Punk by name - Punk by nature

[westlondonmist]

Fans definitely need to wind their neck in. But I think an issue is you make meet and greets so expensive, so unachievable for most and they get the chance of a pic emotion may get the better of them. 

 

But employers have to take huge responsibility for this. If you are aware of the risk of this, you should be doing your best to stop it. Safe travel routes from shows etc, sections of hotels cordoned off. 

[Hannibal Scorch]

As one of the more vocal resident Punk haters my opinion is the fan deserved it. Good on Phil for protecting his wife.

[Supremo]

It shouldn’t be a surprise that WWE won’t foot the bill for some extra security when it’s twenty twenty six and the wrestlers are still sorting out their own travel and hotels.

If anything, the cheap, greedy bastards running WWE will just use this as inspiration and offer a Punched by Punk package at the next pay per view, where CM Punk will knock your block off for fifteen grand. It’d sell out immediately.

[The Reverend]

9 hours ago, SpykeDudlei1 said:

One for the TikTokkers there….😉

I love it! 

Was going to put an explanation for the youngsters - but thought nah, they never explain all their new fangled terminology to old farts like me, they can find out for themselves (and then thank me afterwards!)

[BomberPat]

it sounds like what happened is that the bloke pestered them for a photo, Punk and AJ were annoyed but agreed to let him take one, he asked AJ if he could put her arm around her, she said no, and he did it anyway. So fuck him, it's one thing to not understand the boundaries of a public figure in a public space on a weekend when they've been working in public, it's another to have a boundary explicitly stated to you and choose to ignore it anyway. 

[tiger_rick]

33 minutes ago, Supremo said:

where CM Punk will knock your block off for fifteen grand. It’d sell out immediately.

You not see UFC Phil? He couldn't punch a wotsit off a barstool.

[The Reverend]

1 hour ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

These 'fans', it's not even like most of them are just excited to meet their favourites. They're constantly trying to get content for their own social media channels, whether they're an actual recognised creator or not.

From a talent perspective, it must be like we've made 95% of the fan population into horrible TMZ/paparazzi style gonzo journalists.

Awful. Chin him like a Young Buck, Phil.

Exactly! In some cases you actually wonder if those behind the cameras actually know who they're filming. In this case I have no doubt he did, but was still trying to probably rack up some numbers on his social media. 

It's a shit show though if what they're saying is true about lack of security, transport etc. 

[Supremo]

Extra hotel security during Wrestlemania? Not a chance. Cheap bastards won’t even provide Big Kev with some CHEESE ON or a bit of kwesh.

New package idea unlocked. Deliveroo with Diesel. Twenty five grand. It will sell out.

Edited April 21 by Supremo

[DavidB6937]

People are idiots because when you get the wrestlers interacting in various places during the day and evenings in Vegas they assume everyone's free game ALL THE TIME. If Austin wants to go drink with people then fine but that's his choice. Doesnt mean as soon as any wrestler sets foot in Vegas they have to be on 24-7 until they've left. There's no concept of personal space or that god forbid they might need some down time or something.

I saw some checking in when I was walking through MGM and never once did I think I'd go and interrupt them. It's such a selfish decision to make. It's not like there's not proper opportunities to meet a ton of wrestlers over the week. They don't owe anyone shit outside of that unless they choose to.

[Tim Healys Chutney Spoon]

1 hour ago, westlondonmist said:

Fans definitely need to wind their neck in. But I think an issue is you make meet and greets so expensive, so unachievable for most and they get the chance of a pic emotion may get the better of them. 

 

But employers have to take huge responsibility for this. If you are aware of the risk of this, you should be doing your best to stop it. Safe travel routes from shows etc, sections of hotels cordoned off. 

I know when AEW came to London the first time there was security all outside the hotel but the wrestlers all made time to come over to the fans who were waiting and it was clearly a given of 'stay behind the cordon and you'll get your pics and autographs but piss around and they'll all ignore you'. We didn't go on the Saturday but a friend did and got loads of pics with the wrestlers and on screen people and they said the people they met couldn't have been nicer and the boundaries were very well respected. 

 

That's how it should be - out in public doing things on 'work time' then fair game for a pic and autograph when appropriate to ask, but when you're having a meal or checking in for a flight or hotel or whatever, wait until a suitable time to ask and certainly dont pester and be a nuisance or face the consequences 

[mim731]

17 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

People are idiots because when you get the wrestlers interacting in various places during the day and evenings in Vegas they assume everyone's free game ALL THE TIME. If Austin wants to go drink with people then fine but that's his choice. Doesnt mean as soon as any wrestler sets foot in Vegas they have to be on 24-7 until they've left. There's no concept of personal space or that god forbid they might need some down time or something.

I saw some checking in when I was walking through MGM and never once did I think I'd go and interrupt them. It's such a selfish decision to make. It's not like there's not proper opportunities to meet a ton of wrestlers over the week. They don't owe anyone shit outside of that unless they choose to.

I think context is also important. If a little kid genuinely and respectfully asked for a photo I feel like most wrestlers would stop and do that, but it seems like these incidents are almost always men, and almost always where someone has decided to be incredibly entitled with someone else's time and personal space. I think if I was treated like a commodity by people who are supposedly fans I think I'd have a limit too. 

I do wonder if the increase in prices and the constant gouging of fans has created an elevated expectation in some quarters that wrestlers should be "on" constantly. Obviously it's nonsense, but I do wonder if that is something that has enhanced that misplaced sense of entitlement in certain fans - they're paying top dollar so expect an enhanced experience or the right to just bother the performers whenever they want.  

I remember seeing Rowdy Roddy Piper in the airport after WrestleMania 31, and I didn't want to bother him. My wife decided I'd regret it if I didn't, and very respectfully went up and asked him if there was any chance of getting a photo, but understood if he wasn't up for it. Roddy was very obliging, which was lovely and gave me a big hug, but I would have completely understood had he said no. I imagine the people getting that constantly, but after a lot more travelling and where they've got 156 Funko pops that these "fans" want signing, or they want to record a podcast for their YouTube channel with cameras thrust in the wrestlers face in every town in America must be galling after a while. 

[simonworden]

2 hours ago, garynysmon said:

Its always been the case that fans would wait outside arenas etc waiting for wrestlers’ autographs.

But it all feels so much more cynical now doesn’t it?

And how many autographs etc end up on ebay the next day?

And where you once had a stream of kids waiting for autographs (or at least adults dragging a kid along with then to pretend it was the child that wanted the autograph/photo), it increasingly seems to be a gaggle of blokes in their 30’s and 40’s with, erm, limited social skills shall we say?

Wrestling is a strange beast in that lawyers and teachers will watch the shows, but the fanbase is also undoubtedly over represented by really weird (usually) men who don’t have much going for them and little real life interaction with women.

Didn’t Elayna Black also have an incident with someone touching her up at Wrestlecon?

I think it just seems to be getting worse in terms of intensity and overall entitlement. Fans being around the hotels at Wrestlemania has been a thing since a little Jonny Storm was at Wrestlemania (9, 10 or 11) dressed as Doube J. But there's something so much more obnoxious as others have said with everyone wanting to get photos or capture the wrestlers for their own online likes and accolades. Going off on a tangent but I find it really hard to digest sometime that so much of the "content" or media around my main passion is delivered by people doing it in a way that they are the main character. That's perhaps another post. 

I get annoyed if I'm leaving work and a student or parent wants a quick chat when I'm tired. I haven't spent all day rehearsing, dealing with plans changing and then performing from 20 minutes or more infront of thousands.

Vegas must be an absolute trap for it as well with every major hotel all on one street. It's not like Dallas or even New Orleans where I imagine there's a fair few more KM between where most fans stay and the crew camp up. 

[Lorne Malvo]

Wrestling fans just arn't very good at picking up on cues as to when somebody might not want to be bothered, too. Take Don Callis in Cardiff, for example. He was walking around outside the venue in a three-piece suit and his loafers on talking obnoxiously loud to the point he may as well have had a neon sign over his heads saying 'DON CALLIS HERE'. It's not hard to see he's totally in-character and he's just out for a laugh to try and rile the crowd and pass half hour. But to most wrestling fans, this is exactly the same as Alexa Bliss in an airport with her hood up and headphones on. They just don't see any distinction between a wrestler being on or off.

Or they do, but they're so desperate for a photograph they're not arsed.

12 minutes ago, simonworden said:

Going off on a tangent but I find it really hard to digest sometime that so much of the "content" or media around my main passion is delivered by people doing it in a way that they are the main character. That's perhaps another post. 

 

This reminds me of when I went down a rabbithole the other week of WWE youtube reactions. There was one guy watching a CM Punk promo who was growling and shouting everytime Punk dissed Reigns. Coming out with shit like 'you're gonna get it Punk, somebody needs to shut this man up!' When somebody in his chat asked why he was taking it so serious, his reply was 'I'm helping them grow the storyline'. 

Fucking deluded! 😆

 

[The Reverend]

20 minutes ago, simonworden said:

I think it just seems to be getting worse in terms of intensity and overall entitlement. Fans being around the hotels at Wrestlemania has been a thing since a little Jonny Storm was at Wrestlemania (9, 10 or 11) dressed as Doube J.

You do wonder if it also has to do with the increase in women's roles in the WWE - cerainly seem to have bought more of the pervy cave dwellers out in to the light.  

[BomberPat]

There's a specific "type" of woman that seems to attract a more specific kind of male fan as well. Your AJ Lees, who were always presented as the exception to the old bleach blonde swimsuit model stereotype, get a very different kind of pervert than those swimsuit models did - they're sold on being more relatable and accessible, and there's a class of man who seems to think that objectifying and perving over a woman with a different coloured hair and different sense of fashion is someone a morally superior position, even a progressive one, than perving over the blonde swimsuit models.