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Over the last five years or so, a new type of wrestling fan has emerged. This has largely been down to the rise of the internet which has given fans a look behind the curtain and let people in on the day-to-day operations of the professional wrestling business.
While there has always been a pocket of ‘internet wrestling fans’, they have been widely regarded as a ‘vocal minority’ in the past. But in recent years, that percentage of fans has grown and they now make up the majority of the crowds at WWE shows.
There have been positives to this, such as fans being behind the likes of AJ Styles or Kevin Owens upon their arrival and almost forcing WWE to push these Superstars.
However, it has brought a number of negatives along with it, namely arrogance on the part of these fans that consider themselves ‘knowledgeable’ about the industry because they’ve seen one pre-WWE Shinsuke Nakamura match.
With that in mind, here are 5 annoying things that WWE fans do…
#1 Beach ball Mania
The most recent fan controversy was ‘beach ball mania’, which took over SummerSlam weekend, and really came to the spotlight during the post-SummerSlam Raw.
I cannot understand why somebody would take a beach ball to a professional wrestling event; it can only be because you are expecting to get bored, and if that’s the case, why not sell your ticket to somebody who might actually enjoy the show?
However, it wasn’t just the lower points of the show that were sabotaged by ‘beach ball mania’ during the aforementioned Monday Night Raw, fan favourites such as The Hardy Boys and Finn Bálor had their matches overshadowed by the crowd’s antics.
That seems to suggest that the immature people who bothered bringing a beach ball to the arena were going to throw it around regardless of the action in the ring. That’s just ridiculous and is distracting to not only the people watching at home but also to the fans in the area who have paid to see a WWE show.
If you want to play with a beach ball, go to the beach and stay away from wrestling shows.
#2 Chanting a Superstar’s former/Indie name
Another annoying habit of some WWE fans that has become an issue in recent years is the desire to shout out a superstar’s former name, either from a previous WWE gimmick or the name that they used while on the independent scene.
For some reason, some people think that this makes them look clever as if they know more about the superstar in question than the average wrestling fan. This is usually not the case as everybody knew that Curtis Axel was formally known as Michael McGillicutty, so chanting “Michael McGillicutty” at him after his character change just made the fans look stupid.
It also has a detrimental effect on the performers who are trying to establish their new personas. When Bray Wyatt debuted on the main roster in 2013, he had one of the most exciting gimmicks that WWE had seen in years, yet there was still a pocket of fans that would call out “Husky Harris” whenever he came out. These are likely the same fans that complain that WWE has no intriguing characters on the roster nowadays.
Instead of trying to show how clever you are, it would be more beneficial to the product, and ultimately the fans, if people got behind these new characters instead of rejecting them from the outset.
Thankfully, a lot of superstars from the independents or other promotions, such as Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode, have been allowed to keep their names in WWE, so this annoying habit has been less prominent.
#3 Chanting “10” for every count of the referee’s 10-count
Don’t get me wrong, I was delighted when the ‘10’ chant caught on as big as it did and it made WWE officials take notice of Tye Dillinger. In fact, it was undoubtedly a large part of Dillinger finally getting his call up to the main roster, although that hasn’t gone too well for him thus far.
The ‘10’ chant has become something of a phenomenon in wrestling, similar to Daniel Bryan’s ‘yes’ chant, and it certainly has its place, but it has to be at the right time.
It’s fun to do when Dillinger’s making his entrance or somebody is doing ten punches in the corner. However, when it happens during a count-out or a referee’s count in a ‘Last Man Standing’ match, then I think it’s too much.
In these instances, it nullifies the drama in the match and takes away what can be an important tool to the performers in creating tension in their matches.
So call me a party pooper, but I think the “10” chants should only be used at certain points of a wrestling show and not when it takes away from the action in the ring.
#4 “CM Punk” chants
I’ll be honest; this would likely not have made the list a few weeks ago, as it seems to have all but died out in recent months.
However, I was at a wrestling show recently, and during what was a great match between Zack Sabre Jr. and Jay Lethal — two of the hottest talents currently working the independent scene — some moron behind me decided to chant: “CM Punk, CM Punk”.
Thankfully, the majority of the crowd felt the same way I did and booed this guy out of the building, but it baffles me that this is still a thing. It’s been over three years since CM Punk walked out on the WWE and tried his hand at UFC; people really need to move on.
I would be as excited as anyone if Punk did make a return to professional wrestling, but to the small section of fans that still chant his name at a wrestling show, please, get over it.
#5 “This Is Awesome”/”You Deserve It”
The “this is awesome” and “you deserve it” chants undoubtedly have a place in wrestling but we hear them far too often.
It used to be that a “you deserve it” chant broke out amongst fans during a Hall of Fame induction or after a superstar’s long journey to the World Championship. However, a couple of months ago, Seth Rollins was showered with this chant on Raw after he was announced as the cover star for WWE 2K18.
Are you serious?
I’m all for fans showing their appreciation for their favourite wrestlers, but it’s become too much and these chants have become meaningless. Almost every show gets a ‘this is awesome’ chant for a halfway decent match, or sometimes for just a cool spot.
I get that fans want to feel like a show they were at was special and they saw a great match, but chanting it every week kills it, so when a genuinely ‘awesome’ match does come around, the “this is awesome” chant just feels insignificant.
So that’s my list, what do you guys think about it?
Am I just a miserable killjoy? Well, yes, but am I justified in these instances?
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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