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?


Oh, God! The humanity! Raw pulled out all the stops this week to create an absolutely jam-packed entertaining show with many memorable moments, but none more so than the inevitable break up of Jeri-KO.

We knew that it was coming. We had known this from day one, but we chose to ignore it and just embrace the beautiful now of the best friendship.

In a segment reminiscent of the classic Rock N Sock "This is your Life" skit of 1999, Jericho proceeded to give his bestie numerous gifts, each more amusing than the last (I want that painting!) till Kevin Owens could finally take no more, and finally turned on Chris in the only way truly possible—adding his name to The List of KO.

The writing was on the wall (or the list) once Jericho held up his own gift from Kevin and then sadly asked why his own name was on the new list, before being brutally beaten down by his bestie and thrown through a flat screen TV.

Between any other pair, this section likely would not have had the same impact, but as it stands, despite being a fictional story, I still felt the same way when Daniel Bryan retired. How is this possible for me to compare an injured human giving up his dreams to best friends fictionally splitting? I do not know, but I cannot describe it any other way, that is how powerful and impactful this section was to me. But the best part? Kevin looked just as heartbroken as I felt actually doing it!

Team Kevin and Chris were like a beautiful summer romance. It was never meant to be forever, we all knew that, but we approved of it anyway.

Thank you, Chris. Thank you, Kevin. So sad, yet so beautiful.


BONUS POP: The Viper's Vow. Some people hated the fact Bray Wyatt won the title as assume that it will mean dropping to Randy Orton at WrestleMania, but after the events of SmackDown, I am not so sure. Of course, we cannot trust Randy Orton to stay true to his word entirely, but a possible workaround could be a triple threat with Luke Harper thrown into the mix. While I would expect Randy to somehow snake his way to the win anyhow, the thought that Luke Harper could main event Mania is one that excites me very much.


Whilst I exalted the many virtues of the Festival of Friendship, there are some sad points that we must also discuss too. Firstly, it signifies the looming end of Chris Jericho's best eeeeeeever WWE run, and I will be very sad to see him go. Chris (and Kevin) have been the highlight of the post-brand split Raw for months. They were a reason for tuning in each and every week and so often stole the show.

Secondly, without Chris Jericho at his side, the likelihood of Kevin Owen’s pulling a fast one over Goldberg is looking less and less likely come Fastlane. With the upcoming third part of Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, one can easily imagine WWE raising the stakes by having the WWE Universal title up for grabs too. Is it not a big enough draw on its own history? Yes, but for whatever reason WWE is looking likely to do this anyway. I suppose it is a way to put the title on Brock Lesnar again, but so would Kevin Owens vs. Brock Lesnar, and that is a match that could have carried a little more longevity and variation to it too.


Extra Heat: Emmalina Debuts So, that was Emmalina. Seventeen weeks of waiting all for one big trolling from WWE. Ah, well. I preferred Evil Power Ranger Emma 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!