Is the WWE Live Crowd Ruining WWE?

[gwumusic10]

Ok so before I even get started I completely understand that the fans pay their hard earned money to have fun at live WWE events but here is what really pisses me off about the live WWE audiences nowadays:

They don't appreciate characters as they are. This hit me hard tonight as they Wyatt family made their debut tonight and after the threw Kane into the steps you can hear the crowd chant Husky Harris.

This isn't the only time they do this....They have done it to Tensai by chanting Albert and to Ryback by chanting Goldberg.

Yes we know who they used to be (although Ryback isn't Goldberg he is just compared to Goldberg) and we appreciate the past but damn it everytime that someone debuts in another character they always have to ruin it by chanting old character names and taking from the moment.

People complain because the WWE isn't fresh but everytime they try to do something fresh the audience loves to ruin it.

Now this is my opinion and i'm pretty heated by it and I know i'm gonna have some dumbass post on here bashing this thread but I do want your opinions

So the question is.....Do you think the WWE live crowd ruins the mood during live events and do you think it's fair to the people playing the characters to be held back by the WWE universe for bringing up the past?

 

[Chris "The Show" Adams]

Could not agree with you more. I was really into the debut of the Wyatt family, until I heard the Husky Harris chants. That killed it for me just like the Albert chants killed Tensai for me. Theres no way to fix this though as an empty arena is not an option and i wouldnt watch it if it was. WWE is partly at fault tho when they just choose to pretend like there is a reset button in life and that us fans will believe whatever they want. Its not a video game you cant just start over guys we all know that Bray Wyatt is Husky Harris so why give him a new name and pretend like hes not the same guy? That ruins it just as bas as the chants

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

It's so minor, it's not even worth worrying about. Look at it this way: No one is calling Tensai "Prince Albert" anymore. He's gotten over, somewhat, with his character, and for now it's working (kinda). Same with Wyatt. The Husky Harris chants will disappear, and we'll be able to see what he can deliver in the ring and in promos. Tonight's appearance was a bit different, and I'm not entirely sure it worked all that great. I guess we'll see next week.

 

[Chris "The Show" Adams]

To answer your questions however yes i do believe the live crowd ruined bray wyatt and his families debut and no i dont think its fair to the performers

 

[Adam X]

The debut was great.

I admit the chants irked me a little but over time he'll get over more and as stated the chants will die. This is one of the best characters to come up in years so I can't see a few chants ruining it day one.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

1990 - Survivor Series

Ted Dibiase brings out the Undertaker. Throughout the entire match, the fans in the crowd chant "Mean Mark Callous". Subsequent weeks, the fans continue that chant every time the Undertaker comes out.

Does the Undertaker ever manage to create that initial aura that helped him become what he was if he had to deal with that? Anyone who watched more than just WWF at the time knew who he was. It's not like it was some great secret.

If smart fans were as smart as they think they are... they'd understand that most wrestlers they see today HAVE had different gimmicks at one point or another. It's harder to find a successful wrestler that only ever had one gimmick than to find one that didn't work several over the course of their careers. There is simply no reason to for them to try and shit on something new just to show off how smart they think they are.

Funny thing is... they're typically the same people who complain later when there's no good gimmicks anymore.

I think Bray Wyatt will be fine, because it's an amazing gimmick... and I loved the Wyatt Family debut... right up until the end. But some of these fans really have to learn to stop being their own worst enemies.

 

[R.K.O]

I was absolutely livid with the crowd, they don't deserve the debut. Thankfully the internet wasn't all that in the past or they would have chanted Isaac Yankem to Kane.

 

[BigThunder]

I have a chant for that crowd.

You suck! You suck! You suck! You suck!

Yeah, it was real damn annoying to have people crap all over the debut. Like, seriously, did they give a damn about Husky Harris when he was Husky Harris? I know they didn't. WWE wouldn't have changed the gimmick if they had.

But I felt the same way about the Albert/Tensai chants.

 

[#tamale]

The night after Wrestlemania the audience shit on Sheamus and Randy Orton, 2 great performers, during their match and some people praised it and thought it was hilarious. Ryback constantly gets the Goldberg chants and people praise it because they think he deserves it.

Now that Bray Wyatt gets the Husky Harris chants, people complain? Not saying anyone in this thread is guilty of a double standard, but this will be a recurring theme this week on wrestling websites:

"Did the WWE Live audience ruin the debut of the Wyatt Family?"

I think it's okay to ask this question, but where was this question when it happened to Orton and Sheamus? Or where is it when Ryback constantly gets Goldberg chants?

Me personally, while it annoys me to some degree when the fans do this kind of stuff, I don't think it ruins my experience watching or the wrestler who is performing. It's just a chant. I just find it curious that people aren't this quick to defend others when they get a specific chant leveled at them.

I can already see the huge uproar that Sami Zayn gets when he debuts.

 

[JBAKER3170]

What the WWE needs to do is have Bray cut a promo about how he fell victim to the "master puppeteers" in the past (That being of course, WWE management), how he was saddled w/the name Husky Harris, and was later told by the "master puppeteers" to go find himself, and when he does, he'd be welcomed back w/open arms. He can say that he found himself, who he truely is, and management should have chosen their words more carefully b/c now he's back. I'd finish the promo by telling the crowd that they are all puppets, and he no longer has his strings pulled, that he no longer does anyone's bidding, and the more they chant Husky Harris, the more they are responsible for whatever The Family does. Use the crowd chanting HH against them

 

[Somewhat Large Gonzalez]

The night after Wrestlemania the audience shit on Sheamus and Randy Orton, 2 great performers, during their match and some people praised it and thought it was hilarious. Ryback constantly gets the Goldberg chants and people praise it because they think he deserves it.

Now that Bray Wyatt gets the Husky Harris chants, people complain? Not saying anyone in this thread is guilty of a double standard, but this will be a recurring theme this week on wrestling websites:

"Did the WWE Live audience ruin the debut of the Wyatt Family?"

I think it's okay to ask this question, but where was this question when it happened to Orton and Sheamus? Or where is it when Ryback constantly gets Goldberg chants?

Me personally, while it annoys me to some degree when the fans do this kind of stuff, I don't think it ruins my experience watching or the wrestler who is performing. It's just a chant. I just find it curious that people aren't this quick to defend others when they get a specific chant leveled at them.

I can already see the huge uproar that Sami Zayn gets when he debuts.

You kinda-sorta answered your own question. The difference is that the Sheamus/Orton match was boring and predictable. It deserved derision. Again, Ryback was an obvious attempt to relive Goldberg. The crowd was right to remind Vince that they see through all of that bullshit. The Wyatt Family, however, is quality stuff. Think of WWE as a pet. You train them with positive and negative reinforcement. The Wyatts' debut deserved a warm, appropriate reception (the opening pop was fantastic), but it was smudged by smarks. Fans need to realize that they play an active role in determining how a character is utilized.

For the record, I felt the same way about Tensai. The crowd never gave it a chance, though Tons of Funk is doing fairly well (tonight's match with The Shield was surprisingly solid).

 

[CaptainZaltan]

Generally I'd say let the fans chant whatever they want to chant. But personally, I found the Husky Harris chants annoying, and would hate to see them hurt Bray Wyatt's chances. Ultimately, this is a problem the writers can fix. For whatever reason, some fans are hellbent on showing that they know and understand more than the WWE gives them credit for. With how frequently condescending and nonsensical the WWE can be, I can kind of understand why. Anyways, acknowledge what the fans are saying and you take away their ability to flaunt their 'insider' knowledge. Paul Heyman acknowledged who Curtis Axel was and who he now will be and why, and we haven't once heard a "Mcguillicutty" chant. Bray Wyatt should just come out and say that he used to be saddled with the name "Husky Harris", but no longer. Hell, having been stuck with that name for so long could be a logical explanation for why he's now insane.

 

[#tamale]

You kinda-sorta answered your own question. The difference is that the Sheamus/Orton match was boring and predictable. It deserved derision. Again, Ryback was an obvious attempt to relive Goldberg. The crowd was right to remind Vince that they see through all of that bullshit. The Wyatt Family, however, is quality stuff. Think of WWE as a pet. You train them with positive and negative reinforcement. The Wyatts' debut deserved a warm, appropriate reception (the opening pop was fantastic), but it was smudged by smarks. Fans need to realize that they play an active role in determining how a character is utilized.

For the record, I felt the same way about Tensai. The crowd never gave it a chance, though Tons of Funk is doing fairly well (tonight's match with The Shield was surprisingly solid).

How was it boring and predictable when these two have barely faced each other? They are both quality performers and they started to shit on Sheamus and Orton within the first couple of minutes of their match.

Ryback has shown that his character barely has any real similarities to Goldberg's character. If people believe that Ryback is like Goldberg and he deserves to get those chants, then the Husky Harris chants are even more applicable since Bray Wyatt used to be Husky Harris.

 

[The Butcher]

The night after Wrestlemania the audience shit on Sheamus and Randy Orton, 2 great performers, during their match and some people praised it and thought it was hilarious. Ryback constantly gets the Goldberg chants and people praise it because they think he deserves it.

Now that Bray Wyatt gets the Husky Harris chants, people complain? Not saying anyone in this thread is guilty of a double standard, but this will be a recurring theme this week on wrestling websites:

"Did the WWE Live audience ruin the debut of the Wyatt Family?"

I think it's okay to ask this question, but where was this question when it happened to Orton and Sheamus? Or where is it when Ryback constantly gets Goldberg chants?

Me personally, while it annoys me to some degree when the fans do this kind of stuff, I don't think it ruins my experience watching or the wrestler who is performing. It's just a chant. I just find it curious that people aren't this quick to defend others when they get a specific chant leveled at them.

I can already see the huge uproar that Sami Zayn gets when he debuts.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees the blatant hypocrisy at work here. There are wrestling fans who simply refuse to realize that they can't have it all their way. When the live crowds chant what these people want them to chant, they eat it up and talk about how the crowd helped make the show. When the crowd chants something they dislike, they moan and talk about how the live crowd ruined the show.

We've got a perfect example right here in our midst, although I'll withhold the name:

The boring chants been around for as long as I can remember, and it's not something the WWE has ever 'allowed'. It's something they really can't control...

well they can control it. They simply have to stop putting on segments that people consider boring

I enjoyed the segment...

until the very end when the fans started their stupid little chant.

Sorry it offends you that I didn't like that. When the same fans you're defending end up ruining another good act, don't complain to me about it.

It doesn't get anymore blatant than that. When he agrees with the live audience, it's WWE who is at fault. When he disagrees with the live audience, well then they are stupid. He's not alone. What he and others like him need to realize is that they're being childish. You can't have it both ways, folks. God forbid you take the good with the bad.

Live crowds can certainly annoy me. I think "what?" chants are beyond played out and am not shy about saying so. However, I've never let an audiences reaction or chants make or break a segment for me. When I talk about a show after it's over, I try to focus on the show, not the crowd. I wish others would give that a try, yet here we are, two weeks in a row, with threads about the crowd. Last week it was one about Raw only emanating from select cities because the crowd in Sioux City was too quiet. This week it's a thread about the fans "ruining WWE" because the crowd in Baltimore chanted a new character's old name.

Get over yourselves. Fans in attendance pay their money to have a good time. If that entails calling Bray Wyatt "Husky Harris," or chanting "boring," then those of us watching from home have to live with that. As of the time this is posted, there are no threads about the Wyatt Family's brilliant debut, but there's one 15 posts deep about the damn audience.

The live crowds aren't ruining anything. It's keyboard warriors who don't buy merch, stream pay-per-views, and act with righteous indignation at everything they don't like who are ruining things for themselves.

 

[Lushh]

I was so beyond irritated with the crowd tonight. I agree with what some of you have said about the crowd just wanting to "flex" their wrestling knowledge but they take away from the story , which is what wrestling is all about, trying to be told. As of lately anyway the crowds have been so lackluster. They don't react to much of anything. I'm not sure if it's a reflection of the crowd or of the WWE's current product.

 

[B Negreanu]

umadbro?

Mason Ryan= Batista
Tensai= Albert
Ryback= Goldberg
Bray Wyatt= Husky Harris

umadbro? Why didn't you complain when the crowd was chanting stupid shit during the RAW after WM 29?

 

[R.K.O]

How is it hypocrisy when fans want good performers to succeed and don't care about bad performers? Pretty sure everyone here have their likes and dislikes and treats each differently so how is that different on our part?

Albert - Was a prominent character during Attitude era and after that, been around for too long so the fans are always going to recognize him. WWE was at fault for not even recognizing his past identity, all they said was "he was a past guy who went to Japan".

Ryback - If the fans were chanting Skip Sheffield I would agree with you. But they chanted Goldberg, a legend that Ryback would be happy to be compared to. Also, chanting Goldberg doesn't affect Ryback's gimmick, it only enhances it when people compare him to the most well known unstoppable monster in Goldberg.

Bray Wyatt - Played a failed character in Husky Harris for a brief period of time and quickly moved on. Now portrays a totally different gimmick that is no way related to Husky Harris and is the most interest gimmick to ever come out from WWE in a long long time. Also a ridiculously talented performer in the ring and on the mic. What does the fans do? Chant his failed past gimmick which totally destroys his current character.

 

[kor420]

Correct me if i'm wrong because i haven't been to a wwe event for many years, but didn't wwe eliminate alcohol sales at their events? The last time i went to a wwe event, i couldn't find a drop of alcohol anywhere. I'm sure this plays a huge factor in the crowds behavior.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

I predicted weeks ago that the crowd would chant Husky Harris during the debut, yes its totally stupid and irritating because it takes you out of the moment, but it is what it is. As time goes on if the gimmick is booked well and the character is kept in compelling angles it will die down over time...I hope.

Even if it doesn't, they just gotta stay the course. Mark Henry still gets chants of Sexual Chocolate to this day, but it hasn't stopped him from doing what I consider to be the best work of his career. A good performer knows how to out tune the smarks, and do what they've got to do to get over. As someone who's been to dozens of FCW/NXT shows over the years and seen Husky/Bray work many times, I feel quite confident he is up to the task, I'm amazed it's taken this long to get him back to the main roster, he has serious potential to be a big name in WWE.

 

[#tamale]

I wish others would give that a try, yet here we are, two weeks in a row, with threads about the crowd. Last week it was one about Raw only emanating from select cities because the crowd in Sioux City was too quiet. This week it's a thread about the fans "ruining WWE" because the crowd in Baltimore chanted a new character's old name.

As of the time this is posted, there are no threads about the Wyatt Family's brilliant debut, but there's one 15 posts deep about the damn audience.

The live crowds aren't ruining anything. It's keyboard warriors who don't buy merch, stream pay-per-views, and act with righteous indignation at everything they don't like who are ruining things for themselves.

I agree with all your points, but wanted highlight and expand on these:

First, yes, the Wyatt Family debut was great. Big props to everyone who made that happen.

About the crowds, you are dead on. When people praise Goldberg chants at Ryback or boring chants to segments involving over superstars, that adds fuel to the next "smart" crowd or whatever you want to call them to continue to do it. That means that every superstar is fair game to the ironic, smarky, and "funny" chants made by the crowds.

Everyone praised that crowd from the Raw after Wrestlemania, but tonight when they applied that same tactic to Bray Wyatt, they are now up in arms. You can't have it both ways.

How is it hypocrisy when fans want good performers to succeed and don't care about bad performers? Pretty sure everyone here have their likes and dislikes and treats each differently so how is that different on our part?

Ryback - If the fans were chanting Skip Sheffield I would agree with you. But they chanted Goldberg, a legend that Ryback would be happy to be compared to. Also, chanting Goldberg doesn't affect Ryback's gimmick, it only enhances it when people compare him to the most well known unstoppable monster in Goldberg.

That would make sense if people were chanting Goldberg to Ryback as some weird endearing salute, but they weren't. They chanted Goldberg to mock Ryback who has nothing to do with Goldberg.

Again, if people think they can chant Goldberg to Ryback, they can chant Husky Harris to Bray Wyatt.

 

[Headman]

Ive been saying this for a while. Great, the Baltimore fans proved tonight that they remember Husky Harris. They're so smart. Let's give them a cookie! But this is nothing new. Cheering heels and booing the faces hurts the show every bit as much as ridiculously misplaced Goldberg chants. For some reason fans go to shows feeling like it's their job to steal the show or something. And the WWE encourages this crap. Here's the truth. The Wrestlemania crowd sucked. The English crowds sucked. People don't tune in to see idiot fans chant "Boring" while two guys are working their asses off. If the show isn't entertaining, don't go. It's as easy as that.

 

[sTyLnK]

Some of you are missing the point. If a crowd is chanting something, good or bad, that means the wrestler/s are getting a reaction. And it sure as hell beats a silent live crowd where you can hear a pin drop. Imagine coming out and next to no one giving a crap? That would be such a God awful feeling. It's such a small thing to get 'irked' about. JMO and I stand by it.

 

[SCP88]

I don't think the crowd hijacked the Orton/Sheamus match because of the performance of the wrestlers. It had more to do with them hyping up a match with the WWE app, then shitting on it anyways. That match was actually pretty good.

The chants were annoying, but overall I believe talent wins out, which Bray Wyatt seems to have a lot of. If this character goes as planned, the chants will slowly fade away

 

[R.K.O]

That would make sense if people were chanting Goldberg to Ryback as some weird endearing salute, but they weren't. They chanted Goldberg to mock Ryback who has nothing to do with Goldberg.

Again, if people think they can chant Goldberg to Ryback, they can chant Husky Harris to Bray Wyatt.

You're kind of missing the point, you are lumping all "chants against wrestlers" as the same and if we do one we must accept another one, but it's not the case.

The Goldberg chant, even if it was mocking Ryback doesn't do any harm to his character. He's still this monster destroyer machine that they are trying to portray. A lesser Goldberg perhaps but still is. Which is why I said if they chanted Skip Sheffield I would agree because THAT is malicious to the Ryback character. That's reminding him that he was this goofy cornfed meathead and he's trying to come back as this monster and they are not buying it.

The Husky Harris chant, is a malicious chant that is capable of destroying what the Bray Wyatt character stands for. That is suggesting that he was a failed overweight character who got p*ssy whipped by Punk and he is now trying to come back as this hillbilly preacher. THAT is absolutely destructive to his character and might result in the worst possible outcome which is what happened to Tensai. If the fans chanted Isaac Yankem to Kane, do you think his character would still have worked? That's what the Husky Harris chants might do.

Fun chants like what they did with Sheamus and Orton are fine, but malicious chants like Husky Harris are not. It destroys the character and hampers the chances of him getting over, which ironically the same fans complain about wrestlers not getting over.

 

[theBusiness]

Yes and no. I wouldn't say it's "ruining" it but it is annoying when crowds try to act too smart. Having worked with people who have wrestled indy shows, it seems to be a very common opinion that the best crowds are the ones who embrace kayfabe. Cheer and boo whoever you want. I understand wrestling has evolved and it is cool to cheer heels, but don't try to act like you know everything, especially when part of a live crowd.