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?


One of the biggest pieces of news this past week has been the changes to the WWE pay-per-view schedule going forward. While we cannot yet say whether it will be for the best, it does not mean that we cannot run over the potential pitfalls and positives that such changes may bring.

On the plus side, we are now down to the much leaner twelve per year schedule. The twice a month every other month was occasionally fun, but certainly watered down the special feeling of them when they were that frequent. The quality would also greatly vary between the shows as a result of the increased content too. Maybe now it will be quality over quantity?

The sheer amount of time to be a fan had also become somewhat demanding. Sometimes just keeping up with an event, Raw, and SmackDown Live meant nine to ten hours of wrestling across just three days. That is a lot to ask of busy working people on such a regular basis, not even including everything else like NXT and 205 Live.

Also, assuming that Survivor Series is no longer the one night per year where Raw and SmackDown Live superstars go head to head in direct competition, this now means that there is potential for the occasional cross-brand matches.

For instance, can we assume that the Money in the Bank matches will now feature a mix of wrestlers from both brands? That could open up some good possibilities by having a Raw star cash in on a SmackDown Live champion or vice versa.

Could this move be just what we need to give everything an adrenaline shot across the board? Possibly, but then we must also examine the flip side of the coin...



Firstly, are we really saving any time? Yes, we are down to twelve per year, but the word on the street is that every event could be five hours long! Or seven if you include the pre-show. Thankfully, this would be only once a month, but no matter how enjoyable, it still is a big ask of ones time.

In addition, this mammoth time frame was normally reserved for your SummerSlams and WrestleManias. Would doing this mean that the sacred big four felt less special? I fear that it might. Though, WWE will probably tack an extra hour on those to compensate…

Another elephant in the room is that such a move might water down the point of the brand split. If the split was designed to create new stars, and highlight forgotten talents, how are they going to get on the card now? I presume most of the match slots will be given to WWE's nine main championships.

All we can do at this point is wait and see.

Just nobody remind them about Raw Supershows...


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!