About a year ago, the WWE Brand Extension gave SmackDown Live and Monday Night Raw their own respective rosters and authority figures. Each show had its own feel, with two very different nights of wrestling under the WWE banner. Since the shows are on their own, fans will naturally compare Raw and Smackdown to determine which show is better. Before WrestleMania 33, it seemed like SmackDown Live was doing everything right while Raw was more of the same. Now that the Superstar Shake-up gave each show a reset button, how do they compare against each other now? Let’s take a look.
Monday Night Raw
Year One
In the first year of the brand extension, Monday Night Raw was bogged down by focusing on two things: Stephanie McMahon and big moments. Mick Foley was the Raw General Manager, but since Stephanie McMahon was the Commissioner (his boss), she was able to demean him while insulting his decisions and the WWE Universe just because she could. The Authority had a huge presence on Raw since Daniel Bryan was screwed out of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and this was dragging it out for far too long.
Focusing on big moments instead of consistently developing storytelling put Raw at a disadvantage for most of the year. This was most notable in the Charlotte/Sasha Banks Raw Women’s Championship feud. Everything they did was about “making history,” like the Iron Man and Hell in a Cell matches. Raw’s best use of storytelling was in the relationship between Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho.
After the Superstar Shake-up
After WrestleMania 33, WWE entered their “new season” by way of the Superstar Shake-up. There were NXT Superstars brought up to the main roster, SmackDown and Raw traded Superstars, and Kurt Angle became the new Raw General Manager. This combination was a miracle for Monday Night Raw, which hasn’t seemed to have a bad episode since.
Kurt Angle being the new General Manager is a fresh change of pace for a three-hour program. Instead of being an antagonist in almost every storyline, Angle just shows up when he needs to make official decisions. Even though he is a babyface General Manager, he still listens to all of his Superstars and tries to come up with great television instead of punishing those he doesn’t like.
The entire formula of the show seemed to change, too. There have been stories that develop over weeks, like the Goldust/R-Truth rivalry or the Intercontinental Championship feud between The Miz and Dean Ambrose. There is more roster depth featured, with Heath Slater, Rhyno, Curtis Axel, and Bo Dallas all being regular features instead of losing occasionally for an upper-card Superstar. In their women’s division, the entire roster is used instead of just the two women feuding over the Raw Women’s Championship.
Verdict
Over the past couple months, Monday Night Raw has improved significantly. The great segments used to stand out, but now the bad segments are notable because of how rare they occur (“Bayley, This is Your Life,” for example). For the most part, stories make sense, characters are steadily developing, and there is a plethora of stars that are used to their strengths.
SmackDown Live
Year One
SmackDown Live benefitted greatly from the Superstar Shake-up. Calling itself the “Land of Opportunity,” the blue brand used its new roster to focus on Superstars that were not being featured as much as they should have been. Heath Slater and Rhyno won over the WWE Universe and became the first-ever SmackDown Tag Team Champions, while Alexa Bliss went from never appearing on an NXT TakeOver special to becoming the best female heel WWE has to offer.
Most of SmackDown Live’s praise over the last year aligns with the praise Monday Night Raw is receiving now. The authority figures (Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan) just do their jobs, character development and storytelling are top priorities, and the entire roster gets a chance to shine.
After the Superstar Shake-up
While the Superstar Shake-up transformed Raw into a good-to-phenomenal show, SmackDown Live pretty much stayed the same while changing its roster. This is not a bad thing, considering the fact that SmackDown Live was great, to begin with. The storytelling and character development is still there, but there are not a ton of huge moments outside of the Women’s Money in the Bank match and Jinder Mahal becoming WWE Champion.
Verdict
When it comes to quality, SmackDown Live is around where it was last year. The show is creating new stars in Naomi, Jinder Mahal, Breezango, and recently, Chad Gable. They have a huge number of main event level Superstars (AJ Styles, Randy Orton, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura), but they suffer from a lackluster-to-bad WWE Championship feud between Mahal and Orton. Once SmackDown has a thrilling world title feud, it will be back to where it was last year.
Final Verdict:
Both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live are great shows right now, but Raw has been more consistent at delivering great content over the past couple months. Almost every feud they have created has been entertaining, and with SummerSlam just around the corner, it seems like things are only going to get better. Winner (for now): Monday Night Raw
