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

On the heels of a Survivor Series pay-per-view in which Raw proved brand supremacy, would the flagship be able to follow up its impressive performance with a broadcast that trumped SmackDown Live?

With intrigue surrounding the actions of Triple H at the annual fall spectacular, all signs pointed to "yes," but the blue brand countered with a show built around Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and featured the debuts of three intriguing NXT stars.

Was it enough to overcome the flagship, though?

Why Raw?

Two high-profile future matches were teased for Triple H at the beginning of the broadcast as The Game was confronted by both Kurt Angle and Braun Strowman. The long-term foreshadowing created a buzz right out of the gate, while The Monster Among Men's match with Angle's son Jason Jordan was a nice bit of manipulation by the evil Authority.

Speaking of Strowman, his feud with Kane continued as The Big Red Monster retaliated for the previous week's powerslam through the ring, using a chair to target the windpipe of his rival.

Perhaps the most noteworthy occurrence Monday, though, was the return of Paige and debuts of Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. The trio attacked Bayley, Mickie James and Sasha Banks in the ring, then laid waste to Raw women's champion Alexa Bliss backstage.

Their arrival and union creates a potential unstoppable force that the top women in WWE will create stories both in and out of the title picture, something sorely missing from the company's women's revolution.

A solid broadcast that furthered existing rivalries and concluded with Roman Reigns completing WWE's grand slam by winning the Intercontinental Championship, it did an admirable job of building on the momentum of Survivor Series.

Why SmackDown?

The blue brand delivered a broadcast built around Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

After the duo interfered against Team SmackDown at Survivor Series, they were public enemies 1 and 1-A. Not only did the SmackDown Superstars want a piece of them, commissioner Shane McMahon wanted them fired. He would leave that decision up to Daniel Bryan, who ultimately decided against firing them.

The heels not only fended off termination, they picked up a controversial win over New Day, though not without controversy.

Elsewhere on the show, NXT stars Ruby Riot, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan debuted, attacking any and all female Superstars in their path, including women's champion Charlotte.

Like Paige, Deville and Rose on Raw, their arrival creates numerous storyline opportunities that did not exist with the same roster that has dominated airwaves for over a year.

Unlike Raw, SmackDown Live did not benefit from a wealth of star power. What they did, though, was feature fresh faces and established competitors in a manner that allowed for storyline advancement and the foundation to be laid for the upcoming Night of Champions.

Biggest Botch

Stop me if you have heard this before: The cruiserweight division is a massive disappointment.

Monday night, an Eight-Man Tag Team match pitted Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese, Drew Gulak and Noam Dar against Mustafa Ali, Cedric Alexander, Rich Swann and Akira Tozawa. With that much talent in one match, the contest should have been hotly anticipated and feature crowd reactions equal to any other match on the show.

Instead, it was met by apathy, the result of poor storytelling and a complete and utter lack of focus by WWE Creative.

It was a match that existed for the sake of existing—as if management had to ensure it hit its Cruiserweight quota.

Nothing was advanced or accomplished, and that, on a show with so many moving parts, is its biggest sin.

Winner

SmackDown's show may have been focused on setting up feuds for Night of Champions and creating further dissension between McMahon and Bryan, but Raw was a show where it felt like things happened.

The match in which Reigns defeated Miz to win the Intercontinental Championship was better than anything SmackDown offered, and the storyline developments that occurred Monday felt more urgent than what went down on Tuesday, even with that brand preparing for a pay-per-view.

Raw wins this week, carrying over their winning ways to their weekly USA Network broadcast.