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 love it when WWE throws out a curve ball that we never see coming, and could this year have presented us with a better example than the reuniting  of Team Hell No?

Just a few months ago, Daniel Bryan was not even cleared to wrestle, and we had thought Kane was winding down wrestling in order to focus on his political ambitions. Yet, here we are in the summer of 2018, and both are back in business and challenging for the SmackDown Live tag belts.

Their time teaming in 2012 was hugely entertaining as well as an important part of WWE history. In his 2015 autobiography, Danielson credits his time in Team Hell No as being the key to learning and unlocking the comedic side of his character, and arguably helped him propel the Yes Movement to even dizzier heights. Partners that despise each other was nothing new, but Team Hell No did it so well that you just did not care. They had hilarious comedy skits, an odd couple chemistry, and put on excellent matches together.

Some might have hated the idea of Kane challenging for Universal Championship, but who could begrudge him one last tag title run? If this is to be his last year, then he absolutely deserves one last ember of glory like this.

As for Daniel Bryan? Well, I am sure that some will be whining that he should be challenging AJ Styles, but the fact of the matter is that those are not the plans right now. Would you rather he has a meaningless feud with another Big Cass? The insertion of these two in the division is going to boost the status of it greatly, and likely will be of benefit to whomever they will go up against too.

I mean, can you really see a tag match with this pair going on a pre-show?

No! No! No!



So, this past week we learned that Brock Lesnar really does not have to do anything that Brock Lesnar does not want to do. Of course, we knew that was true to some degree, but never that he could cancel a match that he was not even in.

Despite already having put plans in motion on TV for a multi-man number one contender's match at Extreme Rules, Brock Lesnar decided to put his meaty foot down and say that this would not fit in with his own plans or fancy. Are we to assume that it did not fit in because he did not even intend to show up for SummerSlam? That seems ludicrous if so.

One part of me does like the special attraction side of him, and how his not being there does make the championship a bigger deal, but the other part feels that this is getting beyond silly.

In the past five years, it feels like Brock has been champion more days than not, but at what point will WWE draw a line under all this? Brock is famously not that bothered about wrestling and desperately wants to go back to having his face smashed for real again (odd, as he apparently cannot stand being hit in the face), but it really must be grating to those grafting day in day out without so much as getting a glance at the title picture.

Supposedly a further contract extension is under discussion, but to what degree is unknown. One more match? Two? Three? I would be happy for him to hang around longer if it means that he can face people that he has not faced before, but I really do think that WWE needs to turn that hour glass on his time as Universal Champion now.


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!