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The last episode of RAW received low viewership due to the absence of the Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar and his challenger and 2019 Royal Rumble winner Seth Rollins.
While Lesnar is known to be frequently absent from WWE programming, Rollins is currently recovering from an injury. The show saw some major feuds being built up for Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania 35.
On SmackDown Live, the focus was much on the Elimination Chamber match as we saw 2 singles matches between the competitors of the Chamber match, while there was also a triple threat tag team match featuring the three female teams of SmackDown who will step inside the demonic structure to battle for the women's tag team championships.
So which show was better?
To determine the winner, I’ll be looking at the opening segment, the mid-card, the tag-team division, the women’s division, and the main event of both the shows. Then I’ll be able to conclude who wins when it comes to WWE Raw vs SmackDown Live.
#1 The opening segment
RAW: Stephanie McMahon returned to Monday Night RAW to kick off proceedings, and she invited the 2019 Women's Royal Rumble winner, Becky Lynch, to the ring. Becky took some shots at Stephanie when the Billion Dollar Princess pointed out her knee injury and asked her to get medically cleared.
The Irish Lass Kicker then attacked Stephanie, just to be suspended by her. Ronda Rousey confronted her backstage and told her that it was wrong to attack Stephanie McMahon (as if Rousey didn't attack her multiple times herself).
SmackDown Live: Charlotte Flair opened SmackDown Live showing how Becky's behavior led to her getting suspended on RAW. Lynch tried to interfere, but the referees stopped her. Triple H came out next, and after he sent Charlotte backstage, he ordered Lynch to go to the doctors and get medically cleared.
The Man, however, did not listen to him and went on to have a heated conversation with the Game. To end the segment, Becky slapped Triple H and went out of the ring smiling.
Which was better: Both segments focussed on the WrestleMania match between Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch. But Becky Lynch's ruthless behavior on the blue brand helps SmackDown take the victory here.
Winner: SmackDown Live
#2 The mid-card
RAW: The red brand's mid-card had a match between Finn Balor and Lio Rush which officially kicked off the Intercontinental Championship feud between Finn Balor and Bobby Lashley.
Also, Elias battled with Jeff Jarrett in a segment which saw Road Dogg and Jeff, two Hall of Famers beat Elias brutally. EC III made his debut and upset Dean Ambrose to kick off his career on RAW.
SmackDown Live: Shockingly, the new United States Champion, R-Truth, did not feature on the show. Andrade and Zelina Vega hyped their feud with Rey Mysterio in a vignette, but none of the mid-card rivalries got progression on SmackDown Live.
Which was better: Undoubtedly, this one goes to RAW. Two feuds got built up in addition to an exciting debut of an NXT graduate, while SmackDown's mid-card rivalries were given an off this week.
Winner: RAW
#3 The tag team division
RAW: The A show's top 4 tag teams battled in a 4 corners tag team match to crown new #1 contenders for the RAW tag team championships. Personally, I would have loved to see Heavy Machinery get a shot at the titles, but still the match saw the Revival emerge as the #1 contenders, and Dash and Dawson will be fighting Bobby Roode and Chad Gable for the titles soon.
SmackDown Live: SmackDown had a 4 corners tag team match last week but this week we saw the formation of a new tag team in the division as Shinsuke Nakamura joined forces with Rusev to take on the Good Brothers.
It seems like WWE are building a strong heel unit who can challenge Shane McMahon and the Miz in the future. However, there was no focus on the SmackDown tag team championship match scheduled for the Elimination Chamber PPV, which was a letdown.
Which was better: A tough one to pick, but after weeks and weeks of poor showing, this week it looked like WWE Creative has some plans for the RAW tag team division, and we may soon see the Revival winning the belts finally. So this one goes to RAW as well.
Winner: RAW
#4 The women's division
RAW: RAW Women's Champion, Ronda Rousey, participated in two singles matches after having a confrontation with Becky Lynch backstage. She made short work of Riott Squad members, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan to earn two victories in one night.
Also, there was a qualifier for the tag team championship match scheduled for the Elimination Chamber PPV which saw Sasha Banks and Bayley defeat Alicia Fox and Nikki Cross.
SmackDown Live: The SmackDown Women's Champion, Asuka, was absent from the show and only a vignette of her dominance aired on the show. In the tag team division, we got a triple threat tag team match between the three teams which will represent the B show inside the Elimination Chamber.
The team of Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville picked up a random win after a good tag team match. However, it would have been better if WWE had picked any other tag team and not Carmella and Naomi from the women's division as the sixth participants for the Elimination Chamber.
Which was better: The RAW Women's Champion battled in two matches on one night, while the SmackDown Women's Champion did not care to show up. Also, the tag team match of RAW told a better story than the one on SmackDown.
So, RAW takes one more point here.
Winner: RAW
#5 The main event
RAW: The Universal Champion of RAW, Brock Lesnar and his WrestleMania opponent Seth Rollins both were absent from the show. The show's main event was an average tag team match between the team of Braun Strowman and Kurt Angle & the team of Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin. It seems like we will be getting these matches as main events until Rollins recovers.
SmackDown Live: The one thing which got the most amount of focus in the entire show was the WWE Championship. After a long period, this championship finally feels important as the WWE Creative has done a commendable job so far in building the WWE Championship match announced for the Elimination Chamber PPV.
Randy Orton and Mustafa Ali, two of the six participants of the match battled in a singles match first which saw Orton's hand raised after a brilliant RKO out of nowhere. However, Samoa Joe then attacked both Ali and Orton after the match.
The main event of the night had a match between Daniel Bryan and Jeff Hardy. Though the match ended in a disqualification, the appearances of all the other 4 participants of the Chamber match and the exchange of moves which took place post the DQ finish won the hearts of the fans.
Which was better: The champion and the challenger were absent on one show, while the other show was all about the show's champion and the 5 challengers. So SmackDown grabs a point here.
Winner: SmackDown Live
It was a close contest this week with the scores being 3-2, but -
Winner and best show this week: RAW
