Bound For Glory Audience

[Kenny Powers]

Is it just me or was the audience the roughest and best audience TNA has ever had. I guess that's what they can expect when they have all their tapings in the Impact Zone and most of their PPV's there too. The audience reminded me of the old ECW audiences in Philly and New York. I didn't expect the boos or chants tonight. It was nice to hear "This is wrestling" chant for the AJ vs. Sting match. I didn't expect Lashley, Morgan, and AJ to receive such heat. AJ didn't get too much heat compared to Lashley. The Morgan Sucks chants surprised me since he is cheered through the roof at Impact.

I think Dixie and the creative team now know they have to evaluate who to push and who not. They also need to get out of the Impact Zone so they know who is over and who is not. Lashley got more heat then anyone during the show. It's scary when your two top new stars you are trying to push through the roof are booed heavily such as Morgan and Lashley. Morgan and Angle were 50/50 though. I think that more people in general are fans of Angle and Sting so that was expected.

When AJ was speaking on the mic someone chanted "Shut The F*** Up" and booed him then they chanted his name. Sting was cheered heavily and then a few people booed him before he got a chance to talk on the mic. I think some of audience members were out of their minds, but it was nice to see a different audience and hopefully TNA takes more shows and PPV's on the road.
Should TNA continue staying in the Impact Zone or branch out so they know who is truly over?

 

[Jimmbo420]

Yeah, the crowd threw me off a little. I didnt expect Lashley and Morgan to get booed so much. Especially Lashley, the crowd really did not like that guy haha. If I had to guess, I think it was probably because was representing "MMA" and Joe was representing Pro Wrestling. That match was better then I thought it was going to be, weird/lame finish to it though.

AJ only got booed because he was facing the hometown legend Sting, I think if he would've been facing anyone else he would have been cheered way more than he was.

I thought the crowd was a really good audience, they just booed people when I wouldn't have expected it. Overall a great crowd though, and they really added to the PPV. They kind of reminded me of an old ECW audience as well. The "this is awsome!" "TNA! TNA! TNA!" and "this is wrestling!" chants were great.

 

[info62]

I don't know if this should cause them to branch out. I'm not saying that they shouldn't branch out, just not for this reason. They have house shows, and at the house shows they can find out who is over or not, I guess.

I heard that "shut the f-ck up" at AJ too and I actually laughed for a second just because it was so unexpected. Every single wrestler was getting boos from some section of the crowd, and cheers from another. Actually the only chant that angered me was that "this is wrestling" chant during the mainevent. I don't know, it just struck a nerve that they were deeming that none of the other matches featured true wrestling, or something.

Anyway, again I think they probably have experienced these kind of reactions at houseshows, but leaving the Impact Zone once in a while wouldn't hurt, since it would at least expose the TV audience to different crowd reactions, so they aren't so dumbfounded when hearing reactions like the ones last night's BFG

 

[a0161613]

Getting out of the iMPACT zone will be one of the best things TNA can do at this point.In fact I'd say its damn essential for them to do it. They need some revenue from ticket sales and it will garner them a wider audience too. Finding out who is over will be a business-related benefit i guess.

I'm not surprised at the reaction Lashley got. He's being Cena fed down the throats and the finish of his match would not have helped either.

 

[Nihility]

Yeah the crowd was pretty into all the matches for the most part. I was at it and havent watched a replay of it but towards the last 3 matches the section i was in was having a good time every 2 count. I dont know if it came out as loud as it was in my section. Was a pretty good experience. The guy with the 2 sign was getting alot of cheers every 2 count and everyone looked at him when it came time for a count and got into it.

Abyss got ripped in the same section because of his pinfall botch. Daniels and Suicide fall was brutal and everyone was in shock. No one knew what the hell happened during the KO title match with Tara and the fan. Everyone thought it was real for a second then realized it was part of it. Just seemed weird.

 

[FriedEggSandwich]

The crowd was very good I think, they did a solid B+ job. There was a bit of weirdness so to speak but they do smoke alot of weed in Cali after all. Im guessing a mix of hardcore/casual fans with some PWG Heads up there. I didnt here the stfu chant at AJ, i'll have to re-watch on my DVR, that makes me think of ******ed CZW Fans chanting random nonsense at a ROH Philly Show, oh I know about that. Yeah they need to do alot more shows outside of Orlando but that wont happen for a while. TNA is not as well off as some might think, financially speaking.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

I have to say that the audience was a good overall crowd with participation at the correct moments for most of the times. There were parts during matches when the whole arena fell silent and waited for something to happen, which is nothing wrong with that. They were given a fairly solid performance from TNA and gave more than a deserving support back at them.

I did get a little annoyed that the likes of Bobby Lashley got booed instead of Samoa Joe, but with the TNA reputation like Joe against a relative newcomer like Lashley, this was expected to happen. At least some parts of the audience cheered for Lashley, who did a good job in the match. Even though the crowd was behind Joe, both Joe/Lashley performed some areas of the match where Lashley was the heel worker and Joe was the face worker, all without gaining the opposite fan reaction of what they are supposed to work as of course. The Morgan/Angle match was pretty good and a 50/50 audience is nothing bad. Having the crowd into a match like that always elevates the ratings and gives something special to the match.

Overall, they were great and TNA should take note like some other posters have mentioned here by expanding their arena locations. They should start off small by venturing slowly around here and there to attract more viewers then slowly move to further, better and bigger arena's. TNA Management is used to slow progression and will aid them.

 

[bongorider]

The arena fans are the main thing holding TNA back at the moment. New casual fans need to be able to tell right away who's good and bad, even if they have no awareness of the terms 'heel' and 'face'. Also "this is awesome" chants that happen on a weekly basis (even when what's happening in the ring is far from awesome) is another turn off, it's totally self indulgent.
If TNA wants to become mainstream then they need to get normal fans in, the exact type of people they are trying to attract, not the idiots they have now who are trying way to hard to make a chant every 5 seconds. A crowd can make or break a match, and the TNA crowd is breaking the whole product for me right now.

 

[Dexter]

A crowd can make or break a match, and the TNA crowd is breaking the whole product for me right now.

I couldn't disagree more. They have a great crowd most of the time. Chants, even when they're completely off base, like the undeserved "this is awesome" chants you mention, heighten the experience for the viewer at home. If you see an arena full of people that seem like they're having a good time, it's hard not to have a good time with them watching at home. It pulls you in.

That having been said, moving them out of the Impact zone might be a bit premature right now. Yeah, they had a great crowd last night for BFG, but then, that's their Wrestlemania. Would they still draw a crowd for a regular old Impact taping? Maybe, maybe not. I don't know, but I doubt it. I'd certainly hope they step outside the Impact zone for a few PPV tapings a year and start building a national buzz though... maybe go on the road full time in a year or two.

 

[bongorider]

I don't see an arena full of people having a good time, I see an arena full of people trying to get themselves over, if a match was truly awesome you would be popping naturally, not trying to get a chant going. Chants like "this is awesome" draws attention away from the wrestlers if anything. In huge crowds you usually only get chants when the crowd is trying to rally someone, or getting on a heel's back. The TNA audience seem to think it's their job to be chanting something all the time. How about just getting some ambience going instead.

Also an arena full of smart fans will always get a mixed reaction. I don't see how mixed reactions are good, no matter how many times WWE tells me Cena is "controversial". The casual fans have always wanted to see the good guy kick the bad guy's ass, so when they tune in for the first time and can't even tell who is the good guy, because of the mixed reactions and constant chanting, they aren't going to be drawn in to the product.

 

[MoxViolence]

agreed....the bfg crowd was nuts last night. chanting sentences n shit. i love when the fans are really into it. makes the match that much better for me.

They also need to get out of the Impact Zone so they know who is over and who is not. Lashley got more heat then anyone during the show. It's scary when your two top new stars you are trying to push through the roof are booed heavily such as Morgan and Lashley.

couldn't agree more. if dixie really wants to knows whos getting over and whos not then impact NEEDS to take it on the road. the orlando florida fans may feel one way but as they found out california (bfg was in cali) feels differently. and ny or say chicago might get different reactions too. fans are different everywhere you go. 100% agreed that tna must take impact on the road.

 

[ABMorales787]

I think they liked it! The show was great. As for the chants, well for me they were kinda expected. Booing Lashley, well... He is in MMA too plus he's a WWE castoff so the fans must see him as some sort of leach using TNA to cling to fame (I say this because I've heard it from some people). Morgan got 50% booed and 50% cheered. Well that's good enough for me. He hanged with the best and the fans recognized Angle that way inspite of him being a heel until after the match. At the end of that match Angle shook his hand and left so Morgan could have his moment and the crowd cheered for him. As for AJ, well it was expected. Sting's the hometown boy. As for the "Shut The F*Ck Up" think, well... It's Southern California, attention ****es will always rear their ugly heads there.

 

[Henry Hill]

So as far as the crowd at BFG, i liked that they were really into it, and it didn't bother me that some of the Babyfaces didn't get cheers. after all, you can boo who you want and cheer who you want, and lets not forget that Samoa Joe is basically from Cali and would thus be popular there, not to mention He pretty much always gets cheered even though he is supposedly a heel now. (i mean how is being violent and angry next to Angle any different than being violent and angry at Angle?) Chant of the night goes to the Ultimate X match: Daniels, Suicide and Red all nearly at the top of the structure and the fans without missing a beat start the "please don't die" chant. it lightened the mood in a really scary moment when it looked as if someone might actually die.

 

[samboisdead]

What I would like to see happen is for them to get a second t.v. show. Have the Thursday night show continue to be in the Impact zone then have another show that is live and in a diffrent arena each week.

 

[classicviolence]

Yeah, the crowd was killer last night. "Please don't die!!" was the best one because that high spot was scary. Lashley getting booed was the right thing to do, Morgan earned respect last night and should've won clean over Angle.

 

[Rorsch@ch]

The crowd really was not that much different compared to how the Impact Zone was in 2005 to 2006. Not trying to take away from them, but some people on several forums are acting like this type of a crowd was a first for TNA.

 

[Baximus]

How many people were there last night? Was the building sold out?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I was surprised at the "Morgan Sucks!" chants. He usually does get a pretty good pop at the IMPACT! zone. I loved the audience at BFG. They made me feel like I was watching a true wrestling ppv for true wrestling fans. They were going nuts for pretty much every match, and they even threw out some "you screwed Bret!" chants when Earl Hebner came out during the Knocouts tag title match.

 

[The Gribbler]

Friend of mine was there and he said that the crowd was awesome throughout the night - although he is in LA from Australia so maybe he had just never heard anything like it before...

Just My Opinion