10 Times WWE Caved To Public Pressure
3. Big Philly Style
There were countless reasons for the Philadelphia audience to sh*t all over 1995's King Of The Ring, but the 'ECW' chants that bombarded Vince McMahon at the commentary table that night were an unexpected interruption for the Chairman.
Showering the wretched Mabel/Savio Vega tournament finale with chants for the local promotion, McMahon remembered the response when the company returned to pay-per-view there just over a year later. A Northeast hotbed for the company, Philly's wrestling audience had fallen head over heels for the Paul Heyman's growing group and an increasingly desperate Vince took an uncharacteristic approach and actually fed fans he'd now probably consider trolls.
Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and Heyman himself were stationed ringside at the event to rabble rouse ahead of miniature 'invasions' in 1996 and 1997. Co-promotion with fledgling organisations wasn't entirely out of McMahon's wheelhouse, but assumptions that he hadn't even seen the product before the chants grew louder on his own shows were largely confirmed by his audible disgust at the physical appearance of his new business partners.
Fittingly considering the origin story, it was Jerry 'The King' Lawler that got the most mileage out of the angle. He was the voice of disdain for the brand on WWE television, whilst working several ECW shows as an abusive (and hated) malcontent.