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?


I won't harp on about this too much, but how brilliant was it for Luke Harper to get a potential main event title shot? "Luke Harper is underrated" is a sentence that you frequently hear from wrestlers and fans alike, and I could not agree more.

Bray's most faithful disciple moves frighteningly quickly for a big man, and all of his moves are delivered with both powerful precision and speed that makes him an enthralling wrestler to watch. In addition, though he often goes months without saying a word, the odd occasion that he has delivered promos with Erick Rowan or Bray Wyatt have all been very well received. He clearly has all the tools, but just needs the chance to really be able to prove it on a larger scale.

Although Harper did not succeed in getting his WWE Championship shot, the fact that he was there proved exciting enough for fans. It felt like an acknowledgement that WWE has accepted that Harper is very popular, and great things may still be coming for him in time.

Again, while I am still not entirely all for the brand split, I cannot deny that SmackDown really is proving to be a land of opportunity for those that we once envisioned would unlikely be given their dues.


Nearly two months ago, I was writing about how I was unsure if turning 'Evil' Emma to Emmalina was a good idea. Now, I am more uncertain over whether she is actually going to debut at all. For weeks, WWE has aired promos that she is "coming soon" and twice have they insisted she would be making her debut the following week, only for us to get nothing more than another promo.

Has WWE learned nothing from Curt Hawkins or The Shining Stars? Extending the build of a not-so-solid idea does nothing to create anticipation for it. If anything, it can cause people's interest to evaporate entirely before the subject even hits the ring.

Maybe Emmalina's debut will be so amazing none of this will actually matter, but we will have to wait till next week/fortnight/month to find out for sure.


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!