TNA vs. WWE: The Fans

[Y 2 Jake]

About 2 years ago when the original TNA vs. WWE thread was started it was by far one of the most popular threads on the whole board. And for a long time it was very even when it came to the poll results. But in the past year WWE has jumped well ahead, but so have the other two options of neither & both. So what I'm going to do now is split it up into about 10 threads, or more/less if anybody has any suggestions. Below is a list of the topics I currently have in mind.

TNA vs. WWE the topics:

Fans, Matches, PPVs, Characters, iMPACT/ECW/Smackdown/Raw, Champions, Gimmicks, 6-Sides or Square & Feuds​

There are four sides. TNA, WWE, neither & both. Vote and discuss each for your chosen option. Compare and contrast between each.

So it was very close when it came to the matches. That thread is still open, and while it wasn't a great success it got enough people talking for me to do another one. And what little discussion it had was good.

So the second topic is the fans. Which promotion has the best ones. You can take into account the fact that TNA fans cheer for everything. Are they mindless drones or is iMPACT really that exciting. You can also look at WWE, with all their talent yet most of the under card wrestlers get little to no reaction. Unless you're a supertsar then the fans aren't going going to give you the time of day. But you also have WWE wrestlers who can get more fans to cheer by raising an eyebrow than a TNA wrestler could wrestling the best match of the decade. Vote for whichever side you're on.

 

[huwtimbrell38]

The thing i dont like about the TNA fans is the fact you constantly seem have chants such as "fire russo" which are needless. they seem to have a lot of smarks or marks or whatever you want to call them who are more concerned in getting themselved noticed than creating a good atmosphere. personally i love the fact that in WWE for the most part the chants/boos are towards the wrestlers and due to the fact their a heel or a face, Cena being the main outsider in this but even he has started getting less boos. The other thing i like in WWE which TNA will struggle to do until it does grow bigger is the use of the home town fans to garner heat/huge pops. I remember when Cena/Edge beat each other in each others home towns and the reactions to both results were incredible.
So for me the WWE fans win this debate because of the fact the reactions, from what ive seen, and i admit im no veteran when it comes to TNA, are more to do with the actual wrestlers and what their trying to do.

 

[Rusty]

The WWE wins this by a large margin. Their fans just react to a situation much better than TNA's audience. Most WWE fans cheer and boo the right superstars that the WWE wants them to. Sure there will be some boos for a face like John Cena and some cheers for a heel like Santino, but thats always going to happen. Plus due to the arena being much larger, WWE's audience make much more noise than TNA's. When a new superstar debuts, the fans are fairly quiet, but so they should be. If they don't know a superstar, why should they instantly cheer or boo them? WWE's fans appreciate the show much more in my personal opinion.

On the other hand you have TNA's fans. I strongly dislike their fans. They scream at absolutely anything and start random chants that just aren't needed at all. If a wrestler does a small spot like suicide diving through the ropes, their fans will chant "TNA", "TNA", "TNA". Its just so pointless sometimes. But something thats even worse than that, is who exactly do the fans favour? TNA's heels get many cheers most of the time, and thats not a good sign. If you don't know whos face and whos heel, the fans certainly wont help you make up your mind. I remember when I first started iMPACT, I basically had to figure out who was face by myself. Heels like Booker T and Kurt Angle get cheered weekly no matter what wrestler they face. Also, because the audience is so small, it is sometimes difficult to figure out if they are cheering or booing.

So the WWE fans win this by a landslide. There is no competition when it comes down to the fans. TNA's fans are much more irratating than the fans of the WWE.

 

[varney]

the tna fans are hit and miss, its usually the same fans night in and not out in orlando and theres not much diversity

btw im a huge chant mark

i loved the chant/fan diversity WWE has, NYC and CHI are huge smark towns and boo the shit outta the people the internet usually hates..cena, bastista, its fabolous
then when wwe visits lower east coast, midsouth and west coast it's usually a little kid crowd all for cena and always boo the heels and cheer for the faces, but that doesnt do it for me

i love how the wwe crowd can dictate a match (WM22) when chicago was booing cena and cheering for HHH which called for a boo vs yea punch fest, when wwe went to hammerstein that was when i would most mark out, the crowd payed to get in just to voice there hateful opinions about wwe..i fucking love that (change the channel chant)

ONS:2 is definently my most favorite wwe crowd, seconded by WM22 chicago crowd, a TNA crowd could never touch either of those...i just wish WWE would head to the hammerstein one more god damn time..its a disaster for kayfabe but its so much fun for the smart mark

 

[TheSaint]

The thing is that, TNA pretty much have the exact same people in the Impact Zone every week, so its just the same people chanting for the same high spots and the babyfaces every time. Not to mention that, TNA tape Impact on Monday and Tuesday, so the same people turning up cheering for the same people they saw yesterday, that would get boring. It seems to me that lately all the smarks stopped buying tickets for TNA shows and there has been a lot more kids there, cause you dont hear cheers for heels anymore, like when Judas Mesias got "welcome back" chants.

 

[THE Madcap]

I voted for TNA on this one, my reasoning for doing so was based on the house shows that I have attended.

I've been to 4 WWE house shows, 1 WCW house show and 1 TNA house show in the UK as well as WM22 and WM24. The WWE and WCW house shows were dead, noise wise, whereas the atmosphere at the TNA one was phenomenal. The fans were into every match on the card and I left the building with barely a voice, similar to WM22 and WM24. Now, not for a minute suggesting TNA house shows > Wrestlemania or TNA house shows = Wrestlemania...but you get my point.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Well I think that a UK House Show will always get an amazing reaction. I've never been to an American one, but they're more frequent so after a while they must get old. A UK House Show get's a Mania style reaction. problem is that most the titme people cheer the likes of Funaki so in return it's kind of liike a TNA reaction. Cheering just for the sake of it.

 

[huwtimbrell38]

the tna fans are hit and miss, its usually the same fans night in and not out in orlando and theres not much diversity

btw im a huge chant mark

i loved the chant/fan diversity WWE has, NYC and CHI are huge smark towns and boo the shit outta the people the internet usually hates..cena, bastista, its fabolous
then when wwe visits lower east coast, midsouth and west coast it's usually a little kid crowd all for cena and always boo the heels and cheer for the faces, but that doesnt do it for me

i love how the wwe crowd can dictate a match (WM22) when chicago was booing cena and cheering for HHH which called for a boo vs yea punch fest, when wwe went to hammerstein that was when i would most mark out, the crowd payed to get in just to voice there hateful opinions about wwe..i fucking love that (change the channel chant)

ONS:2 is definently my most favorite wwe crowd, seconded by WM22 chicago crowd, a TNA crowd could never touch either of those...i just wish WWE would head to the hammerstein one more god damn time..its a disaster for kayfabe but its so much fun for the smart mark

this is the type of fan which turns me off TNA alot lol...ruining Kayefabe!! and not only that, ruining it for the next generation of fans....do u honestly think a kid is gonna enjoy going to a show where his favourite superstar is being booed? its gonna completely turn him/her off the product! thats the equivalent of taking ur son to a man utd game and booing them when hes supposed to be supporting them.
as someone already mentioned, the big heels get cheered all the time, whats the point? they will turn face, then the fans will cheer the next load of heels and boo the newly turned faces (giving them the reaction they initially wanted)...its no wonder TNA doesnt know what to do with their wrestlers half the time!

 

[jpfizzle]

I voted for WWE fans with my main reason being that they PAY to watch the flagship shows RAW, Smackdown and ECW. Whilst I think by now TNA has built up enough of a fan-base to get a margin of fans to pay for the weekly show, WWE fans have been doing this proudly for years.

I think that fans are specific to location alot of the time which had me tempted to click the both option, for example, A maddison square garden audience is vocal, intense and always give a reaction were as some places tend to be a bit quieter, I watched a RAW show on TV a few weeks ago that had some amazing matches and storylines but the fans stayed reserved for the whole thing, then the next week the show was slightly worse but the fans were a hundred fold louder leading me to think that rather than company specific, location plays a more significant role in this debate.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I agree with everyone that WWE fans are superior. For a show to work, the crowd needs to be able to kayfabe as well as the wrestlers. Last night's SNME is an example. That show was taped five minutes after Adamle announced Batista and Cena were fighting at SummerSlam. They didn't boo the shit out of Cena, even though he was about to fight the hometown boy.

TNA fans, on the other hand, are attending a taping of a TV show before a live studio audience. They know that, and act like they do. That negatively effects the TV show. Cheering heels is stupid, even if you like them better. Wrestling requires the viewer to suspend disbelief. Cheering faces, even if they have six moves and don't identify with their race (ok, Cena), is part of the game.

 

[The Bearded One]

I voted for WWE. I attend TNA Impact tapings somewhat frequently, and the crowds there are either really hot, or deader than George Washington. TNA also tells thre crowd when to cheer. The get JB on the mic and caount down when they want everybody to cheer or boo. WWE does not have to do that. The crowd is just naturally hot. They usually cheer for the faces and boo the heels. Like others have said, booing the faces and cheering the heels turns kids off the product because they don't understand the face/heel line.

 

[Shocky]

While both fans have their ups and downs, as far as smarks trying to be bigger then the wrestlers, I simply can't see how anyone in their right mind can justify voting for TNA.

TNA wrestles how many times a year in the Impact Zone. A place where exactly how many people pay for tickets? Where is the loyalty in that. Of course people are going to be excited, they get to see second rate poorly produced wrestling and it cost them absolutely nothing.

I usually go to all wrestling events that hit my hometown, and TNA was here a month ago, yet I made absolutely no effort to go and see them. Why, because at 30 bucks a ticket, I didn't feel the product was worth watching. Now when Raw comes to town in a month, I'll be shelling out 65 bucks to watch it, because I'm getting a better product.

TNA and the Impact Zone, you know, as much as some people in TNA love to rip ECW and the Bingo Hall, at least those people paid. TNA is a poor man's ECW. They think they are great, but in reality, they are a laughing stock. The "Joe's going to Kill You" chant is just terrible and lame, and the group in the front that rocked back and forth during matches was nothing but distracting and irritating.

I would put TNA's fans in the Impact Zone up there as a top five reason as to why I don't watch TNA anymore. They just flat out irritate the crap out of me.

 

[Uncle Sam]

TNA fans are fine. Y'know, when they're not acting all high and mighty that they watch "real wrestling." WWE fans are far more diverse though, so it's an easy win for them. They just cover all the bases, because the WWE has all types of fans. And I'm fairly certain people get in free to iMPACT! because they paid to get into the studios and so are allowed anywhere. Loyalty just doesn't really come into it.

I don't see why they're irritating. Sure, they'll pop for damn near anything and will chant "That was awesome!" to every spot and its mother, but they can have their moments. Not often, but they do have them.

 

[Dead Kennedy]

TNA fans and WWE fans can be equally as annoying. I hate guys who go "TNA SUCKS" and the ones that go "WWE SUCKS". They're both good wrestling promotions with their ups and downs. Just watch what you feel like, but don't go forcing out your opinions on me. WWE fans can be a tad less frequent with the flaming though, so they get my votes.

 

[TNAw00t]

wow so much ******ed hate for TNA in this thread, i voted TNA fans and was reading some reasons why they chose WWE which were kinda stupid IMO, so what if we chant TNA? it just means we like TNA....and the joe's gonna kill u chant, i dunno how u cant like that when all u here in WWE...if theres a mix reaction its lets go (insert name here) lets go (other name here) and the only other chants u here are stuff like yelling someone's name over and over, or clapping/stopping your feet...the only thing close to creative is hoooooooo

 

[THE Madcap]

Are we talking about fans atmosphere of attitudes here?

If the latter, this thread has triggered an incident that occurred when I went to universal studios during the WWE Wrestlemania fans axxess. I went over to where the TNA iMPACT zone is to find out what time taping starts and how I can get tickets etc and got heckled the fuck out of by some LAX wannabes, just because I was wearing an Orton t-shirt, not necessary.

They then, came round the corner to where the WWE fans were, kids, women et al and began a foul mouthed tirade on John Cena and others, no need. These fans were cocks.

 

[gorsty2k7]

OK. I am basing this off seeing both WWE and TNA live in Liverpool this year. I was in the second row for WWE and front row for both of TNA's. A lot of people would say WWE because there are bigger crowds, but outside of the main event, there was pretty much 0 reaction (except for William Regal) throughout matches. When I was at the TNA shows, there was more of an atmosphere from 1,600 fans than over 9,000 because the fans were more into the show from start to finish, and that was on both nights. You need to take into account that it was the first time in Liverpool for both companies.

Also, every WWE show I've been to, most of the undercard talents can't get a reaction and to me, that really hurts the matches.

 

[Sean Valjean]

I'll say TNA just because the atmosphere looks more fun than WWE. WWE crowds can be SO dead at times, even when something huge happens (Jericho's return, anyone?) A majority of the time, everyone is just sitting down, not doing anything, no signs, etc. IT'S A WRESTLING SHOW, you should at least seem somewhat excited to be there. TNA fans may cheer for anything, but at least they seem like they're into the show.

As far as the argument about cheering heels/booing faces being bad, I don't see the problem. Yes, there are smartasses that will cheer a heel just to be "cool" and a "rebel", but there's nothing wrong with cheering for who you actually like. If I'm paying 60+ to see a show, I'm cheering for whoever the fuck I want because I paid to see the wrestlers that I like. I don't give a damn if I'm surronded by eight year olds in full Cena gear, if Cena is wrestling John Morrison, I'm cheering like hell for Morrison because I'm a Morrison fan. I didn't pay to see Cena; I'm here to watch and support MY favorites, not "assigned" ones just for the sake of kayfabe. That may sound disrespectful, but that's just how I feel

 

[RendarSelin]

I would have to see WWE...mainly because during shows you see more fan/wrestler interaction (such as Kennedy baiting fans into saying his name or Armondo Alejandro Estrada a couple years back stopping his promo when fans said "My name is Armondo Alejandro Estrrrrrrrrada!" and yelling at the fans)...although I will give TNA credit here...WWE does not have a "Fan's Revenge Lubberjack Match"! But recent reports from house shows where the WWE gets kids from the audience to ring the bell before the match, or cut a promo with a Superstar...WWE just seems to be more involved with the audience, which results in the audience being more involved with the promotion.

 

[shafe_41]

TNA wins this hands down and here's why. Somebody previously stated that TNA tells their fans to cheer? Not true at all. (at least not in my case) I've attended two pay-per-view events in the last 8 months. The first being Armageddon '07 in Pittsburgh and I attended TNA's Hard Justice just last night. Being I am 23 and a huge fan of wrestling in general, I do bring a very non-biased opinion to the table. My first WWE ppv experience was amazing. Good matches, good presentation, but when it came to the fans... 25% are children under the age of 13 that come with their parents in their John Cena clothing from head to toe. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but 13 year olds with their parents aren't exactly wrestling savvy. Yes they are fans, but they as 13 yr. olds don't add to my experience whatsoever. Also, the WWE crowd SITS DOWN ALLLLLLLL NIGHT. Now when I go to an event, whether it be a concert, sporting event, or wrestling event, I want to stand up, jump up and down (when something happens that warrants it), yell and scream as much as I can. At Armageddon, I can't tell you how many times people behind me said "can you please sit down?" Umm... I payed for my seat just like you and I will stand if I want to. WWE fans seem to be very conventional. Now for my TNA Hard Justice experience, it farrrrrr faarrrrrrrr exceeded my expectations. For a majority of the matches, damn near every person in the venue (granted there were maybe 2,500 people there) was on their feet for a majority of the night, cheering for everything that happened whether it was performed by their favorite superstar or not. The back and forth chants of the split crowd add sooooooooo much more the experience (i.e. half the crowd chanting "Beer Money" and the other half responding with "LAX" and the same goes for the AJ Styles/Kurt Angle match) than having 60% of a WWE crowd doing nothing but booing John Cena all night. As for the "fire russo" chants, I believe they are well-deserved to some aspect because at Hard Justice this happened during the Lethal/Dutt Black Tie Brawl and Chain match. Now if history says anything, everybody knows matches where people are tied together or blindfolded (TNA and WWE both) are notoriously boring because what you can do is so limited. I wish writers would learn that. Anyway... the TNA crowd is also much more centered in my age rage so they have the energy to want to get up and cheer and jump around and start the "this is awesome" chants more than WWE. During the Jersey Street Fight between Christian and Rhyno vs. Team 3D, Christian brought Brother Ray through the crowd right in the row behind me. They went back and forth and every single person in there was on their feet through the whole match. Attend a "B-rated" ppv for both brands, then compare them because I have done so. You can't compare a TNA house show to Wrestlemania. But I assure you, if TNA drew a sold out crowd in Pittsburgh's Melon arena like Armageddon did and everyone that voted WWE in this poll was there, I guaren-damn-tee that at least 75% would be changing their vote to TNA. Winner of the greatest fans: TNA hands down.

And a side note, how anybody can even compare an episode of Raw to Impact! is a completly rediculous arguement. Raw is a better product than Impact? Tell us something we don't know. TNA could also produce an amazing show if they had the WWE budget. But I don't believe you can even form an educated opinion when you haven't even been to two comparable events on the same level for each brand.