WWE Raw vs. SmackDown: Winner, Top Highlights and Botches for Week of Feb. 23

Dominant heels, a controversial finish to the No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal, a heartbreaking title relinquishment and a new champion dominated the airwaves this week in WWE, but only one of the company's top-shelf shows could claim victory in the weekly battle for brand supremacy.

Raw presented a show that adequately hyped the upcoming Fastlane pay-per-view and effectively positioned Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman as the three top heels on its roster. It also built its undercard, maneuvering Superstars into feuds and matches that will benefit the overall quality of the March 5 extravaganza.

SmackDown Live was forced to deal with an untimely injury to one of its champions. The result was an unadvertised championship battle to go along with a previously announced Falls Count Anywhere match and 10-man Battle Royal to crown the No. 1 contender to Bray Wyatt's WWE Championship.

With two strong, productive shows under its belt and WrestleMania rapidly approaching, was Raw finally able to score that elusive win, or was the SmackDown side of things too strong for even the flagship to overcome?

Why Raw?

Big Show vs. Braun Strowman had no reason to be as good as it was.

Two heavyweight competitors doing battle in an age of smaller, faster, more athletically gifted Superstars, their match should have been a plodding bout that put the audience to sleep. Instead, it was an engaging war of attrition between two of the better big men in recent memory.

The teases of a ring collapse helped add to the drama of the bout, and Strowman's displays of strength wowed the WWE Universe. More importantly, his victory continued his evolution as a legitimate main event attraction. That he once again left Roman Reigns lying to further hype their upcoming Fastlane match only helped fans' perception of the former Wyatt Family member.

Strowman was hardly the only heel to be spotlighted Monday night.

Universal champion Kevin Owens discussed his upcoming match with Goldberg but refused to talk about Chris Jericho, almost as if the legendary Superstar was not worth his time or energy. He finally demonstrated the edginess that makes him such a compelling performer when allowed.

Samoa Joe crossed paths with the titleholder, brutally and viciously assaulting his opponent, Sami Zayn. The Samoan Submission Machine mercilessly assaulted The Underdog from the Underground, leaving Owens to pick the bones of his former best friend.

Stephanie McMahon's skills of manipulation did not work on Bayley, whose Raw Women's Championship victory over Charlotte Flair one week earlier was controversial. With her friend, Sasha Banks, backing her up, the champion told McMahon she would not be relinquishing her title.

It was the tense facial expressions and verbiage between The Boss and Raw's commissioner, though, that struck the audience. It was engaging and compelling and made a feud between the two strong, confident, powerful women appealing.

While there was nothing in the way of a superb in-ring outing by any of the usual suspects, Raw did a fantastic job of building rivalries and telling stories ahead of its Fastlane pay-per-view, and the result was another strong broadcast at a time when WWE's flagship show desperately needs them.

Why SmackDown?

Controversy reigned supreme as SmackDown Live went off the air Tuesday night.

The 10-man Battle Royal to determine the Superstar who will challenge Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 33 ended when Luke Harper and AJ Styles tumbled to the arena floor at the same time, creating doubt (at least in storyline) as to whom the rightful winner actually was.

It was the perfect outcome to a match that was entertaining, chaotic, unpredictable and featured the next chapter in several rivalries, including John Cena vs. The Miz, which looks to be a sure thing for The Showcase of the Immortals after The Hollywood A-Lister re-entered the squared circle after his own elimination and dumped Cena, costing him the opportunity to main-event another edition of the springtime spectacular.

Speaking of Cena and The Miz, their significant others interacted in a violent manner when Maryse attacked Nikki Bella during the former Divas champion's Falls Count Anywhere match with Natalya, using a steel pipe to brutalize her.

It was the first major interaction between the two as WWE plans for a major mixed tag team match that will see Bella and Cena take on Maryse and The Miz.

Those were not the only women highlighted on Tuesday's broadcast.

The women's division took center stage once again, though not for all of the right reasons. 

Naomi captured the SmackDown Women's Championship after years of hard work and dedication at Elimination Chamber. Unfortunately, a knee injury necessitated her relinquishment of the title Tuesday night and the crowning of a new titleholder in Alexa Bliss, who defeated Becky Lynch at the top of the show.

It was an emotionally draining one for Naomi and her fans but one that introduced Bliss' second reign with the title and ensured the blue brand would have its women's division represented at WrestleMania.

The continued devotion to its women's division, a rare double-elimination conclusion to the Battle Royal main event and the intricately produced, compelling storytelling that introduced some of the rivalries that will dominate SmackDown Live's Road to WrestleMania helped make the Feb. 21 episode another superb presentation.

Biggest Botch

When Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows captured the Raw Tag Team Championships from Sheamus and Cesaro at Royal Rumble, it felt as if WWE Creative had finally recognized the potential of the former New Japan Pro Wrestling and Bullet Club members.

As the weeks proceeding that show have told us, that is not the case.

Instead of being recognized as the baddest, most competent duo in the sport, they were sacrificed in the name of putting Roman Reigns over in dominant fashion.

Consecutive weeks have seen Anderson and Gallows programmed in 2-on-1 Handicap matches against Reigns, and in both instances, they were left fleeing the squared circle in fear, seeking protection as the former WWE champion stood tall.

It is this type of booking that causes fans to despise Reigns as intensely and as passionately as they do.

Booking him as this insurmountable babyface who goes over the tag team champions when Anderson and Gallows should cruise to victory is a surefire way to ensure that The Big Dog is booed out of every arena he enters because that sort of dominance in the face of logic is not at all relatable.

That sort of storytelling will only further doom Reigns and lead to increased backlash when he wins major matches and championships going forward.

Winner: SmackDown Live

Raw did a fantastic job of building the undercard portion of its upcoming Fastlane pay-per-view, giving fans a look at what they can expect beyond the main events and also strengthening the heel portion of its roster.

Braun Strowman looked phenomenal, Kevin Owens was reborn as the nasty, vile and cerebral villain he once was and Enzo Amore and Big Cass earned a shot at the tag team titles by knocking off Sheamus and Cesaro in an entertaining sprint of a match.

But SmackDown Live, without the pressure of a pay-per-view on the horizon, was a more focused show. It wrapped up ongoing storylines and introduced new ones that fans should pay close attention to as WrestleMania 33 approaches.

From immediately filling the SmackDown Women's Championship vacancy to introducing the mixed tag team rivalry that will dominate airwaves ahead of The Showcase of the Immortals, it systematically built the show before climaxing with the Luke Harper-AJ Styles controversy that capped off the 10-man No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal.

It was a more structured show that made sense from start to finish, and more importantly, it always felt like something important was happening. That is the trademark of a great show and one that will win these battles every time.