WWE Raw vs. SmackDown: Winner, Top Highlights and Botches for Week of April 27

WWE television had the opportunity to leave fans invested and engaged, with the Superstar Shake-up creating fresh rivalries and matches for their consumption. Instead, only one of the two prime-time presentations was able to inspire excitement. The other disappointed in its attempt to sell a pay-per-view event only six days away.

Raw featured the final hype for Sunday's Payback extravaganza and hyped a marquee Dumpster match between Braun Strowman and Kalisto.

SmackDown Live countered with a Women's Championship defense from Naomi and a No Disqualification match between Randy Orton and Erick Rowan.

It was not in the matches themselves that the brands found success but, rather, in their overall presentations.

While one did an effective job of shining the spotlight on the key figures who will dominate the airwaves in the coming months, the other focused on its midcard.

Which show was which? Did Raw or SmackDown emerge from this week's showdown victorious, and why?

Find out the answers to those questions and more with this recap of the week that was in World Wrestling Entertainment.

The Case for Raw

Monday's episode of Raw did an especially solid job of paying attention to its midcard.

Feuds pitting Seth Rollins against Samoa Joe, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows against Enzo Amore and Big Cass, Dean Ambrose against The Miz and Bayley against Alexa Bliss took center stage, while former United States champion Kalisto set out to rebuild his star with a tremendous upset victory over Braun Strowman.

The absence of universal champion Brock Lesnar has forced WWE Creative to build stories up and down the card, with the absence of Raw's premier championship removing the crutch on which the writing team oftentimes leans too heavily on.

It is a wise move. 

A brand is only as good as its foundation. Yes, it is essential to have a top star or two to mold the main event scene with, but without a supporting cast, the three hours of programming becomes an unbearable mess of bland, characterless Superstars.

Monday night, the writing staff was so motivated to build the midcard it even focused on telling the story of Apollo Crews, who has been recruited by Titus O'Neil to join the Titus Brand.

Efforts such as that will lead to a more enjoyable product in which everything feels important rather than lengthy broadcasts in which certain segments feel too much like filler rather than a valuable addition to the show.

The Case for SmackDown

Without the pressure of a pay-per-view to build to, SmackDown Live produced a show that continued its steady build of feuds that will be prominently featured on the May 21 Backlash card.

From United States champion Kevin Owens' assault on AJ Styles to the inception of Baron Corbin and Sami Zayn's midcard program, the show did an admirable job of presenting fans with a taste of what they can expect from the brand in the coming weeks.

Perhaps more importantly was the latest chapter in Jinder Mahal's sudden ascension to WWE Championship contention.

The new No. 1 contender not only confronted champion Randy Orton following The Viper's No Disqualification match victory over Erick Rowan, but he also capitalized on the presence of The Singh Brothers to leave The Viper lying in the center of the ring before stealing the title.

Given Mahal's somewhat inexplicable rise, it is imperative that WWE Creative continues to make him look strong with every passing week so that fans can buy into him as a legitimate threat to unseat Orton as the top dog on Tuesday nights.

Segments like this, in which the new faction is booked convincingly, will only serve to lend credibility to them in the all-important weeks ahead of Backlash.

The show concluded with Carmella, Natalya and Tamina presenting a united force against Charlotte Flair and SmackDown women's champion Naomi. The trio established itself as a force to be dealt with and was responsible for what appears to be a babyface turn for the five-time women's champion.

At a time when there are not nearly enough compelling, high-profile babyfaces on SmackDown, Charlotte will help solidify the roster while bringing increased attention to the women's division.

Biggest Botch

For as solid a job as Raw did building its midcard, it failed miserably to promote the Payback pay-per-view that will take over the WWE Network this Sunday.

The majority of the show was built around Chris Jericho, The Miz and Dean Ambrose, two of whom do not have a match on the card.

While the emphasis was put on Bayley and Alexa Bliss, The Hardy Boyz, Sheamus and Cesaro and Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns' absence hurt the show's ability to adequately hype the main event of Payback.

Yes, Braun Strowman was heavily hyped through a vicious beating of Kalisto, but fans were robbed of one more red-hot brawl between the big man and Reigns. WWE's production staff did a phenomenal job of promoting the match through video packages, but at some point, fans want to see new confrontations to convince them to order the show.

They did not receive that.

In fact, the entire tone of the show felt off.

Raw felt like a show biding its time rather than a show with a sense urgency. Ahead of the first brand-exclusive event post-Superstar Shake-up, that is not good enough to generate excitement or anticipation for Sunday's spectacular.

Winner

Credit: WWE.com

Raw's inability to capitalize on a major pay-per-view event just six days away hampered its ability to score the win in this week's battle for brand supremacy.

The brand sleepwalked its way through a three-hour presentation rather than inspire people to watch Sunday's presentation. Not a single match on the card was set up to generate excitement or make fans want to go out of their way to tune in.

That is a major indictment on WWE Creative and hints at the company's flippant attitude toward the event.

SmackDown did everything it needed to in order to steadily build its brand's top feuds and stars.

New rivalries surged on, Superstars such as AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Charlotte, Jinder Mahal and even Breezango took center stage as the blue brand continued to lay the foundation for its next year.

Raw stumbled something fierce while SmackDown soared.

As a result, the brand management looks at as the B show earned another dominant victory in this weekly competition.