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?


Finally a decent use for The Ascension! Last week saw the surprising formation of a new stable, The Cosmic Wasteland.

Following the involvement of Stephen Amell at SummerSlam, WWE is obviously keen on continuing down the comic book route with Stardust, and what better way to do so than this?

Despite an initial big push, Konnor and Viktor have been languishing as one of the lowest ranked tag teams in recent WWE pairings. They had a surprisingly strong showing at Elimination Chamber, but were then swiftly sent back to the proverbial wasteland themselves.

This group is a perfect fit for all involved. Konnor and Viktor's appearance lends itself perfectly to villainous comic book lackeys and their assistance could be just the thing to deservedly push Stardust higher up the card.

Cody has been paired in numerous tag teams since joining WWE. Bob Holly, Ted Dibiase Jr, Drew McIntyre, Damien Sandown, and Goldust—all successful pairings, only one of which did not result in wearing tag team gold. But never has he led a group and been entrusted to lead others to glory. Being allowed to lead a faction is a good sign of the faith WWE has in Dusty's second born.

I would love to see a situation in which The Ascension held the tag team belts and Stardust held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (or at least the Intercontinental title). We only need to look back at the likes of Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, and Triple H—champion-holding villains who aligned themselves with tag teams — to see that the situation is not as far-fetched as it may sound.

Have the stars finally aligned themselves in favor of Stardust and The Ascension? I certainly hope so.

BONUS POP: Edge and Christian + Dudley Boys + New Day + Trumpet + Kazoos. Need I elaborate?



Some angles in WWE can successfully run on and on, forever evolving to take the story in an entirely new direction. The angle between Rusev, Dolph Ziggler, Summer Rae and Lana is not one of them.

This tangled love saga should have accumulated at SummerSlam with an intergender tag team match, but for reasons unknown, WWE has continued to drag it far longer than it warrants. But with Lana having injured her wrist, the prospects of a match at Night of Champions seem to be diminishing by the second.

While I enjoyed the recent injection of the Attitude Era-like shower scandal, even this is not enough to justify extending the love square angle much further.

I think the main problem lies in the lack of chemistry between Dolph Ziggler and Lana. Try as they might, their love is not convincing. We cheer when they kiss just because, well, it's Ziggler and Lana. But is that really a good enough reason?

Obviously, it would be unfair to compare them to likes of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, real life lovers who translate it perfectly to the squared circle. However, we only have to look to fake couples such as Chyna and Eddie Guerrero or AJ Lee and Daniel Bryan to see how poor Ziggler and Lana compare. Hell, Adam Rose and Rosa Mendes were better.

Both superstars and divas are clearly trying hard to make something out of what they have been given, but unless that tag match comes soon, WWE is sadly going to have missed the boat with this one.


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!