Wrestling fans. Love them or hate they, they pay the bills.

[Jack-Hammer]

Well, as usually happens, a, comparatively speaking, handful of rotten apples tend to spoil the whole barrel. Stereotypes abound when it comes to just about everyone. For instance, if someone has a lousy experience with some people in New York, then ALL New Yorkers are assholes. If someone listens to country music, then ALL country music fans are inbred, 6 toed possum children. If some wrestling fans act like creeps, then ALL wrestling fans must be creeps. Of course, anyone with any shred of common sense knows that none of those stereotypes are true, but the purpose of stereotypes is to generally make someone feel like they're superior to someone else, so they invariably stick around.

I've been a fan of wrestling pretty much my entire life, some of my earliest memories are of watching it on TV. As with most subjects, there are good points to be made on both sides of the issue. Wrestling fans do pay their money, there's no business without fans who're willing to pay to watch the product. That means some will get a bit rowdy at times, they'll cheer, they'll boo, they'll laugh, they won't pay attention or some combination of any or all of that at any given time. You do not want fans sitting on their hands watching a live wrestling show as it's a prime indicator that they just flat out do not give a crap about what they're seeing. On the other hand, I also understand at least some of the frustration some promoters and other fans themselves feel when some fans essentially try to take over the show. I get and agree with letting promoters know if they're just not digging what they're seeing, but there are definitely times in which it's not about that at all but, rather, it's just about acting like a prick. Personally, when I watch a show and the "What?" chants start, it bugs the crap out of me. It seems as though it starts up with damn near anyone cutting a promo whether it be Triple H, John Cena, Bray Wyatt or whomever. One of the only examples who's an exception to the rule is Paul Heyman and I think some of that has to do with the perception that Heyman isn't part of the "WWE Machine", that he's some sort of an outsider even though he's worked for WWE off & on since the folding of ECW and that it makes them seem edgy. I get the same feelings of irritation when a "CM Punk" chant starts because it's just gotten to the point where it's flat out annoying and it comes across that purposely being annoying is the reason why. He isn't coming back anytime remotely soon, it's been over a year since he left and it's not as if he personally gives a shit about the fact that they chant his name. The chants don't happen very often anymore, though they occur most frequently whenever AJ Lee is in the ring for a promo or a match. I dunno, it just strikes me as juvenile and a bit disrespectful to her or any other wrestler.

A lot of fans no longer really want to suspend disbelief, which always strikes me as an oxymoron to the extreme. I mean, they're paying money to watch a fictional sport in which the people involved portray fictional personals or exaggeratedly over the top versions of who they are in real life engaged in fictional feuds resulting in fictional fights, yet so look how many complaints we see that something lacks realism. The hell?!?!?!?! The notion of WWE themselves opening the floodgates to all of this by the acknowledgment that it's "sports entertainment" doesn't really go all that far with me because...well...let's be honest, we ALL know it's not a real competition; the confirmation of pro wrestling being "fake" was common knowledge before I was even born. You don't exactly have to be the next incarnation of Einstein to be able to figure that out; if you're intelligent enough to figure out there's no such thing as the Easter Bunny, you can figure out that pro wrestling isn't real. Common sense will kick in after watching a couple of matches and listening to a few promos.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Wrestling fans aren't the problem. Wrestling fans that think that they're entitled to run the product are the problem. Wrestling fans that boo the hero and cheer the bad guy are the problem. Wrestling fans that believe that their $14.99 for a nosebleed ticket gives them a pass to be an asshole is the problem.

You don't have to like Roman Reigns, for instance. You don't have to think that has has a chance in hell at longevity in the company. But you do have to respect everyone else that's at the shows. You owe other fans the respect to either cheer a face or shut up. You owe the other competitors in the ring the respect to cheer or boo respectively.

What utter bullshit.

If your "product" is so fragile that fans deciding not to cheer your face or boo your heel screw things up, then you are an anachronism and deserve to die as a business. Pure and simple.

 

[laodaron]

What utter bullshit.

If your "product" is so fragile that fans deciding not to cheer your face or boo your heel screw things up, then you are an anachronism and deserve to die as a business. Pure and simple.

No, the annoying pests that refuse to accept their maturity are the anachronism. The WWE will exist without you, it doesn't need you, and would be better without you. That's the simple fact. You can try and prove how cool you are by acting like you have a fucking RIGHT to be a moron at a live show, but the 12 year olds look at you and know you for how pathetic you are.

You, in this instance, is anyone that doesn't want to play the game when they go to a live event.

 

[laodaron]

So when Rollins does a breathtaking move that is rarely seen on the main shows, like Royal Rumble, the fans are supposed to boo because he's a heel? If something impresses you, you have every right to do what you want to do, without an ignorant asshole, like you, telling us what we should do!

You are supposed to boo him. It's because of you morons that heels are no longer allowed to spot in the WWE. Everyone knows that if a heel spots, then the hipster fans start cheering, and it completely ruins his push.

Ask Seth Rollins if he wants you to cheer for him while he's a heel. He'll tell you straight up that he doesn't. Everyone will. They say it all the time.

 

[laodaron]

I'm going to like who I like, so there is no sense arguing. Peace out asshole!

Who's talking about like? I think Seth Rollins is absolutely incredible. He's a top level guy. But if you cheer him, you're the asshole.

I think that Cena is probably one of the greatest of all time. If you boo him, you're just an asshole.

This isn't a like/dislike thing. I can't stand The Ascension. I don't boo them, because I don't like them. I remain silent. It's so simple to not be a douchebag.

 

[CharlesKane]

It's so simple to not be a douchebag.

Says the guy who calls anyone who disagrees with him morons.
IRONY
No wait that's not ironic, it's just hypocritical and just like a douchebag

 

[laodaron]

I haven't called anyone morons for not agreeing with me, I wouldn't do that. I call people that intentionally try to hijack and ruin live events morons, but that's because they are.

There's nothing douchey about it, despite your insistence that it is. If you go to a thing that is primarily marketed to children, and you intentionally try to hijack and ruin that thing for the children, you're a moron, or worse.

 

[d_henderson1810]

I don't like a lot of wrestling fans who post on HERE.

It is one thing to be in a crowd and cheer and boo. But many of you come on here and bitch and moan about every aspect of the WWE, and if someone disagrees, they are bullied and criticised for daring to like something that WWE does.

You may pay for a PPV, or to go to a show, but you don't pay to come on this site, so your opinion is no more valid than anyone else's.

You might say that if I don't like reading it, then don't post. What I don't get is this:- If you hate everything the WWE does today, then why pay for it?

No-one FORCES you to go to the show, no one forces you to spend money on the product. If you do, you do because you CHOOSE to spend your money.

Therefore, if you are still paying WWE money and not liking what they are doing, then you can stop spending that money. Put up or shut up. Leave this site for those who love professional wrestling, not haters who have nothing to do but bag a product they still stupidly keep paying for.

No-one cares if you like Daniel Bryan, and hate John Cena. I think it is particularly arrogant how people post here thinking that if they don't spend money, then WWE will go under. Yeah, like WWE will go bankrupt if YOU go away. Newsflash! WWE will exist for many years, with or without internet trolls, so just go away and do something you don't have to moan about, and leave these boards to people who can have a reasonable discussion.

 

[laodaron]

In fact you used you morons, you idiots and you ass holes, just in this thread

And yet, I never used it once to describe someone that disagrees with me.

The fact remains, I don't attack people for disagreeing with me, I don't like people that try to destroy something that I and millions of other people around the world love because of their arrogance and their entitlement because they call themselves fans.

 

[CharlesKane]

And yet, I never used it once to describe someone that disagrees with me.

The fact remains, I don't attack people for disagreeing with me, I don't like people that try to destroy something that I and millions of other people around the world love because of their arrogance and their entitlement because they call themselves fans.

You were using them to describe people who disagreed with you, because they are from the same group of people you were describing and said they were. The people who said they would cheer or boo whoever they want are those people.

 

[laodaron]

You were using them to describe people who disagreed with you, because they are from the same group of people you were describing and said they were. The people who said they would cheer or boo whoever they want are those people.

I don't want to get caught up in a spam session with you not understanding basic grammar and sentence structure. But all along, my issue has been with people who try to ruin live wrestling events, not people that disagree with me. This is a very large distinction.

I do not mind someone disagreeing with me, and I welcome lively debate. I do not have tolerance for selfish morons that try to ruin and hijack events that other people are trying to enjoy.

 

[Navi]

Most here are adult enough to know that we all don't speak with the same voice, and having differing opinions on what we like or don't like.

All wrestling fans don't have to like the same thing and why should we really? Everyone is an individual from what we wear, what we eat and how we think. It's silly to think that we should all like the same wrestlers and sit there en mass and cheer the same guy and boo the other guy. That might be what the powers that be want, but it's not going to happen.

If you take 10 people and sit them down and let them watch RAW then ask them who they like and who they didn't, you'll not get everyone saying the same names. They will be all over the board just like the fans who attend live shows are. Most fans I see there, are there to have a good time, enjoy the show, buy some T-shirts and just have fun. They aren't there to hurt anyone, destroy anyone else viewing pleasure, but they are vocal when the wrestlers come out, and that's what the WWE wants. They want the fans to react, once they stop reacting then the WWE has some serious issues on their hands.

 

[#1druid]

I am of the opinion that those who pay should have a voice negative or positive. Think about wrestlemania, the WWE is getting Levi's stadium for free! Why is that? because the financial impact for the area from all those fans traveling to see it is tremendous. I traveled to Summerslam 2013 and mania 30 had tremendously positive experiences, boosted the local economy in some small way and spent money that would have been spent on the complete opposite side of the country in New Orleans and Los Angeles giving WWE stronger positions when it negotiates.
Who travels across the country or across an ocean for wrestling? Hardcore fans. People that boo Cena and Cheer Wyatt. People that love work horses, whether they're face or heel and don't like someone just because they're told to. People that cheer Paul Heyman because he's just that good on the mic. Mom and Dad aren't packing up the munchkins to take them to Mania as opposed to Disney World. So really the WWE should cater more towards it's fans hardcore or not. Heck, most casuals would prefer Daniel Bryan over Roman Reigns.
If you pay for your ticket boo who like and chant what you like, as long as it's not vulgar. I find CM Punk chant's annoying as well but who am I to tell others what to do.
I brought my friend's son into wrestling and his first event was summerslam 2014. He thought Cena was pathetic and called Brock, The White Hulk, should he be scolded if I brought him to a live event and he cheered Brock? What if your first event was when Cena essentially tortured Rusev and bullied Lana? What if you found those actions unacceptable and booed him? Should you be quiet during face vs face matches because you might offend a fan who's more passionate about one face than another? Do what you want, as long as you're aren't chanting vulgarity and telling kids Santa isn't real who cares?

 

[Mustang Sally]

It's silly to think that we should all like the same wrestlers and sit there en mass and cheer the same guy and boo the other guy. That might be what the powers that be want, but it's not going to happen.

If you take 10 people and sit them down and let them watch RAW then ask them who they like and who they didn't, you'll not get everyone saying the same names. They will be all over the board just like the fans who attend live shows are.

It's a bit off the subject, but the correctness of those statements give a pretty good answer to the folks who claim WWE should be "giving the fans what they want."

As Navi said, they can't give every fan what he/she wants because too many fans want something different than what they're getting. The company has to take as much as they can into account and go with it. Got to be a very difficult job.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

I hate that I somewhat agree with the OP but I do. When you intentionally cheer for a heel or boo a babyface, you're contributing nothing more than sabotage to the storyline.

Obviously people have the right to cheer or boo for anyone that they choose. That's not the point. It's just that when you purposely go against the grain, you're ruining the intention of the direction.

*** You'll notice that I'm not saying that's always a bad thing either. ***

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

This is loaded with false dichotomies and logical fallacies. I realize that you LOATHE that I disagree with you, but I'im going to anyway.

Wrestling fans aren't the problem. Wrestling fans that think that they're entitled to run the product are the problem. Wrestling fans that boo the hero and cheer the bad guy are the problem. Wrestling fans that believe that their $14.99 for a nosebleed ticket gives them a pass to be an asshole is the problem.

You don't have to like Roman Reigns, for instance. You don't have to think that has has a chance in hell at longevity in the company. But you do have to respect everyone else that's at the shows. You owe other fans the respect to either cheer a face or shut up. You owe the other competitors in the ring the respect to cheer or boo respectively.

No one wants the fans to sit silently. Logical people want fans to stop thinking they're actually a part of the show. Every major superstar has said it, they basically hate the modern wrestling crowd. Cheering for Michael Cole during a match. Chanting CM Punk intentionally at AJ. Booing Reigns. Cheering Brock. I'd rather listen to 10 hours of Michael Cole and JBL on commentary than listen to one more Philly crowd.

I agree with your last paragraph, but I disagree with everything else.

First of, even though I kinda find it funny to chant irreleveant names (Cm Punk, Michael Cole), it is disrespectful to the guys who go out there for the entertainment of the fans. It's better to boo the hell out of them, rather than chant random names.

Now, I disagree with either cheering a face or staying silent and vice versa. When a guy comes to my screen that I don't like, I'm gonna boo, and I don't care if he is the nicest guy in the world. It's just that I don't like it, so I'm gonna boo. A character is based on what the crowd thinks and my reaction will be reflecting that. Look at Cena. He just doesn't have this badass thing in him that I like when I expect some guy to go into a fight. How am I supposed to get hyped fo a fight by a guy who talks about kids with cancer in his promos? I don't care that the guy next to me enjoys Cena. I don't enjoy him. Therefore, that guy will cheer, and I will boo. That's pro wrestling. You cheer whoever you like, you boo whoever you don't like. I'm not disrespecting any fans by chanting random stuff.

 

[Headman]

I just think it's funny to watch them pee their pants all over the internet every time the WWE ignores the oh so brilliant arm chair booking they post all over the web. I mean how can the WWE ever let Cena win a match? If Cena beats anyone he buries them! yeah, it's hard to take people seriously when they display that type of warped logic. I guess what frustrates some fans about the IWC is that the loudest voices usually come from the most disrespectful, least intelligent members of our community. Fans who honestly don't like Reigns or Cena for legit reasons should cringe every time these types of fans open their mouths. As for booing who you want in the arena goes, I say do what you want but be prepared to be judged. You may end up looking as cool as the Baltimore crowd did with that Husky Harris chant during the Wyatt Family's debut.

 

[d_henderson1810]

So, if it is up to the fans who they cheer, does that mean if your child starts cheering for John Cena, and wants his merchandise, when you hate Cena and want him to follow Daniel Bryan instead, you will allow them their opinion, or do you think because you are paying for his ticket, that he has to cheer and boo who you want him to cheer and boo.

It is one thing to make your own decisions who to cheer and boo. But the problem is when the rights of those who disagree with you are trampled on. They are a paying customer as well, so if they cheer Cena and Reigns and boo Bryan and Brock, that is as much their choice as it is yours to decide how to react to faces and heels.

Maybe if there was more respect for other people, then your right to an opinion might be respected a bit more.

Also, many don't cheer or boo who they want anyway. They cheer and boo who the loudest people in their section cheer and boo for. You can't tell me that each person in a section individually decided to chant the exact same thing at the exact same time. Some do it because they are bullied by those around them if they don't.

Respect other people's wrestling opinions, not just your own.

 

[#1druid]

So, if it is up to the fans who they cheer, does that mean if your child starts cheering for John Cena, and wants his merchandise, when you hate Cena and want him to follow Daniel Bryan instead, you will allow them their opinion, or do you think because you are paying for his ticket, that he has to cheer and boo who you want him to cheer and boo.

It is one thing to make your own decisions who to cheer and boo. But the problem is when the rights of those who disagree with you are trampled on. They are a paying customer as well, so if they cheer Cena and Reigns and boo Bryan and Brock, that is as much their choice as it is yours to decide how to react to faces and heels.

Maybe if there was more respect for other people, then your right to an opinion might be respected a bit more.

Also, many don't cheer or boo who they want anyway. They cheer and boo who the loudest people in their section cheer and boo for. You can't tell me that each person in a section individually decided to chant the exact same thing at the exact same time. Some do it because they are bullied by those around them if they don't.

Respect other people's wrestling opinions, not just your own.

Are you seriously asking if someone would bully their children into liking what they like instead of what the child likes? I'm sure not every parent who ever bought a veggie tales tape prefers that over die hard but they buy it because they love their kids. I once watched the same Disney channel original movie 6 times in a row with my nephew and he's not even my kid but I want him to be happy and I zoned it out.

Who is getting trampled on? Cena polarization has existed for 10 years if it was really an issue would people still be taking their kids to WWE event's because a large portion of the adult fanbase hates/dislikes Cena? Also last time I checked Bryan is a face so If they're booing Bryan aren't they going against the grain? So let everyone like who they like and boo/cheer/chant who and what they like.

I was the only Green Bay fan in my section of MetLife stadium when they faced the Giants two years ago and literally no one cared, I cheered they booed, they booed I cheered, if any situation called for bullying that was it and we were all fine. I l've been to a litany of events, both with casuals and hardcores and I've never seen anyone cheering or booing someone they didn't want to because they were afraid of the rest of the section that would just be stupid. I was at summerslam with a bunch of hardcores and we were all chanting cena sucks, and then there was one little boy, whose father seemed indifferent, cheering at the top of his lungs lets go cena. So unless you're more scared than that little boy I think we're all fine.

 

[multiverseman.com]

The idea that fans are the ones ruining the product is a false idea propagated by promoters who can't stand that they're not doing their jobs correctly so they need someone to blame. I'm looking at you Vince & Stephanie. It's made worse by fans that hate to face the idea that their gods, the promoters, don't know what they're doing and it messes up their own perception of the product.

 

[Headman]

The idea that fans are the ones ruining the product is a false idea propagated by promoters who can't stand that they're not doing their jobs correctly so they need someone to blame. I'm looking at you Vince & Stephanie. It's made worse by fans that hate to face the idea that their gods, the promoters, don't know what they're doing and it messes up their own perception of the product.

I don't know about that. There is the segment of fans who are generally happy with the product but can't enjoy it because the WWE is constantly making knee jerk decisions to cater to the angry 20 somethings who never seem to be happy with anything. These unhappy fans are of course the same fans who absorb so much wrestling content weekly without ever putting their money where their mouth is. I'm not talking about fans who boo or cheer because they genuinely like or dislike somebody. But you know they're out there. The people who just have to crap all over everything or chant "CM Punk" like it was the Attica chant. They don't do that because they think if they chant it often enough they'll change Punk's mind about coming back. They do it to interfere with the show. Wrestling doesn't need a punch of mindless puppets who eat up whatever is fed to them, but it doesn't need a bunch of jaded A-holes chanting Husky Harris either.

 

[Navi]

So, if it is up to the fans who they cheer, does that mean if your child starts cheering for John Cena, and wants his merchandise, when you hate Cena and want him to follow Daniel Bryan instead, you will allow them their opinion, or do you think because you are paying for his ticket, that he has to cheer and boo who you want him to cheer and boo.

It is one thing to make your own decisions who to cheer and boo. But the problem is when the rights of those who disagree with you are trampled on. They are a paying customer as well, so if they cheer Cena and Reigns and boo Bryan and Brock, that is as much their choice as it is yours to decide how to react to faces and heels.

Maybe if there was more respect for other people, then your right to an opinion might be respected a bit more.

Also, many don't cheer or boo who they want anyway. They cheer and boo who the loudest people in their section cheer and boo for. You can't tell me that each person in a section individually decided to chant the exact same thing at the exact same time. Some do it because they are bullied by those around them if they don't.

Respect other people's wrestling opinions, not just your own.

If I didn't like Cena, but I do, and my son wanted to cheer him and wanted his t-shirts and merchandise, I would buy it for him, and let him cheer whoever he wants.

It one thing for me not to like someone but quite something else for me to tell anyone, my children included who they can or can't support. That's the beauty of wrestling, there are so many different characters presented that everyone should be able to find someone to support. Of course not everyone will support them all, but making your own mind up is part of it.

 

[multiverseman.com]

I don't know about that. There is the segment of fans who are generally happy with the product but can't enjoy it because the WWE is constantly making knee jerk decisions to cater to the angry 20 somethings who never seem to be happy with anything. These unhappy fans are of course the same fans who absorb so much wrestling content weekly without ever putting their money where their mouth is. I'm not talking about fans who boo or cheer because they genuinely like or dislike somebody. But you know they're out there. The people who just have to crap all over everything or chant "CM Punk" like it was the Attica chant. They don't do that because they think if they chant it often enough they'll change Punk's mind about coming back. They do it to interfere with the show. Wrestling doesn't need a punch of mindless puppets who eat up whatever is fed to them, but it doesn't need a bunch of jaded A-holes chanting Husky Harris either.

Again, I very much disagree. You say they don't put their money where their mouth is, yet they paid to be in the building didn't they? WWE doesn't cater to anyone but themselves, which is why we're having this conversation. People don't get complacent and start doing the exact opposite of what WWE wants just because they want to hear themselves talk. That's part of it, sure. But they do it because they're not entertained, either consciously or subconsciously.

Bray Wyatt is an excellent example. People chanted Husky Harris at him when he came out, but you know what? They stopped because he entertained them so much they didn't think to do otherwise. That's what WWE's supposed to be doing. It didn't ruin the show. The casual audience had no idea what they were chanting.

WWE's job is to work people's emotions. Predict what they'll want before they know they want it. Before they get a chance to veer off chart and go into business for themselves, you have to give them a reason to do what you want. You simply can't blame a person for doing what you ask them to do. In any aspect in life. It's like asking a question you don't want the answer to and then getting mad because you got the wrong answer.

If people simply wanted to hijack the show and take over, they'd do it from the start. They'd cheer Stephanie and boo Daniel Bryan.

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

Wrestling fans aren't the problem. Wrestling fans that think that they're entitled to run the product are the problem. Wrestling fans that boo the hero and cheer the bad guy are the problem. Wrestling fans that believe that their $14.99 for a nosebleed ticket gives them a pass to be an asshole is the problem.

The biggest problem with this argument is there hasn't been CLEAR CUT "heroes" and "bad guys" in quite a long time. Which is all the more reason a guy like Seth Rollins deserves a boatload of credit for what he is accomplishing as a heel. Even though he gets small bursts of applause from smarks he MOCKS THEM during his promo. He goes out of his way to put the crowd down to enlist a loud boo if he isn't already drawing heat.

He is the first true heel in FOREVER.
Even Lesnar at the beginning of this run wasn't as effective.
Reigns will get universal cheers when he earns them.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Wrestling fans that boo the hero and cheer the bad guy are the problem.

Why?

Many people's careers were made with how the fans reacted to them. Not sure if you saw the recent interview with Austin but he said even though he was supposed to be a heel fans were cheering for him.

DX and The Rock were heels but fans kept cheering for them and made them the top faces in the Attitude Era. Edge was boo'ed when he returned in 2004 and he was forced to turn heel (and for the better I might add). Hogan was losing popularity in WCW and he had to respond through turning heel and extended his career.

If anything it's the fan's reaction that can make a star.

By your logic Austin, DX, and The Rock becoming the face of the Attitude Era was a problem, and Hogan joining the nWo was also a problem.