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?



History has shown that even the greatest of empires will eventually fall, and, ever since it has existed, pro wrestling has consistently been a perfect microcosm of this concept.

Wednesday saw The Undisputed Era start to come crashing down with their loss in the Dusty Rhodes Classic, and, more significantly, Roderick Strong losing the North American Championship to Keith Lee.

Losing the bet to Lee meant that The Undisputed Era’s stranglehold of all the gold has finally come to an end, and, as much as I have enjoyed it, this was absolutely what needed to happen. Lee had been on an upwards trajectory for a while now, but really started to explode in popularity in the run up to Survivor Series 2019. He is so much fun to watch, and his bout with Strong was no exception.

I want to say that he is like a fast Mark Henry, or a bulkier Ricochet, but, I think that it would be more accurate to just say that Keith Lee is Keith Lee. Wholly unique, and, if rumours are true, possibly not long for the NXT roster. He has impressed Vince McMahon immensely as of late, and a transfer to Raw or SmackDown is almost certainly in his future.

However, I am glad that the time is not just now. Lee has left too much of an impact on NXT, literally and figuratively, to leave without having had a run there with some gold first.

Let him have a good one before you take him Vince, please?



Remember when we were wishing for long term booking in WWE?

They granted this nicely in the form of Rollins' messiah story, but we are not out of the woods just yet. Long does not always mean good, and WWE clearly still need to learn this.

The Lana/Rusev/Lashley/Morgan debacle continues to chug along, and nobody has a good answer as to why.

Bizarrely, the lesbian reveal did little to advance the story, and has only really been touched on in passing. Neither Lana nor Liv have elaborated on it, and neither Lashley nor Rusev seem all that interested either.

Did WWE forget this wrinkle? Or just not think ahead as to where it would actually go? Once it is all said and done, whenever that is, where will it leave Liv? Or anyone else for matter? Lana managing Lashley might have some legs, but we will not know for sure until they get far away from this tawdry quadrangle.

I foresee Rusev coming out ok, at least from a fan support perspective, but that just makes it all the more sad if the rumours that he may not resign with WWE turn out true.

What a sorry note to leave on that would be.


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!