The Two Crowds of Friday Night SmackDown

[Uncle Sam]

So, I'm watching the latest SmackDown - don't worry, no spoilers - and it seems to me that there's two distinct crowds in attendance.

Crowd number one is the crowd I can see. This crowd, it would appear, doesn't realise they've paid good money to see a wrestling show. They think, I'd imagine, that they've bought tickets to sit in a public library. Those guys jumping around in their underpants are being awfully loud, aren't they? I hope the librarian asks them to be quiet; it's very rude. You have to sympathise with this crowd though, they're paraplegics with ADHD. You see, they can't stand up and they don't have very long attention spans. While Ezekiel Jackson slams some poor schmuck, they're sitting there, checking the dirt under their finger nails. While Christian cuts a promo, they're jus' chilling, maybe reading a newspaper. While D. Brine dives headfirst out of the ring, they're maxing and relaxing. Hey, it ain't too taxing.

Crowd number two is a different crowd entirely. This is the crowd I can hear. You see, they have car batteries wired up to their testicles (or ovaries, let's not discriminate) that give them powerful electric shocks every time there's a spot. Not only this, but their infant children have been taken away from them and will only be returned if the babyface is victorious. And if that weren't enough, they're socialist communist anarchist nihilist revolutionaries that, after they've cleared up what remains of their children's corpses thanks to a Cody Rhodes win, are going to march on Washington, storm the Whitehouse and eat Michelle Obama's face. And they will do this very, very noisily. VIVA LA REVOLUTION! VIVA LA REVOLUTION! VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

I don't know, maybe they were just kind enough to put the ADHD paraplegics up front, in camera shot. And hey, maybe they didn't want the fact that they're electrocuting people's reproductive organs while simultaneously holding their children hostage known, which is why you rarely see any of the violent revolutionaries on camera. Still, something seems amiss, non?

 

[Matth3w]

Yeah I just got done watching Smackdown too. Crowd were pretty dead. Pretty disappointing. Loudest pop was for RKO; even Zack and Teddy got barely any reaction.

 

[Mustang Sally]

You can break down the two crowds even further: there are the people who come to the show because they have an interest in seeing wrestling matches......and there are those who want to be seen among as many people as possible, doing exactly what they're doing.

The former actually have their eyes set on the ring! They'll talk to their neighbors and take breaks to get popcorn, but they're here essentially because they want to watch these jacked guys and gals parade around the ring in strange costumes, working their matches.

The latter are there only to take comfort in the knowledge that they're being exactly like everyone else. Hell, no one can accuse them of being weirdos if they're in the same crowd with thousands of other people. The last thing they're interested in doing is watching what's going on in front of them. They're looking at the Titan-tron, checking out the pretty girl in Row 6, talking to their equally disinterested neighbors or....and this is my favorite.......talking on their cell phones. For some, it's not comfort enough to have 14,000 people around them; they have to tell someone outside the arena what they're doing.

During the Attitude Era, these people were even more abundant than they are now. WWE somehow convinced the world that pro wrestling was cool, and these people wanted to be in on anything that others consider cool. They were the reason for the 8.5 Neilsen ratings and once they moved on to some other form of entertainment in their continuing effort to follow the crowd, the ratings went back to where they are now.

For me, television is entirely a visual medium. The closest I get to "hearing" the crowd is when the closed-captioning on my screen says: "Yay!" or "You suck!" or "Look at those puppies, J.R.!"

But I don't need to hear the crowd when the people I see near ringside are sitting on their hands, not paying attention to the show. If those in close proximity don't care about the spectacle going on a few feet in front of them, I can only imagine what the folks in the back of the arena are doing.

On the other hand, WWE will let in anyone who has the price of admission. If those folks don't even care for the product, it's someone else's problem, I suppose.

 

[CameronKO]

overall the weekly smackdown crowd is very dead and quiet and the crowd only come alive for guys like randy orton and daniel Bryan and itz funny how fans wanted christian to get the push and now that he has his 'peeps' hardly even make a sound when his music plays

 

[GameUniverse]

I have been to at least 50 pro wrestling shows in my lifetime. (likely more) The crowds for Smackdown are HORRIBLE right now. No one chants, no one cheers, nothing... dead air. They clap when Randy comes out that is about it. Wrestling crowds in general have been terrible since 2001ish... I think the problem is they need someone to CARE ABOUT. Raw fans have been getting loud for Punk lately and it's really nice to see again! I hope this trend continues. Ryder fans are so amped to get him over that they come off as some of the loudest even though it's usually about half the crowd that cares live and not everyone....

So bad. At least the TNA crowd gets into the show...

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Frustrating I know. The frustrating part is that they've paid and therefore earnt the right to sit there and be seemingly not interested in what they paid to watch. Maybe every fan should have to pass a general knowledge test before they enter the building to trim the mute fat. But then again, given that about 90% of the audience which makes up wrestling shows consists of people who don't actually give that much of a shit about wrestling, it may lose WWE a few dinero.

So bad. At least the TNA crowd gets into the show...

This, I'm afraid, is not true. TNA puts a track on the shows of pre-recorded pops and boos. Actually watch the audience and you'll realize they are worse if anything. I get surprised when one moves. Seriously, if you're not Kurt Angle, Sting or Joe, you might as well be anyone because you'll all get the same reaction. Complete and utter passionate indifference.

 

[Taker Sucks]

This happens when your show is pre taped.. My homie offered me Smackdown! Tickets because I have been dying to go to a show in a long time but its to much on the audience. You have to watch a hour long NXT then a hour long Superstars then 2 hours of Smackdown?? If you ask me thats asking to much for a crowd to be hyped through since half of it lackluster... the crowd is tired like always soo dont expect most to cheer expect them to be wore out.

 

[Peep]

overall the weekly smackdown crowd is very dead and quiet and the crowd only come alive for guys like randy orton and daniel Bryan and itz funny how fans wanted christian to get the push and now that he has his 'peeps' hardly even make a sound when his music plays

Calling major bull on this.

Not defending Christian one way or another - the problem is everyone on SmackDown (minus Orton) has edited pop/heat for their entrances. Therefore, your comment about not getting a reaction is complete crap. EVERYONE gets a reaction on SD! TV because the WWE edits it in.

Christian, in reality, gets a a mixed reaction when his music hits. About 25-30% pop (Peeps), 40% people that are quiet - just as they are for all of SD!, and 30-35% actual heat.

When the show is edited and airs on Friday it comes out as 100% heat.

The edits being what the OP is hinting at, I believe.

 

[FightOwensFight]

I could be wrong, but I think the point Sam is making is that the noise we here when watching Smackdown! is fake (i.e added to the television broadcast).

If that is indeed the point being made, I agree completely. When watching the show you see the crowd not reacting to anything, yet you hear a very loud crowd. People that have been to the show and then watched the Friday showing have commented on this before as well. Crowd is dead when they were there live, then, when they watch it on TV it is like ECW from 1998.

It is actually pretty funny when you look at it. You see all the faces on screen and all their mouths are closed (except for the likes of Orton) yet the sound you hear is deafening.

 

[CameronKO]

Calling major bull on this.

Not defending Christian one way or another - the problem is everyone on SmackDown (minus Orton) has edited pop/heat for their entrances. Therefore, your comment about not getting a reaction is complete crap. EVERYONE gets a reaction on SD! TV because the WWE edits it in.

Christian, in reality, gets a a mixed reaction when his music hits. About 25-30% pop (Peeps), 40% people that are quiet - just as they are for all of SD!, and 30-35% actual heat.

When the show is edited and airs on Friday it comes out as 100% heat.

The edits being what the OP is hinting at, I believe.

To be honest most superstars on smackdown get hardly no crowd reaction at all and christian is one of them regardless of the editing made for the crowd reactions. I even watched the latest smackdown yesterday and the crowd reaction was poor and there was non editing made. Watch it for yourself if you disagree

 

[Jessie Lynn DivaGirl]

Smackdown is not the only show tha has this problem. The crowd is dead down in front like "Oh sweet hot guys. OOH LOOK! A STINKBUG UNDER THE SEAT!". -_-

The real fans are the ones with the $20 tics (like me) who go completely nuts when their guy(s) come out. And we're in the frigen back??

I've always noticed that with both Smackdown and Raw but mostly Smackdown. The SD crowd is more dead because most of the people in front just want to be on TV and have no idea that they're supposed to be oing mental for when Sheamus hits the Brogue Kick on some pathetic soul who just happened to get in his way.

HELLO!! DO YOU PEOPLE REALIZE YOU LOOK ASLEEP ON FRIDAY NIGHTS??

Apparently not.

 

[¡Roján!]

There's nothing worse than a dead crowd, in my opinion. Seriously, a crowd makes a big difference, see Money in the Bank. Anyway, I've noticed that recently to, all WWE crowds seem dead? Where is the passion? Seriousky, it's the little Jimmies who go and take their parents, who couldn't care less. That's where the dead crowds come from. Sort that out, there won't be any problems.

 

[Peep]

Read what i said again since ur struggling to understand what it read coz what ur saying doesn't refer fully to what i said. Sad guy getting so upset over a post

Alright, let me break it down for someone who is obviously clueless over what he in fact said...

Post #1:

overall the weekly smackdown crowd is very dead and quiet and the crowd only come alive for guys like randy orton and daniel Bryan and itz funny how fans wanted christian to get the push and now that he has his 'peeps' hardly even make a sound when his music plays

Lie.

Why: He does get a reaction as I stated in my first post. About 70%+ of a generally dead SmackDown crowd still reacts to him. Just under half of that is really a pop by people who are just fans of Christian ("Peeps"). The majority of the reaction however is heat by the general audience (young fans, women, and Orton fans).

HOWEVER, because Smackdown is taped - that real reaction is edited to a very boring and signature heat sound. It sounds the same for EVERY heel on SmackDown. Even let's say Heath Slater for example. The crowd doesn't give a damn about him but you wouldn't know it from listening to the edited show. They edit his heat in because otherwise, it'd be nearly silent in the arena.

Finally, what do you expect to happen? The biggest pop I've ever heard Christian get in recent times was at Over The Limit. It was just under the level of Orton and Cena - and that was a one time thing. Christian simply isn't that big of a name - the only three men in the company that are that big would be Orton, Cena and now CM Punk. Secondly, he's a HEEL. Of course people won't go crazy for him. Peeps, while passionate, are a very niche of WWE fans. If there were several thousand at every show, Christian WOULD be like Orton/Cena/Punk in popularity - but he's not. He's in the second tier of names in the company. Still good, but not wallet filling superstar level.


Post #2

To be honest most superstars on smackdown get hardly no crowd reaction at all

True.

and christian is one of them regardless of the editing made for the crowd reactions.

False.

Already explained. You're wrong. No other way to put it. He gets a mixed reaction that is edited in to standard heat for SmackDown tapings. Plain and simple.

I even watched the latest smackdown yesterday and the crowd reaction was poor

No it wasn't. It was edited first of all, so it was a standard SmackDown heel reaction. The exact same he got last week, the week before that so on and so on.

and there was non editing made.

Wrong.

Watch it for yourself if you disagree

I have several times.

Don't know how much more I can explain it. Anytime you here his music hits you hear some cheers and some boos. Then, 1.5 seconds later, WWE opens their can of heat and you hear a real boring, standard "boo....." Heat in a can for editing. How do I know? Because I DVR all of Christian's matches for SD! and it happens EVERY time.

Mixed cheer/boos followed by the canned heat. Every time.

Back to post #3

Read what i said again since ur struggling to understand what it read coz what ur saying doesn't refer fully to what i said. Sad guy getting so upset over a post

I didn't struggle to understand what you posted. You however struggle with sentence structure, capitalization and spelling; and judging by your post, you're the one struggling with comprehension.

So to recap, I'm calling you incorrect, a liar and a tad bit language challenged.

Enjoy.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

I could be wrong, but I think the point Sam is making is that the noise we here when watching Smackdown! is fake (i.e added to the television broadcast).

.

Aye, and blatantly obvious at that. Ive pointed this out every week lately, mostly during the Uso's entrance it is most obvious.


While its total shit that people pay money to simply sit and do nothing, as if they were watching an opera, its even worse, and stinkier shit, that WWE splices in crowd noise that

1. Isnt fucking possible given the amount of people clearly sitting and doing nothing

B. Sounds exactly the same, every time.

People, pep the fuck up, you disgust me.

WWE, im not a fucking idiot. At least not when it comes to my wrestling shows. I see the people not making noise. I see them. So fucking just stop.

 

[darbare]

Im not gonna lie, going to these shows is extremely taxing...Ive been to like at least 12 of em...RAW is better because they usually just do Superstars before, and then the crowd ispumped for the live show...but on SD, you gotta sit through Superstars and NXT...used to be ECW...thats alot of wrestling...SD has always been like that, coupled with the fact that its the B show, and look no further as to why the crowd is dead

 

[RkoZ420]

Yeah the smackdown fake pops/boos are incredibly annoying. It is the same exact sound effect every time. The only person who seems to get a legitimate reaction is Orton and sort of Christian as well. Everybody else has piped in pops/boos and its terrible.

 

[Arcade]

Crowds on Smackdown are horrible and most of the time it isn't even the wrestler's fault. If your not gonna make some noise, then why come?