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?


My first thought when The Miz lost the intercontinental title on SmackDown was that I had unquestionably found my Heat topic for the week.

The Miz should have had a much longer sixth reign and his feud with Dean Ambrose could have easily stretched out longer before he lost the belt. This being said, I must give the match its due for being extremely entertaining and for making me care so much about the outcome. Secondly, upon reflection, if he had to lose it, Dean Ambrose is probably one of the better people to drop it to.

However, after he appeared on Talking Smack to express his disgust, that is when I realized that this may turn out be a silver lining for Miz fans.The Miz has had an total career revival in 2016 and nobody can deny that he has been involved in some outstanding promos, matches, and making the Intercontinental Championship a meaningful title once again. So could his passionate outburst be setting things up to move him back to the WWE World Championship scene?

The Miz was not quite main-event ready in 2010 when he won the title, but in 2017? He absolutely deserves it, and this could just be the storyline catalyst that eventually gets him there.

So outraged that the likes of Daniel Bryan refuse to recognize his worth, he could push himself even further and go onto do whatever it took to prove him wrong.

Sound crazy? Maybe. But think back to a few weeks ago when AJ Styles was being interviewed on MizTV. The Miz took great umbrage to Styles declaring that there was nobody left of worth to challenge him. Could this have potentially been setting the seeds of discontent? I would like to think so, as that, would be awesome.



I was delighted when Tajiri came back for the Cruiserweight Classic and even more so when it was announced that he would be signing a contract to work in the cruiserweight division.

His debut match on 205 Live was further proof that he has hardly lost a step during his years away. It contained everything I could have hoped for: awesome buzz saw kicks, the tarantula submission hold, and, of course, his signature green mist—a blast from the past I very much enjoyed seeing again. Plus, Brian Kendrick coming out to congratulate him was an excellent add on to the match, and I really like his old guard vs. new guard agenda too.

So, why is this a heat? The same reason that the first 205 Live was a heat: the crowd. Either the crowd had no idea of the significance or history of Tajiri, or they were too fatigued to care. I had hoped that this would have started to pick up with the steady addition of exciting talents and stories, but the taping after SmackDown is clearly still too much for some to stay on for, and these tired and thinning crowds, put somewhat of a damper on what was otherwise a fun match.


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!