10 Misconceptions WWE Has About Their Fanbase
7. Live Crowd Reactions Aren't Accurate
It's a wise notion - if not incredibly obvious - but while the Chairman of the Board, at nearly 72 years old, still claims to still listen to his audience, Vince McMahon has stopped responding to crowd reactions.
It's interesting to see how WWE's narrative surrounding the benefits of fan reactions has changed over the years. It used to be that listening to the live audience was the best way to gauge fan satisfaction in the product. Especially in passionate cities like New York or Chicago, fan reactions were extremely informative and used as a major tool in determining what the audiences would and would not accept.
In recent years, however, the narrative has changed.
Nowadays, WWE executives ignores disapproval no matter how loud or how widespread it is. WWE will only acknowledge vocal fan reactions if they align with the wishes of Vince McMahon (which is not too often anymore). Otherwise, the reactions are either ignored or relatively disqualified, strongly indicating that McMahon can no longer read his audience.
Instead of embracing these responses like they did previously, WWE arrogantly forges ahead with canned creative plans no matter the amount of backlash and negativity. And those passionate cities once lauded for providing valuable market research are now vilified for the same reason...