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:
ON THE UPSWING
I was going to ask my editor if we could call this edition Cheap Heat and Cheap Heat, but then, thankfully, SmackDown came along.
Some great matches, decent commentary, a nice little celebration of Bianca Belair, and, most interestingly, a real tangible push for Cesaro.
Roman Reigns not giving him the time of day by leaving as soon as he hit the ring was an excellent plot device, as we all know Cesaro deserves it, but how will we convince Reigns to give him a shot? Furthermore, as Paul Heyman was so want to do in ECW, it hid Cesaro's flaw of being a little hit or miss on the mic.
Sadly, Cesaro is not in the title picture just yet, as it seems that he has to get through Seth Rollins first, but, judging by their excellent WrestleMania match, this is not too much of a tragic detour.
Fingers crossed that he can pick up where he left off.
CHEAP HEAT OF THE WEEK:
FANS GET A RAW DEAL
Traditionally, Raw after WrestleMania is brilliant. It is when new stars debut, old faces return, and new stories start. While we got smatterings of the above in the latest edition, most of what went down was, at best, average. The rest? lackluster or downright nonsense.
Adnan Virk, the new commentator, is still clearly learning the ropes, and Raw after 'Mania was simply not the right show to start him off on. Good commentary should blend with the action, but I was constantly aware of his bleating.
Meanwhile, Lilly, the new doll friend of Alexa Bliss is, let us face it, half-baked, as we now know that WrestleMania ending was not the original plan, so there is no grand plan for this at all. Charlotte being the night's big return was okay, but it barely felt like she was even away.
Elsewhere, we had Mandy Rose and Dana Brook walking away from their match because they did not want to face a pissed off Nia Jax! Faces are not meant to be cowards!
Sigh. Fingers crossed for the Raw after the Raw after WrestleMania.
Extra Heat: Black Thursday Really, WWE? You gave the reason as budget cuts? After a record profit year? From the caliber of talent axed, the sheer greed, to the callous choice of date, there is so much wrong with this. I love you, WWE, but God damn it do you make it hard. You did not need to do this, and you have lost some very talented people.
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!
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