9 Things You Notice Attending WWE Live

6. Commercials Aren't Bathroom Breaks

If attending a television taping (whether it's a live RAW or a delayed SmackDown), commercials are part of the game. While RAW is the show that is most likely to feature obvious lulls in the action due to the live nature and requirement of commercials, the WWE doesn't allow the audience to easily identify these breaks in the arena. After attending a few RAWs, identifying the commercial breaks becomes easier to do, but at first, it's not that obvious despite what the viewers at home might think. When the television audience is watching three minutes worth of advertisements, the live audience may be seeing a superstar's full entrance take place or listening to a pre-match promo for the exclusive benefit of the live crowd. Another favorite of the WWE is for a heel to quickly grab a microphone and berate the live audience during a commercial break. Whether the superstar is ragging on the local sports team or picking apart how ugly the audience is, some cheap heat is used to rile up the crowd so that once the show is back on-air, a loud and active crowd is screaming at the heel, adding to the atmosphere and looking good for the audience at home. WWE is smart to make use of the would-be downtime by making the live audience forget that a commercial break is taking place. Sometimes, these "breaks" are more active than the portion airing live.