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?



Christian cropping up from time to time on WWE programming is a given, but wrestling an unsanctioned match six years after retiring? Not so much.

Holy hell! I was so happy to see this happen. Yes, the match was a killing that was over before it began, but it was still, technically, one..more...match. Interestingly, Christian's return also coincided with an impressive spike in Raw's ratings too, with many of the normal third hour droppers staying for the full duration.

Could it be that Vince McMahon was wrong? People do actually want to see Christian's face?

Regardless, the segment has left fans with some excellent questions. Why did Ric Flair attack Christian? Is Randy Orton back on a Legend Killer run? And, are we going to get one more match when Christian has had more time to prepare? I would lean towards saying no, and that this was just a cool segment that worked within the limits of Christian's injuries, but it was definitely a sit up and take notice moment.

Looking forward to where this goes next.



This past week brought the news that a WWE developmental talent had caught Covid-19, resulting in the immediate shut downs of a taping session.

Firstly, I hope that they makes a full and swift recovery, and, second, I am amazed that more have not been infected. Frankly, WWE have been either insanely sanitary, or, more likely, insanely lucky. One might even argue that they have just been insane full stop.

Regardless, that is one too many for the likes of Roman Reigns, and I hope that this proves to WWE how right he was to stay home.  While the numbers remain low in camp WWE, this news is not great when one considers that the crowds, now comprised of wrestler’s friend and NXT rookies, that they are not allowed to wear face masks on camera. I get that WWE wants this to be escapism, and seeing people masks will remind people what is going on, but this sounds like an awful idea. Do they want to encourage crowds back or not?

I do not see WWE changing their minds on this unless some state mandate is decreed and, even then, probably not.

After all, this is the company that managed to swing it so that wrestling was classified as an essential service...


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!