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?



Rumor has it that WWE did away with stringently scripted promos this week. Instead, most were just given their bullet point notes and told to go out and say what they wished to say. The idea supposedly being that it will create far more naturalistic and convincing promos. But is it true? Well, there are a few examples that I could cite to support it, but none greater than Daniel Bryan.

I have previously written for my love of the New Daniel Bryan character, but his most recent promo on SmackDown Live was at a whole new level. I have not seen someone deliver a promo with such intensity and passion for a very long time, and I loved every second of it. The best movie villains are often those that actually have a good point or justification for their actions, but may not go about resolving it in the most moral of ways. Unsurprisingly, the same applies to wrestling.

But as fantastic as his performance was, props must be given to those who produced/filmed the segment. Having Bryan kick it off in the arena lobby before advancing down the steps and then towards the ring made this segment that much better. Lastly, the surprise attack from R-Truth was an excellent way to cap it off. Unexpected, over the top, and a very promising early start to the New SmackDown Live era.



Removing the script may have been great for Daniel Bryan, but the same cannot be said for Braun Strowman if that was the cause for his somewhat painful standoff with Brock Lesnar. The Monster Among Men stumbled and fumbled his way through lines that he had either forgotten, or never had to begin with, and then occasionally interspersed it with some of his catchphrases whether they were in context or not.

None of this was helped by the fact that he had also been lumbered with the weirdest camera setup since someone decided that all backstage wrestlers should view TV sideways. Poor Strowman had to speak to Brock Lesnar whilst looking directly into the camera, meaning that he was getting none of the visuals nor see the crowd to work off.

Strowman is normally a very entertaining promo guy, but this was just not his night for it.


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!