What WWE Don’t Want You To See On TV

8. Fans' Cheers May Be Taken From Elsewhere

Becky Lynch
WWE.com

When it comes to taped shows, the reactions that you see on your screens may not be entirely truthful or applicable to the action that you're seeing play out.

One underhand tactic that WWE - and other wrestling promotions over the years, to be fair - has utilised, is that it will insert crowd footage from elsewhere to match the reaction that the company is wanting a segment to generate.

As an example, WWE may have a top babyface come out before a show to cut a promo that will get fans cheering wildly. When that particular show makes it to air, the footage of that passionate and positive crowd response will be inserted into segments involving other stars who maybe aren't naturally garnering that same sort of crowd response.

To show just how manipulating WWE can be in how they obtain the fan reactions you see on their programming, a 2014 SmackDown taping from Houston, Texas gives the perfect insight.

There, WWE had Big Show address the live crowd and plead with the fans to show their appreciation for the out-injured Daniel Bryan by raining down "Yes!" chants on Show.

What did WWE end up doing with this footage? Why, they instead inserted that genuine, heartfelt, hugely positive crowd response into that SmackDown episode's opening promo - where Vince McMahon plugged how new subscribers get their first month of WWE Network for free.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.