WWE Raw vs. SmackDown: Analyzing Who Won the Week of October 10

For Raw, the October 10 episode presented an opportunity to bring together the top stars of the brand for a show dedicated to building the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

For SmackDown, October 11's broadcast featured the fallout from an explosive No Mercy show that featured title changes, championship retention and the return of Luke Harper.

The week that was in WWE programming saw two brands on opposite paths, one heading into a major event and another celebrating a successful one. Each was seeking to accomplish something different than its competitor, but that did not stop the blue brand's authority figures Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan from making a shocking challenge to Raw for a huge set of Survivor Series matches.

While that battle has yet to be confirmed, this week's showdown was an intense one that left fans the biggest winners of all.

Which brand has bragging rights as October marches on?

Match Quality

Monday night's Raw may not have had the blow-away, in-ring content that it typically does, but it still featured a highly competitive main event between Seth Rollins and Chris Jericho that served as a nice cap to a show more focused on character and story building than normal.

The Architect and Y2J were not the only two Superstars to deliver solid in-ring performances. Roman Reigns teamed with Sasha Banks to battle Rusev and Charlotte in a Mixed Tag Team match that also doubled as a preview for two of the three Hell in a Cell matches that will occur October 30.

1. Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho	Raw
2. Roman Reigns and Sasha Banks vs. Rusev and Charlotte	Raw
3. Kofi Kingston vs. Cesaro	Raw
4. Dolph Ziggler vs. The Spirit Squad	SmackDown
5. Lince Dorado and Sin Cara vs. Tony Nese and Drew Gulak	Raw

Kofi Kingston vs. Cesaro featured some solid action but was slightly disjointed in spots, keeping it from truly achieving the quality the Superstars are capable of.

Over on SmackDown, the brand was recovering from a pay-per-view extravaganza that again blew away expectations, thanks to two championship clashes in particular. Tuesday night was more about resetting, about establishing the feuds that will carry the company into Survivor Series.

From an in-ring perspective, it was an unimpressive broadcast. Dolph Ziggler defeated The Spirit Squad in a Handicap match and Randy Orton teamed with Kane to battle Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper in a plodding tag team bout. Neither match could equal the quality of Raw's contributions, leaving the red brand to claim victory in this category.

Winner: Raw

Creative Direction

SmackDown saw the continuation of the Ziggler-Miz and Nikki Bella-Carmella feuds, reintroduced Dean Ambrose as the sole top contender to AJ Styles' championship and featured Wyatt going over Orton in controversial fashion for the second time in a row.

While nothing about any of that is wrong, it does create a holding pattern for the show. With so many weeks until Survivor Series, the show needs to maintain its ongoing stories while waiting to ignite its new ones.

Raw, on the other hand, was all about advancing stories as it prepares for its Hell in a Cell show on October 30.

Chris Jericho's friendship with Kevin Owens was tested as he was once again left by his partner to endure a beating, this time courtesy of a Rollins Pedigree. Jericho's mounting desire to hold championship gold should ultimately lead to a betrayal of his friend and, more importantly, Owens' addition to The List of Jericho.

Dana Brooke attacked Bayley, igniting a secondary women's rivalry, while tag team wrestling became a huge emphasis—not to mention Braun Strowman's decree for stiffer competition or stronger repercussions for the Raw brand.

While SmackDown almost always wins this one, Raw pulls the upset this week on the heels of a more focused program than normal.

Winner: Raw

Booking Decisions

The decision to bring back James Ellsworth for an angle involving AJ Styles, the man whom he was intended to team with a few weeks back, was a nice callback by WWE Creative. It was also a clever way to intensify the Styles-Ambrose storyline without relying on the same tired tropes that have dominated WWE television for the better part of the last decade.

The decision to bring back The Spirit Squad was an interesting one but it also made sense given the context of the Ziggler-Miz storyline. How long Creative can justify keeping them around before it becomes a lackluster novelty act is the question.

The parlor tricks from The Wyatt Family, featuring the vanishing act of Kane, was yet another attempt by Creative to keep the team relevant despite no chance that they will emerge from the feud with Orton victorious.

Over on Raw, the Jericho ordeal was enhanced by not taking the predictable step of adding him to the Hell in a Cell main event. By robbing him of the championship opportunity, Jericho will be suitably pissed, frustrated that his friend did not do enough to ensure his spot in the marquee match, thus leading to the eventual dissolution of that formidable tandem.

Nothing the booking team did Monday night had greater repercussions on the future of the brand than the opening segment.

By booking Sasha Banks and Charlotte in the opening promo segment, not just as enemies but as a united force against the chauvinistic Rusev and his somewhat submissive bride Lana, Creative took steps to ensure that women's wrestling is treated with the respect it deserves.

When both of those ladies were paired with Rusev and Roman Reigns in a gigantic Mixed Tag Team match, the importance of Banks and Charlotte to the grand scheme of things on Monday night became even more apparent. It was treated like a main event act, and as a result, fans treated it as such, leading to the biggest (and best) booking decision of the week and a clean sweep for the red brand.

Winner: Raw

Winner

The Raw brand dominated this week, with the momentum it has built for itself through in-ring action and competent storytelling leading it to a clean sweep over SmackDown, which was still a good show in its own right.

Whether or not the three-hour run time is conducive to the continuation of its dominance remains to be seen, but for the first time in what feels like ages, the brand followed up on one superb broadcast with a second.

Scorecard

SmackDown: 5, Raw: 5