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 it was not to everyone's taste, I enjoyed the Cruiserweight Championship match at Clash of Champions. Sure, I would have preferred Brian Kendrick to get the win, but that Mega Man music and intro video? Bonus pop award for that alone.

This past week saw Sheamus and Cesaro forced into a tag team by Raw General Manager Mick Foley. Naturally, comments are flying left, right, and center about misuse and how this is just Team Hell No 2.0, but I fail to see why this is a bad thing.

Yes, WWE probably do hope that they will emulate the success of Team Hell No, but uncooperative odd couple tag teams did not start with Daniel Bryan and Kane. It is a tried and tested formula that sometimes just manages to be weird enough to work. So, why not run with it?

The tag team route offers Cesaro a proper story, character development, and a real chance at grabbing some gold for the first time since Tyson Kidd got injured. Meanwhile, Sheamus has never been a tag team champion, and there have been rumors WWE wanted to turn him face for a while so could this be a way to do it?

Regardless of naysayers, I am intrigued to see where this goes, and anything that makes me look forward to Raw is a good thing in my book.

However, this does bring me to my next point….



This might seem a little contradictory given my choice of Pop, but as a whole, Raw is just not proving to be as good as SmackDown Live. There was nothing inherently wrong with this week's program, but I do find myself looking forward to the continuation of SmackDown plots a great deal more. More emotionally invested stories, nearly every match advances a story, wins and loss actually seem to make a difference, and the wrestlers seem to advance their own plots with minimal input from the on-screen authority figures. It is a slicker, quicker, and smarter presentation.

A lot of the problems stem from the 3-hour time slot, but as they would be giving up hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue, you can understand the reluctance to shorten it.

The likes of Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and a select few others do help give this show high point moments, but there is only so much time that they can fill, and Raw could really be so much more if there was just a little less of it.


EXTRA HEAT: Chins Ahoy!
There was a distinct excess of chins this week. I am not impressed. #SignEllsworth.

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!