10 Reasons WWE Feels UNDERWHELMING in 2026
2. Lack of Hot Crowds
Credit where it's due, the recent RAW in Mexico City was outstanding. Local hero Penta looked like a megastar even in defeat, Chad Gable and Dragon Lee had the best Intercontinental Championship match since Gunther's record-breaking reign ended in 2024, and the crowd were molten hot throughout the night. The latter point in particular felt like a revelation, because it drove home the fact that the average crowd on WWE TV these days are more reserved than tickets for a Taylor Swift concert.
Take 946's destruction of the Uso's car as a recent example. The big, show-closing angle played out to a subdued reaction from the crowd, whose interest only briefly ignited (ho ho) when Royce and chums set fire to the unfortunate vehicle. When a show's main set-piece elicits around the same level of reaction as a clunky, unsatisfying qualifying match, it's clear the crowd aren't buying what WWE is selling.
A hot crowd is vital to any wrestling act. The excruciating silence that greeted DIY and Motor City Machine Gun's Royal Rumble bout effectively acted as a death knell for both team's WWE careers, and it's hard not to worry about the acts that are currently coming out to crickets.
Mind you, you can't blame the fans for being wary of investing in new talents. Not when they've been burnt so many times before...