WWE Raw vs. SmackDown: Analyzing Who Won the Week of October 31

The march toward Survivor Series began this week, as both WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown were geared toward building teams for brand warfare on Nov. 20.

Superstars such as Chris Jericho, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose dominated headlines, but which brand was able to claim victory ahead of the intensely significant war of attrition at the annual fall spectacular?

Let's take a look.

Match Quality

SmackDown's sole contribution to the argument this week was a match between Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles, which was its typically strong self, but the quality was undone by the repetitive interference of James Ellsworth.

The remainder of the card was filled with quick squashes or promo segments.

Raw did not impress much in terms of in-ring content, either, but it did conclude with a solid Roman Reigns-Chris Jericho match that had fans popping for the false finishes and drama.

Solid action from Bayley and Nia Jax, the cruiserweights and the competitors inside the Battle Royal to determine the next addition to Team Raw helped catapult the red brand past its opposition and into the catbird seat.

Winner: Raw

Creative Direction

Raw left fans wanting more, teasing a reunion between Rollins and Reigns that generated tremendous reaction from the WWE Universe and left fans chanting "Shield." Their tense face-to-face staredown not only provided Raw with a moment that WWE's crack creative staff could throw into a video package somewhere down the road, but it also generated a spark that the show needed.

Goldberg's Spear to Paul Heyman drummed up excitement for his upcoming showdown with Brock Lesnar, and Sami Zayn and Braun Strowman's feud continued in the form of a Battle Royal brawl.

Charlotte looks poised to combat Bayley, while Nia Jax remains the wild card of the division. The result is a compelling television product.

SmackDown, though thoroughly enjoyable, did not feature the progression that some would hope for from the brand. The Randy Orton-Wyatt Family ordeal was not explained more than it was previously, and Styles and Ambrose appear deadlocked, their feud dragging until the culmination in December at TLC.

Even the women's rivalries felt tired, with the brand waiting to bring them to fitting conclusions in the weeks to come.

Stronger writing from Raw sets the brand up for a rare sweep.

Winner: Raw

Booking Decisions

The match between Enzo Amore and Luke Gallows, a Trick or Street Fight, was a colossally bad idea in terms of building the latter and tag team partner Karl Anderson into legitimate threats.

Rather than maintaining the badass aura that accompanied them from Japan, WWE Creative has stripped them of everything that made them viable threats to dethrone The New Day as champions.

Also questionable on Raw's part is the use of the cruiserweights. At some point, the writing staff must come up with characters that fans can sink their teeth into or risk all of the talented stars fading into the background as faceless wrestlers in the land of Superstars and icons.

SmackDown does not have quite the same problem.

With less time to play with, every angle and match that makes it onto the show must be thought out and relevant to ongoing rivalries. It cannot afford the mistakes that Raw makes, if only because it does not have the same amount of time to make up for it down the road.

Thus, Ambrose earning the No. 1 contender's spot via interference from new buddy James Ellsworth, Daniel Bryan specifically denying The Miz a spot on the Survivor Series team and Alexa Bliss scoring a win over Becky Lynch ahead of their title clash next week all make sense within the context of the stories being told.

Winner: SmackDown

Winner

Raw, coming off a strong Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, did more to maximize interest surrounding its brand and, as a result, scored the victory over a SmackDown brand in the midst of a creative lull.

Scorecard

Raw: 7, SmackDown: 6