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?



The highlight of the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble was, undoubtedly, the return of Edge following his career ending injury. However, another returnee who had been away for a similar length of time, but did not get quite the same ovation, was one Montel Vontavious Porter. Obviously, their status and circumstances for leaving were completely different, but, with hindsight, perhaps MVP would have warranted an even larger cheer given what he went on to do.

A consistent highlight of Raw, MVP's management of Bobby Lashley has been tremendously entertaining, and he continues to improve the stock of not only himself, but everyone else associated with him too.

Lashley under Lana had nowhere else to go, but the guidance of MVP put him back on the right track, fast. Adding the criminally underused Shelton Benjamin to his group, and helping him win the 24/7 championship was a great idea too, and I am excited to see how this faction develops.

Some say that WWE want to make them the new Nation of Domination, and the appearance of Ron Simmons does give some stock to this, but, regardless of whether they do link this to the past or not, I feel that this faction has all the potential for a very bright future.



This past week saw a fair share of vitriol slung around the web by wrestlers, and we are not just talking about in-character smack talking. Indeed, it was hard to miss AJ Style's revelation in a Twitch stream that Paul Heyman had advocated for Gallows and Anderson to get released, lied to AJ about doing so, and that it was hard find somebody who actually liked him.

Ouch.

While Heyman's light usage of the truth is not news, I had never heard of him actively trying to rid of talent simply because he did not like them. Yes, The Good Brothers have done alright for themselves by securing a deal in Impact, and will always be welcome in Japan, but causing them to lose a cool three-quarters of a million a year and separate them from Styles was surely not a move Heyman needed to make.

Paul is capable of coming up with some amazing ideas, but, if he is going to pull stunts like this, perhaps it is for the best that he no longer wields quite so much power.


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!