A Guide To Hijacking: What It Is & What It Isn't

[Uncle Sam]

1. A chant of more than four syllables that's still relevant to the match and/or the performers present - not hijacking.
2. A chant that has nothing to do with what's happening in the ring - hijacking (or obnoxious at the very least).

Now go forth with this fresh knowledge.

 

[Sai the Uganda Guy]

Please, sir, could you provide examples? Some people may not understand with this info alone.

 

[JoeMallard]

I was at the Raw after Mania and during the Corbin vs Ziggler match the crowd behind where I was sitting (floor seats behind the commentators) kept throwing around beach balls. Security ended up snatching one on the floor and the crowd started chanting "beach balls", two more beach balls gotten thrown after. Luckily the person that started it got thrown out.

This is a great example of trying to hijack Raw.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Sure, but Raw is boring and if people are invested in what's happening then it rarely happens.

 

[Harthan]

The requirement that it be four or more syllables to not be hijacking confuses me. Was chanting CM Punk always hijacking - even when CM Punk was in the ring?

 

[Uncle Sam]

These are examples. It's not really about the amount of syllables. This is more a response to people who think the invention of new chants - usually ones for Bayley--

I'm literally going to sleep in the middle of this post. Good night.

 

[Bernkastel]

What about fans chanting "CM Punk" at AJ Lee. Hijacking, wishful thinking, or jealousy?

 

[Shadowmancer]

What about fans chanting "CM Punk" at AJ Lee. Hijacking, wishful thinking, or jealousy?

Yes

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Hey its not the fans fault WWE can't put on a better product.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Raw crowd didn't come off too bad this week with the exception of Charlotte's promo.

Then again a lot the chants were hard to decipher so it may have been worse than I thought.

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

Yep. Continuing to sing Sami's brilliant entrance music throughout his matches is not hijacking, for example. It's showing love & support for him. It's not like with Fandango where it was the IRL equivalent of ironic shitposting.

A big exception, is that chanting "we want x" is not hijacking, I feel. It's an express statement that what's going on in the ring is terrible.

The Punk thing that went on for months was probably the worst chant ever though, right after the horrible self-******ing "We are awesome".

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

I dislike this term, 'hijacking' - I don't believe anyone pays good money to go and see Raw with the express intent of taking over the product. If the product sucks, and the fans lose interest, is that then 'hijacking' the show?

I've seen this expression used time and again on here since its 'inauguration' at Royal Rumble 2014, anything from the admittedly annoying chanting for random wrestlers during a completely unrelated match, to fans 'over-chanting' at events like NXT (wtf??) It first came to prominence during the aforementioned Rumble in Pittsburgh, when Daniel Bryan, a wrestler who admittedly wasn't announced but *should* have won it IMO didn't enter the match, leading the upset fans to absolutely shit on the rest of the match, even booing poor Rey Mysterio out of the building. Again, not a hijack situation - the fans were voicing their displeasure at the most popular wrestler of the era being overlooked (which tbf ended up being a fantastic storyline); then it reared its head after CM Punk was on hiatus and eventually fired, with fans chanting HIS name during matches and segments. The Punk chants are the closest to hijacking as I'd except, FYI. Then once again at the Royal Rumble, this time in 2015 in Philadelphia, the fans booed vociferously, particularly as Bryan was eliminated early. But was it hijacking the show? Many on here believe, myself included, that the 2015 Rumble was one of, if not THE worst booked ppv in history, with the four most popular wrestlers in the company at the time, Bryan, Ambrose, Ziggler and Wyatt, all treated as complete jobbers in favour of .... the Big Show and Kane??? Again, given that most critics hated the Rumble, I don't see this as hijacking

The biggest irony of this all is that the *real* start of this was probably the post-Wrestlemania at the dearly departed Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ, in 2013. On that card, the crowd ironically chanted Fandango's theme as it was the best part of his act (a fact that took a while to be widely recognised by the IWC); they chanted 'we want Ziggler' all night and in every segment and match until he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to a HUGE pop; and worst of all they completely shat on the boring Shemus v Randy Orton match, chanting for the likes of Randy Savage (due to a fan dressed up as the Macho Man at ringside), each commentator in turn (which they actually played up to, at least off camera) and various other wrestlers, with the coup de gras being that when the Big Show ran in to cause the no contest, 15,000 people chanted, "thank you Big Show" for ending our pain (I say our as I was there that night, and whilst I didn't chant for the announcers, I definitely joined in the thank you Big Show chant)

Why do I bring this up? Because the irony of the hate on here for fans hijacking shows is not lost on me when I remember how highly regarded that Izod Center crowd was - both on here and officially. It even got recognised by WWE as they awarded it their crowd of the year Slammy award!! People on here loved it, but I would say it was closer to a hijack than the awful 2015 Rumble was, or any NXT crowd

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Btw 'We are awesome' sucks

 

[A11oftheLights]

Yep. Continuing to sing Sami's brilliant entrance music throughout his matches is not hijacking, for example. It's showing love & support for him. It's not like with Fandango where it was the IRL equivalent of ironic shitposting.

Not when you are doing it somebody who isnt sami zayn's match

A big exception, is that chanting "we want x" is not hijacking, I feel. It's an express statement that what's going on in the ring is terrible.

I kind of feel that this is bullshit most of the time. Sure when they were chanting we want Bryan it was probably fair. But i think its an exception. I still remember when orton and cena had a hell in a cell (presumably at the hell in a cell ppv) and the crowd began chanting we want divas. This was pre-divas revolution, so even if it was an expression of whats going on in the ring was terrible (which it wasnt) there was fuck all chance the crowd actually wanted the divas and fuck all chance that what the divas would have performed in the ring would have been better than cena vs orton

 

[nightmare]

The stupid ones are where they chant random names for no reason. Like a while ago when they chanted JBL, Macho Man & someone else all of which were never mentioned or referred to in any way.

If people are bored or the match sucks, either chant "this is awful" or use the real killer & indication the match is terrible.... just say nothing & let the silence speak volumes. An arena full of people who are not making a peep is more likely to make an impact than shouting random things in disapproval.

 

[Bernkastel]

The stupid ones are where they chant random names for no reason. Like a while ago when they chanted JBL, Macho Man & someone else all of which were never mentioned or referred to in any way.

If people are bored or the match sucks, either chant "this is awful" or use the real killer & indication the match is terrible.... just say nothing & let the silence speak volumes. An arena full of people who are not making a peep is more likely to make an impact than shouting random things in disapproval.

Or they could just get up and leave. That would work too.

 

[Stone Cold Tea]

This is aweson is the worst chant every. I actually think these chants lead back to John Cena.

With the ''Lets Go Cena'' ''Cena Sucks'' chants now everything has to have the syllables to fits in with a clap clap clap at the fucking end.

 

[BaconBits]

Or they could just get up and leave. That would work too.

That would work best to facilitate the change that "everybody" wants.

 

[rbv13]

I mentioned this in a LD. I'd really like to see or more so hear these nonsense fan chants used to create rivalries between cities or groups. It would be hilarious to hear European audiences chat "America Sucks" (of course we American fans would not respond b/c we don't care about anyone else) or to hear Philadelphia proclaim "Fuck Chicago."

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

Not when you are doing it somebody who isnt sami zayn's match

You are correct but my original post specified "his matches". I agree with you that it is hijacking if Sami's not involved.

 

[DirtyD79]

Or they could just get up and leave. That would work too.

Or better still, not even go in the first place. As long as the fans are paying money to attend WWE's shows they really don't care what you chant. As long as fans are still attending shows, still ordering pay per views, still buying merch, or still subscribing to the network, WWE is still making money and that's all they really care about. Nothing is going to change as long as WWE and it's shareholders are still happy with the amount of money the product is bringing in. So go ahead and chant whatever you want because the McMahons are laughing all the way to the bank with your money.