Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Jordan Chaffiotte, Greg Coleman, and Callum Wiggins will be giving their thoughts on The McMahon Family Shake-Up.

So, it was time to shake things up. The result? Full-time McMahons! What happens next? Let's discuss...


WIGGINS: As Vince McMahon's iconic entrance music pronounces, I think there's no chance in hell that real change is coming to WWE. Think about it - has there really been any length of time in WWE over the last two decades that hasn't been dominated by The McMahon family on television? And now their big solution to shake things up is just to say that there's going to be even more McMahon air time? Give me a break.

I'd like to be optimistic and get on board the hype train that this is the dawn of a new era, but I sadly seem to be one of their remaining viewers with long-term memory and living brain cells. I've been burnt too many times to think otherwise. So either things improve and I'll gladly be proven wrong and eat a hefty helping of humble pie, or things go as they undoubtedly will and I'll keep waiting for something that's actually significant to happen.

COLEMAN: My first reaction was shock and pleasant surprise that they even acknowledged that such a large portion of their fanbase was displeased with the product. I am optimistic after the announcement that The McMahon Family as a collective will be in charge because I think we will get a blending of Vince McMahon’s genius with HHH’s understanding of the modern wrestling fan base and how to give them what they want. Add in Shane and Stephanie’s expertise and ideas and I think we will definitely see some improvement.
Do I think we are in for a real change? I believe we are in for changes but I’m not expecting Finn Balor to get a Universal Title run anytime soon. Changes will be made but I believe fans need to temper their expectations to prevent from being disappointed and missing the changes that have actually occurred.

CHAFFIOTTE: Ehhhh? I was excited when they brought out the entire McMahon Family that it was going to be a significant changing of the guard moment but it does feel like more of the same doesn't it? It looks like they've acknowledged the need for some changes vision-wise, and I hope the involvement of them on camera is symbolic of that being true behind the scenes. It really is an all or nothing situation, Vince can't have a foot in WWE and a foot in XFL, we've seen his divided attention doesn't really work. That's how we get last minute rewrites and disastrous segments where no one knows what's going on. It doesn't have to be Vince, but as a unit, the McMahons need to run a tight ship. We've seen that tight ship, frankly, and it's called NXT. So change is possible, I just don't know if I believe they're sincere about making those changes.


WIGGINS: The NXT call-ups were honestly quite underwhelming. That's not to say any of those selected are not good compelling characters, because they all are. It's just they're names that weren't exactly moving the needle in NXT or crucial to their storylines going forward - they were completely expendable to developmental. If it were names like Ricochet, Aleister Black, Kairi Sane, and The Undisputed Era, that's a shake-up. This is just adding fresh faces to already bloated rosters on Raw and SmackDown.

Out of all of the names, I think the safest bet to be a big success is Lars Sullivan. He's a prototype heel monster that Vince McMahon will get behind wholeheartedly. But, I also think Heavy Machinery could be unexpectedly great too on the main roster. They're goofy and charismatic enough to fit into WWE's philosophy, but due to their size, they can also always be considered a threat to the championships.

CHAFFIOTTE: No one here is at the top or the bottom of my list. I'm excited to see what EC3 will do with a bigger stage, and I think Lacey Evans was ready for the transition. Lars Sullivan has never really done it for me and I don't expect that to change now. Heavy Machinery feel like jobbers to me but you know what, I said that about the Revival and then ate my hat. The wildcard is Nikki Cross. She has so much potential and is a prime example of the fact that anything can work if you put enough of yourself into it. They say in politics that you can usually tell who's winning a debate by who looks like they're having the most fun. By that rule of thumb, Cross is winning every match ever and is basically Universal Champion now, does someone want to tell Brock? She's amazing, but just look at where the rest of Sanity is right now? I'm so scared they're going to drop this gimmick on the ground and she'll fade into the background before long.

COLEMAN: Initially I was surprised by the EC3 call-up because it feels like he wasn’t in NXT for long and didn’t make much of a mark. However, once you examine the current roster of NXT and the names that will be getting into the mix soon as new signees, it makes sense for EC3 to move up because he definitely fits the main roster more than NXT and the same thing could be said for Lars Sullivan so those two make sense.
Lacey Evans seemed as if she was in a bit of purgatory while in NXT. She wasn’t a good enough heel to bypass current champ Shayna Baszler and the surging Bianca Bel Air. If she were to turn babyface she wouldn’t bypass Candace LeRae, Kairi Sane, or Io Shirai on that side so she had to move up.

The most surprising call-up to me was Heavy Machinery. The reason being NXT’s tag division is thin as it is and with Nick Miller leaving, they just lost a tag team. But the same thing could be said about the tag team division on the main roster so it makes sense. Hopefully, this means that teams like the Street Profits and Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch will get some more opportunities.

The answer to the question of who will bring the most depends heavily on how they are booked. Lacey Evans will be a mid-carder at best. Lars Sullivan will be a lesser version of Braun Strowman which means he won’t be a top guy. This leaves EC3 and Heavy Machinery and I’m going to go out on a limb and say Heavy Machinery will bring the most as the new regime highlights the tag team division more and they get quality opportunities to shine.


COLEMAN: If WWE is truly about change then Braun Strowman needs to become Universal Champion at the Royal Rumble and it shouldn’t be close. Braun Strowman is a monster and he was made to look like a mouse by Lesnar at Crown Jewel with that glorified squash. Strowman is long overdue to become the guy on Raw and with Reigns out indefinitely(praying for you Roman) there is no other wrestler who makes a better case to be champ. Don’t go with your safe pick of Seth Rollins which has been rumored. If you want me to feel things have changed make The Monster Amongst Men the Universal Champ.

WIGGINS: I need to see Vince McMahon retire, resign or, least favorably, pass away. At the end of the day, there's enough evidence out there that every main roster show is decided for him and written solely to entertain him. I think he has lost touch with what WWE fans in 2018 want and the only thing that will assure me that real change is coming are when the Chairman steps down and his sizeable shoes are filled by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

CHAFFIOTTE: I'm a story person, I need to see that there's a commitment to good, long-term stories, with real arcs and real characters. It's not that they haven't done it, it's that they haven't done it consistently. I'm not asking every feud to be Charlotte vs. Becky, but every feud should have some degree of that emotion, story-building, and pay off. If by Mania, we have a card full of really well-done programs that have built over time to get to this point, I'll be super happy with that. If it's the same old same old, mostly matches thrown together at the last minute, I won't hesitate to call this lip-service. I'll still watch, of course, I'm an addict and I need my fix. The ratings may not be so forgiving.