Has the "This is Awesome" Lost Its Value

[SixMovesOfDoom]

I remember the first time I heard a "This is Awesome" chant from an audience. It was years back on an episode of Smackdown during an intense match between Rey Mysterio and John Morrison over the Intercontinental title.

Morrison defeated Mysterio to win the belt, Mysterio went on to eventually win the heavyweight title, and so forth. Late in the match the chant broke out, commentators (to my memory) did not acknowledge it.

For the next several years, it seemed only the best of the best matches were ones that got the chant. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 25, CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan at Over the Limit, etc.

But over the past few months it seems everything gets the "This is Awesome" chant. Every episode of TNA Impact and WWE RAW seems to feature it for multiple matches; the commentators always point it out.

When anything once of value becomes common it loses its value. Is it the same with the "This is Awesome" chant? Or do people believe the chant never had value in the first place?

 

[Slash-LN]

This is one of the chants I care least about. By that I mean it doesn't bother me. I'd rather hear a positive this is awesome chant over chants where a wrestler not involved in the match get chanted for or where people are chanting E C dub or where people chant USA when neither guy in the ring is American or a What chant or reaction when people are doing promos.

 

[BigBombB]

I mean, I guess we could balance it out with "this is stupid!" and "this is o.k!" chants but I think I agree with Slash, while it may not be as special as it once was, positivity never hurts.

 

[SixMovesOfDoom]

Good points about the positivity. "This is Awesome", used or over-used, still beats out that horrible "what?" chant love to use. Thanks a lot, Stone Cold.

A chant of "This is O-K!" ringing out during a match would be hilarious. Sounds like a Kayfabe News story about waiting to be written.

 

[WBL]

I can forgive it. But mainly because it's a placeholder for federation name chants. You can chant "E-C-DUB!" or "T-N-A!", but chanting "DUB-DUB-E" sounds a little too awkward.

 

[Lowdown]

I've read a while back from one of the writers that they wish fans would stop that chant. It's usually in regards to matches with a lot of high spots. I don't hear it all the time in TNA, but it's frequent in ROH. It doesn't bother me whatsoever; I just see "this is awesome" as fans getting into the show and enjoying themselves.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

You have to think a bit about what chants generally mean to the wrestlers before you judge one... Look at "What?" that is probably be most annoying thing in the world to anyone but Austin, and even then he probably wishes he never thought of it... he didn't get over from it and it basically has trashed every segment since. He's probably sorry he even did it for all the other guys whose job became harder from it.

Yes, Yes, might be a "trendy" thing...just like "You Suck" but the more who do it means the talent is doing something right, just like the lights for Wyatt...the more there are the more they know what they are doing is working.

The "This is Awesome" chant doesn't seem to come out as much and it's perhaps the 2nd best one from the wrestlers perspective other than the "Holy Shit" chant which generally means they have just blown the roof off the place... This is Awesome is a crowd digging what is going on in the ring, not just the spot but how it was put together, the risk in doing it, the emotion on display even that someone has greatly improved. Imagine you're a Heath Slater and you get your first "This Is Awesome" chant during a match... it will galvanise you and more importantly show the office/agents that you have learned and had a "moment"... guys who never have "moments" never get pushed... it often only takes one and it can change a career. Look at Mick Foley, Owen Hart, John Cena, Bryan and even Bad News Barrett.. once you get your moment and take it and the crowd acknowledge it, you can almost see the "Achievement Icon" appear... Barrett got a silent one at the HOF but the match with Orton where he hurled him down the stairs got major TIA chants, Foley by falling from a cell, Cena by looking Angle in the eye. The chant isn't needed... but it's generally the "icing on the cake".

 

[OYDK]

It doesn't bother me and I don't think the chant has lost it's value. I disagree with you saying, we hear the "This is Awesome" chant for multiple matches a show. Usually, the chant is used MAYBE once a week on both Raw and Smackdown and it is mostly always used for the best segment of the night. If something is awesome, why not let the superstars in the ring know it?