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?



The King of the Ring tournament is going pretty well thus far. I like that they are drawing it out over an extended period of time, and that they intend to end it at a Pay-Per-View. It is quite the contrast to the 2015 tournament which, like an RKO, came out of nowhere, and was done within just two days across one episode Raw and a Network special. It began, and ended, before we had time to care, and the outcome more or less killed off the Bad News Barrett character too.

The current KOTR also gives us a good picture of who WWE sees as its upper-mid guys, and that it at least proves that they are not clueless about who is, or will be, an asset going forward. Will they use them correctly is another matter entirely, but at least they are recognizing their ability.

Also, aside from it all being all about who gets the silly scepter and crown, this is a very wrestling orientated tournament. The matches are of a decent length, have featured some great ring technicians, and should surely be hitting a sweet spot for the more purist traditionalist fan.

Another positive? 50-50 booking cannot be done during these tournaments. Yes, you heard that right. Wins and losses are actually having an effect on the outcome.

Who would have thought?



Plus points for WWE putting on a lengthy tag team turmoil and making it a big focus of Raw, but minus points for pretty much everything else where tag teams are concerned. As I mentioned in last week’s Heat column, the idea that a seasoned team like the Good Brothers would lose their titles to a first time franken team did make them, and the tag division as a whole, look a bit like chumps.

However, I reasoned that it would not be for the long haul, and that the O.C would likely win them back before the month was out.

Nope.

Instead, Raw seemed to double down on the narrative by not only having the flung together team of Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler become the number one contenders, thus continuing the theme of tag teams being lesser than two single stars, but also having Sasha Banks cut a promo that dismissed the women’s tag belts as meaningless. Yes, there was a long period where they fell by the wayside, but Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross are doing a lot to try to rectify these wrongs.

I get the need to drum up heel heat for Sasha, but did it have to come in a form that belittled an entire division’s efforts and achievements?


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!