Battle of the Brands - Raw Vs. SmackDown Live: May 30, 2017

Let battle commence.

When it comes to comparing WWE’s signature shows, we need to look at a few different categories. Sometimes it’s not so easy to argue that one show did a better job than the other. It comes down to numerous factors including match quality, promo segments, storyline development and the number of memorable moments. Here is the first instalment of the ‘Battle of the Brands’ article series where we take a look at which WWE episode stood out against its rival.

---

#1 Match Quality: Winner – Raw

Match of the week?

The match of the night for Raw was, of course, the triple threat between Bray Wyatt, Finn Balor, and eventual winner Samoa Joe. This match was far too low down on the card, but don’t let that take away from the thoroughly enjoyable, captivating action between three of the five competitors in Sunday’s main event. 

The dynamics of this match worked very well. It took a little while for the two heels to team up on the babyface, which is usually what happens almost straight away in these kinds of affairs. The fact that this was delayed really complemented the Bray and Joe characters well, as neither are supposed to be the cowardly heels that take shortcuts (at least in theory). Both wanted to show their dominance leading into Sunday, no matter who they had to beat down to do it. 

The match also allowed Finn some time to show what he could do against two larger opponents. Being the smallest guy in the fatal five-way match on Sunday means he will have to rely on moves he pulled from his arsenal here. There was one noticeable botch when Finn attempted a sling blade on Bray Wyatt, leading up to the finish, where he couldn’t execute it exactly right. Nevertheless, this was a very strong contender, not only for match of the night but of the week as well. 

The main event of the show, which saw former Shield members Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns go head to head, was a fairly strong runner-up as well. These two have had plenty of time together throughout their careers and know each other very well. The bout was probably just a little too evenly matched.

Considering Roman Reign’s victory over The Undertaker is still fresh in our memories, I would like to see Roman dominate more matches and make it feel like a bigger deal when somebody comes close to beating him. The right guy did win, however, and it set things up very nicely for Sunday.

There certainly weren’t any terrible matches on Raw, and the main featured bouts were all entertaining enough to make the match quality more than passable. SmackDown had a fairly decent outing as well, but there weren’t any standout matches that we’ll be taking away from last night. The main event between AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler was perhaps the match of the night overall, but it’s safe to say Raw put on the better in-ring action.