If we ever had a reason to say it loud and to say it proud the moment is now. Fellow wrestling fans, we are awesome. Much has already been written about the crowd at this past Monday night's Raw and for good reason. We haven't witnessed anything like that since the post-Mania Raw in Miami last year that solidified the Yes chant. Of the 80k+ that filled MetLife stadium on Sunday the hardcore amongst them stuck around the next night primarily because they had something to say. And speak freely and loudly they did.
To be clear, the 4-8-13 edition of Raw was a referendum on the current state of the product. They came to boo the beejeebus out of Cena, show booking that they'd rather see anything other than a match between Sheamus and Orton (who was visibly shook and even once shouted at the crowd "what are you saying?"), and show support for the most talented wrestlers in the company such as Ziggler who quite possibly may have seen the best pop of his career. On this night, the crowd vocalized the frustration of the faithful fans who aren't persuaded to tune in to just one show a year because Diddy or Dwayne and as a result they shoot took over the show. Creative had to know what they were in for. There's a reason Punk didn't make an appearance as its hard to dictate kayfabe when the fans blow the roof off for the promotion's number one heel (and GOAT at that role if you ask me). There's a reason Trips didn't come to make his post Mania speech and waited til he was safely in Boston for Smackdown (especially after getting chanted off stage during the Slammies last year in Philly compounded with his SummerSlam sendoff fail ). And aside from Randy forgetting his lines I have a theory that an audible was called and Orton's heel turn was aborted due to the audience's no sell of the match. Hell, even the Rock skipped town without telling anyone. That night in Jersey the people Vince most had to thank for his success for all these years gave their opinion of his booking since the Rumble and returned a failing grade. And to be fair, Vince and Creative deserved every bit of that criticism just as loudly as the Izod Center shouted it. Thankfully the WWE will now begin working to make it up to us and give us our payoff for putting up with them for the past few months. I'm assuming they need people to still watch until the next Road to Wrestlemania next year. Because after the lights went out at MetLife, we're the ones left and our opinion now means more now than at any point in the year.
Truthfully, the fans were more over than the performers on Monday. Ziggler's win aside, the crowd was the biggest story of the night (and still trending the next morning!) and in the pro graps media. This is what wrestling should feel like with that high level of excitement and when the fun is genuine and not force fed. I've seen it pointed out that this is why Chikara is so over with the indie crowd; a point Vince would benefit from thinking about. When crowds organically take part in a show versus repeating back catch phrases the atmosphere is second to none. The fans showed how amazing they can be and how electric the whole show can remain for its entire three hour duration when you book for the fans and not in spite of them. Every WWE show should and could be like this. And a clear message was sent as we began the road to smark season with the conclusion of Mania. Hardcore fans can push the show's presentation and overall booking to the moon and create unforgettable fireworks in the process. We do it because we love the art of professional wrestling. And that makes us awesome.
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