WWE Raw vs. Smackdown Live: Which Was Better? (29th, 30th October, 2018)

This week's episodes of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live were bookended by the Evolution pay-per-view, and the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel event, which is set to take place this Friday.

As a result, they had a lot to do, being both the fallout show for the first-ever women's pay-per-view event, while simultaneously acting as the go-home show for the extremely controversial Saudi Arabian pay-per-view.

In this article, as always, we will be looking at which WWE show was the most entertaining between Raw and SmackDown Live, by taking into consideration 7 different segments from both the shows.

To determine the winner of this week, we will look at the best match of the night for both shows, the opening segment, the mid-card, the women's division, the tag-team division, the main event and any surprises or shocks that may have happened on either show. After we are done with this, we will finally be able to tell you who won this week's WWE Raw vs. SmackDown.Live.

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#1 The Opening Segment

AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan had a war of words

Raw: This week's episode of Raw, opened with the build to the Universal Championship match set for Crown Jewel. Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar came out and interrupted Baron Corbin, who was there talking trash about Roman Reigns. Heyman delivered his usual promo before any Lesnar match. They were then interrupted by Braun Strowman who delivered a promo of his own. The biggest positive of this segment came next when Strowman hit Corbin with three consecutive Running Powerslams. Lesnar took advantage of the distraction and hit Strowman with an F-5, sending a direct and simple message before Crown Jewel.

SmackDown Live: SmackDown Live opened with AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan confronting each other in the ring. Both let the other know that they would not be taking their match at Crown Jewel lightly (this was when Daniel Bryan was still supposed to go to Crown Jewel). At this point, Styles admitted that he had Daniel Bryan on purpose last week. Shane took the opportunity to come and book a match between the two that very night.

Which was better: While the SmackDown Live's segment between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan was a good one, it was not really a build to the coming pay-per-view. On the other hand, the Lesnar and Strowman segment, set up the coming Universal Title match really well.

Winner: Raw

#2 The Mid-Card:

Shinsuke Nakamura and R-Truth had an excellent match on SmackDown Live

Raw: Once again, this week's show of Monday Night Raw did not even mention the Intercontinental Title. While Seth Rollins holding the title is good for it, and he is currently involved in the most intriguing angle with Dean Ambrose, not mentioning it at all, does not sit well.

SmackDown Live: SmackDown Live was supposed to host a match between Tye Dillinger and Shinsuke Nakamura. However, Dillinger had to pull out of the match due to an injury he suffered. Fortunately, the United States Title was defended on the show. Instead of Dillinger, R-Truth filled in. The match was not too long, but was interesting nonetheless, with Nakamura retaining.

Which was better: The match between R-Truth and Nakamura for the United States title, where Raw did not even mention the Intercontinental Title makes it the obvious better show as far as this segment is concerned.

Winner: SmackDown Live

#3 The Tag-Team Division:

The New Day were 'Brood'ing on SmackDown Live

Raw: The Raw Tag Team Title situation is now in quite the flux. After Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose won the title match the previous week, Ambrose turned on his partner in the biggest shock of the night. The Title situation was not addressed on Raw at all. At this point, no one knew if the titles were vacant. The Authors of Pain stood dominant in their match, even though they had lost in their match. Bobby Roode and Chad Gable picked up the win over the Ascension in the Triple Threat but were decimated afterwards.

SmackDown Live: The SmackDown Live titles, on the other hand, were not defended either, but the build to Crown Jewel continued with New Day coming out dressed as the Brood. Big E and Cesaro had a match, which saw everyone get involved, and even the red mist from the New Day.

Which was better: SmackDown Live had more involvement of the actual titles, while the situation of the Raw Tag Team Titles is still up in the air.

Winner: SmackDown Live

#4 The Women's Division:

Nia Jax ran right over her friend, Ember Moon

Raw: Coming off the first women's pay-per-view, Raw's first women's match was a ten-woman tag team match. This was a huge letdown, and none of the stars was really highlighted on the show. Ronda Rousey did not show up, and the only good women's segment on Raw was between Nia Jax and Ember Moon. The two had a good match, but Nia was the winner. A feud/partnership was also teased between Nia Jax and Tamina.

SmackDown Live: While the speech by Becky Lynch was extremely cool and well received, SmackDown Live did not have any matches for women on the show. Coming from Evolution this was far from what was expected from the show.

Which was better: Given the lack of women's matches on the SmackDown Live show, Raw is the only option for this segment.

Winner: Raw

#5 The Main Events:

Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker continued their difference of opinions

Raw: The main event on Raw took place when D-Generation X and the Brothers of Destruction confronted each other before their match at Crown Jewel on the show. It was a short segment, which ended with Shawn Michaels hitting the Undertaker with a Superkick. In the end, the Undertaker sits back up again.

SmackDown Live: The main event on SmackDown Live was an amazing match between the team of Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy against Randy Orton and The Miz. The match itself was quite a good match and showcased the talent of each star. In the end, the baby-face team stood tall.

Which was better: While Raw's main event was a good dose of nostalgia, the match on SmackDown Live was far better. The action displayed by Rey Mysterio saw the fans getting a dose of nostalgia of their own, only with Mysterio putting on a brilliant show of his talents.

Winner: SmackDown Live

#6 Shocks and Surprises:

AJ Styles found himself put to sleep by his Crown Jewel opponent

Raw: This week's episode of Raw seriously lacked in surprises. While last week they Ambrose's turn was the biggest shock no one saw coming this week did not really have any surprises. Seth Rollins asked for Ambrose's reason, but he did not answer and stayed silent, thus not really revealing anything. The closest thing to a shock this week was Elias being attacked by Jinder Mahal.

SmackDown Live: SmackDown Live was littered with small shocks and surprises. The pleasant surprises included New Day coming out dressed as the Brood, while Sheamus came out dressed as a White Walker.

Daniel Bryan was not able to pick up the win in his match and actually tapped out, which was a shock by itself. Finally, Samoa Joe attacking Styles and Bryan at the end of the match, sealed the deal as far as surprises and shocks which no one saw coming is concerned.

Which was better: The surprises speak for themselves here, as SmackDown Live takes this one.

Winner: SmackDown Live

#7 The Best Match:

AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan tore it up on this SmackDown Live

Raw: Raw did not have too many good matches on the show, but the tag team triple threat match between The Authors of Pain, Bobby Roode and Chad Gable and The Ascension was the only match worth mentioning. The teams put on a show, and the quick win for Gable and Roode was good for them, while the Authors of Pain destroying them kept them strong afterwards as well.

SmackDown Live: SmackDown Live saw Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles mix it up in the ring in one of the best matches of the year so far. Neither man held anything back. With Bryan not going to Crown Jewel, this match had a lot of depth, as Bryan sold his injury to his knee, and both men took some insane bumps.

Which was better: SmackDown Live's match between Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles could be one of the best matches of the year, let alone the week.

Winner: SmackDown Live

That brings the scores to 5-2 for this week in SmackDown Live's favour!

Winner and Best Show this week: SmackDown Live

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Which show do you think was better this week, SmackDown Live or Monday Night Raw? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!