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?



Mob muscle was the immediate feeling many got when WWE started the repacking vignettes for AOP a few months back. It was intriguing, but, without an overlord, such a gimmick would never have been truly served. They would just have been bruisers in suits.

However, fast forward a few months, and it turns out that fans were not wrong about their interpretation of the characters. I am loving them as Seth Rollins henchmen, and they truly have done the impossible by helping rehabilitate Seth Rollins. A mixture of personal and booking gaffes had all but cut the legs off Rollins as a face in WWE, and he was fast becoming a lightning rod for go away heat. However, he is now, once again, very watchable, and I cannot wait to see where this story is going.

His cool quip of telling AOP to finish Samoa Joe made for an awesome ending to RAW, and proof that this new take on Rollins’ heel character is very different to earlier ones. This is not cowardly weasel Rollins, but a cool confident Rollins that could just as easily finish you himself, but he does not have to, he has people for that sort of thing.

In addition, this story is, thus far, multi-faceted, and not just solely focused on Seth vs. Singular opponent. It has incorporated multiple superstars and threads, which, in turn, has contributed to it becoming the best aspect of RAW right now.



Remember the rumours that Liv Morgan would be joining Bray Wyatt as his assistant in the Firefly Funhouse? While I do not think that the Fiend needs such an addition, Morgan’s latest repackaging promos are making me wistful for such an idea.

Admittedly, the vignettes of Liv lounging in the bath could be construed as ambiguous, but it would be fair to say that there is more than a shade of Emmalina in the presentation. Need I remind you how that experiment went? Indeed, without her pink dyed locks, it took me a while to cotton on that I was not watching Mandy Rose. How would this potentially differ to what she was doing?

In fact, I would argue that Mandy has got far more personality since lessening her sexy persona and developing a soft spot for Otis.

When will WWE learn that hot blonde is not a characteristic to hang your personality off. Will Liv be saddled with it? Riott Squad Liv had an interesting Harley Quinn dynamic going on, and that made her far more interesting to watch.

Of course, there are many ways that this could go down, and this may be a mere cover for what will be a truly unique iteration of Morgan.

But I have my doubts.


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!