WWE has a lot of problems. The stories take up 75% of the show but they're lackluster and rarely have any payoff. The matches are extreamly short and rarely have a clean finish. Characters rarely evolve. Even with all of those things, the one I hate most about WWE, is the fans. The fans annoy me to no end and sometimes they ruin a show for me.One of the most important things in pro wrestling to me is a crowd. A loud crowd doesn't make a good crowd. A crowd can provide negative energy and leave a bad taste when the show is over. A crowd can provide a lot of positive energy and make it much more entertaining overall. A crowd can be quiet and even if it's a great match it may seem boring because it gets no reaction. I want to give you a few examples.
This year the crowd at the Royal Rumble was loud all night, and they made the show bad. It's not just me who thinks so. The entire night if it wasn't Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, or Dolph Ziggler the crowd chanted CM Punk. At one point they boo'd Kofi Kingston which may have been the first time that ever. It even prompted Big E. to yell "Fuck you Philly" when he came out for the rumble match. You don't have to cheer the faces and boo the heels, but at least cheer for a person that's there. It's counterproductive and purely an asshole move to just berate every single person who isn't your favorite. It's childish. Despite the PG rating in WWE it's adults going to these shows and acting like spoiled little brats. I admit I wasn't a fan of the ending to the show but peep this. When Kane and Big Show eliminated everyone, boos. When Rock comes out cheers, he helps Roman, boos. The boos even left Rock visible shocked. But, that's not even the worst part. The crowd starts chanting for Rusev. He comes back in and they boo him for being eliminated.That wasn't even the end. Fans decided to confront the wrestlers after the show and blocked some of them from leaving. It was an asshole crowd. I admit the show wasn't the best PPV ever, but it wasn't the worst. The crowd's actions just made it so much worse. The crowd sucked the mood out of the building by constantly cheering a guy that wasn't even there and shitting on everyone else for not being him.
Let's look at a good crowd. Let's look at Fastlane. The PPV directly after. Did the crowd boo Roman Reigns, yes. Did they chant for CM Punk, yes. They did all the same things but what they didn't do was cheer for CM Punk non stop. They didn't crap all over guys for not being CM Punk. Goldust and Stardust both got boo'd at the Royal Rumble, but not this time around. The crowd obviously had it's favorites but they weren't concerned with making themselves part of the show.
Now let's look at some really good crowds. For this we're leaving WWE. We're talking Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor. The fans at these shows don't want to be part of the show. They just want to enjoy the show. ROH obviously has the streamers, TNA has random fans dressed as the wrestlers in the crowd every week. Both crowds cheer the faces and boo the heels. But, like WWE there are still some heels like EC3 that get cheers. They're just there to enjoy the show.Now, let's go international. NJPW and NOAH are obviously in Japan. They have a different culture. It's obvious they'll have a different kind of fan reaction. But, they also cheer and boo too a lesser extent. However, they aren't chanting for Nakamura in every match like Daniel Bryan. They're also not chanting for KENTA to come back. Look at European crowds, they cheer what they like, boo what they don't. It's simple. They just want to have fun.
The issue could be contributed to the smarks, smart marks, or IWC. Whatever they're calling themselves these days. TNA and ROH have a lot less of these. These are the guys who read the dirtsheets all day and post theories on Reddit and Twitter about how much better they can book the show. As HHH said "Kids on the internet." I know for a fact they aren't all kids, but they act like it. Most are adults who still kick, scream and throw tantrums when it doesn't go their way. CM Punk is never coming back to the WWE. You've got to get over it, because chanting his name during every match won't bring him back. They don't want to have fun. They want to be the star of the show, control the show and have everything their way. Smarks always complain, but they're the ones who make the show worse.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
Follow @OriginalKingD
