WWE Raw vs. SmackDown: Winner, Top Highlights and Botches for Week of March 2

With WWE Fastlane on the horizon, the pressure was on Raw to produce a show that inspired excitement about the March 5 pay-per-view. Opposing it was a SmackDown Live broadcast with nothing to build for until The Road to WrestleMania kicked into high gear.

Yet, there it was, delivering red-hot angles and plot twists that made its impending slate of matches incredibly appealing to the audience.

The blue brand made things incredibly difficult for Raw to score a win in this week's battle for brand supremacy, but not impossible.

With an appearance from Goldberg and the return of Seth Rollins, Raw had the firepower necessary to fight back, but did it?

Was Raw able to score a much-needed win and gain some momentum for itself ahead of this Sunday's brand-exclusive pay-per-view extravaganza?

Why Raw?

The final push for Sunday's Fastlane dominated this week's Raw.

Goldberg returned for a verbal confrontation with Universal champion Kevin Owens. Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman engaged the audience in an action-packed contract signing that more closely resembled a demolition derby than a formal business occasion. Bayley had her momentum slowed ahead of Fastlane, courtesy of the unstoppable Nia Jax.

And in the middle of it all? Raw's best segment, featuring the return of Seth Rollins, his conscientious realization that he may have made the wrong mistake in joining up with Triple H and subsequent confrontation with the COO.

Raw definitely built a show of moments, ensuring WWE's YouTube account had snippets of the show to throw up on the site and rack in millions of views.

The show featured little in the way of actual wrestling, but it did further feuds involving Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe, Jack Gallagher and Neville and the tag team titles.

Would questionable booking, including squash matches of no value and an overall lack of urgency on the part of the red brand hurt it, though, as it looked to earn a win in this weekly battle for brand supremacy?

Why SmackDown Live?

A shocking conclusion, a controversial ending to another No. 1 Contender's match and the not-so-subtle tease of a WrestleMania program for one of the brand's biggest stars.

This week's SmackDown did more with its two hours of airtime than most shows accomplish in weeks. It laid the groundwork for some of the biggest matches on the WrestleMania 33 card and ended the broadcast with an extraordinarily explosive segment in which Randy Orton revealed his true motivations and proceeded to burn The Wyatt Family Compound to the ground, leaving Bray Wyatt a sobbing mess.

John Cena and The Miz brought the fire during an in-ring promo segment that intensified their rivalry, and AJ Styles' confrontation with Shane McMahon in a match with Luke Harper has fans thinking the rumors from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestleZone) of a match between The Phenomenal One and Shane-O-Mac may not be that far off.

Throw in a Chairs match between Apollo Crews and Dolph Ziggler that ended their mini-feud and a Best 2-Out-of-3-Falls match between Mickie James and Becky Lynch and you have a show that maximized every one of its 120 minutes.

Biggest Botch

Luke Harper has been one of the biggest revelations of 2017 so far.

There was never any doubt that he was a skilled professional wrestling, nor that he was one of the sport's greatest big men. But recently, he demonstrated an ability to work a main event-style match with Randy Orton, earning him the attention of fans and critics alike.

When it was announced that a third person would be interjected into the WWE Championship picture alongside Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton, it appeared as though the intertwining stories of Harper, Orton and Wyatt would come together in a grand Triple Threat match at WrestleMania.

Not so much anymore.

Just in case fans did not understand the hesitancy with which management approached Harper, it was spelled out for them in grand fashion Tuesday night as Harper was pinned not once, but twice, by AJ Styles.

The Phenomenal One defeated Harper to seemingly cash a ticket to WrestleMania and create major questions about Harper's prospects going forward.

For a Superstar who has risen to the occasion more than once over the last three months, Harper has more than earned the opportunity. Unfortunately, Tuesday's booking suggests he will be the odd man out come April 2.

Winner: SmackDown Live

SmackDown's ability to compile interesting matches and stories creates a pure sense of enjoyment Raw simply cannot offer.

It is an old-school-style wrestling show with compelling stories and characters that fans want to invest in emotionally. It is a show that takes its time, ensures every episode is a worthwhile watch and includes at least one major occurrence every week.

It never feels like they take episodes off, which cannot always be said about Raw.

Inconsistency on the red brand likely cost it a win this week, too, as the Fastlane hype was not enough to overcome meaningless matches and segments, like Big Show squashing The Shining Stars, or Sheamus brogue kicking Titus O'Neil into oblivion in 19 seconds.

Those matches do nothing to help anyone, least of all the brand.

SmackDown wins this one quite handily this week, increasing its win-loss record to impressive numbers.

Scorecard

SmackDown: 18, Raw: 9