Should WWE be more selective with crowds

[slayerofpanda]

So watching London Raw last night I really saw how into the show the crowd was. For me this makes the product a lot better to watch when you got a really energetic crowd and sometimes its really crappy when you got a really dead crowd even when there is good in ring action.

So my question should WWE skip towns that are habitual quiet crowds and just reward the fans that give them better ambiance by going to those towns more?

 

[Coco]

A paying crowd is a lively crowd.

Personally, I sorta wish once in a while the E would help the atmosphere of their shows and work a smaller, more intimate arena. And I'm not saying play to smarky douche-bags, either. But there is an organizational advantage for fun chants and reactions in a small arena as opposed to one that seats ten or twenty thousand people.

I really think good stuff like Miz and Morrison's first "Are you fifty?" promo wouldn't get no-sold if they played Raw in more intimate settings... among other things that are wrong with the product.

But at the end of the day, it's about the almighty bottom line. If I was invested in the WWE, I'd certainly want them drawing as large a gate as possible.

 

[CKO]

oh jeez get off the whole cena stinks thing. it's really old already. give me a few reasons why and not the whole hez gOT only 5 movEzzz!!! meh

i think the wwe being in smaller arenas in some areas would be really good. getting in touch with a smaller crowd would be more fun. tna does that at their house shows, and it gets really fun. it feels more personal and the crowd tends to be more rowdy, which is fun in itself.

wwe could take a page out of tna's book. it could only work for the best.

 

[ztwhite]

A lot of the crowd reaction is based on their audience, but being overseas provides for a much different audience.

Here in the states, the crowds are littered with thousands of kids and lets face it, kids aren't as loud as adults, don't start chants like adults and lose interest a lot faster than adults.

If anyone noticed on last nights Raw, when Mysterio came to the ring, he only stopped once on his way down the aisle to address a kid wearing a Mysterio mask. I actually Tivo'ed the show and just went back and watched the entrance again and there was only one kid for Mysterio to address !!!

When he makes that entrance in Cleveland or Phoenix or Chicago, he stops a half dozen times for groups with three or four kids wearing Mysterio masks and that's just in the entrance aisle.

It appears as if there's simply a different type of crowd when the WWE heads across the pond and since they only make the trip once or twice a year for tv tapings, it definitely shows.

 

[showstoppermike87]

i know this is totally off topic but wow that pic of kelly kelly bending over is hot!
damn can you imagine fucking her wow its probably great...
ok imagine kelly kelly and tiffany and maryse having a threesome together
and joining in
i think any male would die happy after being involved with that it would truly be a dream come true...
let me know what you people think ??

Also the crowd reaction these days are average reactions nothing special little pops here and there. Ive been to raw in boston recently, the one where cena vs. edge, hbk vs. vladimir kozlov. And the crowd is nothing/quiet compared to the late 90s crowd. When i went to a WWF show in 1998/1999/2000 wow the reactions were deafeningg and insanely LOUD for stone cold. rock. dx. Nothing today like it was back then for sure. When the glass hit and austin came to the ring every single person in the arena was standing and screaming. Cena nothing like it at all you got your few cheers from the females/kids in the audience later drowned out with some boos by the males in the audience.

 

[Black Snow]

Don't blame the crowd. Blame the product. When everything is firing on all cyllinders and the card is interesting from top to bottom even the most notoriously quiet crowds will be jumping around.

Quiet towns means the product isn't quite up to snuff. It should motivate the WWE to get better.

 

[travistragic]

The London crowd was definitely interesting, most particularly with that back and forth booing when Cena threw a punch and cheering when Jericho threw one. I think they should do more international tours because the crowds are always red hot and don't just go gaga over the good guys like here in the states.

I wish I could say there are some cities in the states they should skip, but I can't remember which ones draw poorly. I know they draw good (albeit heel) crowds here in Tampa.

 

[OIL]

Hmm. So the loudest crowds that I can remember are London, Chicago & New York. There's the 3 loudest in my opinion, although I may be wrong. They always provide a fantastic atmosphere for the show, and it really does make the show more interesting. Skipping out quiet towns could work, and to be honest it's their fault for not making any noise. I know cheering a wrestler won't help him win, but it really does add to the product. Well, in my opinion I'd skip out the towns that are just stupidly quiet. Teach them a lesson, make some fucking noise.

 

[blkbrucewillis]

Yeah the London crowd Monday was a huge turnaround from the crowd full of corpses in Atlanta the week before. I do agree the crowd's interaction does somewhat dictate the level of interest I have in the show as a viewer. I'm rather torn on the decision to just skip over a town with quiet crowds though. Perhaps the product was rather stale that night. I guess this topic hits a chord with me because I'm from a town that had a lengthy 5-6 year stretch of not having any big promotion come to town when I was younger.

 

[Scott Free]

So watching London Raw last night I really saw how into the show the crowd was. For me this makes the product a lot better to watch when you got a really energetic crowd and sometimes its really crappy when you got a really dead crowd even when there is good in ring action.

So my question should WWE skip towns that are habitual quiet crowds and just reward the fans that give them better ambiance by going to those towns more?

I say just edit in the crowd reaction that's needed to make the match more exciting ! You know, put chants in for whomever you want to put over, boos where you need them and overall hype the product artificially. Seriously, if people buy tickets, they should be able to react any way they want, they can boo faces and cheer heels if they so desire. If some TV viewers are so conditioned to pre-accepted responses from the crowd that they get confused if they react differently, well, that's their problem.

 

[Toscah]

The London crowd was definitely interesting, most particularly with that back and forth booing when Cena threw a punch and cheering when Jericho threw one. I think they should do more international tours because the crowds are always red hot and don't just go gaga over the good guys like here in the states.

I wish I could say there are some cities in the states they should skip, but I can't remember which ones draw poorly. I know they draw good (albeit heel) crowds here in Tampa.

You could really tell that Y2J wanted to get the crowd going as much as it goes against his character right now. I personally loved watching the crowd over there in lime-land, nice job guys.
If you'll notice Cena is getting booed more and more often now adays, I think a change is needed, or there needs to be a new anti-hero face (Stone Cold esque bad boy) to complement him. If the Rock never had Stone Cold he wouldn't have been as legendary.

 

[bulldog76]

You go where you are paid. You do not want to alienate anyone. When they pay their money, let them act however they want. When they pay, you know they want you. If you go just where they are screaming for the entire time, you minimize where you would want to travel.

 

[timmy872]

I was in attendence at RAW/Superstars and Smackdown/ECW tapings this week in England.
I went to Wrestlemania 25 also this year.
The arena was just as lively as the crowd in Houston for 'Mania.
I could give or take a little but it was pretty damn similar.

The thing is over here, if you like wrestling, you are constantly reminded by people
when they find out that you like it, "Oh it's fake! Whats the point in it?" So people
over here tend not to buy into the kayfabe or it all. Even the kids here.
I was sat behind the loudest kid who would not stop chanting Matt Hardy's name.
That would be unheard of anywhere else. The reason Jericho got such a good
response was because he is a real legend. We apprechiate those who have put
in the time, not those who get over as quick as they can.

Heel/Face it doesn't matter. The men in Britian Boo Cena because he has taken
what wasn't his to take. Because he is too big too fast. Everyone's aware of how
much he works for the company, but surely others work just as hard but aren't
recognized for it.
Of course the majority of women and children go mad for John, But there will always
be the under chorus of boo's for Cena because he was made too much too soon.

Here also, when we pay to go to something, we will voice our opinions no matter what.
If I want to cheer Edge then BY GOD I WILL! I paid to be here, i'll cheer and boo
who I want not who I'm told too.

Of course the final reason is that American's and the English are simply different.
I love America, but English fans give a great reaction because it's just what
we do.

 

[BradTheGreat]

the shows they do in the Brisbane Entertainment Centre here in the Land Down Under have GREAT crowds. there is absolutley NO quiet parts.

Headlock? start the 'Randys a wanker' chant
hell, even Funaki got a ridiculously huge reception

and i'd be pretty comfortable saying the Ent Cent has about the same seating capacity as Madison Square and they have freaking WrestleManias at that place..

so why not have the occasional televised trip abroad?
great fans, great atmoshphere = great show, great matches.

 

[Chris in SC]

I was amazed at the boos that Cena got on Raw. You always hear some, but this was overwhelming.

I don't have the polarized opinion of love or hate for Cena, but it was cool hearing people give an honest response instead of the kayfabe response that was expected.

Loved the cheering for Jericho.

I've been in the 'Cena sells merchandise and makes money, Vince is doing the right thing with him' mindset, but if something doesn't change, the 'WWE Universe' is going to go into open rebellion.

And to the original question, I like the idea of going where the crowds are hot, but it all comes down to $$$. If WWE could sell out a senior citizens home, they'd go there.