WWE Raw Vs. Smackdown Live... Which Was Better? (3rd, 4th September, 2018)

On this week of WWE programming, Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live pulled out a number of absolutely bonkers surprises in their attempts to build towards the various huge shows they have coming up like Hell in a Cell, Super Show-Down and Evolution.

Raw saw a huge title change take place, a Superstar return after quitting and a dramatic main event ambush whereas SmackDown Live had an anticipated return, a huge tag-team bout and a surprising main event.

But which show was better? We'll be looking at the best match of the night for both shows, the opening segment, the mid-card, the tag-team division, the main event and any surprises or shocks that may have happened on either show. Then, at the end of it all, we'll be able to tell you who wins when it comes to WWE Raw vs SmackDown Live.

#1. The Opening Segment

Raw: The show opened with a good old-fashioned dust-up between the top babyface group The Shield and their adversaries Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. The Raw locker room emptied to split the two trios apart and eventually the Shield were arrested and taken away from the arena

SmackDown: SmackDown opened with Bryan and Brie Bella doing an in-ring promo about how they aren't gullible enough to fall for the Miz and Maryse's tricks. Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega come out to incite a match between Almas and Bryan

Who was better?: I've got to give this one to Monday Night Raw simply because it was a much more exciting way to start the show with a huge brawl and potential storyline repercussions.

Winner: Raw

#2. The Mid-Card

Raw: Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins was involved heavily throughout Monday Night Raw but not with his title, in fact, nothing Rollins was involved in was relevant to the IC belt. We did get Kevin Owens (and Jinder Mahal) assaulting Jinder Mahal which could be considered mid-card action, but other than that, not a lot!

SmackDown Live: Unfortunately SmackDown wasn't much different as United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura didn't feature at all. If you consider the current Bryan vs Miz (with Almas) feud as a mid-card feud then there's a lot of that, but I'm not sure it particularly counts.

Who was better?: Unfortunately when it comes to building exciting mid-card feuds centered around the two mid-card titles neither show did anything at all. So I'm going to have to call it a draw!

Winner: Draw

#3. The Tag-Team Division

Raw: Lots of tag-team action on this week's Raw. We got a new tag-team in Chad Gable and Bobby Roode defeating the Ascension on their debut, we saw Authors of Pain get Drake Maverick as their new manager and defeat local jobbers and last but not least we saw an actual Raw Tag Team Title match that saw Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre defeat the B Team to become new champs.

SmackDown Live: Over on SmackDown their 'Series of Matches' to determine the new number one contender for the SmackDown Live Tag Team Titles continued with a Triple Threat match between Rusev Day, The Usos and SAnitY. The show pulled a nice surprise by having Rusev Day pick up the win and now they'll face The BAR for #1 contendership

Who was better?: Both shows had some great tag-team action this week, but I'm afraid I have to give this to Raw. This week's Raw felt like a tag-team rebuild with so many interesting developments that outweighed SmackDown Live's one good match this time.

Winner: Raw

#4. The Women's Division

Raw: This show was a historic one for the women as it seemed to be the first time ever every active woman on the roster had some involvement. Alexa Bliss defeated Natalya with Mickie James, Alicia Fox and Ronda Rousey ringside, Ember Moon and Dana Brooke lost to Bayley and Sasha Banks and The Riott Squad took on Brie and Nikki Bella. Only Nia Jax was missing, but she's taking time off. Great stuff!

SmackDown Live: Smackdown was equally good with Naomi and Asuka teaming up against the IIconics, Lana accompanying Rusev Day, Brie Bella, Zelina Vega, Carmella and Maryse seem embroiled in a mixed-tag storyline involving Bryan, Almas, Miz and R-Truth and Becky and Charlotte had an excellent interview segment to promote their heated feud. Only Tamina, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose were missing.

Who was better?: I'm going to give this one to SmackDown Live purely on the strength of their Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair feud which is the best storyline WWE's women have had. However, both shows deserve kudos for using as many of their women as possible.

Winner: SmackDown Live

#5. The Main Events

Raw: Raw's main event saw Braun Strowman defeat Finn Balor then attack him further after the match with Ziggler and McIntyre, leading the Shield to dramatically return and save Balor, only to get ambushed by the entire heel Raw locker room and demolished to end the show.

Smackdown Live: The main event of SmackDown was, incredibly, R-Truth vs The Miz with Carmella in Truth's corner, Maryse in Miz's corner and, even more incredibly, Truth picking up the win following a distraction from Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella. SmackDown Live is nuts right now!

Who was better?: SmackDown Live would've had to have done a lot to beat Raw's rather epic dismantling of the Shield and on this occasion R-Truth in the main event certainly wasn't going to be enough!

Winner: Raw

#6. Shocks and Surprises

Raw: Monday Night Raw was full of bonkers surprises from Kevin Owens returning just one week after quitting, Ziggler and McIntyre becoming tag champs and The Shield getting ambushed by the locker room. However, the biggest and best surprise was The Undertaker appearing to confront Shawn Michaels as the pair did an amazing job to build towards 'Taker's match with Triple H.

SmackDown Live: The blue brand wasn't without its own shocks though with Asuka returning to help Naomi against the IIconics, R-Truth beating Miz in the main event and Rusev Day winning the Tag Team Triple Threat match.

Who was better?: Again, SmackDown Live would have had to have done something huge to beat a surprise appearance from the 'Phenom' himself on Monday Night Raw and they didn't get there this time!

Winner: Raw

#7. The Best Match

Raw: Raw's best match was probably the main event involving Balor and Strowman, although I wouldn't describe that, or any of the other Raw matches as particularly stand-out in terms of ring action.

SmackDown Live: On the other hand, SmackDown Live had the great tag-team Triple Threat match, and the superb opening match between Bryan and Almas that had some brutal looking and incredible spots, not to mention Brie Bella actually murdering Zelina Vega with a running knee.

Who was better? I could watch Daniel Bryan and Andrade "Cien" Almas wrestle all day every day. I'm hoping the two eventually get a long pay-per-view level match because they are absolutely superb together!

Winner: SmackDown Live

That brings the scores to 4-2 so our winner for this week is...

Winner and best show this week: Raw

Which show do you think was better this week, SmackDown Live or Monday Night Raw? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

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