9 WWE Superstars who fired back at the crowd on live TV

Crowd engagement is one of the best things about pro wrestling. WWE Superstars put their bodies on the line, travel on the road for the majority of the year to entertain people inside the arenas and watching on TV, making it worth their time and money.

The importance of live audiences to the industry has never been highlighted more than the current COVID-19 period, due to which WWE has been running empty arena shows at their Performance Center since March. Although the company has done a great job in delivering its weekly shows, the absence of the chants, the boos and the pops are painfully noticeable.

WWE fans are typically vocal about their opinions and never shy away from letting a performer know what they think of their product. When Superstars tear the house down and earn the fans' respect, chants like "This is Awesome!" roar around the arena. On the flip side, when the crowd isn't intrigued by a Superstar's promo, "Boring!" or "What?" chants echo around building (sometimes the crowd starts chanting "CM Punk" when bored as well, but more of that later in the article).

But on some occasions, some chants or remarks irk the Superstars, who then snap back at the fans in frustration. These fiery comebacks have provided us some of the funniest moments in WWE history, involving some of the greatest names in history. Here are nine such instances when Superstars fired back at the crowd on live TV.

#9 Alexa Bliss

Ever since making her main roster debut in 2016, Alexa Bliss has been a mainstay on WWE TV. She's a three-time WWE RAW Women's Champion and a two-time WWE SmackDown Women's Champion.

Although Bliss may not be as The Four Horsewomen inside the ring, she makes it up with her excellent mic skills. The Five Feet of Fury did an exceptional job as a heel champion, especially in 2017, when she was the face of WWE's women's division. Being a heel, you are bound to face chants and tantrums by the crowd, and Bliss was no different.

During one of her promos as the RAW Women's Champion in April 2017, the crowd started the infamous "What?" chants, a typical way to voice their boredom. Bliss, to her credit, did not get flustered and instead, retaliated.

"If you are a failure, say 'what?'"

When the crowd inevitably shouted "What?" after she finished the sentence and fell into her trap, she finished with "My point exactly".

#8 Seth Rollins

When there is a WWE show in Chicago, you have to brace yourself for the inevitable "CM Punk!" chants from the crowd. The incessant manner of chanting is enough to throw any WWE Superstar off balance. The same happened with Seth Rollins.

The Architect was addressing the RAW roster on the Red brand's first episode after Survivor Series in November last year. While he was in the slow process of turning heel and becoming the Monday Night Messiah, he eventually succumbed to the "CM Punk!" chants and went off-script to respond to the crowd.

“I tried to get him [Punk] here, I’m sorry. He didn’t wanna show up. He wants to sit behind a desk in Los Angeles and talk about a change that he’s too afraid to make himself”

#7 Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns is a WWE Superstar who has always divided opinions. It is no secret that he is one of Vince McMahon's favorite guys, and his mainstream popularity maybe one of the biggest reasons why.

However, The Big Dog has constantly been on the receiving end of criticism from hardcore wrestling fans and pundits due to his limited in-ring abilities and shortcomings on the microphone. On top of that, WWE was hell-bent on pushing him as the face of the company for the past few years.

Now, due to the aforementioned reasons, Reigns was frequently jeered and greeted with "You can't wrestle!" chants, but he generally is not affected by the crowd's hostility. But, on one such occasion, the RAW following Money in the Bank 2016, Reigns was in the middle of a promo congratulating Dean Ambrose for becoming the new WWE Heavyweight Champion, when he snapped back at the crowd and said:

For all the dudes chanting that I can't wrestle, calm down, relax, take a sip of your beer, and shut your mouth.

#6 Batista

Batista was enjoying one of his best runs in WWE between 2009-10. In 2010, he was engrossed in a WWE Championship feud with John Cena, with Batista providing the natural heel dynamic against the Cenation Leader.

At Extreme Rules 2010, Batista and Cena were involved in a Last Man Standing match with the title on the line. During the match, when the two Superstars were near the barricades, a kid from the crowd, presumably a Cena fan, yelled "I hate you, Batista!". The Animal snapped and turned towards the kid to reply "I hate you too!"

#5 Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho is undoubtedly one of the greatest sports entertainers in history. His ability to interact with the crowd and make his gimmick popular is, in my view, unparalleled. Hence, it is no surprise that we have seen Y2J come up with some witty comebacks to the fans' remarks throughout his WWE career.

At Survivor Series 2009, Jericho was involved in a triple threat match against Big Show and The Undertaker for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. During the match, he was pulling The Phenom back into the ring when a fan in the front row shouted "Go back to Toronto!", to which Y2J replied, "I'm from Winnipeg, you idiot!". Because of Jericho's timing and delivery, it will go down as one of the funniest fan interactions in history.

#4 The Miz

Here's another victim of WWE Universe's "What?" chants.

If there is one thing that The Miz excels in, it is speaking on the microphone. The A-lister possesses that rare ability to make every one of his promos entertaining, which has also resulted in him running one of WWE's best talk shows- The Miz TV.

The former Tough Enough runner-up was at the peak of his heel run with the WWE World Title towards the end of 2010. On the 28th December episode of Monday Night RAW, Miz was in the midst of his promo when we the infamous "What?" chants started echoing in the arena.

After repeating himself thrice in response to the catchphrase, Miz finally lost his cool and produced one of the most hilarious moments of his WWE career.

"You all sound like a bunch of ducks! What? What? What? What? Shut up while I'm talking!"

It was not a particularly insulting comeback, but the way in which he delivered it made it very special.

#3 Kurt Angle

ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) was notoriously known for its hostile live crowds. If the fans in attendance didn't like you, they would surely let you know, and not in a pleasant manner.

At ECW One Night Stand 2005 (an ECW themed WWE PPV), Kurt Angle, alongside JBL, was cutting a promo when the crowd started chanting "You suck d***!". Angle, clearly frustrated with the aggressive audience, fired back. Since the response is not family friendly, you will have to listen to it yourself.

#2 Stephanie McMahon

Just like the "What?" chants, the "CM Punk!" chants started gaining a lot of momentum in 2015 and 2016. The McMahons, and especially Stephanie, tried to hush the WWE Universe with the mic in her hand.

On the 26th December 2016 edition of WWE Monday Night RAW, the crowd tried to hijack Stephanie's segment with "CM Punk!" chants. This rubbed her in the wrong way and prompted her to make a scathing personal remark about Punk's UFC debut, where he was knocked out in 2 minutes and 14 seconds.

So, if you guys could keep that for about 2 minutes and 15 seconds, you would last one second longer than Punk did.

This was definitely one hell of a comeback, topped only by one man- WWE's Deadman.

#1 The Undertaker

Dare I say it, even The Undertaker has fallen for the "What?" chants. And the Deadman wasn't too kind with his words.

The Phenom, who in all likelihood has retired from pro wrestling, is one of the greatest Superstars in WWE history. Everything about him from his vignettes to his expertise inside the squared circle was the stuff of legend, but The Deadman was never renowned for his mic work.

During a promo segment with Ric Flair, "The American Badass" Undertaker was met with the notorious "What?" chants. This resulted in Taker snapping in between his lines and delivering this epic comeback, which once again isn't that family friendly.

The crowd immediately started booing and jeering him for the cheap shot, but saying something like that to the crowd on live TV takes some guts.