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:
BREAK DOWN THE CAGE
What was the biggest highlight of the week for me? Chris Jericho's cage match with Bray Wyatt—most notably the ending.
Channeling elements of Jeff Hardy, Chris threw caution to the wind when he scaled the cage, but instead of climbing down to victory, he decided to do something else. He looked at the crowd, shrugged (as if to say "what the hell"), then leapt off the top, flattening Bray with a crossbody block. It was fast, hard-hitting, and just plain awesome—everything matches between these two can be.
In my opinion, the match was a great one—the best one on Raw, in fact. Many on social media proclaimed it better than their SummerSlam tangle, which some felt had little rhyme, reason or true build up to the story.
Sadly, Jericho does not have much longer on his current contract—reportedly just 3 more matches—so these matches are highly likely Wyatt Family-related. But if the matches can be of this caliber, then I feel Y2J will be able to do just what Cena didn't do: put Wyatt over and insert him into the main event status he so richly deserves.
CHEAP HEAT OF THE WEEK:
TIME TO PLAY THE GAME?
Not if CM Punk can help it.
This past week saw CM Punk launching legal action against WWE for his prominent inclusion in the upcoming WWE 2K15 video game.
Punk, who famously walked out of WWE in January, is reportedly unhappy over the company using his image and likeness within the game. He is also taking offense that a large part of the single-player story mode focuses on him.
This is bad news for fans of the popular video game series, as there are rumblings Punk's action could cause a delay to the October release schedule. Furthermore, it would be disastrous for WWE should they miss the Christmas market and have 2K15 not actually be released until 2K15.
While this is highly unlikely, this is still a delicate situation and proves there is animosity on both sides here. Does Punk actually have a case? In my opinion, as much as I love Punk, I am not sure he does.
The programmers claim to have coded the section involving Punk back in early January, before he had actually left WWE. The plot of his section reflects a past time. It is not as if WWE has turned his departure into a storyline in the game to mock him. The fact he was chosen to have a story in the first place shows he is valued, but as we know, perhaps not to the level he deserved.
I have never known a wrestler to take offense to being included in a game, but possibly the fact he is no longer under contract means there is no obligation to pay him from the profits of the game. In which case, you can understand his aggravation being touted and featured. But without knowing the full legal situation, it is hard to speculate further to the outcome.
Game delay aside, what really makes this bad news is the fact this furthers the gulf between Punk and WWE in such a way that his sarcastically spoken (complete with an eye roll) announcement he will never wrestle again certainly is looking more and more true.
At least, not with the WWE, anyway.
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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