WWE Payback 2016: 10 Reasons It Was Better Than WrestleMania 32
8. The Wild Chicago Crowd Enhanced The Show
Just as a good crowd can help make a pay-per-view translate better to the viewer at home, a rotten one can take away from the broadcast. WWE know what they're going to get in Chicago, the city is a favourite haunt for the company because of this. At Payback, the audience were there to have fun.
Perhaps it's down to the cavernous surroundings of the AT&T Stadium, but things felt severely tame in terms of crowd reactions at 'Mania towards the end of the show. By contrast, Payback played to around 13,000 fans, and they were very loud for pretty much every match on offer.
Sabotaging the show is one thing, but the Chicago crowd harmlessly looked to rattle Vince McMahon during his in-ring promo. Bellowing out chants for CM Punk, the fans gleefully looked on as the WWE boss didn't know where to look. They got McMahon there, and it was a sight to see.
Generally, everyone seemed excited for the action, which must be taken as a positive. WrestleMania takes place in a larger venue, and has a unique atmosphere, but Chicago seemed desperate to create one of their own.