You Chanting "Husky Harris". You're The Problem

[Swiggy]

You Chanting "Husky Harris". You're The Problem | WrestleZone

Having run the Wrestlezone social media accounts for a while now, I've seen enough stupid comments to get my fill for a lifetime. From people wishing a career threatening injury on John Cena to people complaining about CM Punk losing the WWE title after four hundred and thirty four days as Champion. I prefer largely to be arbiter of the peace and bite my tongue where necessary, every person is just as entitled to their opinion, regardless of how wrong they are.

But at times I really do wonder what makes a “smart” wrestling fan. Does it mean knowing the inside scoop? Does it mean knowing the intimate details of CM Punk's private life? Does it mean having watched wrestling “since I was five”? I honestly don't know, but the general consensus seems to be that a “smart” fan knows more than your average fan, and knows better.

Which brings me to Raw last night. The WWE, after weeks of build-up, presented the début of “The Wyatt Family”. A group consisting of Bray Wyatt (son of Mike Rotunda), Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. After some terrific pre-tapes involving a WWE reporter visiting the Wyatt ranch, we were finally told “we're here” by Wyatt, who would lead his “brothers” into a battle against Kane. After taking him down Harper and Rowan would crush Kane's skull between the steel ring steps. WWE had presented one of the finest débuts in a long, long time of possibly one of the best characters to come out wrestling in the past decade. Wyatt arose from his rocking chair, inspected the damage, sank to his knees, spread his arms wide and looked to the heavens... then this happened:

“Husky Harris....... Husky Harris...... Husky Harris......”

Let's back-pedal a bit shall we? To a time on a show called “NXT Season 2”. The show where developmental “rookies” were paired with WWE “pro”. Rotunda was on the show paired with his “pro” Cody Rhodes as a character by the name “Husky Harris”. Billed as the “Army tank with the Ferrari engine”. He largely impressed, showing an above average promo ability and a good in-ring ethic with a largely skeletal character. He would later join the new Nexus as one of CM Punk's followers before drifting back down to developmental to get a much needed character reboot.

Which leads us back to last night, a small pocket of fans (very much audible on WWE TV) began chanting “Husky Harris”, because, you know, we're smarter than you. We remember his old character, that makes us cool! It's hardly a new phenomenon, Lord Tensai back when his new character debut had to endure “Albert.... Albert...” in reference to one of his former personas. Even Ryback had to endure “Goldberg.... Goldberg...” chants, less of a repackaging in this case, more of a second coming.

But these are “smart” fans, they will assert their authority over the boring minions who come to cheer John Cena by being smart, being cool. Guess what? It's not smart. In fact, it's the opposite of smart. These are the same fans that will fill Wrestlezone's Facebook and Twitter pages with comments about the fact that John Cena (one of the biggest stars in the history of the WWE, and a man who's body of high quality, main event matches is almost unrivalled) shouldn't be the top star anymore. He's “boring”. He's “stale”. He “can't wrestle”.

Well guess what, the more you try and act smart when you buy a ticket, the more you're fuelling Cena being on top. Because Tensai, Ryback and Wyatt were all planned for big things on début. Tensai is now “Sweet T”, a dancer and tag-team partner of a guy who thinks he's a dinosaur. Ryback is rehabbing himself after a losing streak on PPV that stretches back a year to the week (his last win on PPV? A handicap match vs Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins).

Now, I'll hear arguments all day about whether the Tensai character was doomed from the start (maybe it was) and that Ryback was too big a reminder of Goldberg to ignore (maybe he was), but there are two guys there that WWE had big plans for. Maybe one of them could have become the next number one guy? And you're sat there, the guys who are “sick and tired” of seeing John Cena on top, and you're cutting the legs out from underneath them before they've even got started.

“But we pay the tickets, we have the right to chant what we want, the right to cheer who we want, the right to boo who we want?” You also have the right to shut up and enjoy the show. The WWE presented a fantastic series of videos last night culminating in an excellent début, but that wasn't enough for you, was it? You had to be smarter, you had to be better, because you know more than the rest of us.

People like you, you're what's wrong with wrestling in 2013. I often here “Why doesn't Vince McMahon give us what the fans want”? (whatever the hell that means). What do you want? Because WWE presented to you three hours of television last night, and you chose to take over the best five minutes of it. Don't come crying to me in three years time when Cena's still the number one guy, because people like you are holding his successor down. The same fans that cheered Dolph Ziggler when he was a heel, you were holding him down too. Wyatt will be fine, he's too good, but you can either sit and fight the tide, or you can embrace the next generation.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

A little longwinded. He could have said this in one sentence.

"loser, shut the fukk up because the show isn't about you trying to impress your overweight pimple face buddies"

 

[TrueEpic08]

I have no idea what the point of him trying to tie Tensai and Ryback into this is. Their problems come from booking and ability (moreso booking in these cases), not anything that the fans chanted at them. And he gave no connection whatsoever between chanting the previous gimmick name of a character and John Cena being on top.

As a matter of fact, name ONE guy that got killed by management solely because a few crowds remembered his previous gimmick. Because I'm drawing a blank right now.

The entire attitude is nothing but angry "anti-smarks" (really, just smarks who want to disassociated from the image of the smark fanbase) projecting their discontent by blaming them for killing guys, when that has nothing to do with them. Not their problem to get a wrestler over correctly, that's the wrestler's and management's job.

And THIS attitude:

“But we pay the tickets, we have the right to chant what we want, the right to cheer who we want, the right to boo who we want?” You also have the right to shut up and enjoy the show. The WWE presented a fantastic series of videos last night culminating in an excellent début, but that wasn't enough for you, was it? You had to be smarter, you had to be better, because you know more than the rest of us.

not smarks chanting "Husky Harris," is the problem. It's making something that's absolutely not that significant into a major problem for no reason. Know-it-all fans (not smarks, because if you're on this or pretty much the vast majority of wrestling boards, you're a smark. Sorry) are going to chant something inane at a guy. And? It's been going on for 12 years at least. The guys that are actually good at working the mic make the crowd pay for it, get the reaction they want out of them, and move the fukk on with their lives. The bad ones get their flaws exposed, flaws not created by know-it-all fans and their inane chants, but inherent in the wrestler's skillset and/or management's presentation of them to begin with.

I'll end with this: If we followed the line of "shut up and enjoy it" as fans, where would The Rock be now, among others?

 

[Rarely-Wrong Liggins]

Smark crowds are too agenda driven. Live versions of the bullshyt we see on here. Dead crowds are the worst but smark crowds aren't very far behind.

As for the term smark goes I think it's safe to say it's become a word of derision moreso than highlighting a fan with internet and insider dirtsheet access. A smark is a stereotype now.

 

[Nintendough]

Smark crowds are the stat nerds and wannabe booking experts who want to act as if they know enough to make a living off the business. The dorks who stan and hate based off of ratings and draw numbers. Be a fan and do your job.

 

[RammerJammer]

The thing he said about Dolph is interesting, but it happens all the time. I mean heels can't get cheered? It happens all the time with CM Punk, Stone Cold and others. Hell it should be about getting a reaction at all.

 

[TrueEpic08]

Smark crowds are the stat nerds and wannabe booking experts who want to act as if they know enough to make a living off the business. The dorks who stan and hate based off of ratings and draw numbers. Be a fan and do your job.

Except it's not their job.

Explain to me how it's the fans job to buy into WWE narrative and react the way they want to, and not the wrestlers and writers' job to create scenarios and characters, and deliver promos that MAKE the fans react in the way that they want to.

 

[El Cocodrilo]

I have no idea what the point of him trying to tie Tensai and Ryback into this is. Their problems come from booking and ability (moreso booking in these cases), not anything that the fans chanted at them. And he gave no connection whatsoever between chanting the previous gimmick name of a character and John Cena being on top.

As a matter of fact, name ONE guy that got killed by management solely because a few crowds remembered his previous gimmick. Because I'm drawing a blank right now.

The entire attitude is nothing but angry "anti-smarks" (really, just smarks who want to disassociated from the image of the smark fanbase) projecting their discontent by blaming them for killing guys, when that has nothing to do with them. Not their problem to get a wrestler over correctly, that's the wrestler's and management's job.

And THIS attitude:



not smarks chanting "Husky Harris," is the problem. It's making something that's absolutely not that significant into a major problem for no reason. Know-it-all fans (not smarks, because if you're on this or pretty much the vast majority of wrestling boards, you're a smark. Sorry) are going to chant something inane at a guy. And? It's been going on for 12 years at least. The guys that are actually good at working the mic make the crowd pay for it, get the reaction they want out of them, and move the fukk on with their lives. The bad ones get their flaws exposed, flaws not created by know-it-all fans and their inane chants, but inherent in the wrestler's skillset and/or management's presentation of them to begin with.

I'll end with this: If we followed the line of "shut up and enjoy it" as fans, where would The Rock be now, among others?

completely agree on all counts

 

[Nintendough]

Except it's not their job.

Explain to me how it's the fans job to buy into WWE narrative and react the way they want to, and not the wrestlers and writers' job to create scenarios and characters, and deliver promos that MAKE the fans react in the way that they want to.

I usually don't have an issue with crowds smarking it up on a poor performance. Last night didn't warrant the husky harris chant. If he was a scrub, fine go ahead and troll him. This however was beautifully built up with a well executed debut. They no sold it for the sake of doing it.

 

[Swiggy]

I usually don't have an issue with crowds smarking it up on a poor performance. Last night didn't warrant the husky harris chant. If he was a scrub, fine go ahead and troll him. This however was beautifully built up with a well executed debut. They no sold it for the sake of doing it.

Co fukking sign.

 

[TrueEpic08]

I usually don't have an issue with crowds smarking it up on a poor performance. Last night didn't warrant the husky harris chant. If he was a scrub, fine go ahead and troll him. This however was beautifully built up with a well executed debut. They no sold it for the sake of doing it.

Except they didn't no sell it. Wyatt got a massive pop when coming out, and the crowd was very into Harper and Rowan taking out Kane. THAT'S what's important, the fact that people were really three guys with talent fresh out of NXT (well, two guys anyway).

You're cool and I have no problem with you, but I find it hypocritical that you and others would have no problem with, say, the crowds mercilessly chanting "GOLDBERG" at Ryback, but get pissed because a crowd chanted "Husky Harris" at Bray Wyatt. Really, being mad at one and not the other comes off as a matter of preference, which is the very definition of hypocrisy and something that I can't support. I detest censorship of crowds, both when it's censorship by a company or self-censorship.

It's why I don't get up in arms when UFC fans boo groundwork. I love groundwork, and it pisses me off when they boo it (far, FAR more than a "WHAT" chant, which doesn't even faze me at this point), but I have to recognize that it's their right to boo it as fans who bought tickets to watch and react to the show. You want people to react to you properly as a wrestler? Make it happen, period.

 

[Momentum]

First of all, Im not that impressed by the gimmick. The creepy redneck has been done 1000 times but if it's what WWE needs to bring new blood in so be it.

On topic, it's not the fans problem. Its the WWE's problem. You cannot repackage guys that have already been on TV and not acknowledge their past. You simply CANNOT ignore it in the internet era.

They got this right with Tensai and Perfect Jr. All Bray has to do is cut a promo saying something like "yeah they used to call me Husky in the locker room now they're going to pay" and this is a non issue.

 

[I-Hate-You]

I don't necessarily agree with "shut up and enjoy the show."

But I do believe that smart marks sometimes need to be...smart. Smart enough to realize when to resist the urge to be be an attention whore and make it a point to let the rest of the crowd know that they're smart to the business.

What's the point? What did the Husky chants do other than take a little something away from an otherwise great build/debut?

And for the record, I've been consistent on this subject for years. It's not just a Bray deal for me. Said the same thing about the post-Mania Jersey crowd.

 

[Nintendough]

Except they didn't no sell it. Wyatt got a massive pop when coming out, and the crowd was very into Harper and Rowan taking out Kane. THAT'S what's important, the fact that people were really three guys with talent fresh out of NXT (well, two guys anyway).

You're cool and I have no problem with you, but I find it hypocritical that you and others would have no problem with, say, the crowds mercilessly chanting "GOLDBERG" at Ryback, but get pissed because a crowd chanted "Husky Harris" at Bray Wyatt. Really, being mad at one and not the other comes off as a matter of preference, which is the very definition of hypocrisy and something that I can't support. I detest censorship of crowds, both when it's censorship by a company or self-censorship.

It's why I don't get up in arms when UFC fans boo groundwork. I love groundwork, and it pisses me off when they boo it (far, FAR more than a "WHAT" chant, which doesn't even faze me at this point), but I have to recognize that it's their right to boo it as fans who bought tickets to watch and react to the show. You want people to react to you properly as a wrestler? Make it happen, period.

Sheffield sucks, Wyatt doesn't. We could all tell from the beginning of the speed of Skipback's push that it wasn't t end well, plus he sucks.





It wont hurt Wyatt as much as the dweeb who wrote this article suggests but with a legit guy and group with a well thought out build up coming in at least give them a chance before we start doing smark chants.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

If WWE was shoving something awful down my throat I may have a smarky reaction but you cannot compare what I say here to what I am going to do at a live show. Here I am choppin it up with the coli and making insider jokes... but we also ENJOY the show... we don't go out of our way to shyt on everything and pretend that we could cut a promo better than Bray or wrestle better than Punk..

The shyt I say here does not carry over to a live show in the same way. I am at the live show to have fun. If something is cool (i.e. Bray Wyatt) I am going to still be marking out just as I would as a kid... that's all part of the live experience. These smarky douches who can never enjoy any aspect of the product are insufferable human beings.