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?


This past week saw the exciting announcement that the 2018 Royal Rumble would play host to the first ever women's Royal Rumble match. While by no means a shocking turn of events, it is a welcome one all the same. Admittedly, I did feel the occasion was somewhat marred by Stephanie McMahon forgetting all sense of kayfabe so that she could be the one to make the announcement, but that is what we have come to expect from Miss McMahon.

Between the increased NXT call-ups, women's matches headlining Raw, and female versions of the Money in the Bank and Hell in a Cell, it was only a matter of time till we got the big one, and it is going to be very interesting to see how this plays out. Nia Jax and Asuka are going to be my ones to watch going into this thing, but what also excites me is the potential for the cheap pop guest spots.

Never before have we had a real opportunity to facilitate this sort of thing for yesteryear female stars, but now we have the very real possibility of seeing a Trish Stratus or Lita pop us to give us that warm and fuzzy nostalgic feeling. Who else might we see? Michelle McCool? Layla? AJ Lee?

Okay, the last one is a real wishful thinking, but the point of the matter is that this is all very exciting stuff.



Serious injury rumors have been a fair frequent occurrence these past couple of weeks, but one that we do know for certain is that Dean Ambrose has undergone shoulder surgery and is expected to be out for up to six months.

There is never a good time to have a serious injury, but this particular one feels like the last nail in the coffin in what has been a below-par Shield reunion.

This is not to say that it has been bad, but it would be hard to deny that it had much purpose beyond getting Roman Reigns accepted. Dean and Seth Rollins coming together was a beautifully executed tale that played out perfectly, but The Shield essentially reunited to take down a makeshift alliance that was hardly running roughshod over everyone on Raw.

However, even that did not get off to the best of starts when Roman Reigns was struck down by an illness that forced him to miss their big reunion match at TLC.

Still, many of us hoped that this was merely a weak catalyst and the good stuff was yet to come. But now? Where do we go with The Shield from here? Whatever plans WWE had for them must have surely been shelved now. Will it just quietly dissolve, or continue with Seth and Roman as a pair?

The Shield was an iconic stable that debuted and split in an iconic way. The second time around they reunited in an a pretty average way, and may now sadly have to disappear in an equally unremarkable way.

Injuries and illness happen, so none of this is Dean or Roman's fault, but the timing of the reunion was not great, and now will unlikely get a chance to be better.


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!