Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Jonathan Maldonado, Robert DeFelice and Jordan Chaffiotte will share their thoughts on the developing storylines in the fourth week of Money in the Bank season.

Let's discuss...


MALDONADO: Absolutely. Elias has risen to the top of the mid-card and is border-line main event given the high profile matches he's had this year. He's been in the ring with Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman and more. Most of these matches have been entertaining and his improvement in-ring is palpable. His musician act is wildly fun to watch and the fans eat it up like ice cream.

I'd believe an Elias clean win over Seth Rollins. He's a big dude with in-ring chops who can sneak one over Rollins with no problem, even in the midst of Rollins' 2018 renaissance. Even better, and move believable, he can steal one in some heel fashion with his guitar or other heelish means. The only problem I'd have with this is Seth Rollins not going on the challenge for the Universal Championship afterward. It's high time he get back into the main event picture and this feud should only serve as a catalyst for that story.

DEFELICE: The general consensus of everybody that I've spoken to that works for this website seems to be that Elias is the man who should end Seth Rollins' Intercontinental Championship reign. I'm okay with this because Elias seems to be doing next-level work in his career, just like Seth has been. However, I have a caveat to this scenario. I would only do this if Seth Rollins is destined to challenge and dethrone Brock Lesnar. If not, I would wait and hold off until the eventual Dean Ambrose return and have a heel Ambrose capture the championship from Seth Rollins.

CHAFFIOTTE: Absolutely not, because it should be Finn Balor. Listen, Elias is great at what he does but Raw is stacked right now and he's in line behind a ton of incredible performers. Meanwhile Finn and Seth are far from done with each other. Considering how close Finn came to grabbing that title in Saudi Arabia, it seems criminal that he isn't getting a rematch. I really enjoy their friendly rivalry that sometimes turns less friendly. It feels genuine to who they are as people, both liking each other as friends and respecting each other as competitors but desperately wanting to beat the other. Pitting two of the most over wrestlers in the company against each other is bound to be explosive. It belongs on the SummerSlam card, where Finn can take the title for his own, allowing Seth to go on to the main event scene. Seth's work has been second to none, we haven't seen him perform this well since the heyday of heel champ Rollins. It's time for him to hold that gold again.


MALDONADO: I'm indifferent about this. Seeing Daniel Bryan in the ring is enough to make me not hate this for what it is, a hold over. We're in a waiting pattern for Bryan to turn his attention fully on The Miz. Big Cass is just a big pain-in-the-ass obstacle on the way there. My concern is that Bryan will enter meaningless rivalry after rivalry until that happens. Although, I'm fine with that if it's biding time until next year's WrestleMania, of which this feud is certainly worthy.

DEFELICE: It is what it is. I don't love this rivalry, but it's a nice way to ease Bryan back into regular competition and I'm sure this won't go any further than Money In The Bank. The real key component to seeing what the future holds for both men will be the end of their presumed match at Money In The Bank. I see Big Cass winning this match but not without the help of some outside interference, from a debuting SAnitY, to move Bryan into a new rivalry.

CHAFFIOTTE: It's fine. I don't want to see Daniel Bryan handed it too easily, that seems like it would do a disservice to what he built his career on. Putting him with a monster heel like Cass is smart, and I'm sure Cass is benefiting from his experience. Though Money in the Bank should be the end of it. Surely there's something more for both of these guys with such a deep roster today. Personally, I'd like to see Andrade Cien Almas start to cause trouble with Daniel. They're both huge names with the smarks, great at storytelling, and Andrade has the right amount of dastardly heel heat. Unlike Cass, he has the respect of most of the WWE Universe, so his beat downs would really feel earned. A surprise appearance by his wife to take care of Zelina Vega would just be icing on the cake.


MALDONADO: I get Bayley and Sasha can always heat up via Bayley interfering in MITB and costing Sasha her shot at the briefcase. I'm just indifferent about that scenario. We've been tip-toeing around this feud for an eternity on the main roster already and I just want them face-to-face in a match already. Not having them kick off a story as the final two participants in the Women's Battle Royal at Mania was mistake in my opinion.

I think we're once again missing an opportunity here to tell a story that's less predictable. A Bayley heel turn is cool, but a Sasha turn is even better. Why flip the natural order of things that worked so well the first time in NXT. Of course I could just be blowing smoke and none of this comes to pass, but we're still here, still waiting for something between these two. 

DEFELICE: Who says we won't see progression, and maybe even a full-blown heel turn from Bayley? Okay, maybe that doesn't sound like the most plausible idea but I can definitely see some things still happening between the two, whether it's accidental or not, to cause Sasha to lose this match and progress the feud into a match at SummerSlam. I know they're dragging it out, but I like the slow burn because I see these two as the best female competitors, and the two with the most chemistry, since Trish and Lita.

CHAFFIOTTE: Oddly enough, I don't really have much to say about Sasha and Bayley right now. Maybe that's alright. After all, the beauty of a feud like this is you can always come back to it and it'll be as hot as ever. There's an opportunity for Bayley to be jealous that Sasha made it into the match, especially if they choose to put the briefcase on her. Sasha's fun as a face and all, she can be sweet and she loves this, but let's be real about where she shines the best. We haven't gotten a great heel run from her on the main roster and it'd be just fine by me to use the MITB match for her to further rub it in Bayley's face how she is the better woman. I'm not sure she's my first choice but there's definitely a story here. Still, it's okay if it's not about Sasha and Bayley this time around.