10 Most Heated WWE Crowd Reactions Ever

7. Monday Night RAW - August 15, 2005

John Cena Crowd Reactions
WWE.com

Some of the greatest heel promo work in wrestling history came right after a classic bit of bait and switch.

The Rock was unbelievable at this. He was an arch audience manipulator because he was never too far away from turning to the other side of the fence. He knew how to straddle the divide between drawing heat and cheers as well as anybody, often doing so in the course of a single segment.

When Shawn Michaels returned to Montreal in 2005, eight years after playing a pivotal role in the titular Screwjob, he was never going to be subject to a mixed reaction - so he didn’t muck about. There was no insincere sucking up, no preamble. He simply opened his mouth and asked: “Who’s your daddy, Montreal?” The heat was searing because the emotion, even a near decade after the fact, was still raw.

It was a rhetorical question; Shawn was their daddy, conditioning their response over the course of a nuclear segment. He sang a doctored Canadian national anthem with a sh*t-eating grin on his face in a moment of wonderful wrestling serendipity. He had to have returned to Montreal during the few, fleeting months of his secondary career in which he played a heel.

“You want Bret? You’re not gonna get Bret because I screwed Bret!”

Cue Bret Hart’s music, cue Shawn’s headlights stare, cue one of the loudest pops ever - cut to Shawn falling over himself laughing as the ruse was revealed.

“Got your hopes up just a little bit, didn’t I?” Just a bit, Shawn. On this evidence there must be something to Dave Meltzer's old rumour that Shawn was removed from late '97 house shows for his own safety.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!