Drew was great, but this Moment of Bliss came desperately for a feud that many people thought was dead.
5. Overall flow of the show
Raw: A Ton of Fun Filler-This was a fun episode of Raw. However, a lot of it doesn’t seem to matter in the long run. This was a filler episode, but fun to watch.
Smackdown: A Mostly Average Show-Aside from the excellent Moment of Bliss Segment, this show was unimportant. You could miss this show and not miss anything on the pay-per-view.
Winner: Raw: Both shows lacked true substance, but in the end, Raw was more fun to watch.
Final Thoughts and Scores
Raw: 3 Points
Smackdown: 2 Points
Summary: Both shows were pretty even this week. While I am not particularly excited by Stomping Grounds, these shows made me care enough for it.
Raw: 2 Wins ;Smackdown: 2 wins
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