Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Cheap Pop and Cheap Heat from Smark Out Moment! Each week, we break down the world of professional wrestling and examine two of the polar opposite ends of the spectrum: one thing that was by far the worst thing (Cheap Heat) and the best thing (Cheap Pop) to happen over the past 7 days in sports entertainment. So, what went down this week that we loved and hated about the business?

While I love Cesaro and Tyson Kidd as a tag team and I certainly hope they stay as one for some time, I have to say The New Day's Extreme Rules tag team title win and overall new direction is a brilliant step forward for the trio.

When rumors first surfaced of a new generation "Nation of Domination", nobody envisioned (or desired) Big E, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston being a happy clappy team. The early vignettes of them and a gospel choir did nothing to get them over and only served to ignite accusations of Vince McMahon sticking to racial stereotypes.

When it came to their actual debut, they were lukewarm at best, and even that is being generous. They were happy and positive guys, and...err...that was about it. However, unlike Bo Dallas, it really did not work at all well.

But when the "New...Day sucks" chant started going, this is—ironically—when things started going right for them. Positive or negative, as long as a wrestler garners an impact, that is what really matters. Anything the crowd can react and interact to is worth its weight in (tag team) gold.

Acting frustrated with the crowd's refusal to accept them, the three began displaying heel tendencies more and more often, ultimately leading to them rising up the tag team ranks and cultivating with the title win last Sunday.

But great match aside, it was their post-victory interview with "Tad" Phillips that really sold them for me. It was one of the funniest segments I had seen in some time. The passive-aggressive demands for him to clap and chant with them, repeatedly getting his name wrong, and just the comical action of passing the belts back and forth with one another.

I have a feeling the heel turn was not planned from the start. WWE probably genuinely thought we would accept them as faces, but it is clear to me the new way is absolutely the best for The New Day.



At Extreme Rules, mere minutes before it was scheduled to take place, WWE informed viewers that Daniel Bryan would not be defending his Intercontinental Championship after all. While this did not come as too much as a surprise, it was, nevertheless, bad news.

Yes, we got a brilliant little match between Neville and Bad News Barrett in its place, but we have to look at what the wider repercussions are here.

Weeks after his second greatest WrestleMania moment, Daniel Bryan now eerily finds himself in a similar spot to where he was one year ago. Health concerns over his neck have led to a temporary sidelining, which, should it continue, may result in the stripping of the secondary title just like he was forced to relinquish the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in 2014.

What an absolute blow that would be for this young man. Bryan fought so hard to reach the top of the mountain against all odds, then climbed it all over again to enable him to return from a near career threatening injury.

Since his return in January, Bryan has hardly missed a beat. He has still gone out and given his all, but maybe this is the reason behind the downfall; perhaps he has done too much too soon.

Daniel Bryan is in a very precarious position now; whether he will he remains as IC Champion is one question, but an even more pressing one is whether he will remain wrestling at all.

I—and I am sure countless others—are hoping the answer is Yes, Yes, Yes. But, at this time, we can only really wait and see.


So there you have it, my two choices for the week. What do YOU think are the Cheap Pop and Cheap Heat this week in professional wrestling? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!