The TNA Fans: Helpful Or Detrimental?

[ABMorales787]

It seems that the fans of TNA are a little more outspoken than most fans. They cheer for whoever they like, face or heel. The boo whatever they hate, face, heel, bad comedy, etc. I believe its thanks to them, AJ Styles finally made it big. They have always popped huge for him. But it also seems they steer the product in bad ways sometimes. They have a tendency to cheer for the heels. Samoa Joe is a heel but gets huge pops from the crowd. The Pope, D' Angelo Dinero debuted and despite being a heel the crowd went nuts for him and then he turned face. They seemed to have enjoyed Jay Letha/Jim Neidhart, chanting for the Anvil. They have recently been giving Desmond Wolfe a good reaction as well. So I ask. Are these fans helping? Or making it worse? I realize they help push talent they see capable but they mess with the flow of a feud way to often for my taste by cheering the heels. It can impede their progress. What do you think?

 

[Pedro08]

You can't control who people root for. It's never all black and white. Fans cheer and boo wrestlers for a variety of reasons, it's never universal.

The NWO were suppose to be heels, but alot of fan cheered them, same with DX. I believe that's when the era of the cool heel came about. Look at when Hogan returned to the WWE against The Rock. Hogan was Hollywood Hogan and was suppose to be the heel, but since the fans were way over for Hogan instead of The Rock, they had to change the plan.

In the end, the wrestler can only go out there and perform in the manner that best fits their character at that time (face or heel). It's up to the fans as to whether they get over or not.

I don't think the fans are doing anything wrong. Look at John Cena. He's suppose to be the MEGA BABYFACE of the WWE, yet half the time the crowd boos him.

 

[TNA2009Forward]

It seems that the fans of TNA are a little more outspoken than most fans. They cheer for whoever they like, face or heel. The boo whatever they hate, face, heel, bad comedy, etc. I believe its thanks to them, AJ Styles finally made it big. They have always popped huge for him. But it also seems they steer the product in bad ways sometimes. They have a tendency to cheer for the heels. Samoa Joe is a heel but gets huge pops from the crowd. The Pope, D' Angelo Dinero debuted and despite being a heel the crowd went nuts for him and then he turned face. They seemed to have enjoyed Jay Letha/Jim Neidhart, chanting for the Anvil. They have recently been giving Desmond Wolfe a good reaction as well. So I ask. Are these fans helping? Or making it worse? I realize they help push talent they see capable but they mess with the flow of a feud way to often for my taste by cheering the heels. It can impede their progress. What do you think?

To be honest, it's not like you can monitor how the crowd reaction of fans today, the generation of todays fans utter their opinions for the wrestlers in their chants, quite similar to society is nowadays. I don't reckon it hurts the product of TNA, it's all in good event experience and fun among the fans. WWE is too overscripted and focused in atmosphere that I think it prompts the fans to cheer or boo the right people most times. But in TNA, I say let them have a great time cheering/booing who they please! Besides, i'd probably cheer a heel like Desmond cause I love his heelness.

 

[Thriller Ant]

I think they are helpful. You see WWE events, Raw this past Monday being a great example, where the crowd is either dead or extremely smarky. TNA fans, however, boo the heels and cheer the faces. They tell the wrestlers when they enjoy a match and when they hate one. Lively crowds can help to give the wrestlers adrenaline and make them want to perform better. The crowds at the Impact Zone help make the show so much better, and are a great asset to the company.

 

[Mr_billy]

Does it really matter with TNA? Wrestlers are Heels one day, and Faces the next without much build up. People should just cheer who they want. This never affected the horsemen, they were cheered as much as they were booed, because they were awesome.

 

[Kliq]

How can fans steer the product negatively? The product is FOR the fans. The company should be catering to what the fans want. Obviously it doesn't always happen, but when it does it is usually good for business. There is no such thing as a fan in the 'wrong'. The customer is always right, and fans can (and should) cheer for whoever they want. The wrestling business, contrary to popular belief, is not all about making new stars. This isn't a real sport where things are more about the players than the audience. Football could get massive ratings any time they wanted to if they decided to make matchups themselves. This is scripted entertainment with actors doing whatever it takes to get more and more fans. If a movie tanks is it because the audience was bad? It is all up to interpretation. The business can make someone the good guy and someone the bad guy but at the end of the day it is all about what the fan wants to get out of it.

 

[NSL]

The fans are one of the best features. They're a poor man's version of the ECW fans. They cheer for who they want, they'll let you know when someone sucks, and they'll give you the big pop for an awesome spot, even if it's a shit filler match.

You know why I can't stand watching RAW or Smackdown? You get a big main event (say taker v Jericho), and you get a bunch of people at ringside sitting on their hands like they're at church. In TNA, you can open with a Knockout match, and you have 1200 fans standing on their feet, hands in the air, cheering to their heart's content.

How is that a bad thing?

 

[Super Crazy]

I love watching TNA. Their fans are like watered down ECW crowds. They really let you know how they feel. It's part of the reason I watch TNA, hearing the fans , it adds to the experience. I love watching spotfests and hearing " THIS IS AWESOME......THIS IS AWESOME!! ".

This is why I don't find Raw or Smackdown as enjoyable as Impact. The fans of the WWE live shows, they just aren't into it like they used to be. The arenas used to echo with boos or go crazy with screams, nowadays, as Vince said , it seems like the crowd dies before the show goes on.

With TNA, you could show them anything, even a filler match , or a web match, like Kip James vs Kiyoshi a few weeks back, and they'll still cheer like there is no tomorrow.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

TNA fans are always into the event. Those crowds are crazy. Like others have mentioned, WWE crowds can be very dull. A shining example would be The Slammys this past Monday. That was the reason Vince made his "funeral" comment. Anyway, TNA fans are passionate. Even when there's no action in the ring, they're always cheering or marking out like crazy. I definitely think TNA fans are helping that promotion. They give TNA that old ECW feel, where you know there are nothing but die-hard fans in the crowd.

 

[BladeRunner]

If you have the opportunity you should go to to a TNA show one day and then make a judgement about the crowd.

Every time I've gone to a TNA show the crowd was ridiculously into it.

Whether it was a house show, an episode, or a PPV, when you're sitting there with these loud crazy people around you it makes it even better. TNA's crowds may be smaller but they're loud and really into it. And when you're right there in the middle of it, that really gets you into it as well.

 

[LegendKiller716]

IMO it is a wrestlers job to get the fans to react how they want them to react. For example CM Punk, Randy Orton, Team 3D, etc. every time they come out there are boos fillings the entire arena because they know how to get under the fans skin.

I think it is probably harder to get a face reaction, but guys like Evan Bourne, AJ Styles, John Morrison get great reactions because they are so exciting to watch, while others like Triple H, Shawn Michels, Matt Hardy get over from good promos and wrestling.

If TNA fans are booing faces and cheering heels, then the wrestlers should take it upon their selves to tweak their characters so the fans give them the correct reaction. TNA is bad at doing this. For example Jeff Jarret and Mick Foley are supposed to be heels going after Hogan as the face. To me Foley and Jarret seem like faces.

Another reason for this is that 95% of the time TNA is in the impact zone so they probably watch alot of live TNA shows and they cheer for whomever puts on a great show when the go there. TNA needs to be in a diiferent city every week ala WWE.

 

[ABMorales787]

I don't really thinks the fans are bad. I just think their reactions can sometimes be inapropriate to the situation. Its hard to tell what heel should be placed in the main event when they get cheered instead of booed. I think it gets hard when a face and heel get equal reaction when it shouldn't be. How canthe face go over? Or how can the heel draw heat? It can be confusing and confuse the bookers. But then again, I may be overreacting, you're right in the fact they are alive for anything.

 

[Dagger Dias]

So I ask. Are these fans helping? Or making it worse? I realize they help push talent they see capable but they mess with the flow of a feud way to often for my taste by cheering the heels. It can impede their progress. What do you think?

I think the fans are helping because they often give great reactions and you can tell they are happy to be there moreso than some fans on WWE shows. It doesn't make it worse that they sometimes boo faces or cheer for heels.... that just means they are rooting for the guy they like better which is honestly a great thing. We as fans don't HAVE to cheer for a face we don't like, and we can choose to cheer for a heel that we like as well. It's an awesome underrated power that we have as fans, WE have the power to make or break someone's career if enough fans get behind someone or not.

I believe the fans are doing more for the show in the long run the more they react because that's a big part of what wrestling is even about.... the federation making money while the fans get to see a great show and hopefully react to it like these fans do.

 

[wolvdog316]

It's mostly because it's smaller crowds. You feel, I guess a sort of closer bond with the wrestlers. When ECW and TNA came here, ECW drew better than TNA but both were real fan friendly. Dixie came to my section and let us hold the belt and took pictures with fans. RVD and Sandman would just hang out by the speakers and just bullshit with us. Sort of a "those guys are real, those guys are like us".

WWE, well, you have 15,000 20,000 70,000 people. If your in the nose bleeds your not going to be as excited. I've been to many many WWE shows and plenty time chants were started about a guys work ethic or about a great match but they just die out. In ECW or TNA you were only 1 of about 1000, maybe 1,500 compared to 1 in 20,000. So you felt more close to the product. Hard to be excited about seeing a wrestler when you 2 or 4 levels up, and all the way in the back. Compared to just a hundred feet away

I can't really put into words what I'm trying to say but if you understand it you will know what I'm talking about.

 

[Skorpiunz]

There's gotta be people who like a character good or bad or there's no reason to keep it. You can't always like the good guy.. Your argument can also be used to say WWE fans always root for the same guy. Or who the root for is always predictable. Look at cena.. I dont think he has any character.. he's good at talking smack, and saying he's gunna win but other than that he's jsut a normal person now and WWE fans still like him..

TNA fans are always into the event. Those crowds are crazy. Like others have mentioned, WWE crowds can be very dull. A shining example would be The Slammys this past Monday. That was the reason Vince made his "funeral" comment. Anyway, TNA fans are passionate. Even when there's no action in the ring, they're always cheering or marking out like crazy. I definitely think TNA fans are helping that promotion. They give TNA that old ECW feel, where you know there are nothing but die-hard fans in the crowd.

I think the reason TNA fans are so into TNA is because they are grateful for the alternative TNA gives. WWE fans seem dull because they know what's going to happen. They probably cheer because they are yelling at their friends saying I told you John Cena was going tow in by hitting the F-Uermmmm Attitude Adjustment. It's the same reason when you ask a WWE fan WHY they think TNA sucks they say uhmm derrrrrr Ah HURRR... I DUNNO IT JUST SUXX AHAHAH