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, Robert DeFelice, Ben Guest, and Joran Chaffiotte will be giving their feelings on the fallout and events of WWE Extreme Rules 2018!

It was a show filled with a lot of "OMG" moments, but how does it hold up from a storyline progression perspective? Let's discuss…


GUEST:I’m okay with how they handled the match at Extreme Rules, it keeps The Bludgeon Brothers and Daniel Bryan both looking strong. I think they’re going to have Team Hell No win the titles at SummerSlam for a feel-good moment, before moving Bryan into a singles feud (hopefully with The Miz), later in the year for a match at WrestleMania. Like I said in the preview to Extreme Rules, I think the tag title run should be short-lived, and they can drop them by Survivor Series so a couple of fun feuds with people like Nakamura, Styles, and Almas could fill the gap between the tag titles and The Miz.

CHAFFIOTTE:I’ll push it again, Andrade Cien Almas. Team Hell No was a fun little greatest hits, but now it’s time to start making new classics. Andrade feels like the perfect opponent to me because when DB retired, he wasn’t even in WWE. Better read fans may know of a time they fought in the indies, but it’s not something that a casual fan would be familiar with. We’re itching for some fresh matchups. I expect these two to show strong chemistry as they both work very technical styles. There’s also the bonus that Daniel learning how to overcome the fact that Andrade has Zelina (the world’s best manager) in his corner will help him when it comes time to face the Miz, potentially with Maryse in his. Would I also love to see Brie Bella slap the spit out of Zelina’s mouth? Oh yeah.

DEFELICE: It appears as though Bryan was right in that the company will not be holding off on that Miz feud until WrestleMania. On the one hand, it's unfortunate because that really could be a title feud for WrestleMania. On the other hand, SummerSlam is the second biggest show of the year and this could be a good feud for that show as well.


DeFELICE: It is what it is. The natural progression of Ronda’s rise to the top of this industry. I’m more interested in what she will be doing after SummerSlam and how much they’ll be banking on her and subsequently women’s wrestling as a whole to carry them towards the next WrestleMania.

GUEST: This is a must-do match in many ways for me. First of all, it’s Alexa Bliss in the spotlight, and secondly, the Alexa Bliss double-jointed arm thingy for a cool spot at the end. In all seriousness, though, I’m a big fan of how they’re managing to have Ronda as a regular competitor, but also allow her time to be a special act and further develop her in-ring ability and I think this feud, where she can beat Bliss in a few minutes and go on to have a few short feuds with ‘lesser’ talents is perfect. That should mean that by the time we get to Survivor Series she can get carried by Charlotte or Asuka (whoever is SmackDown women’s champion). At Royal Rumble she can have a fun match against someone like Ember Moon or Nia Jax and then at WrestleMania, she can actually have a full-blown feud with either Charlotte or Sasha Banks. I think the future is very bright for Ronda, and it all begins with her “breaking” Alexa Bliss’ arm.

CHAFFIOTTE: Cautiously yes, I’m a big mark for Alexa Bliss and I do think she does better with the technicals than people give her credit for, she doesn’t have to be the greatest in-ring competitor of all time. Her character work can keep me engaged in even the worst feuds, and they really have given her the worst feuds haven’t they? Above all, I will never, ever fault anyone for doing exactly what is asked of them. So I hope WWE is smart in the booking of this match. Alexa is not some technical master, but she has good fundamentals and some fun high flying moves that will be in direct opposition to Rousey’s quick strikes. They use those moves sparingly because apparently, heels can do flips, but a couple peppered throughout would do a lot here. The majority of the match needs to be a pure, back to basics type of match. Rousey has shown promise but she is still new and Bliss is not in a position to carry her through. Keep it simple and this match stands a chance. Go too big and it will fall on its face.


CHAFFIOTTE: When the series of matches was first announced, my head was running wild with match ups. Imagine Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre after Sunday night, or Finn Balor vs. Lashley or Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor, or Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins. So many great-oh. They’re...doing the same match again. Fantastic. I’ve got nothing against Lashley, and I do actually think Roman’s cut some of his best promos against him. But after the lukewarm reception their match got on Sunday, why do it again? At least Balor and Rollins are still hot, and you can always dip into the Shield well. I don’t mind reruns so much if we know they work. Lashley vs Roman? Not so sure that works. Once again everything feels orchestrated to get the title on Roman, which then they’ll get trigger-shy and not even do at SummerSlam. I don’t dislike Roman, I just don’t care that much, and it’s really frustrating to watch them make the entire division dance around him to make it seem more legit. Just make the guy number one contender, put the belt on him, and let everyone else have their own stories. Let us out of this purgatory, I beg you.

GUEST: At least do an eight-man tournament or something right? Drag it out a bit. I think we all kind of knew we were getting Lashley vs Reigns for the number one contender spot, but the could have built it up so much better than this. As for SummerSlam, there is only one way to do this properly, in my mind. I’m assuming Brock is leaving soon, but they may keep him for another date (Survivor Series), so I think they have to have Reigns beat Lesnar and Strowman cash in at SummerSlam. Finally give Reigns the clean win over Lesnar, but still send the fans home happy. Then we can finally have the fun feuds we’ve wanted for ages, any combination of Strowman, Reigns, Lashley, Rollins, Balor, McIntyre, Roode, Ambrose or Owens. I see that as the smartest way to play out SummerSlam. But we’ll probably just have another WrestleMania 31 scenario in hope Lesnar comes back after Daniel Cormier knocks him out.

DeFELICE: It will be interesting to see whether or not it is Bobby Lashley or Roman Reigns that challenges Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. I’m really hoping for a standard one on one match and even though it might not be popular I would rather see it go to Roman. However, I think Brock Lesnar walks away from SummerSlam but the title intact and proceeds to drop at the next night to Braun Strowman in a very definitive manner.