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, Greg Coleman, and Ben Guest will be giving their thoughts on a multitude of topics regarding the WWE's February 2019!

February 2019 brought a considerable amount of change to WWE. We have new champions, new main roster competitors, and even some potential new couples. So let's talk about all of it. Let's jump right in...


GUEST: First of all, I think it’s time for Black to come up and I think he could make a big impact on SmackDown, Raw has too many people like Black, with McIntyre seeming like a very close comparison, but on SmackDown amidst the likes of Styles and Nakamura, he could stand out as a different character. I’d love to see him immediately put himself in line for a US Championship match and maybe create some buzz around that title again.

I was almost certain that Ricochet was going to be used on 205 Live and I honestly think he should be. Mustafa Ali has proved that being on 205 Live doesn’t prevent you from moving to Raw or SmackDown eventually, and I think they desperately need a challenger for Buddy Murphy soon. I know that Buddy Murphy vs Ricochet would force me to tune into the WrestleMania pre-show (let’s be realistic), and maybe they can use this as a forum to try and drive some people towards that show.

Finally, I completely agree with Greg on Gargano and Ciampa. They are still the biggest story in NXT and to completely ignore the best storyline in recent professional wrestling history (yes I’m including Okada and Omega) is ridiculous. It would be great to see Gargano beat Ciampa for the NXT title, then have Ciampa move up, win either the Intercontinental or US championship, hold an open challenge, then hear the crowd erupt as Rebel Heart hits. The DIY reunion can wait, let this story play out, don’t rush it.

DeFELICE: To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of the debuts. I say this because the talent came across largely as nothing special. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano deserve a lot more than just tag team success and the way they were framed this past week made it seem like they were just a tag team. However, that was perhaps to build to something at the most recent tapings of NXT television.

COLEMAN: I wasn’t a fan of all of them being called up together. There is more to the Gargano and Ciampa story to be told in NXT so having these two appear on the main roster as a fully functioning tag team that wasn’t just trying to kill each other at this time last year somewhat ruins that storytelling they’ve been doing in NXT. DIY coming to the main roster seems a bit rushed. Clearly, the path they are setting out for them would be in the tag team division which Raw clearly needs their services.

I would like to have seen Ricochet have a run as NXT champ but I’m not mad with him being moved up. He’s a talent that the main roster audience needs to see. I felt like they used him well by giving him a singles match on Smackdown and then having him help Finn Balor on Raw. He instantly enters into the Intercontinental and U.S. Title pictures with the Universal or WWE Title a strong possibility in the future.

Aleister Black has nothing left to accomplish in NXT and I felt it was the right time for him to move up. He needs to be programmed with a star of either show right away and a feud built for him to get him a match at WrestleMania. Black, like Ricochet, will instantly fall into the IC or U.S. title mix but the main titles of both shows are not out of the question. A Black vs Bryan match would be awesome.


GUEST: I think either Andrade or Rey Mysterio could really use a run with the US Championship. That title isn’t doing much right now and this feud could struggle to make it onto PPV shows without putting something on the line. And with it looking more likely that Kevin Owens is Daniel Bryan’s WrestleMania challenger, I think these guys deserve a title run of some sort.

I would rather Andrade had a long run with the belt, but it’s the only championship Mysterio didn’t win in his original run, so he can win it and lose quickly just to say he’s held it.

COLEMAN: Samoa Joe. He’s far too talented as a performer and as a promo to have never held a title on the main roster. Joe as a heel WWE champion would be awesome and he would represent a great obstacle for a hot babyface to overcome.

DeFELCE: Would it be considered pandering if I said Kofi Kingston? Oh well. This dude has been grinding for 11 years and I would love to see him get his due and at least one World Championship.


DeFELICE: Admittedly, I don't pay too much attention to who is dating who, but I'm a huge fan of Miz & Maryse. They seem so genuinely in love and I really am a sucker for that.

GUEST: I like Renee Young and Dean Ambrose, they seem like very opposite ends of the same spectrum. Dean is very private and seems like he could happily not interact with another person for months on end, whereas Renee is fun and sociable, but they both come across as very funny and… let's say unique characters. Plus a huge bonus is that their relationship isn’t forced down our throats a lot and on-screen (I don’t watch Total Divas so I don’t know what it’s like on there) you could easily not know they were together, because it’s not important in that environment.

COLEMAN: Tough choice but I’m going to go with Rusev and Lana since every day is Rusev Day and Lana is the best and Lana is # 1.