Random Thoughts III.

[Mr Butternut Squash]

2 hours ago, UK Kat Von D said:

I don’t understand his idea of fans getting themselves over. They are just an audience amusing themselves because the product isn’t doing it. 

That's true. It seems to happen with Raw weekly. The length, the constant ad breaks, the shitty promo parades, this mental restart thing, and generally nothing mattering or making any sense, there's no doubt it's driving the audience check out. 

But then there's times when you think "what the fuck more do you want"? It's Pavlovian. Like them post-Mania shows where the smarks are chanting for CM Punk while Ricochet is busting his arse in ring. Or at Stomping Grounds when the crowd is just chanting for the sake of chanting at Daniel Bryan instead of following the match because "Drive a Prius" sounded witty in someones head.

There's a pattern with Seth though. Haven't seen a popular babyface get his matches rejected as much as him.

Edited June 28, 2019 by Mr Butternut Squash

[tiger_rick]

This argument has been done to death and is tedious but this notion "They are just an audience amusing themselves because the product isn’t doing it." sums it up and it's laughable. 9/10 times these are people who spend money to go to a show they won't like so they can chant "CM Punk" or something. Losers.

[DavidB6937]

Yeah I do find it pretty ridiculous. These people can't be going along to a show expecting anything other than what they're getting. It's hardly going to deviate from expectations much, and if that's the case then why do they go? I have no idea. Do they think it's suddenly going to change overnight into something amazing?

[Ricc1PW]

5 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

Yeah I do find it pretty ridiculous. These people can't be going along to a show expecting anything other than what they're getting. It's hardly going to deviate from expectations much, and if that's the case then why do they go? I have no idea. Do they think it's suddenly going to change overnight into something amazing?

This is exactly it. they know what the WWE is, and what sort of product they are putting out. if you hate it that much, stop buying bloody tickets.

it's why I was annoyed at the crowd during the main event of Stomping Grounds - that was actually not a bad show, a few genuinely decent matches on there... but the live crowd absolutely shit all over the main event, chanting for daniel bryan, or aew, or other nonsense. granted it was a crap reveal for the referee, and the 'match' wasn't good, but it wasn't offensively bad, it was just a bit meh.

[BomberPat]

I've said in another thread that the Stomping Grounds main event was, in its way, perhaps the worst WWE PPV main event I've ever seen, and I stand by that.

But I did notice that, with the exception of AEW, the "protest" chants were "CM Punk" and "Daniel Bryan". The same drum they've been banging since 2014. 

[tiger_rick]

Had a chuckle at this earlier in the week "Wrestling Fan Bemoans “Current Product” for 27th Consecutive Year"

https://www.kayfabenews.com/wrestling-fan-bemoans-current-product-for-27th-consecutive-year/

[TildeGuy~!]

Just read on Twitter that Smackdown Lives main star Roman Reigns hasn’t actually been on the show in over a month.

[Chris B]

33 minutes ago, Ricc1PW said:

granted it was a crap reveal for the referee, and the 'match' wasn't good, but it wasn't offensively bad, it was just a bit meh.

O Icarus! Set your ambitions lower, and stay near the earth, lest the sun destroy thy wings!

[The Dart]

14 minutes ago, TildeGuy~! said:

Just read on Twitter that Smackdown Lives main star Roman Reigns hasn’t actually been on the show in over a month.

Not true though.  3 weeks ago was his last appearance.

[UK Kat Von D]

4 hours ago, Mr Butternut Squash said:

Like them post-Mania shows where the smarks are chanting for CM Punk while Ricochet is busting his arse in ring. Or at Stomping Grounds when the crowd is just chanting for the sake of chanting at Daniel Bryan instead of following the match because "Drive a Prius" sounded witty in someones head.

There's a pattern with Seth though. Haven't seen a popular babyface get his matches rejected as much as him.

I know what you mean with the Bryan example but that’s a different circumstance because he was a heel in his home town. He also did nothing to get himself booed and looked like he was having fun. That is rare as fuck these days and the crowd loved it. 

As for the CM Punk chant, at this point it has little to do with the actual wrestler in the same way the What chants had nothing to do with Austin after a while. Chanting CM Punk is basically the same as chanting “this is boring.”

Funnily enough this conversation, while has been done to death, has a direct parallel with chanting at shows. Fans wouldn’t have to chant to amuse themselves if the product was good and we wouldn’t just go round in circles discussing this if the product gave us something else to talk about.

We should be reacting to the actual show, just like the crowd should be. But no one is because the show gives so little substance. We are basically finding topics to amuse ourselves because Rollins wrestling Nakamura isn’t worth discussing 

[Otto Dem Wanz]

I agree with the tattooed man, I was worried about smarky/wan o’dem chanting ruining Double or Nothing for me, but the people there (who were mainly internet fans, usually the worst culprits for that sort of thing) were invested in the product and the crowd noise you did hear seemed to all be related to the stuff in the ring.

Edited June 28, 2019 by Otto Dem Wanz

[Mr Butternut Squash]

Does the chanting happen regularly in any other promotions or is it a WWE thing?

[Accident Prone]

16 hours ago, Mr Butternut Squash said:

Does the chanting happen regularly in any other promotions or is it a WWE thing?

I have never been to an indy show where the crowd has chanted 'CM PUNK' as an act of indifference or defiance. If a match is bad/boring or just not working out, there's usually just a long awkward silence, or pockets of people chatting to each other, and that's enough to show the audience aren't engaged.

17 hours ago, UK Kat Von D said:

We should be reacting to the actual show, just like the crowd should be. But no one is because the show gives so little substance. We are basically finding topics to amuse ourselves because Rollins wrestling Nakamura isn’t worth discussing 

Absolutely agree. I think most wrestling fans have either forgotten how to react organically or they've grown up in the "This Is Awesome!" era so that's all they know.

Edited June 29, 2019 by Accident Prone

[Vamp]

Chanting "CM Punk" at this stage is just lame juvenile rebellion really. Sadly it doesn't help anyone, least of all any fans that think it challenges the 'E to put put a better product. It's just really easy to dismiss as "oh that's just Kevin being Kevin." It's like telling your parents you hate them and you need your independence and then asking them to pick you up from a night out.

The "this is awesome" chant would be better if there were more variations. Where's the "this is adequate," "we don't hate this" or "could be better" chants? If you're going to insist on grading things you have to offer more than boring or awesome. Most unhelpful. 

[Accident Prone]

Like most chants, "This Is Awesome" started out as something that you'd only break out for really special matches or moments. Now it's busted out for every passable match that has a topé and a near fall.

It's similar to "Fight Forever". That chant first surfaced during Nakamura vs Zayn, and it worked wonderfully. It really gave an all ready fantastic match that extra dollop of excitement. Now I cringe whenever someone in the audience tries to start it, and I cringe harder whenever it catches on.