6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (14 August - Review)

2. The Return Of The Dead Crowd

It was a nice run while it lasted.

WWE has been plagued in the past by arenas full of fans who sit on their hands for three hours, coming to life only for entrance singalongs, catchphrases and the closing moments of matches. Recently, it seemed like they had turned a corner, with crowds making noise organically, breathing some much-needed life into the product.

But if people thought this was a problem of the past, they were jolted back to reality Monday night with a dead crowd in Winnipeg, where fans watched Chad Gable and Giovanni Vinci wrestle in near-silence, not make a peep during Rhea Ripley’s match and mute themselves for much of Sami Zayn’s bout with JD McDonagh.

The fans almost always roused themselves for the finishes, but there was little reaction to the actual back-and-forth action, which is just baffling – people pay money for a ticket to a “sporting” event and then sit there like they’re at church. And it’s not just a few fans; it’s the entire arena.

Hopefully, this was a one-time regression. If this is the return of those dead crowds every week, Raw is going to suffer greatly.