10 Times WWE Treated Its Audience Like Children
1. Shhhh!
And finally, for something less totally f*cking patronising.
Prior to his latter day crowd interaction tactic, the words "quiet chop" to Big Show meant a bit of pork he ate on the sly in an attempt to hide his eating issues from WWE management. Then, later in his career, the man experienced something of an upswing, contesting impossibly good matches over the World Heavyweight Title with Mark Henry and Sheamus, in which he patrolled the squared circle with the fans in the palm of his hand.
He literally silenced his critics by holding his finger to his mouth, instructing them to "Shut the f*ck up! Clap, clap, clap clap clap!" before delivering a profoundly painful-sounding chop across the chests of his poor bloody opponents. It was a great bit of crowd interaction in that it blended the pantomime and brutality at the very core of professional wrestling. In that moment, the fans actively enjoyed reverting to a childlike state. Of course, Show was rewarded for his new gimmick by being dressed up as the New Year's Baby in December 2013.
It's not merely the fans McMahon, the patriarch of sports entertainment, perceives as children.