WWE Smackdown or Raw: Which Is the A-Brand?

Since its debut, Raw has been the cornerstone of WWE programming.  The show takes place live each Monday night, and for over 15 years WWE fans have tuned in to see what their favorite stars will do next.

About 10 years ago the WWE introduced a sister program called Smackdown.  The name comes from one of The Rock's extremely popular catchphrases from his career in wrestling.

Smackdown has had its share of ups and downs, from moving between Friday, Thursday and Wednesday throughout the years, as well as jumping networks more than once.

Smackdown has found a home on Friday nights, albeit on a lesser network than USA, which is where Raw airs.  Recently, many people have begun to challenge the claim that Raw is WWE's A-Brand.

Smackdown has put on some amazing matches over the years, and has been the proving ground for many of today's top stars.

Raw has become known more as the variety show within WWE while Smackdown focuses more on staright up wrestling.

Raw has gained both acclaim and criticism for their outrageous storylines and over-the-top sketches involving guest hosts in recent months.  Some say it hurts the product of wrestling while other say it enhances the experience.

The main argument will come down to what show puts on better matches on a week-to-week basis, since this is, after all, about wrestling.  So lets compare this week's shows and see who comes out looking better.  Each match will have a rating out of 4 stars.

Raw

Eve vs Maryse: This match was a typical Divas title match, however Eve showed the fans that she is more than just a Diva search contestant by pulling off a moonsault and a great pinning combination.  **1/2

The Miz vs DH Smith: The Miz and DH worked a short, but decent match on Monday.  DH is really improving in the ring, and Miz is already AWESOME.  This match's stipulation made it more exciting but it was a good match nonetheless.  ***

Evan Bourne vs Carlito: This match seemed like it was placed as filler, but who cares.  These guys can put on a good show with their high flying styles.  I liked this match most from Monday's lineup ***1/2

Kofi vs Sheamus: This was a standard heel vs. face match in which Kofi got in some offense but Sheamus ended up beating him down as usual.  **

Baywatch Match: I wont even go into the details 1/2*

Batista vs Orton: This match pitted two former stable members against each other, and they had great chemistry in the ring as always.  Even though it ended in DQ it was a solid way to end the night.  ***

Smackdown

Drew Mcintyre vs Kane: Drew is bigger than he looks and he was standing toe-to-toe with Kane most of the match.  This kid has a lot of potential and if he can pull out a decent match with Kane then that says something.  **1/2

Dolph Ziggler vs R-Truth: This match put two of WWE's young talents together for what ended up being too short of a match. Given more time they could have done much better.  **1/2

Michelle Mccool vs Mickie James: This match was on par with TNA's women's wrestling, and it might be one of the better Divas matches this year.  Mickie looked good and Michelle looked even better in the ring ending the match with a nasty looking kick to the face.  ***

Mysterio/Harts vs SES: This match furthered the feud between Punk and Mysterio as well as solidified the Hart's face turn.  This was by far the best match of the week and gets a perfect rating from me.  ****

JTG vs Caylen Croft: This match was unexciting to say the least, but it was used to push the feud between JTG and Shad so I understand its use.  JTG looked better as a singles guy than a tag team guy in my opinion, but Croft is still too green to have an outstanding match.  **

Swagger vs Jericho vs Edge: This match was my toss-up for match of the week because whenever you have Jericho and Edge in the same ring, you know its going to be a great show.  These three fought in what seemed like a PPV match, with Swagger coming out the victor.  ****

So if comparing the wrestling from the two shows it is looking like Smackdown may have the better show this week.  I may end up doing this on a week-to-week basis so please leave feedback.

What show do you think was better this week?