10 Most Heated WWE Crowd Reactions Ever

6. Monday Night RAW - February 24, 2003

John Cena Crowd Reactions
WWE.com

"Finally," The Rock began, returning to the site of his betrayal at the hands of Hulk Hogan and his Toronto admirers swept up in a wave of nostalgia at WrestleMania X8.

"Finally, The Rock has come back to Toron-. To Toron-. To run his mouth on all your candy a*sses!" The jeers were as raucous as Jerry Lawler's genuinely amused reaction. It was the first of several instances in which Rock manipulated the crowd into reacting however he saw fit. It was a psychological masterclass of a wrestling promo which ebbed and flowed throughout its near ten minute duration. The sentiments wavered wildly, but the intensity of the din did not.

“The Rock said he wanted to go back to Toronto, Canada!” he followed up, drawing cheers. He had played them like a fiddle - with even more finesse than Hogan had a year earlier.

“Are you kidding The Rock? Is this the first time you ever heard someone mention your city, is that it? Yay! Hooray! He said “Toronto!” That’s where we live! We live in Toronto! Shut up!”

He admonished the fans for turning on him in a promo so hilarious that it cut through the spite enough to somehow get the fans back on side. They chanted along with his catchphrases before he admonished them once more. “Time out. Whoa. You were the first to boo The Rock, so you are the first to lose that singalong privilege! No more!”

When he eventually delivered the “…is cooking” payoff, the arena was deathly silent. Not one person chanted along. He had conducted the orchestra to fade out like a maestro.

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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!