"God I Love This City"

[The Brain]

That’s what Triple H said on RAW tonight. Now of course wrestlers have been kissing up to fans of whatever city their in for years now. Hell Mick Foley made a gimmick out of it. I believe that Triple H actually meant it this time. Chicago has always been a hot crowd for WWE. Years ago WWE Magazine polled the wrestlers about their favorite cities to perform and Chicago was at the top of the list. My question is do you notice which cities are the best for crowd reaction. We can all spot a hot crowd, but do you ever think ‘raw is in fill in the blank city, the crowd is going to be hot.’?

I think Chicago is the hottest crowd. Here are a few more I’ve noticed:

Seattle, Toronto, Dallas, and Phoenix.

I know I’m leaving some out so don’t blast me for not naming your hometown. I should also say that I am from Chicago. Feel free to blast me for having a hometown bias. I have been to many shows at Allstate Arena (fortunately I decided to skip tonight’s Price is Raw) and no matter what the crowd is always hot. It doesn’t matter if it’s a house show or a ppv. John Cena vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 22 was one of the hottest crowds I’ve ever been a part of. I wasn’t at WrestleMania 13, but we all know the crowd response for Austin vs. Bret that night.

I know there are hot crowds all over, but Chicago is consistently hot. So what do you think? Is your hometown crowd as hot as mine? If not yours what other cities are always hot? Feel free to name and cities you think are usually a dead crowd too. I can’t think of any off hand.

 

[SAMBOLIEWWE]

Toronto used to always be Hot. WM 18 obviously, they turned Hogan face that night. I was at a RAW in Feb of 99. That picture from the Austin VS McMahon video cover,,,,,, Austin was tied up in the corner by the corporation and Vince is standing over him screaming, and slobbering all over him. That was a crazy crowd , the ring was full of everything that wasnt bolted to the floor. but I guess any town was super hot back in 99.

 

[brainsuks123]

I think thier was once a team New York was a hot spot but not anymore really. But yea chicago is always the hot croud lol i cant hear most of the susperstars theme songs because of the yelling.

 

[Motor City Mayhem]

Chicago is one of, if not the best crowd you can find in WWE.
Prime Example: MVP vs Chris Jericho- DID YOU HEAR THE MVP CHANT!!! I meen theres been MVP chants before but this was... this was amazing, the whole got dam arena was chanting his name, I don't think hes ever gotten that.

Chicago is just Tailor Made for WWE. It loves it over there, and WWE loves it over there as well, I think you would be hard pressed to find any were that is better then Chicago.

 

[RVD420]

NYC and Philly used to be the hottest cities in the biz, but now I'd have to agree and give the nod to Chicago. Phoenix is definately up there too.

 

[WWEIsLife]

I agree Chicago is probably the Hottest City WWE goes to year in and year out. The Crowd was fire tonight for RAW,they were just into everything and made the Show that much more fun to watch. Phoenix is a good 2nd I would say with NYC,Philly,Seattle is a good choice and there some good Canadien cities like Toronto & Montreal. Most of the Shows Ive been to here in Atlanta have been loud IMO.

 

[SavageTaker]

Yes…I do notice which states (I usually notice states with hot crowds, not cities) are best for crowd reactions and those states are usually the ones that I like when WWE goes to them because I know it’s going to make the show that much better. Some people may think that crowd reactions really mean nothing and add nothing to a show, but I think otherwise. When there’s a hot crowd for a show, it usually makes the show feel more exciting, at least from my perspective. But when there are dead crowds, it just makes the show feel boring, even though sometimes the shows or parts of the show are boring so I can’t really blame the crowds for being dead for a whole show or at times.

Anyways, there aren’t really cities I notice that have “hot crowds”, I usually just notice which states/countries seem to have hot crowds. For example, I notice that there’s usually a hot crowd in most cities in Texas not just one city. So Texas would be one place, there’s also New York and say what you want about them but the fans in Philadelphia tend to always be a hot crowd. They may be smarks in the Philly crowds, and no matter how annoyed I am by some, they are still considered hot crowds by me. Also, another state would be California. Those are the states that I notice usually have hotter crowds, I know I am forgetting states with cities in them that have hot crowds (like Chicago) but I don’t usually notice the state as a whole for having hot crowds. As far as countries go, it would probably be anywhere in Canada and England.

 

[ztwhite]

It's going to sound crazy, but Cleveland always seems to be a WWE hotzone.

I think a lot of it has to do with the company always putting on phenomenal shows when they're there. It was also the city where WWE announced they had purchased WCW (I believe).

I also think it has to do with fans never being let down. Their pro sports teams always seem to choke in the end and the sports fans in Cleveland are some of the most passionate.

 

[anklebreaker]

The moment trips said he loved this city, I found it quite ironic. It's the same city he lost to Cena for the WWE Championship.

I was in attendance for WM 22 and the crowd was hot for the whole night. Especially the edge foley street fight match.

Other than the Garden for WM 20 which I was in attendance for as well, those two cities always generate great crowds.

Witnessing Mania 22 and dozens of events in the Garden, it really makes you proud to be a wrestling fan when you're in those arenas. The only word that can describe it is 'goosebumps'.

 

[Low_Ki]

Hot crowds are quite a thing.

I live in the UK and I don't think I've ever been to a WWE event in the UK that hasn't been hot. The O2 Arena when full is raucous. The crowd there really eat up everything the WWE puts on show. And Wembley.

 

[jinglin]

Did anyone happen to notice that Las Vegas has mostly people cheering for the heels? Haha, i guess that's one of the reasons why it's called Sin City. People over there hate John Cena and his little kid-appealing gimmick. When Orton was fighting Cena the other time, the Orton cheers were louder than Cena cheers. Gotta hand it to Las Vegas for suiting my heel-praising needs.

 

[Doctor Awesome]

i am from jersey and live in philly, so i have been going to events in the original hotbed of the wwwf; the spectrum, wachovia center, boardwalk hall, the meadowlands arena, msg, etc... as good as our crowds are in the tri state area, let's face it, they smartened up a little too much taking the fun out of alot of the show. but i suppose what is enjoyable for one isn't for the other.

so, as far as the u.s. goes, chicago has to be the hottest town for the company. wm22 was an awesome crowd, and last night was no exception. a few other notables would have to be most canadian cities, and ANY city overseas. because they aren't there nearly as much, people in europe, asia, and australia pretty much go bananas when wwe is there. they even transform the japanese crowd to be very vocal and out of their speactator element.

but hands down these days chi-town is probably the best place to see a show. but, believe it or not the single loudest pop in somewhat recent memory that i heard was @ msg ss '02 when steiner debuted. and as we all know, they never got that loud for him again! lol

 

[Dirty Spamchez]

My hometown New York City, especially when the superstars perform at Madison Square Garden. I mean, look at Royal Rumble 2000 and 2008, SumerSlam 1988, 1991 and 1998, Survivor Series 1996 and 2002, and WrestleMania I, X and XX. And let's not forget the yearly Raw episodes that take place at the MSG. You can tell that the crowd is the hottest there because of the fan reactions and the sell outs all the time from at least 1 week before the show starts.

 

[Slyfox696]

What I was most impressed about last night is how Chicago was actually a GOOD wrestling audience. Usually Chicago audiences try to be smarky and do stupid things, but I only watched the first hour and bits of pieces of the second, but it seemed as if they were a real audience, cheering faces and booing heels. Not only that, they were hot for the matches and provided a good atmosphere.

I was quite impressed for what I saw.

 

[Dre Guevara]

that's how we get down in the Chi when it comes 2 wrestling, we like 2 be entertained, not have our intelligence insulted, somebody needs 2 tell that 2 Mayor Daley & Oprah Winfrey.

 

[SSJPhenom]

Did anyone happen to notice that Las Vegas has mostly people cheering for the heels? Haha, i guess that's one of the reasons why it's called Sin City. People over there hate John Cena and his little kid-appealing gimmick. When Orton was fighting Cena the other time, the Orton cheers were louder than Cena cheers. Gotta hand it to Las Vegas for suiting my heel-praising needs.

I'm from Vegas and I really wouldn't call it support for the heels, but hatred for John Cena. I was at the Raw after SS that was here and most heels were booed, but John Cena was booed because people out here really don't like him.

I go to a casino called Fiesta to watch all of the WWE PPV's with my father (it's kinda of like our father/son thing) and man you would think John Cena killed someone in everyone's family that is there because he generates as much heat there as he would if he were actually there live. It is crazy to see. People out here really can't stand him and I love it here for that reason.

 

[JBK2008]

Chicago and Toronto are always so hot and loud that everyone who talks on the mic has to yell just so the show can pick up on their voices.

 

[suleman09]

i'll talk about dead crowds lol only because i haven't been to many shows (i wish i could go to more) but i'm not financialy stable to go so you know...

anyways...i have been to some shows in Washington DC and Maryland
Summerslam 2005
No Way Out 200(6)(7) not sure, it was the year Randy Orton vs Rey Mysterio for the wrestlemania spot
Smackdown house show 2005

and i'd say that Maryland's Verizon Center....DEAD ASS CROWD OMG! it's horrible lol

 

[RH23]

Chicago is probably the hottest crowd of all. But Phoenix is getting to be a hot crowd right now. Everytime I go to see them live, the reactions from the crowed get louder and louder. I guess thats why they come back to certain cities every year, and skip a lot of cities that aren't usually a hot crowd.

 

[Reverend Truth]

I can vouch for Seattle being a hot crowd. I was at the last "No Way Out." I have also been there for a couple of Raw's. It's always a blast!

 

[Suneeboy]

I think New York City @ MSG is up there as the hottest crowd. We only get 1 RAW per year, and a PPV probably every 2 or 3 years, so when we get a show we are pumped. Also, its just hard as hell to get tickets, so to even be there is exciting. Look at WM XX. That has to be hands down one of the hottest WM crowds ever, I think even hotter than WM 22. NYC is a smark city, but we love to be entertained, and WWE always puts on a "hardcore" wrestling show for us. They never do bubble gum entertainment when they are in town.

WWE has also considered MSG its "home"...I mean its the home of the 1st Wrestlemania, in one of the oldest stadiums in the country still in use for major events. If you've ever been to MSG you'll know what I'm saying when I say, "It just feels good when you walk in and sit down."

I will be at MSG RAW Live on Nov 16, ringside so we'll see how loud NYC can pop. I'll compare it to the hot Chicago crowd last night on RAW. That was a great crowd...too bad the show was awful.

 

[the troop]

I have been to 3 wwe shows all in chicago. Monday night raw,(Rock-Hogan Confrontation, Stone cold-NWO) Smackdown,(return of pipers pit) and the grand daddy of them all, Wrestlemania 22(obvious reasons). These shows definately drew some great reaction and heat. We definately know our wrestling and we will give it to you if we disapprove much like Philly and New York. Chicago is a great wrestling city and I think HHH was very sincere about his comment. He wont forget wrestlemania.

Side bark- Did anyone else hear the pop that evan Bourne got on Monday? Pretty insane.

 

[dx32v]

I gotta be a homer and say that in the States, the New York crowds can still be the craziest, in a good and bad way. I've been to a good amount of events and witnessed the crowd going crazy during the Undertaker's WM XX return and the loudest ear drum exploding pop I have ever heard when Hulk Hogan came out on Raw to save HBK from Hassan and Divari. Not only MSG crowds either, also Nassau Coliseum crowds which if I'm not mistaking is where the asshole chant first started during a Raw where Austin told Vince for the first time that he had 1000's of fans calling him an asshole. Who can forget the INSANE pop Triple H's 2001 return got at the MSG which unfortunately I didn't attend. I think that after NY is Philly and Chicago. Outside the States, Canadian and UK crowds can be some of the best.

 

[Lancer]

I have to agree with the majority here and say that Chicage is always on fire when wrestling comes into town. Other places I have noticed over the years are anywhere in Canada, Detroit, and NYC at the Garden of course.

It makes me kinda sad, because when a live event rolls on into San Antonio where I live, the crowd always seems to be lackluster...and I wish it could be way much more into the action than what it really is. Other than big pops for HBK, Mysterio, and Taker, I really dont see the enthusiasm in San Antonio crowds. Maybe that's just me, cuz I hate to bash my own city...

 

[rk-owned2009]

most of you are going to think im crazy but, Sacramento has always been a hot crowd... yes Sacramento and little of Arco Arena. I've been to every WWE even in Arco in the last 5 years and there has never been a lame crowd. July 4th 2005, HBK super kicked Hulk Hogan and set up their match at Summer Slam and in 2002 HHH and Hogan tagged up for the first and only time (i believe) against Undertaker and Kurt Angle so some of that may justify my reasoning. I wont say its the hottest crowd because its not but I would have to say it might be top 15.