Smackdown has better characters and tells better stories than Raw. That's the opinion of The Miz, at least, as he explained during a recent interview with ESPN.
Speaking with Jacob Wolf of ESPN.com, The Miz said the following about the two brands that comprise the WWE's main roster:
"Raw is a great show -- Smackdown Live is better," The Miz said. "Smackdown Live has better characters, better stories, and I think we have better talent. Does Raw have great talent? Absolutely. Is it a good show to watch? Sure, go ahead and watch it. But I guarantee if you watch Raw and Smackdown, you're going to watch Smackdown and go, 'I like these guys better.' Why? It's because there's competitiveness between Raw and Smackdown Live. We are fighting, clawing, scratching to get everything that Raw gets."
The Miz added that Smackdown maximizes the talent it has. During the WWE draft back in July, Raw got to make three draft picks for every two of Smackdown, because Raw is a three-hour show compared to Smackdown's two-hour time slot.
"We will make do with what we have and with the talent that we have," The Miz said. "The AJ Styles, the Dean Ambroses, the Dolph Zigglers, the Bray Wyatts, the Randy Ortons, the Maryse and the Miz. We have stars that know how to get things done, and we're doing it."
The two brands go head to head this Sunday at Survivor Series from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Aside from the main event pitting Brock Lesnar against the returning Goldberg, every other match on the card will see Smackdown battle Raw head to head. Miz said that, behind the scenes, that competitive spirit remains very real, at least on the side of Smackdown.
"[We want to] beat Raw every single week in the ratings," The Miz states.
The Miz, who just regained the Intercontinental Title from Dolph Ziggler on the most recent episode of Smackdown, will defend his championship against Sami Zayn from Raw. If Zayn wins, the title will go to Monday nights. The Miz now is in his sixth reign as Intercontinental champ.
