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?


What could be better than a piece of heart-warming good news? Why, two pieces, of course!

Last week, we learned that Alice Boraby, an 92-year-old women and lifelong wrestling fan, had tickets for SmackDown, but was not able to attend due to health problems which saw her laid up in hospital.

However, when WWE found out about this, they got Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods to record a personal video message played to Alice by her carer via a laptop.

In the video, the (normally) heel faction showed their hearts, utilizing their fabled "New Day rocks" chant to wish Alice well through the powers of positivity. Suffice to say, Alice was overjoyed with her personal piece, and certainly was very happy to embrace The New Day.

This lovely piece of news comes at the same time as The Dream Foundation, a Californian-based charity that makes dreams come true for adults with life-limiting illness, gave 71-year old cancer sufferer, Kenneth Fulcher, VIP tickets and backstage passes for a WWE event.

Fulcher, much like Alice, is another lifelong wrestling fan and religiously watches with his wife of 50 years, using wrestling as a form of escapism to forget about the pains of his illness.

Granted, neither of these stories are going to make an impact on the Richter scale of wrestling news, but they highlight and remind us just how much good wrestling can do, and rather than moan that the booking is not always to our liking, to try and just enjoy it.

From Tribute to the Troops, anti-bullying rallies, promoting literacy, and topping the request list for Make-A-Wish Foundation, WWE does a lot of good in bringing smiles to peoples' face.

For every dismissive person that insists on pointing out "but don't you know that it is fake" there are hundreds more like Alice and Kenneth that do not care what others think. We enjoy it, and that is all that really matters.

New-Day-Rocks….New-Day-Rocks…New-Day-Rocks.



Last week, we learned that WWE YouTube exclusive "The JBL and Renee Show" has been cancelled.

The once weekly episodic web show may have flown under the radar for some, but to its many devotees (myself included), the 5-minute episodes were essential Friday night viewing.

Starting its life as The JBL and Cole show, it was renamed The JBL (Not) Cole Show after Cole's departure, before finally settling into a short run with Renee Young as the show's co-host under the present name.

The show may have started with the best intentions of being mildly sensible, but it soon degenerated into a wonderfully weird WWE sitcom of sorts. It was a bizarre mixture of nonsensical backstage happenings, cutaway sketches, and over the top stories. It allowed many superstars to express humor like we had never seen before. The show was clearly only ever loosely scripted, with many of the stars being allowed a free reign to express themselves in side-splittingly funny ways.

Cesaro is widely thought of as having no charisma or personality, but in the wacky world of The JBL and Cole/Not Cole/Renee show, he was a frequent highlight, turning up to tell an appallingly bad joke or pun, or simply to deride the show as being the worst thing he ever saw.

It was also responsible for the birth of Bad News Barrett, who became such a hit on the show the character was transferred into Wade's actual ring persona.

In recent months, it gave new life to the underused Howard Finkel, allocating him as an announcer for the John Cone "Office Ref" skits. These humorous segments saw Cone enforcing wrestling ring rules under an office environment, all the while having his actions explained by The Fink's booming voice.

The random antics really allowed superstars a chance to show personality that may not have always come through with forced scripted word-for-word repetition of what creative wants them to say. The likes of Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, and Steve Austin have all lamented this as something wrong with modern-day wrestling, and this show really highlighted that.

From the kidnapping of JBL's nephew "Big Clem Layfield" (portrayed by Health Slater), Cody's quest for his stolen Golden Boot bowling trophy, to Bunny and Bull hunting with Zeb Colter and Hornswoggle, this show was bizarre as it was brilliant.

If you never have seen the show and wonder what on Earth I am talking about, I implore you to join me in rewatching this once Slammy Award winning show in its entirety. I know we now have the likes of WWE Swerved, but it is simply not the same.

RIP The JBL and Cole/Not Cole/Renne show — you shall be sorely missed.


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!