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, Dallas Allsopp, Greg Coleman and Bodeen Green will be giving their opinions on the fallout from an interesting Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, in addition to how the results may impact on the upcoming Draft.

Hell in a Cell was an absorbing pay-per-view which featured some great matches, but also featured one of the most controversial main events in recent memory. With the upcoming Draft, will the fallout from Hell in a Cell impact on the choices made for the Draft?


ALLSOPP: Unfortunately, Bray Wyatt’s reinvention is dead in the water. His inability to be pinned following multiple Curb Stomps means he can realistically never be defeated in a normal match. The biggest issue however is how he has lost all momentum following Hell in a Cell, with WWE once again failing to fully capitalise on a red hot Wyatt character. Realistically, The Fiend gimmick would be better suited to Raw as SmackDown seems to be leaning towards a more realistic product, so I can see him being drafted to Raw as a top 5 choice.

COLEMAN: The Fiend can be salvaged but WWE won’t do the work necessary to do it. In order to salvage the character of The Fiend, he would have to first beat Rollins in dominant fashion to become the WWE Universal Champion. Next, he would have to go undefeated for over a year, which includes beating Brock Lesnar clean at Survivor Series. Then, and only then, would The Fiend be made whole. I pray he remains on Raw, because if he goes to SmackDown he will instantly become a means to the end of making Lesnar and Reigns look strong.

GREEN: The Fiend suffered a major blow on Sunday, however WWE can still redeem themselves in the next few weeks. To me, the ending of Sunday's match was part of a much larger plan with The Fiend and Seth Rollins. On Sunday, Rollins embraced his dark side, but is this what Bray Wyatt meant when he tells everyone to let him in? Will we now see a darker side of Rollins? After all, Wyatt stated on Firefly Fun House that Rollins was his future best friend. Due to the future between Rollins and Wyatt, I think Wyatt will stay on Raw for the Draft.


COLEMAN: Quite the contrary. The women’s division is deep enough and has enough talent that this should be the golden age of women’s wrestling. Unfortunately, what we get is two women dominating the division. As talented as Charlotte is, there is no reason she should be a 10 time champion at this point. Asuka, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, Kairi Sane and a host of others should all be competing for the women’s championships and providing fresh matchups. Instead, we get a lot of repeat matches with Charlotte and Becky Lynch remaining champions.

GREEN: While Hell in a Cell did have 4 women's matches, the only match that received a proper build was Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch. This seems to happen on every show, with the main example being the Women's Tag Team Championship. For at least three shows, these titles have been put on the card for no reason at all which has has led to half of the women's division being poorly booked. While this may be a golden age for women's wrestling in regards to talent, booking wise it feels like one step forward and two steps back, especially when the same women are always in the spotlight. Lynch and Charlotte are prime examples of this.

ALLSOPP: There is an embarrassment of riches in the women’s division, however too much time is dedicated to feuds between wrestlers with little to no talent. Lacey Evans vs Natalya is an example of this, and despite Natalya being one of the better wrestlers in the women’s division, she is unable to drag a good match out of the green Evans. A bigger issue for me is how Asuka is relegated to the women’s tag team division when she should still be SmackDown Women’s Champion. This is a golden age of women’s wrestling for sure in comparison to previous years, but the talent is still being wasted.


GREEN: If champions can be drafted, I would say AJ Styles would be the number one pick. With Brock Lesnar being WWE Champion, we probably won't see the WWE Championship for a long period of time. To counter this, WWE need someone to raise the value of their other singles title, while at the same time becoming the face on SmackDown. AJ Styles fits this role perfectly, and he also has the potential to put on outstanding matches with people like Ali, Andrade and Buddy Murphy. This would make SmackDown better and feel like the new A show.

ALLSOPP: Realistically, I cannot see past Roman Reigns being selected first. His character has been fully rehabilitated following his successful battle with leukemia, and not only has he become a better wrestler, but he should be the undoubted face of the company going forward. He is skilled in the ring, a convincing talker and a company man. He is, quite frankly, everything that Vince McMahon looks for in a star. No one else on the roster can touch Reigns in my eyes, so I feel he will be drafted to Raw as the first overall Draft pick.

COLEMAN: Without knowing who’s eligible to be drafted, my pick is going to assume that champions are not eligible to be drafted, so I’m going to say the first pick will be Roman Reigns to SmackDown. He’s the guy who’s been the face of the WWE for the past few years, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. It makes sense that he would be on the new A show.