TNA Wrestlers' Interactions With the Fans...

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Watching Destination X I couldn't help but notice the wrestlers communicating with the fans more. We had Kid Kash giving middle fingers to the crowd and during the last man standing match, an absolutely hilarious exchange between Christopher Daniels and some fans. They kept asking him to do the BME, which he then finally replied with "I did the BME on your mom last night!" and then he and the fan went back and forth insulting each other, this got a lot of crowd noise and I think made him, and the match all the more over. Roode IIRC also insulted the fans a couple of times too during the main event.

Personally I love this kind of stuff, I always look forward to it when going to house shows. The only one on the TNA roster who really does it regularly is Bully Ray and part of what makes him a great heel IMO. Now this could all just be coincidence or me looking too much into it, so feel free to shoot me down. But what do you think about this and should wrestlers do it more often?

 

[BillNyeQuil]

I definitely think fan interaction is great. In WWE when Alberto Del Rio was picking people out of the crowd and asking them for their green cards, it was vile! And in a way that gave Del Rio tremendous heat. When CM Punk won the WWE title and dived into the family and friends he had in the crowd, it was great to see because it showed a connection to the fans.

I see some wrestlers do the run down the ramp and kind of high five a few fans who are lucky enough to stretch their arms out far enough without falling over the rail/barricade, and I think it's an acknowledgement of how that mentality is shared, though it's not executed very well.

I tangent a tiny a bit, but yes, fan interaction is key and definitely makes us connect more to wrestlers. It develops character so we have more to relate to, whether positively or negatively.

 

[OutsiderDX]

Rey Mysterio is wonderful at including his fans. He always takes the time during his enterance to touch heads with someone with a mask and say something.

I always wondered how many of those fans will grow up wanting to be wrestlers just because Rey Mysterio did that. How many will love wrestling because of that and become crappy indy wreslters?

It can only help to sell merchandise as well. If I'm 10 years old on the rail, I'm getting a mask for sure. Multiply that by 2 shows a week, times 5 years... and it shows how lil things can add up to big money.

Greatest fan interaction : "Go back to toronto!"......... "I'm from Winnipeg, you idiot!"

Wrestling is about emotion and anyway to get the fans more involved only adds to that emotion. So who would be against it?

 

[IT Factor]

This is one area where I believe TNA outperforms WWE. They are abit more fan interactive than most in WWE are. They do alot of meet-and-greets and also the wrestlers do seem to get into involving the fans. I've been to about 5 WWE events[live and house show] and there's hardly any interaction with the fans, aside from superstars trying to goad a reaction outta the crowd. In TNA, I've been to 2 PPVs and 2 house shows. Not only do you get up close to the TNA wrestlers, they also do things like promoting their merch stands by having certain wrestlers come out, cut promos, and then go to the merch stand and sign autographs. Even though their turnouts aren't always as big as they hoped, TNA guys do seem more into fan interaction[there are a few exceptions, some don't seem as into it as others obviously].

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

I agree this is always something fun about going to shows I havent been to a TNA show but I think they do it way more then WWE Ive been to a few WWE shows (RAW,PPV,House Shows) and never got any reaction out of anybody no matter what. Small indy companys are good for this too, Theres a local wrestling company around here I went to and got Shane Douglas to flip me off and get in my face telling me to fuck off....good times good times.

But yeah this is a great way for a heel to get heat calling the fans idiots or flipping them off anything like that.

 

[themick]

I went to a TNA house show in NY about six months ago. Small venue and very light card, as there were only 13 talents on the card. However, every wrestler/KO except for one did a signing/meet and greet session at some point in the night. In addition, at the end of the show, you could take a pic in the ring with Jeff Hardy if you had a VIP ticket. Even though I wouldn't consider myself a huge TNA fan, it was a very cool experience and something they should definitely continue to do in order to promote their brand.

 

[HBsam31]

TNA did a real small house show near where I grew up. The interaction was great before, during, and after the show. I think that adds a whole lot to the experience, and TNA from what I have seen and heard does a great job with it.

 

[RawIsJericho]

I'm far from a big fan of Batista, but I remember watching one PPV and you could hear this little kid scream out "I hate you Batista" and he just turned around and shouted "I HATE YOU TOO" at this little kid. Even something so little and simple like that just made him seem like so much more of a prick which is great and not just for the people in the crowd that heard him but for viewers at home too.

I too loved the interaction Daniels had going on at Destination X with that group near the steps.

Definitely would like to see more of it, but of course not everyone can probably do it quite as well as someone like Daniels does but it's definitely something I notice and it adds to the product for me.

 

[IT Factor]

The only drawback to TNA live events is that Jeremy Borash keeps teasing that he'll give away free "backstage passes" to whomever is the loudest. Literally everyone was screaming and I never saw him give away anything. Nothing worse than a reaction troll, Mr. Borash.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Definitely would like to see more of it, but of course not everyone can probably do it quite as well as someone like Daniels does but it's definitely something I notice and it adds to the product for me.

Agreed haha Daniels can sure think fast on his feet.

The only drawback to TNA live events is that Jeremy Borash keeps teasing that he'll give away free "backstage passes" to whomever is the loudest. Literally everyone was screaming and I never saw him give away anything. Nothing worse than a reaction troll, Mr. Borash.

Wow really how dare he the little shit haha

 

[BigPoppaPunk]

TNA has the better fan interaction, no doubt about it. Even though you can obviously tell some guys don't wanna be there(see Sting who was guilted into it by Samoa Joe during their feud). It's still leaps and bounds better than the once or twice a year meet and greets WWE does. TNA does it almost for every PPV and house show, which is impressive for guys on the road so much. WWE could learn a huge lesson from TNA in that regard...