WWE: 5 places with the hottest crowds

It is often seen that the best moments are made when everything comes together in professional wrestling. Moments are turned into magic when all the elements come together. Whether it is the performer(s), the storylines or the gimmicks; a Stone Cold – Vince McMahon rivalry became what it was because of the characters, the storylines and the outstanding performances by the individuals. But most of all, the fan involvement plays a major role in bringing out the speciality in anything. If the crowds are involved, and can provide with good response, the show is instantly a success. Traditionally, there have been some hot crowds and not-so-hot crowds. This fan mentality has been a norm in the wrestling industry, mostly because of how the business has been received in the past.

How many of us still remember the Chicago crowd from Money in the Bank PPV in 2011? Or the crowd from the Hammerstein Ballroom in NY during the ECW: One Night Stand during the Cena – RVD main event? The answer is, almost all of the wrestling fans. There are also those crowds which traditionally are the most receptive. In this article, I look back at five of traditionally the hottest crowds in wrestling history.

5. Miami

At number 5 is Miami, which is traditionally one of the favorite places for wrestling shows. An example of that was the RAW after the previous WrestleMania, which was WrestleMania 28. Daniel Bryan lost his World Heavyweight championship at WM 28 in just 18 seconds! The crowd which was unhappy about it, decided to vent it during RAW, which led to it being one of the most remembered and talked about shows in a long time.

4. Montreal

Toronto and Montreal crowds are some of the loudest and vocal crowds in professional wrestling history. Although I couldn’t accommodate two places, I chose Montreal over Toronto because of its history with professional wrestling. One instance was during ’05 when HBK was involved in a feud with Hulk Hogan. Who can forget the infamous MSJ incident in ’97? HBK went back to Montreal to huge heat, and since he was a heel at that point, HBK utilized it to the maximum, which included a little tease of Canada’s own Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart.

3. Philadelphia

At number 3 is Philadelphia, home of Extreme Championship Wrestling, and also home of some of the most die – hard wrestling fans in the world. It can be said that it was the fans that made ECW famous, and kept it alive for as long as it was. The Philly fans are also some of the rowdiest bunch you could see, which exemplifies their passion for the sport. Not only was ECW started in Philly, but even one of the biggest promotions now, Chikara is based out of Philly. In the video below, you can see the ‘Ryder Revolution’ on the streets by the Philly crowd. What more? It was even before the show started!

2. Chicago

At number 2 is one of my personal favorites, one of the most knowledgeable crowds in the WWE and wrestling history, the city of Chicago. Chicago has seen its fair share of involvement in wrestling history. Whether it is during a WrestleMania, RAW or any other PPV, Chicago has always been one of the hottest crowds for wrestling in general. An example of that came during the PPV Money in the Bank 2011, and a video of that is given below.

1. New York/New Jersey

At number 1 is the New York/New Jersey crowd, which is considered to be the smartest bunch of wrestling fans, and rightfully so. The most legendary arena for professional wrestling, the Madison Square Garden is often filled up with these crowds, which makes the show memorable. Even WrestleMania started at the MSG, which shows the importance WWE gives to the legendary Garden. We’ve even seen a couple of days ago how the NJ crowd was, but since most of it was European crowds, I’ll give you the example of ECW: ONS 2006 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York.

Although I would have preferred to add United Kingdom to it, most of the fans haven’t seen WWE at a Wembley Stadium or an O2 in very long time. But traditionally, these are the top 5 places for professional wrestling companies to visit.