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?


So, there's an Englishman, an Irishman, a Swiss, and another Englishman....no, this isn't the start of a joke, but a summary of the tag match that took place on last week's SmackDown.

King Barrett teamed with Sheamus to go against Neville and Cesaro in a match that I greatly enjoyed. All four of them put on a fast and furious display and made this match a highlight of the program for me. And then again, on Monday Night Raw, the pair teamed with Rusev to gain a victory in an entertaining six-man tag match.

So, is a more permanent team on the cards?

As we have witnessed with The New Day, real life friends can do amazing things in and out of the ring. Wade Barrett and Sheamus already have instant chemistry by being good friends in real life and traveling together on the road. It is also worth noting that both are King of the Ring winners, both are aggressive heels, and—discounting Barrett's very brief team with Stardust and his associations with The Nexus and The Corre—neither have been in a dedicated tag team, nor held tag gold. It would be a fresh use of both.

I would love to see it, and it makes perfect sense, but it is a shame that the timing might not be quite right. With Sheamus holding the MITB contract and the tag division flourishing under The New Day's reign, such a union might get lost in the shuffle.

However, I do hope it is something WWE will consider in the future. They could even call them The United Kingdom. Never mind that Dublin is not part of the UK, WWE cares not for such trivial geographical boundaries.

Besides, it would certainly cut down on the amount of Sheamus vs. Randy Orton matches.



As of last Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Family is at full strength. Erick Rowan has returned from injury, and has immediately slotted himself back into the fold.

In one sense, why would he not? Erick Rowan was in the original incarnation of the group and was mostly recently seen tagging with Luke Harper prior to his reconciliation with Bray Wyatt.

But then again, was that an underwhelming return or what?

When Braun Strauman joined the group, there was speculation over what would happen upon Rowan's return. Would he rebel against them for taking on another member in his absence? Would he refuse to rejoin his bearded brethren? At least would he do a surprise run-in to help Bray win a match?

The answer was, of course, none of the above.

He just quietly returned in a six-man tag-team match alongside Bray and Braun. If WWE thought nobody would care, then they should think again. The Dallas crowd certainly noticed, and gave encouraging shouts of "Rowan!" during the ring entrances. However, the commentators were content to cover his return with a throwaway comment that Rowan had not been seen in months through injury—then went back to talking about Roman Reigns.

In a night with Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and a one-off Shield reunion, perhaps there was not room to make a big deal about Rowan, but even so, he deserved more than this. Just last year he was a big part of the Survivor Series story between Team Cena and The Authority.

Then again, that doesn't say much. Just look at where winning it got Dolph Ziggler.


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!