10 Times The WWE Fans Went Off Script

Commentators refer to cities where faces are booed and heels are cheered as "Bizarro Land", but these days it happens with such regularity that bizarre is pretty close to becoming the new normal.

Fans in eras past, of course, were more content to dance to the beat of the WWE drum, treating nominal villains with a healthy dose of contempt (that only occasionally - such as when a guy tried to actually shoot Bobby Heenan - became unhealthy) and supporting the good guys no matter what.

The last 15 or 20 years have seen a dramatic change though. Now, you're just as likely to get booed as a face as you are a heel. And, if you're Roman Reigns, you're probably going to get booed even if you find a cure for cancer whilst giving a Superman Punch to Kim Jong-un.

Wrestling crowds today have given themselves more licence to go off script - whether it's by jeering Roman when he's on the cusp of overcoming The Authority, or incessantly chanting CM Punk's name until Stephanie McMahon just can't resist taking a jab at his unfortunate UFC debut.

The Rock passing the ceremonial torch to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2002 ought to have been commended - especially after Stone Cold passed up the opportunity a few months prior.

Yet 'The Great One', who was nominally still a fan favourite heading into the event, ended up being on the receiving end of boos, together with an audible "You sold out" chant, as the crowd began to resent the fact that one of their idols was about to head for Hollywood.

Bizarrely, in subsequent WWE appearances The Rock has almost always been roundly cheered, as though fans - despite the initial protests - have with time come to accept that the man's star power is simply too great to be confined to the relatively small world of professional wrestling.