The way WWE mugged the Chicago crowd off at the March 3rd 2014 Raw was pure genius. Fans thought they were going to get one over on the company by hijacking the broadcast with constant CM Punk chants and booing. This was just a month or so after Punk had acrimoniously quit WWE - which many fans baselessly blamed the company for. With Raw rolling into Punk's hometown, the atmosphere was set to be charged. WWE hadn't commented on the Punk situation, so fans on social media conspired to make their voice heard and perhaps force a reaction. The clever twist WWE made, was to structure the show against these fans. In one fell swoop, they opened the show with Punk's music, thus diffusing the notion that fans were chanting something the company didn't want them to. All of a sudden, the crowd were in WWE's hands. Now they were doing exactly what the McMahon's wanted - calling for CM Punk. The show then teased Punk returning for the whole episode. The ending was all set up for someone to run in and make a save as Daniel Bryan got beatdown by The Authority. Clearly, fans thought Punk was going to make his triumphant comeback. But he didn't. That turned the tables, WWE had worked the crowd all night into thinking Punk was coming back. When he then didn't, it made him look bad. WWE had made marks out of those in attendance that night, they'd harnessed their feelings and then made them think something else. WWE were no longer the guilty party after that night - CM Punk was.
