10 Most Damaging Figures In The History Of Wrestling

1. The Fans

Tripel H Stephanie McMahon Wrestlemania 33
WWE.com

Wrestling fans are their own worst enemy.

WWE is able to spin the negative reactions generated by Roman Reigns as a symbol of his star power, and while there may be some truth in that, the heat is largely a form of dissent. Received wisdom has it that Reigns receives jeers because he is a calculated, contrived attempt to recapture the kid-friendly John Cena character for the next generation of young fans, but wrestling fans haven't been particularly wise with their protests. WWE cannot spin silence. Still, WWE fans defeat their own objective when they boo him out of the building. WWE will never be a meritocracy when fans continue to vote with their money and their voice. Fans resent the Reigns push without realising they are complicit in it.

Some fans have done more than that to damage the product. Overindulging chants has robbed them of any power they once had. The "This is awesome" chant has degenerated into a Pavlovian conditioning exercise, allowing talent to perfect a now-rigid formula for which, really, they can't be blamed. They are at once undiscerning and too demanding. Some fans chant "ten!" whenever a count out sequence is teased, removing any sense of drama, suspense and reality from matches, all to indulge their apparent knowledge of tropes and conventions.

You don't walk out of a cinema at the half hour mark, when the hero is in peril, because the film isn't finished yet. Why not treat the men and women you pay to see with the same level of respect?

Contributor
Contributor

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!