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?


Bray Wyatt has been DELETED! This past week saw the WWE's version of The Final Deletion fought across The Hardy Compound. A bizarre, but brilliant, concoction of wrestling, special effects, and stylish cinematography. It was as much a hardcore match as it was a horror movie and, to quote Matt Hardy, wonderful!

As many of us suspected, the Broken/Woken Matt Hardy character under WWE's direction was in danger of becoming obsolete himself. A stalled start due to legal issues put somewhat of a damper on Matt's momentum, but the situation hardly improved when it became apparent that WWE's control over the character was not living up to the potential.

His full insanity and creativity was shoved aside in favor of writers with clearly little understanding of the gimmick. Matt became confined to backstage talking head segments with no real exploration of his weird and wacky universe.

But the minute Matt was left to his own devices we got something far more fitting for the character. Quite where we goes next is anyone's guess, but as long as Matt Hardy is in charge, we have no reason to be concerned for its direction.

Lastly, what does it mean for Bray Wyatt? I have dedicated countless heat columns to the appalling handling of what should have been one of WWE's best character wrestlers since The Undertaker. His dunking in the lake of reincarnation gives rise to the thought that he may come back with a much needed repackaging of the character.

Wonderful!



What is with the new style of Sesame Street selfie backstage promos? It might save money to not have as many interviewers, but boy are they tacky and distracting. What are they meant to be? Why? What do they add to the presentation or story? How does displaying keywords in Window's Movie Maker inspired font add to the realism or entertainment?

If anything, it detracts the focus from the wrestler who is trying to get their point across and advance the story. They are hardly fitting for a company renowned for producing some of the best editing packages in entertainment

In addition, replacing interviewers could be a great shame for the wrestlers that really know how to connect or play off them. Remember The Rock with Kevin Kelly? Or Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho with just about anyone? The unscripted off the cut moments that develop characters could become a lost art.

TRAGIC!


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!