Who's Wrong?

[HBK-aholic]

With the over exposure of wrestling on broadcast television, and the repetitive storylines, people are going to cheer who entertains them (particularly adults) regardless if they are heel or face. I don't take into account heels or faces when I am watching, I just want to enjoy a good show. If a heel is doing a good job at being a heel, I applaud his performance, not his character.

But is that how it comes across? Hell no. Jericho regularly put on the best performance of the night as heel, but I still booed his ass off. Why? Because if his performance was SO good you should give them what they want. Heels WANT to be booed because it makes them look like they are doing their job correctly. Being cheered is the OPPOSITE of their job and you're makinf them look bad.

There is no right or wrong once you realize what wrestling is about. Like Blade said, wrestling is like a play, and the ring is the stage. There is no more kayfabe.

Oh really? What is wrestling about then? There's very much a right and wrong. Wrestling is about good vs. evil and it always has been. We're supposed to watch believing the heels are the bad guys and the faces must defeat them. And THAT'S what wrestling is all about.

 

[Raw Power]

Boo Cena if you hate him. Go ahead. We can't tell you you have to cheer Cena or Triple H or HBK or anyone. But it still goes that he's a face, so if you like him, you should cheer him. He's face and that's what he wants.

If you don't like Orton, that's good. He's a heel. Boo the fuck out of him. However, if you like Orton, boo him. It's what he wants. Cheering him is entirely counterproductive.

I understand your later points about "Well, what if the crowd pops for heelish acts? Should Vince change the roles?" But the simple answer is no, he really shouldn't. Classic face/heel roles are still intact. Orton still gets boos more often then not. Cena/Triple H/HBK still get mega-pops regularly.

OK, I guess the question is more hypothetical than anything, but what if Cena, doing good guy stuff, was getting overwhelmingly booed constantly? What would be the smart thing for Vince to do? Make Cena do "bad stuff" assuming that would get him cheers, or push the moral, righteous character down our throats?

And the thing about Orton is bull crap - it's exactly what you shouldn't do. That's basically saying "bend over and let the WWE take you from behind" - If you are entertained be a heel, and want to see them become the "main guy", you've got to let the WWE know - by just booing, you're giving them a standard heel reaction. What if Orton's cheers are the fans way of letting WWE know they want a psychotic, egomaniac as their hero, not their villain?

 

[YoYoYumba]

To me it seems the trend with the older audiences is to be cheering for who you believe is more entertaining to you and booing the stars who you just don't like regardless of whether their faces or heels. As far as kids go, I think the majority of them will really just cheer for the good guys and boo the bad guys regardless of anything else. Moving on though I believe it's really just up to the wrestlers themselves to do their job right, if their job is to get people to hate them then that's what they have to try to do. If their job is to get people to like them then do watever it takes for that to happen. Unfortunately though I think it's become even more difficult with the PG rating for heels especially to get the sorta heat they want because their very restricted as to what they are aloud to say. Same does apply to the faces too, they simply can not insult the bad guys to the extent that it really gets the crowd's attention. I know this isn't a PG discussion but I felt it is relevant here. I think that wrestling has always been all about good v evil and it should be kept like that. However, fans will always cheer for who they like and not who the WWE wants them to hate or like. Like I said, I believe it's up the wrestlers themselves to try to do their job to the best of their ability and try to get the fans to love/hate them. There are always going to be wrestlers who may be entertaining predominately to kids eg: Mysterio, Cena and for older audiences maybe guys like Edge and Jericho. There's really no-one wrong to me.

 

[Joker ' Ferreira]

I think at least recently people are behind wrestlers just because they like their personas or in-ring skills.

There is not a good list of gimmicks that work today, you have only a guy who is protraying a gimmick that is over and that is Undertaker. The others are only personas/characters but they don't have a gimmick.

Triple H isn't "The Game" as he was back then, now he is different, everybody that watches WWE knows how is his persona, same thing with Cena, he only changes his ways but he is the same person, he was a rapper and now he is The Marine but that didn't change anything in him to make him look worse or better to fans.

People cheer heels because they like them. They like their in-ring work and that's all. Edge said it a couple of weeks ago: "I think I am at a stage of my career that people respect me (just like they do with Jericho) so they cheer me, it's something I worked for". Jericho, Edge, Orton and all heels in the WWE if are cheered its because people like them inside the ring.

Its not all about bad guy vs. good guy, now its more like, Persona vs. Persona, people are different and react differently...

Just my two cents.

 

[Razor]

OK, I guess the question is more hypothetical than anything, but what if Cena, doing good guy stuff, was getting overwhelmingly booed constantly? What would be the smart thing for Vince to do? Make Cena do "bad stuff" assuming that would get him cheers, or push the moral, righteous character down our throats?

Hypothetically speaking? You can't have two Ortons. The whole thing about Austin was that he was the only one doing that crazy shit. So Orton would have to be the only "bad dude" that gets pops. That would put Cena in a quandary. He could either go more of a Triple H route, or he could go the generic Jericho-esque heel. Because a face that doesn't get pops is useless.

And the thing about Orton is bull crap - it's exactly what you shouldn't do. That's basically saying "bend over and let the WWE take you from behind" - If you are entertained be a heel, and want to see them become the "main guy", you've got to let the WWE know - by just booing, you're giving them a standard heel reaction. What if Orton's cheers are the fans way of letting WWE know they want a psychotic, egomaniac as their hero, not their villain?

Booing Orton, when he is a heel mind you, isn't "bend over and let the WWE take you from behind." It's helping Orton do his job. He's an actor in a play. A play he wants to get booed in. He wants to be the villain. That's why you boo the face if you don't like him and the way he does his job. Maybe he won't be the face anymore, and you get a new star. However, if a villain is doing his job correctly, he should be booed.

I honestly can't think that the audience is cheering Orton's actions as much as cheering Orton the man. Really because it's a easy fix. They just need to boo. However, if they're cheering him dismantling an entire family, beating people to within an inch of their careers, and beating others straight into retirement...then I don't know what to do. But you can't flip the entire face/heel alignment because a small portion of the crowd is popping for your top heel. They didn't do it for Edge, they won't for Orton.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

I gonna boo or cheer, depending on who it is and if I like them. Take Orton, I'll boo him to high heaven, because he's a heel and he needs the boos, so I'll boo him because I love Orton and love to see him getting over as a heel.

If it's Cena, I'll cheer like mad, because he is the new and better than the first version of Hogan, and since he's the face I cheer.

If it's HHH, I won't do anything, I won't cheer him because I don't like him, same with HBK.

I react for who I like, boo for heel, cheer for face, no reaction for those I don't like.

 

[Ryanhitman316]

Yes, it is because of Vince. Vince pushed the wrestler that the crowd loves. Cena fits that description overwhelmingly.

So as Boreista who we in NY boo the hell out of.

What makes them better wrestlers than Cena?

What makes them a better wrestler than Cena? come on Jericho is a legend and a veteran. He has been wrestling since he was in Japan. Shelton is a amateur wrestler and Edge is a Canadian which makes him one of the best anyway. Since I believe Canadian wrestlers are far better than American wrestlers.

Shelton puts on a proper show? For whom, the crickets you hear when he performs?

Shelton is very under-rated, I seriously prefer him to go to TNA, but he does put on interesting matches. But it all depends on who he faces, and in money in the bank matches he is the one people pay attention 2.

So Cena isn't a good wrestler because he gets a larger reaction than those three without having to do half the shit they do? That makes him 100x better, really.

Just because Cena gets more cheers doesn't mean nothing. We live in a generalize world where people support those who are either attractive or there same skin color, or religion as them. I live in NY, and the reason why people here in NY boo Cena is because he has lack of wrestling abilities. People like Jericho, Edge, and Shelton will always get cheer no matter if they are a heel or not because we know for a fact that they can wrestle.

But honestly, if you like the heels more, boo them. The heels want it to happen. They want to be booed! It's what they get paid to do! Seriously guys. Seriously.

Boo them for what? I have been cheering Bret Hart since 1990, when he turn heel in 1997, I am suppose to boo him? for what, just because they change his character? And I met the guy in person and he is extremely nice to me. I remember watching Bret documentary, he said that the fans turn on him, he didn't turn on the fans. This is the reason why I still support my wrestlers from the very beginning to the end no matter what character is given to him.

 

[Stormtrooper]

I am not completely against booing faces and cheering heels, and I have 2 different reasons.

1: Booing/cheering a wrestler is not the measuring stick for WWE, the company knows who is getting over based on fans bringing signs to the shows. As I have heard people in the know say on DVDs and in autobiographies, WWE can tell people who you who to boo and who to cheer, but they can't make signs for them. They tell you to boo Orton, and expect some fans (especially fans from the attitude era) to admire Orton, because that is who they like. However, until 90% of the signs fans make about Orton say things like "Punt HHH again" or crap like that, he is still a heel, and will not be marketed as a face.

2. Somebody said that wrestling is not like a "legit" sport, where you know who to boo and who to cheer, and more like a play. Wrestling is like a play in that there are fixed good guys and bad guys. However, wrestling is like a "legit" sport because the fans are expected to react instantly. Faces are like the home team/hero, and heels are the away team/villian. WWE realized that some fans like villians, just like a sports team expects there to be some fans of the away team. Because of that, cheering heels isn't the worst thing in the world. Some cities (like New York and Chicago) cheer the villians more, and this is comparable to a major market team like the New York Yankees traveling to a smaller market team like the Baltimore Orioles, who don't sell any tickets. In these games, 2/3 of the fans are Yankee fans who made the short trip from NY to Baltimore, so the road team gets more cheers.

Just my , feel free to disagree.

 

[Slyfox696]

There is no right or wrong once you realize what wrestling is about. Like Blade said, wrestling is like a play, and the ring is the stage. There is no more kayfabe.

This has got to be one of the most mis-informed statements I have ever seen on this board.

Once you realize what wrestling is about, there is no right or wrong? How does that even begin to make sense, when wrestling is about the very struggle between right and wrong, Good and Evil? The problem is people like you DON'T understand what wrestling is about, you've bastardized your interpretation of what it means because you want to believe there is some deeper meaning to it. There's not.

Pro wrestling does two things. 1) It puts on a story of the classic struggle between good and evil, so 2) you will pay money to watch it. That's it. THAT'S what pro wrestling is about.

And this nonsense there is no more kayfabe is not only false, it's also sad. Because when fans allow themselves to play along with a show, and not try to be above it, the show is so much more fun for everyone.

 

[My$terio_Fan]

I don't really think anybody's wrong, they just aren't doing what the WWE wants. In a perfect world the fans would want to cheer for the good guys and boo the bad guys. The good guys would make the fans want to boo the bad guys and vice versa. But in order to make this happen the WWE needs to make the good guys likeable and cheerworthy, while making the heels hated, and despise.

The WWE needs to build the characters and make them into "heels and face" while making effective storylines to help mold them into their characters. So the WWE needs to write the storylines and characters in a way that make them live up to the wrestlers roles.

Then we have the wrestlers. The wrestlers need to effectively play the roles that the writers give them. They need to take the characters and infuse their own style and charisma into them. If the wrestlers can't effectively play the part or make the fans believe it, then they are screwed.

Then there's the fans. The fans are going to cheer who they want, and boo who they want. Typically fans will cheer the good guys, boo the bad guys and play along with what the writers want. But every so often people will get behind the bad guy. Even in films the audience sometimes root for the bad guys. Then you have fans who just want play along with what the WWE wants and does the total opposite. They don't do it because they like the heel, they do it to be a brat.

So I honestly don't think you can just blame the fans, or just blame the wrestlers or just blame the writers. All 3 groups have to play a vitale role or else it could turn into a flop feud, where there are no clear good guys to cheer for, and everything might seem pointless.

 

[Razor]

Alright, let's do this.

So as Boreista who we in NY boo the hell out of.

That's your right as fans to boo a face you're not proud of. That will tell the WWE that he isn't doing the job a face should do, and that's getting cheers from the crowd.

Since I believe Canadian wrestlers are far better than American wrestlers.

I chose to quote this sentence because it summed up that response quite succinctly. So, so biased. Canadian does not automatically make you a better wrestler. You saying that is just as wrong as me saying "Cena is better just because he's American." Come on, you can make a better reason for why Edge is a good wrestler than "he's Canadian." Humor me, if nothing else.

Shelton is very under-rated, I seriously prefer him to go to TNA, but he does put on interesting matches. But it all depends on who he faces, and in money in the bank matches he is the one people pay attention 2.

No, Shelton is rated just correctly. As a pro-wrestler he blows at his job. He's supposed to get the crowd to care, yet the crowd couldn't care less. He only gets pops in the Money in the Bank matches because he jumps really high. Which is all he really does.

Just because Cena gets more cheers doesn't mean nothing.

Actually, it means he's a great pro-wrestler. He gets the crowd to care. If they didn't they wouldn't be cheering him.

We live in a generalize world where people support those who are either attractive or there same skin color, or religion as them.

So, he gets the cheers because he's attractive, he's white, and he's a Christian? You just managed to imply that the entire WWE Universe is shallow and racist. Congratulations on making a horribly inept statement.

I live in NY, and the reason why people here in NY boo Cena is because he has lack of wrestling abilities.

Actually, he's a very good wrestler in the pro-wrestling sense. As a pro-wrestler he just needs to get the crowd to care and not injure his opponent. He does that ten-fold. So you guys in New York are booing him for silly reasons.

People like Jericho, Edge, and Shelton will always get cheer no matter if they are a heel or not because we know for a fact that they can wrestle.

1) If they're heel, they wanna be booed. But I already stated that, and saw your rebuttal. So I'll move on.

2) Don't ever try to count Shelton amongst Edge and Jericho. Please. It makes you look rather silly. Shelton is a horrible wrestler. All he does is jump really high and manage to keep the crowd from caring about him. Of course, he's managed not to injure anyone yet. Which I'm really surprised about, with the number of botches he manages to pull off. I'll give him kudos for not injuring anyone, though.

Boo them for what?

I'm going to teach you Face/Heel Psychology 101. Which is surprising, I figured you'd pick it up seeing as though you've been watching from 1990, apparently.

1) Faces want to be cheered.

2) Heels want to be booed.

3) So, if you like a Face wrestler, cheer him. If you hate a Face wrestler, boo him.

4) If you like a Heel wrestler, boo him. If you hate a Heel wrestler, don't do anything. The lack of a response is what kills a Heel wrestler.

The wrestlers are putting on a play for you. A story, if you will. The faces want to be cheered in the story, and the heels want to be booed in the story. Not only the WWE wants this, but so do the wrestlers. It's the purest form of wrestling, the Good vs. Evil story. It's what they put on for you everyday.

So boo Orton and the heels you like because they want you to.

I have been cheering Bret Hart since 1990, when he turn heel in 1997, I am suppose to boo him? for what, just because they change his character?

Yes. It's what he wants. When you boo him you're not booing his ability or his charisma or anything. You're giving him what he wants. You're telling him good job, you're doing what you set out here to do.

And I met the guy in person and he is extremely nice to me.

There's a difference between the wrestler and the gimmick. You know that, right?

I remember watching Bret documentary, he said that the fans turn on him, he didn't turn on the fans.

That was more along the lines of the Montreal Screwjob, I'm sure. Or he doesn't understand basic Heel vs. Face psychology. And I know Bret Hart of all people does.

This is the reason why I still support my wrestlers from the very beginning to the end no matter what character is given to him.

That's silly. Your reactions to them should shift with their alignments. Remember. When you boo a heel you like, you're not hating on him. You're helping his story along.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

What I don't get is when people say "if you like a wrestler and they're a heel, you'll boo for them to tell them they're doing their job correctly", and they complain that "smarks" and "the IWC" do the wrong thing by cheering a heel that they think is cool...but these same people don't realize that THEY are being "smarks" by basing their reactions on whether or not they like the WRESTLER'S JOB PERFORMANCE rather than the CHARACTER. You can't say someone is wrong for booing a face just because they're a smark and they don't like the guy portraying the character, and then do the same thing and cheer a guy because you like his work ethic as opposed to his character. Hypocritical.

Think of it this way: If you like Mark Calloway, you want to cheer for the Undertaker because he's a face and you want the WWE to think that he's doing a good job. If you like the Undertaker character, you'll cheer, because he's a face and he'll be doing things that you should be cheering. / Now do the reverse, with a heel. If you like Glenn Jacobs, you'll boo for Kane because you want to send him a message that he's doing his job correctly. If you like KANE...you'll cheer for Kane despite the fact that he's a heel. Why? Because you like his character.

If people automatically cheered for faces and booed for heels, no matter what the circumstance, just because WWE is telling you to, then you'd never have a situation where Stone Cold went from heel to face based on the crowd response. You'd never have The Rock, because we would have all just continued cheering for Rocky Maivia instead of chanting "Rocky sucks!"...know what I mean?

If you like a performer as a person, do what his character currently calls for - boo for him if he's a heel, cheer for him if he's a face. But if you like a CHARACTER, do WHATEVER YOU WANT, as not only are you entitled to like who you want to like, but you also do them a service by letting them know what YOU think is cool.

 

[Joehaha]

i think the answer to this is pretty simple, the face has gotta make u like them so u want them to win? for example if cena turned heel, and jericho turned face..id still want jericho to win because hes my fav wrestler.
john morrison is face atm and im cheering for him week in week out its because i like the guy its pretty much as simple as that.

if your faces are getting boo'd id say thats a pretty good time to switch it up and turn them heel as their clearly not doing their job very well as a face.

 

[Stickstar 16]

I believe the reason why people boo people like Cena is because they know that the reason why they are a big star is because of there boss Vince.

Nah its ccuz Czena suxz cuzz cuzz hez only uzez da 5 MovEs Of DoOm
Or more likely because its cool for the smarks and anyone over the age of 15 to hate Cena cause he supposedly only appeals to kids and women, which is total bs as i'm proud this forum has shown

It is not because of there wrestling skills.

Nor should it be, it should be because of their character and how he appeals to your base senses of right and wrong good and evil, and how well they sell you which side they represent.

Most of my fav. wrestlers are heels because they can actually wrestle.

Thats debatable. Really it is, just because you only see Cena pull out 7 different types of moves in a match, it doesn't mean thats all he knows, its all he needs to perform in a match for his character, a basic match goes initial exchange, heel beatdown, face comeback, and then finish. So seeing as a heel would target different body parts, they'd have more slow and technical moves, to gain heat, where as faces will only have a certain number of moves, usually ones that get pops, to exctite the crowd and get them behind the face.

I only support wrestlers because it is wrestling.

Yup its wrestling, but if everything a heel does, promo speech and moveset, doesn't get you to hate him, he's not doing his job right, like i appreciate Jericho, but i enjoy watching him just to go "what an ass, i hope [insert name of face here] whups his ass for calling us all sycophants", thats cause i like him so much i buy that he truly thinks i'm scum.

People like Edge, Jericho, Shelton deserve support and attention because as a wrestler they work hard to put a proper show.

I agree that the first two deserve attention, which is why at the moment both are unified tag team champs, and before that been in the main event title scene for about the last year, so they're getting it, and they do deserve support, the thing is they don't want it because they don't care about you, you don't matter, but someone like rey or cena does, so you should give it to them.

On to the third name, Shelton deserves nothing, except maybe a future endeavours notice, he does nothing of interest, is one of the least charismatic wrestlers i've ever seen, poor on the mike, and can't get heat as a heel or over as a face, and the only time he was actually relevant was about 04 when HHH and HBK were making him look like gold. His finisher is sloppy, he is rumored to have cause one of Kennedy's injuries(must be where Ken learned how to) and is not much more than a glorified spot monkey. Oh and he's carried in most matches with a half decent wrestler.

I am not saying people like Cena doesn't but he doesn't need to work as hard in the ring compare to people like Jericho, Edge and Shelton.

Actually he does, and he probably works twice as hard, cause when you're a heel doing about 80% of the matches offence, you can afford to botch a move or two, but when you only have 7-10 moves to get your offence in and win a match, and you botch any of them, its really visible to a crowd. But Cena, Edge and Jericho are 3 of the elite so i don't expect a lot of botching from any, but to assume just because the face does less moves, they don't work as hard is naive.

 

[Slyfox696]

What I don't get is when people say "if you like a wrestler and they're a heel, you'll boo for them to tell them they're doing their job correctly", and they complain that "smarks" and "the IWC" do the wrong thing by cheering a heel that they think is cool...but these same people don't realize that THEY are being "smarks" by basing their reactions on whether or not they like the WRESTLER'S JOB PERFORMANCE rather than the CHARACTER. You can't say someone is wrong for booing a face just because they're a smark and they don't like the guy portraying the character, and then do the same thing and cheer a guy because you like his work ethic as opposed to his character. Hypocritical.

Think of it this way: If you like Mark Calloway, you want to cheer for the Undertaker because he's a face and you want the WWE to think that he's doing a good job. If you like the Undertaker character, you'll cheer, because he's a face and he'll be doing things that you should be cheering. / Now do the reverse, with a heel. If you like Glenn Jacobs, you'll boo for Kane because you want to send him a message that he's doing his job correctly. If you like KANE...you'll cheer for Kane despite the fact that he's a heel. Why? Because you like his character.

If people automatically cheered for faces and booed for heels, no matter what the circumstance, just because WWE is telling you to, then you'd never have a situation where Stone Cold went from heel to face based on the crowd response. You'd never have The Rock, because we would have all just continued cheering for Rocky Maivia instead of chanting "Rocky sucks!"...know what I mean?

If you like a performer as a person, do what his character currently calls for - boo for him if he's a heel, cheer for him if he's a face. But if you like a CHARACTER, do WHATEVER YOU WANT, as not only are you entitled to like who you want to like, but you also do them a service by letting them know what YOU think is cool.

I disagree completely. There are plenty of ways to tell a person they think their character is likable. Write them fan mail, get their autograph, slap their hand at the local bar and tell them how much you like them...but when you are at the show, you should play along with the show.

That's like saying if you're watching the play Macbeth, and if you just really like the Lady Macbeth character, you cheer for her coercing her husband into murder. How does that work? Who cheers for Lady Macbeth? You don't, regardless of the character or the actor. It's silly, and it goes against the whole point of the play.

So it goes in wrestling. Wrestling exists on the Good vs. Evil axis, and if you cheer the evil, how the hell can you have a good?

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

I disagree completely. There are plenty of ways to tell a person they think their character is likable. Write them fan mail, get their autograph, slap their hand at the local bar and tell them how much you like them...but when you are at the show, you should play along with the show.

That's like saying if you're watching the play Macbeth, and if you just really like the Lady Macbeth character, you cheer for her coercing her husband into murder. How does that work? Who cheers for Lady Macbeth? You don't, regardless of the character or the actor. It's silly, and it goes against the whole point of the play.

So it goes in wrestling. Wrestling exists on the Good vs. Evil axis, and if you cheer the evil, how the hell can you have a good?

For the good/evil thing, think about antiheroes. When Wolverine stabs someone in the chest instead of politely talking to them, people go "YEAH!" cause he's cool. Its all relative. If Wolverine stabbed a kid in a movie, you wouldn't hear many cheers as that'd be a fully evil act. If he tells someone "fuck off", that's not something that the always noble hero does, but its cool, so yay. It doesn't always have to be 100% good vs. 100% evil, clear cut, no questions asked. That's boring if it gets too repetitive. Hence why so many good things out there blur the lines delicately, whether its a supervillain that has a side to them that you can sympathize with, or its a superhero that has a side to them that isn't completely boyscout-proof.

And this is wrestling...you can't weigh it with the same importance as television shows or movies. The writing doesn't even come close to making as much sense. People berate TV shows that lose continuity...they give low ratings to movies that have gaping plot holes...but with wrestling, we're told that we shouldn't question why John Morrison and CM Punk are shaking hands and teaming up together when they supposedly hated each other a few weeks before that. Bad guy punch bad guy = bad guy now good guy. Good guy punch good guy = good guy now bad guy. Go buy ppv.

As far as the Lady Macbeth thing, you're not SUPPOSED to cheer for her, no, definitely not. But the reason nobody cheers for her is because the writer did a good job and the actress has to do a good job accordingly to bring that to life. If the actress and writer do their jobs well, you'll be cheering against them because you like the story and you want to see the villain get what's coming to them. But again, this is wrestling, not true storytelling. We're supposed to play along by assuming that these personalities are true people, not characters, so if someone acts like a douchebag, and I don't like douchebags, why should I cheer him just because he's "fighting the bad guy", if the bad guy is someone I'd like to sit down and have a conversation with cause he seems cool? When I read and watched Othello, I found Othello and Desdamona so fucking boring and bland and Iago so interesting that I was legitimately rooting for Iago to get away with it in the end, and I was pissed that he didn't. If Iago and Othello were wrestlers, Othello would be someone like the face version of Matt Hardy (uninteresting in every way), and Iago would be someone like Edge (interesting).

If a heel does their job well enough, you won't think twice about it, you'll just boo them - unless they're doing it against someone that you dislike even more, in which case, they're the good guy by default. But in my mind, you should never just do whatever they tell you to do just for the sake of it - nor should you do the opposite of what they want just to be a dick about it - because then you're clearly not enjoying the product. You're either going against it or you're just blindly following it rather than experiencing it. When you watch a comedy and you hear a joke, and you didn't think it was funny, do you still laugh because you know you're supposed to?

 

[NYSandman]

I must disagree with the general feeling that the fans should be part of the act and behave accordingly.

I'm not trying to be a wise ass, but I just looked at my checking account balance, and see no direct deposit from Vince McMahon.

I will boo or cheer who I want. I don't go to too many live events, but when I do I hear fans cheering Orton and booing faces.

Even though wrestling is not a traditional sport, you should be able to boo and cheer who you want.

It's like when Bush was President. I would go on a verbal tirade about him, and someone would always say I was committing treason because you're supposed to always support your President. bull!

Until Vince starts sending me checks, I'm not going to cheer someone I don't like just to keep with his story lines. I love Orton. Mind you, I won't act like a dick and scream and clap when he comes out, but I'm not going to sit there and boo a guy I like.

 

[2012isbs]

I personally boo the heel and cheer the faces when I go to live events for example I booed Miz and Morrison, Randy Orton and Jack Swagger both of which I also would cheer any face no matter how much i hate him. Also Cena was the closest thing to hometown wrestler where I live so he was cheered like hell.

The show runs much more smoothly with just one reaction like when Cena won the Royal Rumble his first Raw back you could here Cena Sucks chants and he acknowledged them which is more than I can say for most mixed reaction wrestler anyway what I'm saying is most wrestlers don't know how to respond to mixed reactions. Imo the only wrestlers who should get mixed reactions are CM Punk and Jeff Hardy because I think the Heel and Face lines have blurred in that feud especially if CM Punk isn't faking his injury.
But Vince said when he started his million dollar give away you can cheer for who you want and boo who you want so I guess you can do whatever you want but cheering faces and booing heels is much better for the show.

 

[YoYoYumba]

Just had to comment on a few things I've read on here since I last gave my opinion on the thread. The thing people are saying with Cena how his a good pro wrestler just cause he gets the crowd to react and he sells alot of merch and tickets and thus doing his job properly. Thats all well and good but to alot of fans that doesn't really mean anything. For alot of fans including me, I want to actually be entertained by the wrestler in the ring. I want to actually see a guy who can cut a good promo, have an attitude and not just completely suck up to the crowd to get them to like him. I'm sorry Cena fans but I don't care if he's making the WWE alot of money, I'm watching WWE events to be entertained and therefore I'm going to boo him even if his a face. Same thing applies to other wrestlers too because if I don't like the guy and don't find his character in the ring entertaining then I'm not going to cheer for him, whether his a face or heel. Seriously you guys, forget this nonsense about booing the heels because they want you too boo them and forget cheering the faces just because their faces. Its all about the wrestlers who really entertain you and you should have the right to cheer for them, regardless of whether their a face or heel. Like I said before in this thread, its really up to wrestlers to do their job properly by getting the crowd to like them or hate them. As fans, we have the right too boo or cheer for whoeva we like.

 

[HBK-aholic]

Seriously you guys, forget this nonsense about booing the heels because they want you too boo them and forget cheering the faces just because their faces.

You clearly have no idea about how the business works if you believe that is nonsense. The whole point of a heel is to be booed, it's what they're there for. The opposite applies for faces, they NEED to be cheered because it's the point of the show. If it wasn't, why would they have characters? It'd just be guys wrestling in a ring while you cheer for who YOU like. Pointless.

Its all about the wrestlers who really entertain you and you should have the right to cheer for them, regardless of whether their a face or heel.

Oh, you have the 'right' technically speaking, but as I've said about 10 times in this thread, it'd be pointless. If your favourite wrestler is a heel he isn't going to appreciate you cheering for him when he's SUPPOSED to be having the crowd boo him. Some of my favourites are heels, but when it comes to seeing a live show I'll boo them louder than anyone else, because that's what shows they did a good performance. You cheering shows the opposite when talking about a heel.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

I dunno, im on the fence. Arent we all supposed to think this is real, a legit sport? isnt that the suspense of disbeleif? so there, like a real sport, you cheer who you like. On the one hand, I can understand it being stupid to simply cheer the bad guy and boo the good guy just to make a spectacle of yourself. I think if your just having fun, and cheering who you like, then you are ok. Im sorry Sly, I am NOT fucking cheering for Ricky ortiz. Not doing it.

Generally, I cheer both guys, becuase I appreciate both guys. I pop like crazy for Orton and Swagger, just the same, for Triple H and John Cena. I think I hardly disrupt the show. Id say thats a tad dramatic. Besides, a reaction is a reaction, is it not? isnt that the excuse you have always used for Cena? The fuck does it matter, as long as the crowd is interested, and reacting to the action in the ring. That is ALWAYS better than silence.

 

[YoYoYumba]

You clearly have no idea about how the business works if you believe that is nonsense. The whole point of a heel is to be booed, it's what they're there for. The opposite applies for faces, they NEED to be cheered because it's the point of the show. If it wasn't, why would they have characters? It'd just be guys wrestling in a ring while you cheer for who YOU like. Pointless.

Becca, I do have an idea of how the business works as I've been watching for many years now. I understand what your saying and it makes perfect so I'm not going to be critical of you or anything. I think it probably comes down to what your personal choice is though. You can choose to play along and cheer the face and boo the heel or you can simply sit back and cheer for whoever you like, regardless of them being a face or heel. I actually think its pretty good having two sets of fans like that as we've seen in the past it creates a great atmosphere when you have fans pretty divided and trying to out cheer the other sets of fans. I still cheer the faces but only the ones I actually like so I'm not always on the "bad guy's" side. Like I said before, I think it's probably a more common trend now especially with older fans to still cheer the heel if the heel actually entertains them more where as kids will pretty much boo/cheer for whoeva the WWE tells them to.

Oh, you have the 'right' technically speaking, but as I've said about 10 times in this thread, it'd be pointless. If your favourite wrestler is a heel he isn't going to appreciate you cheering for him when he's SUPPOSED to be having the crowd boo him. Some of my favourites are heels, but when it comes to seeing a live show I'll boo them louder than anyone else, because that's what shows they did a good performance. You cheering shows the opposite when talking about a heel.

Ok that's fair enough. Some fans will do what your doing but some fan's like me will want to cheer for the guy's we like seeing out there, am sure you can understand that. Anyway I'll admit I went overboard a bit there saying it was nonsense to cheer the faces and boo the heels cause you did make a good point regarding that so I'll take that back lol, came out the wrong way.