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?


Raw gave us two heel turns this week in the form of Goldust and Apollo Crews, and while neither were on the Seth Rollins Shield turn level of significance, both were long overdue.

Firstly, Apollo Crews. This man gave the audience zero reason to care. Beyond a good look and moveset, there was no reason to invest in his boring character. But now I can see him in a whole new light thanks to that one little kick to Enzo after the match. That brief flash of annoyance on his face gave us a hint of what he might actually be capable of.

Now, we come to The Golden Truth. I was all for them teaming up when they first teased the idea. Neither men were doing anything, and both men can be funny in their own right, but together they simply did not work.

The idea was clearly to try to recapture the Booker T/Goldust magic, but as both members of the team were oddballs, the straight man aspect that Booker T brought was nowhere to be found. The result was a team of no chemistry, substance, or story of any sort. Even the name seemed forced.

Goldust is one of the last full-time active members of the roster from the Attitude Era. Can you imagine if his career had petered out whilst part of this team? What a sad story that would have been. Nobody is expecting this to mean he can now enter the Universal Championship picture, but anything is going to be more worthy than this.



It was bad news when WWE announced that Braun Strowman needed surgery that would take him out for four to eight weeks, but bad news has become worse after doctors discovered his injuries were more severe than first thought. For it was during this initial surgical procedure that doctors found Strowman's elbow had been shattered, and he is expected to miss up to six months of action as a result.

Exactly when he picked it up is unclear, but I would wager running straight into an open ambulance door as a probable catalyst. This is really bad news as, alongside Chris Jericho, Strowman has been one of the best things about Monday Night Raw since the brand split. Entire shows were built around him, and it is not hard to see why. He is a big man who can move, Brock Lesnar looks small against him, and he has an unintentional comedic streak that dwarfs many on the roster.

However, there is one ray of hope in that there are rumors this is just an exaggerated injury story, but only time will tell there.

In the meantime, ambulance drivers across the country will be relieved, but the rest of us will be wishing Braun the speediest of recoveries. Raw is a sadder place without him.


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!