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?



This past week saw the official announcement that the WWE women's tag titles would finally become a reality. Thirty years after the original incarnation was discontinued, this decision has been a long time coming, but one that is extremely welcome.

For too long, WWE has struggled with putting females in storylines that don't involve the main titles, but this now opens up a whole new potential avenue of meaningful match ups and angles.

I am sure that some will say that this is doomed to irrelevance given that WWE occasionally forget to put any effort into the men's tag divisions, but this may very well force them to pick up their game for tag team wrestling as a whole.

What is also interesting is that there was no mention of Raw and SmackDown Live having separate titles. Maybe I am reading too much into this, but it would certainly make the titles more valuable if the title holders competed on both brands. It would also add to the variety by having far more combinations to play with.

Though, as great as the news is, do you think it is too much to ask for that they will not just be the men's belts with a white strap?

I'll see myself out...



As long time readers of this column will know, The Miz is my favorite wrestler on the current WWE roster. For the past couple of years, I have enjoyed all his matches, skits, and segments greatly.

However, this latest angle with Shane McMahon has left me somewhat confused.

While The Miz has always been a bit of a suck up, his obsession to be the best friend and the tag partner of Shane seems slightly out of character. I appreciate that they added in a reason that he wants to do it to please his father, and how that connects to Shane, but there is something missing from him when he is more neurotic that narcissist.

Maybe it is also the timing of this occurring that makes it feel out of place. The groundwork of the story all took place before the creative reset button was hit, and I get the impression that they are now trying to retool it to fit in with the new architecture. Was Shane meant to go heel? Can that still happen now under the new regime?

I have no doubt that The Miz will make this work to the best of his ability, and maybe it will grow on me more as it develops, but I cannot but help feels like this a bit of mizstep right 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!