Professional wrestling is supposed to be a live performance art. Indeed, watching a match on mute is rarely as satisfying or engaging as watching a match with the volume turned up. Think about iconic matches like Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant or The Rock vs. Hollywood Hogan, and it was the electric stadium crowd that made the shows so profound. Likewise, WWE fans will always remember the Raw After WrestleMania in 2013, when the crowd wasn’t always there, but was always loud and made Dolph Ziggler’s Money in the Bank cash in be positively historical.
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On the other hand, no matter how good the matches were in the ThunderDome era or in empty arenas from 2020 to 2021, it was difficult for wrestling to feel as good without the fans involved in the arena. Despite the importance of fans in wrestling events, there have been times when their participation was detrimental to what was happening in the ring. Whether they were expressing themselves in the wrong way, sitting on their hands, or being distracted or diminished from the match or promo in progress, these were times when the fans in attendance got it wrong quite simply.
WWE Extreme Rules 2018
Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler got fucked
- Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins competed at Extreme Rules 2018 in an Intercontinental Championship match.
- A clock displayed on the big screen distracted the crowd.
- Even after the clock was removed, fans continued to count down from ten, disrupting the in-ring action.
WWE took a chance on the main event of Extreme Rules 2018 by granting this closing spot to the Intercontinental Championship match. The choice made sense since Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler, two of the best in-ring performers of their generation, were working in a thirty-minute Iron Man Match. Everything about this scenario suggested a match of the year candidate and a very difficult fight for anyone to follow.
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WWE made a strategic mistake by placing a clock on the big screen to count down the time of the match by half an hour. The crowd took advantage of the worst of this scenario by choosing to count down from ten at the end of each elapsed minute. What started out as something funny became boring and deeply distracting from the clinic Ziggler and Rollins were putting on in the ring. The team seemed to have had the right idea by removing the clock after a while, but the fans continued to chant their countdown in a slightly less organized manner, which arguably seemed even worse, completely sabotaging the match.
“What!” Chants during the Undertaker’s Hall of Fame induction
Fans undermined a special moment
- Vince McMahon inducted The Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame.
- It made sense to chant “What!” » at Vince McMahon given his history with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
- The crowd participation was all wrong for what should have been a serious moment, honoring a great WWE legend of all time.
The “What!” ” the chant became a WWE staple starting in 2001 with Stone Cold Steve Austin using the word to intimidate his opponents, only for the crowd to understand him. The sing-along had a handful of funny moments, but the live audience just wouldn’t let it die, resurrecting it in situations that had nothing to do with Austin and where it was just distracting from the promos by course.
There is room for debate as to when the chant was appropriate. For example, fans deployed the chant from time to time to shake up a young Roman Reigns when he was at his worst on the mic and WWE was shoving The Big Dog down fans’ throats before he was ready to step into the spotlight. Supporters would say it was to express the public’s dissatisfaction with Reigns; critics would point out that these fans weren’t even giving Reigns a chance and were disrupting the experience of the people who loved him.
One of the worst “What!” » Moments came when Vince McMahon took the stage to host The Undertaker’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Yes, it made sense to antagonize McMahon with the verbiage of his iconic rival, Stone Cold. Plus, it’s easy to support action against McMahon from a modern perspective after all his scandals. However, this occasion was meant to pay tribute to one of WWE’s greatest legends. Hijacking such a special occasion for the public’s own perplexity was simply in poor taste.
Beach ball mania is unleashed
Cesaro put an end to the shenanigans
- Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins challenged Cesaro and Sheamus for the Raw Tag Team title at WWE SummerSlam 2017.
- Fans threw a beach ball, distracting from the game.
- Cesaro took matters into his own hands, entering the crowd to destroy the beach ball.
At SummerSlam 2017, WWE fans were treated to a pretty cool tag team match as Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose challenged Sheamus and Cesaro for the Raw Tag Team Championship. The caliber of talent involved, the novelty of Rollins and Ambrose getting back together, and the special moment when Ambrose became The Shield’s first Grand Slam champion weren’t enough to hold the public’s attention. They were more concerned about a beach ball.
Fans threw a beach ball into the arena during the high-profile game. While one could view the moment as fun and novel – and if it happened before the show or between segments, that would be a fair assessment – it quickly became boring. So Cesaro chose to break character, storm the crowd and grab the balloon to deflate it. Fortunately, the match resumed and went quite well. Additionally, the series of events actually reaffirmed a groundswell of fan support behind Cesaro as he continued his storied career; Many spectators thought it was cool that he took charge and got the match back on track.
The original Brock Lesnar Vs. The Goldberg match never had a chance
One of the main attractions of WrestleMania 20 was a disaster
- Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar looked like a true dream match heading into WrestleMania 20.
- Goldberg and Lesnar were on the verge of leaving WWE and the news was leaked to the fans.
- Fans booing both talents out of the building spoiled the first match between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg.
When Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg first came together for WrestleMania 20, it looked like a true dream match. WWE had kept these two powerhouses under separate brands and avoided any interaction between them until the time was right. Their storyline to follow saw momentary interactions that culminated in Goldberg costing The Beast his WWE Championship and the wheels were in motion for this to be a fun and smashing bout at Madison Square Garden.
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In the still early days of the Internet wrestling community, it was rumored that Goldberg’s contract with WWE was about to expire and, furthermore, that Lesnar had also chosen to leave the company. The fans were rightly disappointed with the two big stars, but the way the crowd behaved spoiled the match that followed.
The live audience booed Lesnar and Goldberg out of the building from their entrances to the opening bell, and into the action as it was. To be fair, both Lesnar and Goldberg bear some of the blame for not fighting the cold reception or doing anything to win back the crowd. There’s a bit of a chicken and egg thing about all the awkward people standing and waiting to follow as both men looked lost and the crowd’s jeers only intensified. They probably should have had the match they ended up having thirteen years later at WrestleMania 33 – an explosive five-minute finish fest. Instead, this match dragged on for fourteen minutes, which felt more like a full hour as the crowd had their way with what was turning into the worst match of the night.
