WWE Raw vs. SmackDown: Analyzing Who Won the Week of August 8

Neither Raw nor SmackDown delivered a show as strong as last week's effort, but thankfully, one show was better than the other, leaving fans with a clear winner for the week of Aug. 8.

Raw was an interesting broadcast in that it revealed many of the brand's matches for the SummerSlam pay-per-view, but it was headlined by a match that had nothing to do with ongoing storylines and a face-to-face summit between general manager Mick Foley and SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan that went nowhere and accomplished nothing.

SmackDown countered with a show that was consistently solid but lacked the storyline advancement that the Aug. 2 broadcast touted.

With each show taking a step back, which one was able to surge ahead and take the lead in the battle of brands?

Match Quality

Raw continues to dominate SmackDown in this category, if only because the three-hour time limit allows the red brand to have longer and more competitive matches.

This week, it was Cesaro who ensured victory for Raw. A consummate professional who repeatedly proves himself as one of the industry's best wrestlers despite no push to speak of, he stole the show on Monday night with two extraordinary performances.

He wrote the latest chapter of his ongoing feud with Sheamus, beating the former WWE champion with a roll-up following another physically intense battle that tested the wills of the Superstars involved.

From there, he interrupted the confrontation between Foley and Bryan and found himself booked in the main event of the show—a United States Championship match against Rusev.

Under an hour after a grueling match with one of the elite wrestlers in the industry, Cesaro came within inches of defeating The Bulgarian Brute for the coveted title. Interference from Sheamus made sense within the context of the ongoing storyline and did little to hurt what was another superb wrestling match.

SmackDown's best match came in the main event, where Dolph Ziggler and WWE champion Dean Ambrose were forced to put their differences aside to battle The Wyatt Family's Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan.

If there is one thing WWE has managed to perfect, it is the formula of a quality tag team match. It involves spotlighting the styles and characters involved, something Tuesday's match did well. Ambrose, Ziggler and Wyatt are strong workers, but it was Rowan who shined, turning in a performance better than anyone expected from the big man.

It proved how far Rowan has come as a wrestler, and it sets him up to be one of the surprises of the brand extension if WWE Creative can follow up on his constantly improving power-based showings.

As strong as the tag bout was and as much as it did to add further heat to the SummerSlam championship bout between Ziggler and Ambrose, it could not touch what Cesaro, Sheamus and Rusev were able to accomplish 24 hours earlier.

Winner: Raw

Creative Direction

Tensions continued to mount on Tuesday, as WWE champion Ambrose followed up a tag team victory by dropping partner and No. 1 contender Ziggler with Dirty Deeds.

It was a shot that was heard around the WWE Universe, the first moment of true hostility between the two. For weeks, the issues between them could be defined by words, but the devastating DDT issued by Ambrose sent a message from The Lunatic Fringe to The Showoff that the time for talk is over.

Come Aug. 21, they will battle for the right to be recognized as the best on the blue brand and the champion of the world.

The series of "mishaps" leading to Eva Marie escaping punishment at the hands of Becky Lynch continued on Tuesday, as she endured an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction. That did not stop her from reappearing later, costing The Lass Kicker a match against Alexa Bliss.

Not only did that earn The Red Queen the hatred of the fans, but it also escalated her rivalry with Lynch and set up a scenario where that same audience will be eager to see the Irishwoman unleash frustration on the Total Divas star.

Raw did not have the creative direction or storyline advancement that SmackDown did.

Cesaro took center stage despite not having a SummerSlam match on the books.

Seth Rollins and Finn Balor's rivalry over the new WWE Universal Championship was reduced to a series of promos that may have introduced the cultural elements of Balor's Demon persona but did little to intensify what has been a fairly one-dimensional program to this point.

Sasha Banks defeated Dana Brooke to ensure that her match with Charlotte at SummerSlam will be a one-on-one match, and Enzo Amore and Big Cass cashed their tickets to a tag team showdown with Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho.

Yet all of those developments felt lazy. None inspired excitement, nor did they add the personal edge that Ziggler and Ambrose did, leading to a win for the Tuesday night brand.

Winner: SmackDown

Booking Decisions

Whereas SmackDown was heavily scrutinized for its treatment of women a week ago, Raw earns that same criticism this week.

With three hours to toy with, there is no defense for WWE Creative's use of Banks and Brooke on Monday night. Even if the intention was to establish The Boss' dominance over Charlotte's lackey, giving women's wrestling just two minutes of ring time on a show with 180 to spare is insulting.

The lack of heat for Rollins vs. Balor is another area of concern for Raw. The creation of the WWE Universal Championship should mean more than it currently does. There is no real hatred that exists between The Architect and The Demon, nor has WWE Creative done a particularly good job of getting fans to understand and care about the Balor character.

The writing staffs of both shows must remember that not everyone in the stands is familiar with the Superstars of NXT.

It takes effort to get their characters across to the masses while simultaneously giving those fans a reason to believe someone like Balor can beat a bona fide star such as Rollins.

Raw's inability to do that, not to mention its reluctance to elevate Owens, Cesaro or Sami Zayn past the midcard spots they have populated for months despite a lack of credible main event stars at the top of the card, has done more to create doubts about the brand's long-term forecast.

One thing the red brand did well, though, was craft a feud for Roman Reigns and Rusev that has fans cheering the former WWE champion for the first time in months.

Was the cake bit involving Lana cheesy and straight out of the 1980s? Absolutely, but there was nothing cheesy about the Spear Reigns delivered to Rusev to close out the show and establish himself as the greatest threat to the Bulgarian's United States title.

SmackDown, a much more focused show since its stumble out of the gate, only had one curious booking decision, and it involved the brand's tag team division.

It is no secret that American Alpha has been booked as the top duo of the tag team roster, but to have it appear so dominant at the expense of every other team does both it and SmackDown a great disservice.

After all, a champion is only as great as his competition, and when WWE Creative books The Ascension, The Hype Bros and The Vaudevillains to appear so weak in comparison to Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, it devalues just how great the former NXT tag champions are.

The writing staff must quickly rebuild Konnor and Viktor, Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley and Simon Gotch and Aiden English if SmackDown wishes to build a tag team division of any real credibility. As it stands now, it is merely American Alpha and a handful of enhancement teams.

Winner: SmackDown

Week 3 Winner

SmackDown wins this week.

Sure, the two-hour format lends itself to a much more enjoyable viewing experience, and the stories are more worthy of emotional investment, but the booking decisions have not created as much concern or as many questions as Raw's have.

The blue brand has an intriguing three-way battle for the WWE Championship unfolding at the top of the card, a grudge match boiling between John Cena and AJ Styles, a bona fide star in Randy Orton preparing for a SummerSlam showdown with Brock Lesnar and a women's feud between Becky Lynch and Eva Marie that is building heat rather than killing it in a series of matches that exist for the sake of having matches.

Raw needs to find its center. It must figure out whom it wants the show to revolve around, feature them appropriately and build from there.

Right now, the show comes across as a mangled mess, with attention jumping from one star to the next, meaningless tag matches filling its second hour and in-ring work that may be great but is hardly significant in the long run.

Also, finding a place for Cesaro at or near the top of the card may be beneficial for all involved, given how invested the audience was in a Superstar often criticized for his lack of personality.

It sure did not seem like fans had a problem getting behind him and the universal language of ass-kicking on Monday night.

Given the sheer amount of talent on the Raw roster, the red brand should be dominating these weekly competitions. As it stands now, though, SmackDown is one up thanks to the compelling stories it has been able to tell.

Scorecard

SmackDown 2, Raw 1