WWE Raw vs. SmackDown: Winner, Top Highlights and Botches for Week of Nov. 16

The battle for brand supremacy will play out on WWE Network Sunday night at Survivor Series, and this week, both Raw and SmackDown Live jockeyed for position ahead of the monumental pay-per-view extravaganza.

Raw featured the revelation of a new member for its five-man team, a clash of the titans between Braun Strowman and Kane and the determination of the fifth member of Team Raw's female ensemble.

SmackDown Live countered with two championship matchups and a massive show-ending brawl that hammered home the significance of Sunday's event.

Which show emerged victorious, though, providing fans with the better product?

Why Raw?

The red brand featured the in-ring return of The Shield Monday night, as Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose battled The Miz, Sheamus and Cesaro in a Six-Man Tag Team match. The contest, standard fare for WWE television, lent a sense of importance to a broadcast that oftentimes felt like it lacked urgency.

Braun Strowman's impressive powerslam to Kane, through the ring canvas, was an awe-inspiring visual. And the tag team match pitting Finn Balor and Samoa Joe against Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows was one of the better contests on the show.

It was the downfall of Jason Jordan, though, that stood out as one of the more intriguing elements of the broadcast.

Injured during a match with Bray Wyatt, Jordan was disappointed to find out that he was being replaced on Team Raw. His father, Kurt Angle, hesitated to make the announcement, leading to the return of Triple H. The Game revealed himself to be the fifth competitor, dropped Jordan with a Pedigree and walked off, hopefully igniting the fire that will lead to Jordan turning on his Olympic gold-medalist dad.

Why SmackDown Live?

Charlotte Flair capped off her monthslong journey back to championship gold Tuesday night in her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, defeating Natalya to win her sixth women's title. Adding to the incredible moment was the emergence of her father, the legendary "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, from the locker room to celebrate the win with her.

That moment lent a sense of significance to the show that would only grow later in the night when the Raw brand interrupted a main event between The New Day, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and attacked anyone associated with the blue brand.

Repaying SmackDown for the attack that left the Raw locker room a mess of bodies, The Shield and Co. brutally assaulted their rivals and left commissioner Shane McMahon lying in a heap following two triple powerbombs and an Angle Slam from Raw general manager Kurt Angle.

The display of viciousness and ruthless aggression added a level of intensity to a rivalry that will play out in epic fashion Sunday night at the annual fall classic known as Survivor Series.

Biggest Botch

The Shield's return to the ring may have been one of the reasons to watch Raw Monday night, but it was also a creative botch.

WWE had the opportunity to promote The Shield's first match back as a unit for Survivor Series, the same event the trio debuted at five years ago. Instead, it wasted the return match on a throwaway Raw bout unlikely to be remembered beyond Wednesday afternoon.

It was another instance of WWE throwing away a moment, and money, to pop a television rating.

Given The Shield will battle another immensely popular trio Sunday night in The New Day, WWE Creative missed an opportunity to promote the dream match, throwing away anticipation to see Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins do battle together for the first time in three years on pay-per-view.

Winner

Whereas Raw was a steady production that continued to build feuds that will exist beyond Survivor Series, SmackDown Live was an explosive show that featured title changes and that show-ending assault by Team Raw, which added gravitas to the main event of Sunday's Survivor Series.

As such, SmackDown was the clear winner this week, if only because it felt more important than the solid if unspectacular presentation by the flagship.

Raw will bounce back in the coming weeks, especially with the returns of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon to television. But for now, the blue brand reigns supreme.