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?
CHEAP POP OF THE WEEK:
LADIES' NIGHT AT THE BAR
There were a few eyebrows raised when Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler challenged for the women’s tag titles, especially given how WWE had established teams to pick from, but, in hindsight, I am glad that they did.
Yes, I had concerns that WWE were going down the well-worn path of tag champs that hate each other route, but this aspect seems to have softened as of late, and they are now more akin to the likes of The Bar, with the common ground being that they love hurting people.
They are gelling well together in the ring, and it is great fun seeing them steamroll their opponents in quick and decisive fashion. This past week was an excellent illustration of this with them successfully defeating the Riott Squad anddecimating Lana with a table spot just because they could.
I still hold The Bar as the greatest team of the past fifteen or so years, and, though it is early days, if WWE does this right, Jax and Baszler could go down in the history books as one of the best women’s tag teams in the company.
CHEAP HEAT OF THE WEEK:
A BUDDING ROMANCE
The Buddy Murphy and Aalyah Mysterio story is a strange one.
While it does have shades of the Rome and Juliet inspired Molly Holly/Spike Dudley romance angle from 2001, it does not have the elements in place to truly make it great.
The Holly Cousins and Dudley Boyz one worked because we had two feuding wrestling families, with the obvious conflict being whether the couple chose love or loyalty.
Yes, we had this thread when Buddy was with Seth Rollins, but now there is no longer conflict on his part, and the Mysterio family have less reason to doubt his sincerity. He brutally split from his leader on his own accord, and all the family have to go off is his past association.
Anyway, is it not also a tad short-sighted having this story revolve around a 31-year old wrestler sliding into the DM's of a nineteen year old? Or have WWE already forgotten the speaking out movement, which highlighted the very real problem of wrestlers doing this in real life?
At the time of writing, it is unclear whether Buddy is going to SmackDown yet, so this could simply fade away without any more fan fare, but, I have a feeling that this is one story that WWE won't drop anytime soon...
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!
0 comments: