Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Dallas Allsopp, Robert DeFelice and Matt Morgan preview the 2020 edition of WWE TLC.

The final WWE pay-per-view of 2020 is almost upon us, with TLC promising a number of stipulation matches pertinent to the event's name. Is Carmella the best opponent for Sasha Banks to defend her SmackDown Women's Championship against? Will TLC be the genesis of The Hurt Business' main event push? And will we get a new World Champion?


ALLSOPP: I hope she retains her title, because quite frankly, SmackDown’s women’s division is in a state of flux. Bayley appears to be stuck in a feud with Bianca Belair which benefits neither of them, whilst no-one else on the roster even comes close to Banks’ level. Carmella isn’t a bad challenger, but she certainly is not the same calibre of opponent that either Bayley or Belair would be. For a throwaway pay-per-view, Carmella is a decent option, but she certainly is not the best.

DeFELICE: Sasha Banks better retain her championship. I don't know if Carmella is the best option outside of Bayley, and I will admit that I'm not the biggest fan of “my gimmick is that I'm bringing the Divas division back” Carmella, but I have very much enjoyed the verbiage between the two. It feels good to see this kind of old-school rivalry that is intruded too much. In my opinion, Banks should hold the title until WrestleMania 37, where she drops it to Bianca Belair.

MORGAN: I’m fairly confident that Sasha Banks will retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Carmella was a great choice for Banks now that she and Bayley are not feuding at the moment. Carmella and Banks have never had a program together, so this pairing feels fresh. The only thing that worries me is how Banks’ potential win might impact Carmella’s momentum. This is Carmella’s first programme since coming back to television. If Banks was to beat Carmella quickly, I worry what kind of damage that would do to Carmella’s status within the division. However, if Carmella and Banks can have a competitive match, I believe Carmella can still come out looking strong, even if she loses.


DeFELICE: The short answer is, “yes. It is time for The Hurt Business to have full control of Monday Night Raw.” Do you expand on that, now that Big E has moved on and secured new entrance music, it seems weird that Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods will continue to do the same schtick. Perhaps it is time for all of The New Day to go their separate ways and come back together with a proper reunion when it is time. This, of course, cannot happen, because if you take away Kingston and Woods, Monday nights will only have three established teams outside of the champions, and nobody is looking to see the Lucha House Party be pushed. However, even if you take away Kingston and Woods, that just puts the Raw division on a level playing field with the SmackDown division.

MORGAN: Right now feels like a good time for The Hurt Business to win the Raw Tag Team Championship. This faction has been around for months, however, I’ve often felt like this group has been missing an accolade or an accomplishment that truly establishes their prominence on Raw. Having The Hurt Business win the championship can definitively establish that they are a force to be reckoned with, and that all four men should be taken seriously going forward.

ALLSOPP: This is an easy question, as WWE should throw 110% of their weight behind The Hurt Business. They are a superb stable on Raw, however, there is so much more to come from them. They could be 2021’s version of Evolution, except they would actually be cool. If they hold all of the gold, they will instantly elevate the product, and let’s face it, Raw is suffering overall at the moment. WWE could do much worse than make these fine wrestlers the focal point of the show.


MORGAN: Unfortunately, both matches seem very much like placeholder feuds until the Royal Rumble takes place. Which is a shame because all four competitors are outstanding. The one silver lining is that both matches have the potential to be incredible, especially considering the fact that Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Drew McIntyre are all extremely credible athletes. I’m sure there will be outside shenanigans with Paul Heyman and Jey Uso in the Reigns vs Owens match, and that Omos will interject himself into the Styles vs McIntyre contest. Regardless of that, I would echo the sentiments made by Robert in saying that the in ring quality for both matches should be amazing.

ALLSOPP: No, and I’d be very surprised to be wrong. It’s the part of the year people are winding up for the holiday period. But in such a terrible year, people’s time together is more valuable than ever. The casual fan is not going to put much effort into watching this show, therefore these two matches will be more about putting on a show whilst keeping the status quo in place. Both contests have been booked well, all things considered. But honestly, WWE is treading water until we get to the 2021 Royal Rumble.

DeFELICE: No, but I think we already know that going into it. It's one of those unfortunate side effects of December WWE. You know that we're just in a holding pattern until WrestleMania 37. That being said, both of these matches should be phenomenal in completely separate ways. I'm expecting Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens to have a very hard hitting affair, whilst Drew McIntyre and AJ Styles dazzle us with what they can do with the accoutrement of this event’s namesake match.