Feels like WWE crowds have turned smarky overnight

[MenacingMonk]

Not that I disagree about Seth needing something to freshen it up, but I don't really agree with the idea that heels have to hate the fans or not enjoy being cheered or shouldn't do exciting things. A heel doesn't have to be some horrible figure who hates everyone and just wants to do evil for the lulz, they just have to be willing to break the rules to win. I don't think a heel has to be an antagonist to the fans as much as their opponents.

That doesn’t work in today’s climate if the character is getting cheered already. fukkin no one in that 3 way was exactly a heel going in, so why would they suddenly boo Seth just because Heyman aligned with him? Adding Bron to the mix, who wasn’t getting heel heat before either, wasn’t gonna work.

Let’s see how the crowds react in the upcoming weeks, but right now, in terms of getting heat, it looks like Trips shot himself in the foot with this stable.

 

[stro]

That doesn’t work in today’s climate if the character is getting cheered already. fukkin no one in that 3 way was exactly a heel going in, so why would they suddenly boo Seth just because Heyman aligned with him? Adding Bron to the mix, who wasn’t getting heel heat before either, wasn’t gonna work.

Let’s see how the crowds react in the upcoming weeks, but right now, in terms of getting heat, it looks like Trips shot himself in the foot with this stable.

I would say the biggest fear people should have is them turning Bron into a boring guy in a suit who loses 90% of whatever people liked about him before trying to elevate him to a main event level heel guy, which is what they've done for about 20 years straight for dudes in the same situation.

 

[MenacingMonk]

I would say the biggest fear people should have is them turning Bron into a boring guy in a suit who loses 90% of whatever people liked about him before trying to elevate him to a main event level heel guy, which is what they've done for about 20 years straight for dudes in the same situation.

I mean, dressing like a cowboy biker is better?

Bron’s “casual” clothing won’t affect his fandom. The guy is already over. But Trips gotta find some way to make them legit heels unless he just goes with the flow.

 

[The_Dread_Dormammu]

I don't think it's a smark takeover, but more so fans just being drawn towards the heel. The street profits and Lashley's heel turn didn't go as planned, for this very reason. It's nothing different from what we've been seeing for years tbh. They chanted one more time when Seth got tsunami. Booed Bayley when she feuded with Alexa. Rock n hogan at mania 18.

Sami has been a bit boring for awhile. Of course they'll cheer for Seth over him. Sometimes the heels are simply more intriguing than the faces

This

 

[stro]

I mean, dressing like a cowboy biker is better?

Bron’s “casual” clothing won’t affect his fandom. The guy is already over. But Trips gotta find some way to make them legit heels unless he just goes with the flow.

It's more personality changing shyt and WWE loves to turn an up and coming promising mid card guy into a boring main event guy who wears suits and has no personality.

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

The heels at the top don't do enough heel shyt and the babyfaces don't do enough babyface stuff.

Examples:

Bianca Belair

• lobbied to get a fan favorite Rhea not in a wrestlemania match
• complained the entire time about her presence
• ignored and piefaced another fan favorite Iyo during the fued
• Played neutral during the naomi / jade fued which had CLEAR babyface/heel dynamics

why would you cheer for her?

Seth Rollins

• dresses fancy and struts to the ring, but not in a heelish way
• has a sing a long song and roots on the fans
• outlined clearly why Paul heyman SHOULD choose him over reigns and CM Punk
• Plays to the crowd all the time
• Aligned himself with fan favorite bron breakker who is a tweener at worst and doesn't do heel shyt and also plays to the crowd regularly

why would you boo him?

Street Profits

• flips back and forth between heel and face all the time with no reason
• plays to the crowd as a babyface
• cuts relatively heel promos
• faces babyface tag teams DIY and Guns

why would you cheer OR boo them???



The ones that have clear heel and babyface characteristics like Orton, Bayley, Pentagon, AJ Styles, CM Punk, Jey, Owens, Gable, american alpha, viking raiders, logan, Rey, Finn, etc get the right responses. Booking is doing the others no favors and fans are just cheering and booing them depending if they're 'cool' or not.

 

[DaHNIC82]

Sami need to go scorched earth on them like Foley did

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Ironically outside of the Codyverse, AEW fans have always played right along with the stories AEW tells despite getting the smarky audience

 

[jadillac]

It'll backfire bc the crowds in other cities will be completely ass

 

[ORDER_66]

^ This has been a thing but I agree it’s definitely increased lately

This is why I stopped watching wrestling at some point. I'm a grown ass man why am i wasting time watching a predetermined show for entertainment like this.. like wake up... stop wasting your time and money on this trash...

 

[stro]

This is why I stopped watching wrestling at some point. I'm a grown ass man why am i wasting time watching a predetermined show for entertainment like this.. like wake up... stop wasting your time and money on this trash...

The only time that stuff gives me pause is when they promote something non kayfabe stuff during the actual show. Which I guess like sure, where else are you going to promote the stuff? But it is a very weird disconnect when it is in the middle of the actual TV show. I've loved BTS and director commentary shyt for movies since laserdisc, but it is a lot different when Tony Soprano or Omar Little turn to the camera in the middle of a scene to plug the making of BTS series and then go back to acting like normal.

Pull back the curtain as far as possible, it's overall good I think and often more interesting than the actual shows, but breaking the fourth wall in the actual show to do it is dodgy to me. Actually now that I think about it, the thing that annoys me the most is WWE's version of doing this is always so self-aggrandizing and propaganda.

 

[Peter Parker]

Smarky crowds were only funny during like the worst PG periods of WWE, kind of annoying outside of that but that was the 90s/00s crowds too, they'd chant just as much personal shyt or boo faces/cheer heels

You can think of 1000 examples(Hogan, Shawn, Rocky Maivia(indistinct from The Rock), etc), those crowds lowkey gave us some of the best shyt, it's just everyones complaining about it so loudly and the internet exists, so companies don't just go with shyt anymore.

 

[stro]

Ultimately, some crowds are annoying, but it is on the talent and bookers if they aren't getting the reactions they want, and it is up to them to adjust to what the crowds like. Generally, everyone is pretty happy if the crowd is reacting even if it isn't exactly how they wanted them to react throughout like...about 100 years of this dumb shyt.

 

[Jim Cornette]

They've "let us behind the curtain" too much and got way too fukking cocky...

fukk em

 

[DANJ!]

Trips did nothing for Seth by keeping him the same. He’s still out here dressed like shyt and from what I heard still using the same song. You wanna make him heel, change his character. He shoulda came out in a regular suit and shyt on the fans.

It's weird to say things like this... I can agree with the singing part and all that, but how do people want fresh, new content and claim they're tired of the same ol' same ol', Seth becoming "serious heel in a suit that hates the fans #469754" in a week is the answer? That would be every heel in the whole company if that was the only way to be a heel.

I think fans (and people in general) are just this way these days- they like the heels. It's in almost every facet of life right now- people celebrate and joke about (even on themselves) toxicity and narcissism, being kind barely gets rewarded, and look at who the gotdamn president is. We've circled back around to the Attitude Era in a way as it relates to wrestling.

Another thing, as noted earlier in the thread is that heels have become more nuanced writing-wise- they're not just out there saying the local sports team sucks- they're giving reasons that actually aren't wrong as to why they do what they do. Yeah, Drew McIntyre is a heel- but the people he hates all did him wrong at some point, why shouldn't he? Heyman turned on Roman, but Roman left this MF high and dry after ManiaXL and put him in a dangerous predicament- why shouldn't he? People like Jacob Fatu because he's the most vicious and unpredictable out of Solo's crew and he's not done a thing to be liked - 30 years ago, that's undoubtedly a heel. People are out here rootin' for the bad guys. The only heels they seem not to cheer are the stone-faced, completely antagonistic ones that almost border on boring, but again, everybody can't play that same character. I don't wanna see Seth Rollins turn into Gunther.