You’ll find part 1 of this piece here. I looked at the influence that smarks have had in recent times, particularly when it comes to one Roman Reigns (who I should point out, I’m not a HUGE fan of, but the crap he gets is over the top). Today’s installment will focus on crowd chants, and two in particular that really grind my gears.
1 – “THIS IS AWESOME! *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP* THIS IS AWESOME! *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*”
In fairness ladies and gents, there are very few things in life that truly are awesome, much less in the carny, crazy world of pro-wrestling. When it comes to awesome things in life, it’s generally people who make it so. Your partner, family, friends, whoever. In wrestling, it’s rare to come across something that’s genuinely, authentically awesome.
Is The Miz awesome? He used to say it a lot. But no. He’s good, and been top drawer since the draft, but not awesome. Is AJ Styles awesome? He’s on a different level, and has been for years, but not yet. Same with Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, hell even our very own AOB (love ya Adam!). All fantastic in their own right, but not awesome. YET.
So why do some fans feel the need to chant “This Is Awesome!” when someone nails a dropkick, or a 10 punch in the corner? Same reason as most of them boo Roman Reigns – because it gets themselves over. Not because it’s what they genuinely feel. Chanting that, and getting others to join in, gets them on TV. And then they can say to their friends “I started that!”
If you’re honest with yourself, how many things in WWE have been truly awesome in the last 5-10 years? I can think of a few.
Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair – that was awesome. A true pro-wrestling story told by two of the finest performers the business has ever seen.
Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker – the best wrestling match that we’ve all probably ever lived through.
CM Punk vs John Cena – pro-wrestling at its very best. The upstart protagonist (Punk) vs everything that some felt was wrong with “the E” (Cena). Drama, hostility, a raucous crowd, a great match and a true “Holy S**t!” ending.
Brock Lesnar ending the streak. That was awesome. And as Tyberius and I both agreed on the WrestleMania XXX review on SLTD Radio, was entirely the right decision for Vinnie Mac to make.
Everything else in the last 10 years or more? Not so much. Some things have come close though. Very close. Especially The Revival vs DIY in the 2/3 falls match at NXT Takeover: Toronto. An unbelievable match that reminded us of what pro-wrestling used to be – close falls, cutting off the ring, using the referee and a crowd that was white hot and ready for DIY to get the win.
Other things have come close – particularly the Sasha/Charlotte and AJ/John Cena feuds this year. Both excellent and highlighted just how good all those performers are, but nothing that stood out as being “awesome”.
Shane-O-Mac returning after 6 years away? In a former life I’d have said “trucking tremendous” (or words to that effect), but awesome? No. Admittedly though, yours truly did have somewhat of a trouser accident that evening and marked out severely at the return of the prodigal son!
The point is that you’ll very rarely see a match/segment/spot that truly earns a “This is Awesome!” chant. When you chant it every week, then it doesn’t mean as much when something that actually deserves it gets it. Common sense.
2 – “YOU’VE STILL GOT IT! *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP* YOU’VE STILL GOT IT! *CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*”
As infuriating as “This is Awesome!” is, “You’ve Still Got It!” pisses me right off. To the point where sometimes I think some wrestling fans are just d*cks.
Here’s the thing. Of course a wrestler you haven’t seen for a while has “still got it”. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t been on RAW/SmackDown or whatever promotion you’re watching.
Most wrestlers have a very specific set of skills – a combination of athletic prowess, charisma and the ability to cut a decent promo. If they don’t have those, they wouldn’t have got far, much less to the top of the wrestling totem pole – WWE. So when someone who hasn’t wrestled for about 6 months gets the “You’ve Still Got It!” treatment, it’s disrespectful.
We touched on it earlier, but in the case of Shane-O-Mac, that’d be an acceptable chant because he hadn’t worked ANYWHERE since we last saw him on WWE TV.
But for someone like a Mickie James, who has been wrestling on the indies (and yes, that includes whatever the hell Impact/TNA/Dixieland is calling itself today) since leaving the WWE, and who is in INCREDIBLE shape by the way, to get the “You’ve Still Got It!” treatment is kind of a slap in the face. It’s saying to that particular performer, if you don’t work in WWE, you don’t matter. Nice career validation there huh?
People who chant that aren’t really wrestling fans. They’re WWE fans. And there’s a massive difference. Most wrestling fans are knowledgable and can hold a halfway decent conversation about the product. Smart-ass WWE fans who go out of their way to disrupt shows are blinded by their own ignorance and led to the dance by the Pied Piper himself, Vince McMahon.
Wrestlers make a huge amount of sacrifice to entertain all of us. They put their personal and professional lives on the line to afford us the opportunity to blog/podcast/tweet/Facebook/Tout (other forums are available) about how we feel their “work” is.
Pfft. Like we’re experts. We’re the ones who pay money to watch them and yes, while we have the right to get involved in the show, maybe it’s time to go back to how it used to be.
We paid our money, watched the show, and reacted accordingly to what happened. It was less about getting “us” over, and more about getting the wrestlers over. Imagine that… a wrestling show where the wrestlers are the stars, and not the smarks in the crowd. A totally new concept right?
That’ll do it for this week. As it’s leading into Christmas, the next few weeks will look at what’s stood out in 2016 and what we can hopefully look forward to in 2017. Join me next week. Until then, be GLOOOORIOUS to each other.
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SLTD Wrestling's resident Scottish Nightmare. Some of my content may not be suitable for younger readers or those who are easily offended!
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