Who won Raw vs Smackdown August 1st & 2nd 2016 The second w
Aug 3, 2016 20:06:35 GMT -5
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Post by wrestlingshorts on Aug 3, 2016 20:06:35 GMT -5
Who won Raw vs Smackdown August 1st & 2nd 2016
The second week of the new era. The second round of the new era. Last week Raw started the new era off with a bang and probably the best Raw in recent history, whilst Smackdown had an awkward first show which highlighted all the weaknesses of their limited roster. This week the gap in quality between the two shows wasn’t as big as predicted. So what does that mean for the scores? Who won this week’s battle of the brands?
66.media.tumblr.com/24de5f2f4fde42e54b7a184aca4dcf25/tumblr_oba8tlw3nV1sbzhteo1_400.gif
For new readers of this weekly blog, let me explain what this is all about. Now that the brand split is a fact and Stephanie and Shane are competing, this blog keeps the score. Last week I picked Raw as the winning show (and gave it 1 point) and the majority of you guys agreed with me (which meant 1 more point for Raw). This week Raw even bragged with an extended recap of last week’s show. Anyway, so far the scores right now are Raw 2 point and Smackdown 0 points. So what about this week? Which show is the Sasha Banks and which the Eva Marie of the two?
Let’s start with Raw’s opening segment which focused on Sasha and Charlotte, but was quickly interrupted by Jericho, Enzo Amore and Mick Foley. Sasha’s celebration speech was basically interrupted four time. Although I really love Chris Jericho’s segments at the moment, this wasn’t the best way to start Raw. Also, as soon as Foley came out you knew we he was going to make a tag team match. These segments ending in tag team matchups have been so cliche, they really hurt the show. And Mick acting like he’s to do or say something unprecedented doesn’t help either. “Tonight we’re going to have the first ever mixed tag team match…” (I’m sure I’ve seen mixed matches before) “...of the new era!” (Oh…).
66.media.tumblr.com/c100cf1af5823d0c2d130a45175b642f/tumblr_oba8zxjCoN1sbzhteo1_400.gif
Speaking of Mick, it feels odd having him on Raw. He’s basically doing everything Shane promised to do on Smackdown. He’s creating opportunities for underdogs, having reasonable conversations with hot headed superstars and trying to please the audience. If Stephanie approves all of this why wouldn’t she just run the show together with Shane. Mick a bearded Shane. Shane-O-Mick, if you will.
Raw had two highlights for me. The first of them being Seth Rollins doing what he does best. Seth looked strong next to Finn Balor even though he was trying to get Finn over. There was no way for Finn to match last week’s Raw, but he felt a little overhyped to me. Even though I’m fine with whichever way the title goes at Summerslam, Finn just didn’t came off as “universal” champion this week. A side note, has anyone noticed Seth incorporating Triple H’s water spitting antics in his entrance act? The pedigree wasn’t enough of a nod to the H, I guess. Also, am I the only one who thinks that whenever Rollins raises his arms he looks like a kid asking his mom to take off his pj’s?
drive.google.com/open?id=0B0qjFTYTYK8ONlQwUFdsNGhvNTQ
The other thing that stood out on Raw was, of course, the return of Brock Lesnar only to be greeted with an RKO outta nowhere. We’re only in the second week of the brand splits and we already have superstart infiltrating each other's’ shows. Couldn’t they have waited just a bit longer? It feels too soon. The two shows before Summerslam could’ve been a better moment for an infiltration, and would hyped the match better. For now, the story is missing. Why did Randy even go through all that trouble to technically blindsight Lesnar? And isn’t that supposed to be a heel move?
67.media.tumblr.com/d6f07397aa1e437bc682711e8fae6f23/tumblr_obadjsPxXt1sbzhteo1_500.gif
Overall Raw wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t as good as last week’s. Smackdown however was a step up from last week. For starters, the camera angles weren’t as distracting as last week and the pacing was far better. I do feel bad for Dean Ambrose. He is truly the undisputed champion. But, he’s stuck on a show with barely any other credible superstars. This also undermines the importance of the belt. The brand champion should defend his title against the likes of Brock Lesnar.
On Smackdown Brock returned the favor to Randy Orton. 30, 40, 50 security guards weren’t enough to keeping the beast from getting to Orton. These men should all be fired. At one point Brock was standing behind a barricade with four security guards standing on the other side. He still managed to get into the ring without being touched whatsoever. Also, none of the security guards enter the ring when their client (Orton) was being manhandled. Anyway, I was happy to see Brock, and I really wasn’t expecting him to be there, with the limited appearances he has on his contract.
66.media.tumblr.com/9b7d91d76c2bc0acbd1c6c3f29cbe636/tumblr_obcd8g7maX1sbzhteo1_400.gif
The opening segment of Smackdown has me wondering why Dean was so belittling of Dolph Ziggler. Later on, he praised Ziggler on commentary during the main event which I really enjoyed. Finally, a Dolph Ziggler match without Baron Corbin. I liked how Bray Wyatt lost, hitting his head on the steel of the turnbuckle. I’d love to see a big push for Bray and I’m sure that’s coming. The stipulations for the main event were great for both fighters. Ziggler got the chance to prove everyone wrong and Bray Waytt got to be in the title picture.
67.media.tumblr.com/4c5a395cca5108a187f78941fc9e7e8e/tumblr_obcf6eHK7W1sbzhteo1_400.gif
Here are a couple of random thoughts about this week’s shows. I’m not liking they Kevin Owens is headed. He’s better than tag teaming with Y2J (although they’re great on the mic together) and really deserves to have a big match at Summerslam. I’m also not liking Roman Reigns in the US title picture. Sure it’s a demotion, but Rusev has to be made looking strong. So get Roman out of there, except if he’s going to lose. Then leave him in, please, please? Braun Strowman was also at it again, being fed new meat. His segments remind me of Goro in the Mortal Kombat movie.
67.media.tumblr.com/5b499a475dbce163a1711697e21afc08/tumblr_nuord0yP9r1qb5qxmo1_500.gif
With the new graphic design Smackdown has made changes to how the superstars are introduced during their entrances. Now we see the name, a picture (just in case the name doesn’t match the person on screen, I guess) and some additional information and facts about the superstar, such as their length, hometown. It feels to me that they’re already out of ideas, facts and stats to present. AJ styles’ read “debuted at the Royal Rumble”. Do we really need to know about these things? “Dolph Ziggler is fluent in American sign language”... Thumbs up!
coedbc.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/blizzard-pagespeed-ce-jx_ewwk5xe.gif
To wrap this up, I’m picking Raw as the winner of this week, but I have to mention that it was really a close call. The way this is going Smackdown is going to win sooner rather than later. Smackdown just needs a couple of surprise returns or call-ups from NXT to broaden their roster.
Alright, guys. Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed. Don’t forget to let me know which show you believe was the winner this week. I’ll be back next week with a new “Who Won?” Raw vs Smackdown review. In the meantime, check me out on twitter wrestlingshorts and on youtube Wrestling Shorts.
Kind regards,
Ash
wrestlingshorts.tumblr.com
The second week of the new era. The second round of the new era. Last week Raw started the new era off with a bang and probably the best Raw in recent history, whilst Smackdown had an awkward first show which highlighted all the weaknesses of their limited roster. This week the gap in quality between the two shows wasn’t as big as predicted. So what does that mean for the scores? Who won this week’s battle of the brands?
66.media.tumblr.com/24de5f2f4fde42e54b7a184aca4dcf25/tumblr_oba8tlw3nV1sbzhteo1_400.gif
For new readers of this weekly blog, let me explain what this is all about. Now that the brand split is a fact and Stephanie and Shane are competing, this blog keeps the score. Last week I picked Raw as the winning show (and gave it 1 point) and the majority of you guys agreed with me (which meant 1 more point for Raw). This week Raw even bragged with an extended recap of last week’s show. Anyway, so far the scores right now are Raw 2 point and Smackdown 0 points. So what about this week? Which show is the Sasha Banks and which the Eva Marie of the two?
Let’s start with Raw’s opening segment which focused on Sasha and Charlotte, but was quickly interrupted by Jericho, Enzo Amore and Mick Foley. Sasha’s celebration speech was basically interrupted four time. Although I really love Chris Jericho’s segments at the moment, this wasn’t the best way to start Raw. Also, as soon as Foley came out you knew we he was going to make a tag team match. These segments ending in tag team matchups have been so cliche, they really hurt the show. And Mick acting like he’s to do or say something unprecedented doesn’t help either. “Tonight we’re going to have the first ever mixed tag team match…” (I’m sure I’ve seen mixed matches before) “...of the new era!” (Oh…).
66.media.tumblr.com/c100cf1af5823d0c2d130a45175b642f/tumblr_oba8zxjCoN1sbzhteo1_400.gif
Speaking of Mick, it feels odd having him on Raw. He’s basically doing everything Shane promised to do on Smackdown. He’s creating opportunities for underdogs, having reasonable conversations with hot headed superstars and trying to please the audience. If Stephanie approves all of this why wouldn’t she just run the show together with Shane. Mick a bearded Shane. Shane-O-Mick, if you will.
Raw had two highlights for me. The first of them being Seth Rollins doing what he does best. Seth looked strong next to Finn Balor even though he was trying to get Finn over. There was no way for Finn to match last week’s Raw, but he felt a little overhyped to me. Even though I’m fine with whichever way the title goes at Summerslam, Finn just didn’t came off as “universal” champion this week. A side note, has anyone noticed Seth incorporating Triple H’s water spitting antics in his entrance act? The pedigree wasn’t enough of a nod to the H, I guess. Also, am I the only one who thinks that whenever Rollins raises his arms he looks like a kid asking his mom to take off his pj’s?
drive.google.com/open?id=0B0qjFTYTYK8ONlQwUFdsNGhvNTQ
The other thing that stood out on Raw was, of course, the return of Brock Lesnar only to be greeted with an RKO outta nowhere. We’re only in the second week of the brand splits and we already have superstart infiltrating each other's’ shows. Couldn’t they have waited just a bit longer? It feels too soon. The two shows before Summerslam could’ve been a better moment for an infiltration, and would hyped the match better. For now, the story is missing. Why did Randy even go through all that trouble to technically blindsight Lesnar? And isn’t that supposed to be a heel move?
67.media.tumblr.com/d6f07397aa1e437bc682711e8fae6f23/tumblr_obadjsPxXt1sbzhteo1_500.gif
Overall Raw wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t as good as last week’s. Smackdown however was a step up from last week. For starters, the camera angles weren’t as distracting as last week and the pacing was far better. I do feel bad for Dean Ambrose. He is truly the undisputed champion. But, he’s stuck on a show with barely any other credible superstars. This also undermines the importance of the belt. The brand champion should defend his title against the likes of Brock Lesnar.
On Smackdown Brock returned the favor to Randy Orton. 30, 40, 50 security guards weren’t enough to keeping the beast from getting to Orton. These men should all be fired. At one point Brock was standing behind a barricade with four security guards standing on the other side. He still managed to get into the ring without being touched whatsoever. Also, none of the security guards enter the ring when their client (Orton) was being manhandled. Anyway, I was happy to see Brock, and I really wasn’t expecting him to be there, with the limited appearances he has on his contract.
66.media.tumblr.com/9b7d91d76c2bc0acbd1c6c3f29cbe636/tumblr_obcd8g7maX1sbzhteo1_400.gif
The opening segment of Smackdown has me wondering why Dean was so belittling of Dolph Ziggler. Later on, he praised Ziggler on commentary during the main event which I really enjoyed. Finally, a Dolph Ziggler match without Baron Corbin. I liked how Bray Wyatt lost, hitting his head on the steel of the turnbuckle. I’d love to see a big push for Bray and I’m sure that’s coming. The stipulations for the main event were great for both fighters. Ziggler got the chance to prove everyone wrong and Bray Waytt got to be in the title picture.
67.media.tumblr.com/4c5a395cca5108a187f78941fc9e7e8e/tumblr_obcf6eHK7W1sbzhteo1_400.gif
Here are a couple of random thoughts about this week’s shows. I’m not liking they Kevin Owens is headed. He’s better than tag teaming with Y2J (although they’re great on the mic together) and really deserves to have a big match at Summerslam. I’m also not liking Roman Reigns in the US title picture. Sure it’s a demotion, but Rusev has to be made looking strong. So get Roman out of there, except if he’s going to lose. Then leave him in, please, please? Braun Strowman was also at it again, being fed new meat. His segments remind me of Goro in the Mortal Kombat movie.
67.media.tumblr.com/5b499a475dbce163a1711697e21afc08/tumblr_nuord0yP9r1qb5qxmo1_500.gif
With the new graphic design Smackdown has made changes to how the superstars are introduced during their entrances. Now we see the name, a picture (just in case the name doesn’t match the person on screen, I guess) and some additional information and facts about the superstar, such as their length, hometown. It feels to me that they’re already out of ideas, facts and stats to present. AJ styles’ read “debuted at the Royal Rumble”. Do we really need to know about these things? “Dolph Ziggler is fluent in American sign language”... Thumbs up!
coedbc.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/blizzard-pagespeed-ce-jx_ewwk5xe.gif
To wrap this up, I’m picking Raw as the winner of this week, but I have to mention that it was really a close call. The way this is going Smackdown is going to win sooner rather than later. Smackdown just needs a couple of surprise returns or call-ups from NXT to broaden their roster.
Alright, guys. Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed. Don’t forget to let me know which show you believe was the winner this week. I’ll be back next week with a new “Who Won?” Raw vs Smackdown review. In the meantime, check me out on twitter wrestlingshorts and on youtube Wrestling Shorts.
Kind regards,
Ash
wrestlingshorts.tumblr.com
