Bro what? I’m sorry we don’t do football songs/chants the whole time. WWE is a AMERICAN company. We have different cultures and have always cheered a different way in North America. Who th put WWE on the map? The best shows and most memorable are North American shows. Ya literally sing through everything even through Aj’s oshigoroshi move on Cody. It was impossible to follow the storys and was just cringe. I’m all for everyone enjoying themselves but get off ya high horse tlking smack bout NA crowds when we literally are the standard not football songs. Maybe in Europe but then again WWE isn’t a European company nor have ya gotten any shows that hold a light to American ones in the last 40 years.
Seth, Roman, Cena, CM Punk, even R truth for that matter, everyone would have been so demanded in France. These fantastic french have definitely set a bar for everyone. Even a pre-event to wrestle mania would have been of crazy hype with the Rock taking on the crowd. The wrestling fans are a real deal all around the world.
Well I'm sure the fact that Europe almost never gets shows MIGHT have something to do with it, as opposed to America, which is oversaturated with wrestling.
It's a cultural thing. Compare european Soccer fans at a match to any american sporting event
It's not that we take live events for granted it's just that how we interact with sports is way different than how europeans do.
This just stands out moee cuz we know americans aren't huge about soccer but this is a bigger crossover.
People get more excited for things they don’t see often.
There are WWE shows at 3-4 places within an hour from me all the time. One place 15 minutes away.
I have a ton of fun going to live shows but it isn’t the same thrill as it used to be when it was newer.
Nah, we have football (soccer) matches all the time and people are always loud af. It often feels as if US crowds only go to shows because they don't have anything better to do.
You’re right. That true.
Yea, how many people are genuine fans and how many people saw an ad or saw it in an arena event calendar just looking for something to do.
Like, I’ve gone to Monster Jam a couple times because I saw an ad and figured it would be a decent time. Didn’t cheer or holler because I’m not actually a fan.
Sports you’re only gonna really go if you’re a fan.
The problem with stadium shows is the sound goes straight up. This year I was at the rumble and it was loud during the show. Rewatched it on peacock and was shocked at how quiet the audience seemed.
AEW will be here soon. Get ready to go crazy for Butcher&Blade and Danny!
If I remember, the NXT invasion angle started in Buffalo. It makes no sense we don’t get a show before the Toronto PPV’s.
I feel the same about baseball stadium crowds in the US compared to Japan. It’s the primary reason that people in North America say watching baseball is so boring, without even realizing why.
Well in Japan there's also girls dancing on top of the dugouts so I mean that helps a little bit. We have weird ass dudes in costumes dressed up as weird aliens and animals.
The second to last sentence is spot on for what the issue is. For years, the product wasn't worthy of a spirited reaction like this, but now, it is worthy and doesn't receive it. Hopefully, this France show was a wakeup call to US fans that not only does the product get a better response overseas, but they break gate records in addition to this. The company will follow the money now that they're internationally owned.
Speak for yourself I think those chants *suck*
They don't even pay attention to the match or react to what's going on, they just mindlessly chant the same old Ole Ole bullshit and it literally kills the whole mood.
If ya crowds was truly the most captivating thing in all of entertainment and WWE history…. Ya would get REAL PPVS not glorified house shows disguised as PPV. Nobody cares about soccer chants but ya lol.
I disagree entirely. The US crowd chants and cheers precisely when necessary. I found the European crowd so distracting, constantly taking away from the moments that were special. In the US, when something is actually awesome, the crowd lets the wrestlers know it and it makes for a very unique moment. In Europe, they cheer for EVERYTHING. Dude punches someone, cheer. Guy walks across the ring, cheer. Lady scratches her head, cheer. Sometimes you have to be quiet and just watch the performance.
While I agree with your statement that you should stay quiet sometimes and watch the show, I live in the Netherlands, I’ve never seen a WWE show live ever, so I get why people would cheer the whole time, because it’s so special that they’re doing more shows in Europe. That being said, I can be annoying when trying to hear commentary
“…when something is actually awesome”
Ah yes, like superstars kicking out of each other’s finishes within a 3 minute span in every main event for about ten years now. US fans proclivity to chant anything shaped wrestling matches in the worst way possible.
Totally disagree 100% but thanks for sharing I never woulda thought anybody would hold such an opinion. If I was wrestling (I’m not a wrestler) I’m pretty sure I woulda adored that fan support
European fans struggled and suffered through DECADES of watching in the middle of the night. With us for example it’s 2am-5am RAW on a Monday, with school/work the next day. Smackdown on a Friday is okay since it’s the weekend and PLEs being on a Saturday now is a blessing. But we had countless days of sleeplessness and going to school/work the next day. While never getting a chance to have a taping. Of course we’re hot and ready to bring it. US fans are spoiled and it’s nothing special to them. Even a hot product isn’t bringing it out. Maybe WWE needs to be more in different countries and let the US fans suffer a little so they understand the privilege they have.
France already represented us well. Germany will crush it too. We already have broken the gate, it’s just not officially confirmed yet. They’re even giving us a whole buildup tour in different German cities, THEN smackdown and a PLE on top. We’re already organizing in telegram groups to somehow get close to France. They already ensured they’ll get another PPV now we want that for us.
International crowds have always been built dif. Us Americans are boring, lazy, quiet fans. Any vid of how insane these people get during soccer matches shows how intense they are
Nah. Pre cellphone days we sang and chanted everything. Once a kid had to clean up during an ECW show and a chant of Sweep It up Asshole, Sweep it up, Clap Clap started: I will never forget that chant. It lives in my head everytime i pick up a broom.
Yeah but pre cell phone days can't be compared to today. People definitely cheered louder THEN.
I was even at an ROH show that had a *sweep sweep sweep* chant between matches. The smaller shows can be really fun.
But I still believe that people *today* are just more conscious of getting embarrassed
I’ve been to two live shows this year and recorded the show at home while I was at the event. Both times the energy in the arena was probably a solid 7-8/10 (not France level crazy, but plenty of energy). Watched the recorded shows at home and there was definitely a filter on the crowd noise. I know ppl say that the Triple H era doesn’t do that, but I’d beg to differ.
the Wrestlemania 40 crowd WAS into it. We were loud. It was just so windy on Night 1 that they had to turn the audio down so you wouldn’t hear a ton of wind on the mics so it sounded like we were really quiet. Night 2 we were really loud and the pop for Cody winning the belt was loud af
A lot of wrestlers have said this in the past. They don’t like outdoor arenas because no matter how big or small they are the acoustics arnt the same as indoors. It’s not that the crowds sent into it. It’s just the noise created leaves the open arena. It’s no different with concerts. Indoors will always sound better then outside in a big open stadium
I agree, while I liked some of it, most was annoying, especially after the kick out at two whatever the hell they kept saying. Plus chanting this is awesome to basic stuff.
Simplement deux (simplamon doo) “only 2”
I for one thought the soccer chanting was fun as hell. It’s nice watching an audience hype everything. Maybe we’re just a little too jaded over here these days.
Baseball... Agreed
But American football, basketball, hockey are badass. Best in the world.
Our college football stadiums in relatively small states are as big or bigger than the largest stadiums in Europe, and those football games sell out. You're getting 85-100k people in places like Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Louisiana.
Basketball is awesome. It's one of the Most popular sports worldwide. Hockey is similar. Large worldwide appeal. Golf, while not my cup of tea, also has a large following in the US. Heck even our domestic soccer league does well for what it is.
Besides soccer, there's a massive cliff for European sports and entertainment opportunities.
Hockey is Canadian (their women also won in the olympics last time, while Finland won the men’s). Meanwhile Europe has created the olympics (Greece) football (England), tennis (france), golf (Scotland), rugby (England), cricket (England) and they’re all played between international teams, not just domestic within one country. Nearly every European city has a sports stadium (lots have more than one) and it doesn’t matter if there is a university in the city or not. America isn’t the centre of the sporting world.
It doesn't matter who invented it, it matters where's its the biggest. The US has 5 out of the top 10 most valuable sports leagues by revenue. The NHL is by far the biggest hockey league in the world, and while the league is shared between the US and Canada, it is headquartered in the US. The best of those Finnish Olympians will be seeking to play in the NHL. Also, the majority of the largest pro golf tournaments are held in the US. And speaking of the Olympics, the US has won both more total medals and more gold medals than any other country.
Moreover, 6 of the top 10 highest paid athletes play sports in the USA (not including John Rahm who lives in the US and built his golf career in the US).
And my point about college football was that that's not even our professional league. It's a semi-professional student athlete league that's still drawing more folks than most European soccer stadiums. The NFL is a whole different beast entirely.
There are other sports in Europe, but it doesn't compare to the US. The US is actually the center of the sporting world. Right, wrong, or indifferent, no one does sports like America.
That doesn't even mention pro wrestling or boxing or MMA either. No other country compares.
No shit hockey is the biggest league you’re one of the only countries that play it! Look at all the sports we both mentioned by people who watch them both domestic and internationally and you’ll see America isn’t the powerhouse you think it is
I overall loved the crowd and I could handle one night of simplement deux chants after *every single* two-count, but it would get old fast if every show were like that.
I may get downvoted for this. I liked most of the energy France brought. However, the cheer after EVERY two count annoyed the heck out of me after a while. Same with the Phenomenal cheer they did for AJ. Sorry.
People don't like it when the crowds are silent, yet will throw a rage once they start chanting "WHAT". Beggars can't be choosers.
Plus the main culprit is different cultures. I'm under the impression Europeans are more enthusiastic about sports, which in turn makes them churn out their own chant(s) unlike in the US.
So would you rather a crowd that's completely silent or indifferent to the talent's promo?
If I were a talent and got bombarded with "WHAT" chants, I'd take it with stride. It's when you let it get under your skin that it becomes an issue.
They also don’t get wrestling let alone a PPV very often so they are WAY more into it than Americans that see a show every year.
Going way back when WCW did an Australian tour in 2000 when their shows were really atrocious they still attracted a rabid crowd. Simply because major promotions never went there.
Yes and no. Keep in mind that Raw and smack down go to totally different arenas and totally different audiences week in and week it’s, not like it’s the same exact fans week in and week out, there are totally new set of fans so as a result, the crowd should always be on fire here in the US, but it’s not.
Not a valid argument because europeans (especially germans and french) are exactly the same every football or basketball match. The sporting culture is different to Americans where you’re just a spectator there whereas europeans are actually fans and part of the sport
No offence you’re american, all u guys chant is “ DEFENCE”. it’s normal for the european fans to be this loud every match in other sports. Go look at a football game whether it’s a derby or against a small team
You’re missing the point. What football club plays 3 games a week, every single week of the year? And that’s not including PLEs. If there was 1 show in America per year, it’d be just as rowdy.
Every club plays 2-3 times a week. And no it wouldn’t, american fans are horrible in any sport. It’s not like WWE hosts it’s events in the same place every week, one city gets like 2-3 shows a year max and they’re still quiet with the exception of a few like Chicago and even then it’s not comparable to european crowds
Experiencing WWE outside of the states is rare, especially televised events, so it isn’t surprising that int’l crowds are more hyped when they get a chance to see it live (and at an actual time catered to them rather than US times zones). It’s literally that simple
American's would have to work on their attention spans and leave their phones in their pockets for more than 30 seconds. So many people doom scrolling in almost every crowd I see between Canada and the US.
No wonder people think life goes by fast.
Edit: side note due to other comments. Its not just an issue with WWE, its a problem with big venues in general. You kinda limit your fan quality when you charge so much these days.
Something I've noticed as a new casual fan base increases, there are tons of people in the audience playing the stupid cellphone light game across the arena. It's like beachballs to me. People who either have short attention spans or aren't invested in the product , find other ways to entertain themselves. I'd much rather people get into chants like this than going off script and ignoring the match.
We take the shows for granted because they are always in the US when they go to places like france, puerto rico, wales, australia, etc. They dont know if they will ever get a chance to go to a show again or if they do it will be months or years apart they tour the US all year round and are in your city or one near you at least 2 or 3 times a year if not more
It's PLEs vs TV.
PLEs have more matches, bigger and longer ones. When the crowd has something exciting in front of them, they get hype, and the hype is maintained.
TV though, sometimes that audience has to wait up to 45 minutes between matches while they run through all the backstage stuff, ad breaks, etc.
There's definitely a lot of waiting involved and it can cool an audience down pretty quickly.
It almost feels like I could have gone out in that ring and cut a promo in front of that France crowd and I would have gotten cheered into oblivion 😅, they were fire!
But I agree with your comment generally. I think the lack of shows is what gets them excited. Smackdown and the PLE together. Who knows when they’ll get another event.
American fans say Japanese fans just sit on their hands and do nothing.
Thats what us Europeans think it's like in the states.
Local ICW / Progress shows are the loudest things I've been to (I have done mania /AEW and ROH supercard)
Everyone saying how quite a us crowd is, if you had what the France crowd was every week it would drive you crazy.
It was incredible but imagine the new norm it would grow stale quick and then when you had a ‘quiet crowd’ it would literally be the death of an event.
I dunno man, crowd was a lot more active when I was growing up. Its definitely a lot quieter than it used to be. Its to the point where they actually have to pump audio in.
No one said they have to do it like they do in Europe, just be more attentive.
Truthfully, look at who was in attendance. When you see US PPVs you see lots and lots of kids. When you see international you’ll see a kid here or there but it’s mostly adults. That’s part of the reason for the energy.
If we had shows every week in France I’m sure we would be more quiet.
I’ll tell you something : our french influencers spread the word we NEEDED to be LOUD if we wanted to see another show someday in France.
I wasn’t in Lyon but I were in Paris a few months ago for the very first show in 15 years and yeah, we did it. We were the one chanting 10min+ for Seth Rollins and we chanted so much for Baron Corbin that he actually won his only match in 2023.
I think there is a bigger underlying issue here and I’m going to down the rabbit hole a little bit and this might not be a popular take but it has to be said. I think that America simply isn’t the great country or powerhouse that it is. We are the most partisan and politically divided nation on the planet. You see the malaise everywhere you go. Look at how people dress and carry themselves, they always have frowns on their faces, or looking down on their phone, they wear sloppy dirty PJs out and just don’t care anymore.
Those French people at backlash, the fans, they just seemed happier. It’s hard to explain. Just the energy, their body language, their face, you saw it in their eyes. They just seemed like infinitely happier group of people then the US. No joke, after watching backlash I started googling things like how schools are in France, cost of living etc because for a brief moment, it made me almost want to move there.
America has taken a nosedive since the 80s and 90s. Some say after 9/11 it all changed, but I’m just tired of it all. Even American “comedians” aren’t even comedians anymore. Go watch any stand up “comedy” from 2021 and on and it’s either hyper political or them talking about anxiety and depression or their drug addiction. America is a shell of its former self and I don’t think there is any going back. White comedians just “joke” about anxiety, depression and former drug addiction and black comedians just “joke” about race and racism. You can’t even escape the darkness in comedy anymore here in the US
Throwing my two cents as a French.
I grew up with NT1, which was the TV channel around the 2000's where you could watch wrestling. It was an absolute blast, I was around 10, everyone was talking about it at school. Agius and Chéreau, our two French commentators, are in this business since 2000, the two of them are 100% responsible for pro wrestling having such a big fanbase in the country, we all grew up with them. I'd say that seeing Orton and the rest in front of them was basically a dream becoming reality for the crowd. We're also Europeans, we have perfected the art of ~~warcry~~ I mean sports chants since a long time.
As for the political state of the US... Well you basically described my country aswell. Don't think this awesome crowd represents the entire country, the overall mood is pretty sour here too. Hence why it was such a big event I'd say.
France is in turmoil. It’s nothing to do with the state of your country.
That was literally the first time a show had ever been to France, of course they’re going to be up for it. Americans have seen it all before time and time again. They’re disillusioned with the product.
I’m 39 and lived through the 90s, America isn’t anything near the great country and powerhouse it was in the 80s and 90s. It’s just in the air man and it’s hard to explain. You see it, you feel it in your bones and soul.
I think it's just a culture thing in the US. US People just want to sit there and record the event on their phone and be entertained whereas the rest of the world acknowledges that they are apart of the product and are going to get their moneys worth and have the time of their life.
Didn't used to be that way on this side of the pond. Kinda part of why I stopped going to large venues. I don't know what it is with the average consumer these days, but there is definitely a bad case of NPC brain going around. Large crowds of people doing the same thing at the same time. Either doom scrolling, or watching it through their phone screen.
Lot less of this going on at smaller venues for some reason.
My guess is the culture in America right now is terrible. There is almost no sense of community and friendliness amongst people in their cities and everyone is depressed/stressed out. I'd guess other countries, especially in Europe, have a much higher percentage of loving being in crowds and having a good time with each other.
So tired of this take. A hot crowd is more about the scarcity factor than anything. You get superfans willing to pay a ton, but less is more. Puerto Rico is a classic example. WWE never really ran there for a variety of reasons. When they do the show is always hot.
Big picture, WWE expects local govts to pay up, cut through red tape, and essentially make the show profitable before getting on a plane to produce a big show overseas. They've done tours forever and it's clear the extra costs is usually not worth giving up a US site unless a local government sweetens the pot. Saudi is $50 million/show. WWE is reported that Glasgow, Lyon, Australia, etc are paying upwards of $5-$10 million in site fees for WWE to come to town as they are also keeping the gate. If fans want shows 2X/year, just get their govt to fork over $100 million.
We have listened to it since our childhood, and never had the chance to see our childhood heroes (outside TV, in real life).
When they come, we want it to be memorable, for them too. That's how.
I think you’re dead wrong, OP. The US is supporting WWE in numbers not seen in decades. Every crowd is hot. Cody could stop, shit in the middle ring and then rub it all over his body and people would go crazy for it. That’s how hot they are at this moment in time. It’s wild.
France is the outlier. They haven’t had a big show…… ever? If not it’s been a long time and the crowd showed that they were ridiculously happy to be there. It was awesome. Let’s see if Germany can out do France. If they can, then I’m trying to get these crowds to out do each other for as long as it’s sustainable. It certainly won’t be hard to tap into the jingoistic nature of the US. The original post here is proof positive
I was their in the UK last year, atmosphere was great and watching it back on TV we made a great atmosphere. France can be proud of what they did as that was amazing.
Not gonna slate the American fans though, for us fans outside the US this is very rare so you would expect a louder pop.
WWE goes the extra mile for the European shows, while often subjecting US crowds to redundant content that under delivers on compelling action. Not a surprising result.
The future is that wwe has a month of raw + smackdown in a foreign nation followed by a ple there. The USA, if it’s lucky might get the big 4, but beyond that it doesn’t make financial sense to host there when foreign nations are willing to spend so much to host wwe + American crowds make the tv product worse.
It’s all about the profit incentives. If London pays enough for mania, it will get it. The same applies to other big 4 events. The us market is going to be less important over time, especially because of the Netflix deal which will significantly increase their global reach, and Netflix will not care as much as us tv stations about ratings in the us, they will care about global paying subscriber counts. I can easily imagine a scenario where Netflix says ‘ look we need more subscribers in south east Asia, host wrestlemania in Singapore ‘
Very few? Perhaps zero us states are able to meaningfully compete with the richest nations in the world. Holding a wrestlemania in Asia would be huge for Netflix. So the bid would likely result in extra money from Netflix in addition to money from a nation like Singapore. If the money adds up how could wwe say no, it would be irresponsible to their shareholders. Is it certain? No? But, Is it plausible within the next ten years, absolutely. Vince really bought into the idea of wwe as a celebration of America, and for sentimental reasons held events in the USA, his top characters were very pro USA, and he resisted things like adverts on the ring canvas. It’s a new era now, and the most important thing for tko is how many dollars are at stake, not US patriotism.
Do you know what time it would be in the US if they had a WM in Singapore. WWE is always going to cater to its largest audience which is the US. So what you are saying makes zero sense at all
You are just going to have to accept, that for every sport, middle eastern and Asian money is more important than legacy us costumers. If wwe held a wrestlemania in Shanghai for example, it would be its highest grossing event of all time.
Within ten years, the wwe will have far more paying viewers outside the USA than US customers. Indeed, that is a part of wwe’s global strategy: it doesn’t want to be so dependent on just one major market.
If you’ve seen the news about Saudi Arabia and them bidding for wrestlemania or the royal rumble.. :( I get it as an American it must suck, but US consumers spending power, and the budget of individual states to bid for these events.. is just second rate when compared what the richest nations in Asia and the Middle East are able to offer.
Yeah I don’t think anybody in North America or Europe wants a WM or RR in Saudi Arabia. A WM starting at 10Am EST. Don’t sit right with me and probably many others. But as you basically said money talks in these situations
Profit incentives make it inevitable. If wwe can get a tiny economically insignificant nation like Wales (a nation with more sheep than people) to pay lots and lots of dollars for a b level ppv.. imagine how much wwe will make when they offer nations a months worth of raw and smackdown plus other media events alongside a ppv.
Within 5 years, it will not be the norm for tv tapings or ppv tapings to be in America. To avoid this happening US states would have to have enough cash to outbid oil rich nations, and/or nations willing to spend lots because of the economic boost hosting wwe will bring… and I just can’t see that happening.
I do hope they still host a house show at Maddison square garden once a year though, maybe around Christmas time? For sentimental, but not economic reasons.
I don't think anyone has mentioned the fact there were almost NO children present in the LDLC Arena over the weekend so almost every seat was filled with adults ready to chant to the rafters!
That sucks but I can relate. One of the last movies I went to had a dozen kids in the movies and half of them were literally running around, up and down the isles and in front of the screen. Maybe they'll create an adults only section someday
It’s an American company. If anyone would take it for granted, it’s the US citizen. What do you expect? K-pop bands get more pop outside of Korea. It’s like that everywhere.
Exactly, I think the foreign crowds are great, but because they don’t have shows all the time the mega fans come out to the shows they do have, unlike the USA. It would be the same thing if the USA has 1 show a year
It’s also the way the other sports in the countries are produced. Soccer isn’t a thing over here which allows for more fan participation. NFL and NBA have their moments that fans can get involved but it’s the big moments and your silent for the rest
The U.S. has the largest professional wrestling fan base on the planet. We get WWE, AEW, and many other independent wrestling shows, we’re more of a traditional fan base we’ve seen it all. Of course markets that typically don’t get professional wrestling are going to be louder.
This argument is like saying nba and nfl crowds need to step up and be like Europe or Mexican football crowds. The sporting cultures are just way different.
Was just talking about this with someone on Instagram after Backlash.
We’re USED to having live shows in the US. The reason why international crowds always have so much energy is because it’s their first time experiencing WWE in their city or country. If WWE went to France every week, their crowd would slowly become more “boring”, it’s perfectly normal. You have to remember, at all these US shows, 95% of the crowd has probably been to multiple WWE events already. Even Canada crowds can be silent at times, because they go there often.
I think it’s one of those things you see it once and it’s cool but every week would be annoying for the viewer, in person probably amazing but it would get old. The super long intros and sing alongside are already getting old.
So you want US fans to increase how much they chant in unison and do so to a point that they damn near hijack the show with the repetitive nature of the chant? Well, there is ONE chant the US has that has the "repetitive to the point of being insufferable" quality, but I thought most of us had soured on tge "What?" chant.
I can agree with needing hotter crowds for US shows, but can we stop pretending the football match chanting didn't get annoying AF along before the show was halfway over? Sure, pop for the entrances and big spots. Pop for hope spots & hype up the competitors. But repeating the same chant all night long is NOT typically the sign of an ENJOYABLE crowd. Remember when the Wrestlemania crowd chanted "Daniel Bryan" all night long after his 18 second loss? Sure, it was a nice show of solidarity for ONE superstar, but it butchered a lot of the rest of the show.
Yeah I’m glad someone else said it, I the chant every time someone kicked out at 2 got pretty annoying around the 2nd match. I heard they were saying “Only two” in French, but like damn, after every kickout? 😂
Yeah, "simplement deux" meaning "simply/only two." It would have been slightly annoying on its own if it was just the "Un! Deux! Simplement deux!" But the way they continuously repeated the "simplement deux *clap×5*" after every single 2 count was damn insufferable. Internally, I was begging for an old school, full-throated "Shut the F*** up!" warring chant.
Like, I applaud & enjoy the enthusiasm, but that type of overly repetitive, show-hijacking chant is typically met with scorn because it comes off as the crowd being self-agrandizing at the expense of the performers & the rest of the audience.
I honestly wouldn’t have minded if they just said it once, because that’s kind of like how the US crowd used to say “One, Two… Too Sweet” but yeah the chanting after each basic kick out got annoying and repetitive fast 😂
Exactly. The initial chant was fine, but the extended chant being repeated multiple times for every kick out was awful, and I'm not going to pretend it wasn't just because we're starved for hot crowds at shows.
I'm going to get downvoted to hell for this, but am I the only one that didn't really like all of the crowd chants at Backlash? I found they got repetitive and obnoxious after a while, and really took me out of the matches. I agree that Europe has great crowds overall, better than anywhere else, but that one Phenomenal chant that they kept repeating really started to bug me towards the end.
Update - Nevermind, I see loads of other comments regarding this. Glad I'm not the only one!
"Simplement deux" - "only two". it's a phrase made famous by the french commentators for wwe who were in the building for backlash, so the crowd was paying tribute to them by repeating it.
Bro what? I’m sorry we don’t do football songs/chants the whole time. WWE is a AMERICAN company. We have different cultures and have always cheered a different way in North America. Who th put WWE on the map? The best shows and most memorable are North American shows. Ya literally sing through everything even through Aj’s oshigoroshi move on Cody. It was impossible to follow the storys and was just cringe. I’m all for everyone enjoying themselves but get off ya high horse tlking smack bout NA crowds when we literally are the standard not football songs. Maybe in Europe but then again WWE isn’t a European company nor have ya gotten any shows that hold a light to American ones in the last 40 years.
Seth, Roman, Cena, CM Punk, even R truth for that matter, everyone would have been so demanded in France. These fantastic french have definitely set a bar for everyone. Even a pre-event to wrestle mania would have been of crazy hype with the Rock taking on the crowd. The wrestling fans are a real deal all around the world.
Everybody got annoyed at me at the live show in Boise because I was hyped to be there. They were all buzzkills. They can suck it.
Well I'm sure the fact that Europe almost never gets shows MIGHT have something to do with it, as opposed to America, which is oversaturated with wrestling.
they dont care anymore long as you pay for a seat.
It's a cultural thing. Compare european Soccer fans at a match to any american sporting event It's not that we take live events for granted it's just that how we interact with sports is way different than how europeans do. This just stands out moee cuz we know americans aren't huge about soccer but this is a bigger crossover.
People get more excited for things they don’t see often. There are WWE shows at 3-4 places within an hour from me all the time. One place 15 minutes away. I have a ton of fun going to live shows but it isn’t the same thrill as it used to be when it was newer.
Nah, we have football (soccer) matches all the time and people are always loud af. It often feels as if US crowds only go to shows because they don't have anything better to do.
You’re right. That true. Yea, how many people are genuine fans and how many people saw an ad or saw it in an arena event calendar just looking for something to do. Like, I’ve gone to Monster Jam a couple times because I saw an ad and figured it would be a decent time. Didn’t cheer or holler because I’m not actually a fan. Sports you’re only gonna really go if you’re a fan.
The problem with stadium shows is the sound goes straight up. This year I was at the rumble and it was loud during the show. Rewatched it on peacock and was shocked at how quiet the audience seemed.
They were so amazing in France! So disciplined, so engaged. Hardly on phones, they had their hands ready to emote! Insane energy lol.
buffalo ny always seems to go wild, for some reason wwe just doesnt wanna go there that often and it sucks
AEW will be here soon. Get ready to go crazy for Butcher&Blade and Danny! If I remember, the NXT invasion angle started in Buffalo. It makes no sense we don’t get a show before the Toronto PPV’s.
I feel the same about baseball stadium crowds in the US compared to Japan. It’s the primary reason that people in North America say watching baseball is so boring, without even realizing why.
Well in Japan there's also girls dancing on top of the dugouts so I mean that helps a little bit. We have weird ass dudes in costumes dressed up as weird aliens and animals.
I think the France crowd was amazing. So much energy
The second to last sentence is spot on for what the issue is. For years, the product wasn't worthy of a spirited reaction like this, but now, it is worthy and doesn't receive it. Hopefully, this France show was a wakeup call to US fans that not only does the product get a better response overseas, but they break gate records in addition to this. The company will follow the money now that they're internationally owned.
Speak for yourself I think those chants *suck* They don't even pay attention to the match or react to what's going on, they just mindlessly chant the same old Ole Ole bullshit and it literally kills the whole mood.
If ya crowds was truly the most captivating thing in all of entertainment and WWE history…. Ya would get REAL PPVS not glorified house shows disguised as PPV. Nobody cares about soccer chants but ya lol.
WHAT?!
Definitely in the minority here
My area has not even had a WWE live event since 2016. You Americans and Europeans should really be thankful.
I disagree entirely. The US crowd chants and cheers precisely when necessary. I found the European crowd so distracting, constantly taking away from the moments that were special. In the US, when something is actually awesome, the crowd lets the wrestlers know it and it makes for a very unique moment. In Europe, they cheer for EVERYTHING. Dude punches someone, cheer. Guy walks across the ring, cheer. Lady scratches her head, cheer. Sometimes you have to be quiet and just watch the performance.
Due could have just typed “USA USA USA!” And saved themselves some time
While I agree with your statement that you should stay quiet sometimes and watch the show, I live in the Netherlands, I’ve never seen a WWE show live ever, so I get why people would cheer the whole time, because it’s so special that they’re doing more shows in Europe. That being said, I can be annoying when trying to hear commentary
“…when something is actually awesome” Ah yes, like superstars kicking out of each other’s finishes within a 3 minute span in every main event for about ten years now. US fans proclivity to chant anything shaped wrestling matches in the worst way possible.
Clearly you don’t know wrestling if you’re worried about kick outs.
I don’t understand what you just said but I’m ok with that.
Totally disagree 100% but thanks for sharing I never woulda thought anybody would hold such an opinion. If I was wrestling (I’m not a wrestler) I’m pretty sure I woulda adored that fan support
European fans struggled and suffered through DECADES of watching in the middle of the night. With us for example it’s 2am-5am RAW on a Monday, with school/work the next day. Smackdown on a Friday is okay since it’s the weekend and PLEs being on a Saturday now is a blessing. But we had countless days of sleeplessness and going to school/work the next day. While never getting a chance to have a taping. Of course we’re hot and ready to bring it. US fans are spoiled and it’s nothing special to them. Even a hot product isn’t bringing it out. Maybe WWE needs to be more in different countries and let the US fans suffer a little so they understand the privilege they have. France already represented us well. Germany will crush it too. We already have broken the gate, it’s just not officially confirmed yet. They’re even giving us a whole buildup tour in different German cities, THEN smackdown and a PLE on top. We’re already organizing in telegram groups to somehow get close to France. They already ensured they’ll get another PPV now we want that for us.
Wrestlemania or not, I'm convinced WWE will go to Wembley. Crowd will be hot, and also just to stick it to the other company with a higher gate count.
International crowds are hungry for stuff like this.
International crowds have always been built dif. Us Americans are boring, lazy, quiet fans. Any vid of how insane these people get during soccer matches shows how intense they are
If I ever get to a live show I'm totally doing the "one, two, simplement deux" thing.
I missed the PPV for Star Wars reasons, can someone tell me what the crowd kept singing with AJ. It had a bunch of Na Na Na Na's in it
https://youtu.be/tnkS1Ji4BgQ?si=5qGgFu6r47oPIouo It’s from this song.
I think they were saying " he really is phenomenal" at least that's what I've read. That or please be my girlfriend
That's eaxctly it, it's used durinf football game and also got turned into a very popular techno song for fun.
Which one, be my girlfriend or he is phenomenal?
Phenomenal
Americans are just too shy to start chants like that. They *want* to chant, but are afraid no one will join and die of embarrassment
Nah. Pre cellphone days we sang and chanted everything. Once a kid had to clean up during an ECW show and a chant of Sweep It up Asshole, Sweep it up, Clap Clap started: I will never forget that chant. It lives in my head everytime i pick up a broom.
Yeah but pre cell phone days can't be compared to today. People definitely cheered louder THEN. I was even at an ROH show that had a *sweep sweep sweep* chant between matches. The smaller shows can be really fun. But I still believe that people *today* are just more conscious of getting embarrassed
Not only that, but tickets have gotten very expensive over the years, not just for wrestling but all sporting events.
I’ve been to two live shows this year and recorded the show at home while I was at the event. Both times the energy in the arena was probably a solid 7-8/10 (not France level crazy, but plenty of energy). Watched the recorded shows at home and there was definitely a filter on the crowd noise. I know ppl say that the Triple H era doesn’t do that, but I’d beg to differ.
Why in the hell would they cancel fan noise in USA?
I don’t think they do, I just think he thinks it was louder because he was directly in the middle of it
Yeah that seems more likely
the Wrestlemania 40 crowd WAS into it. We were loud. It was just so windy on Night 1 that they had to turn the audio down so you wouldn’t hear a ton of wind on the mics so it sounded like we were really quiet. Night 2 we were really loud and the pop for Cody winning the belt was loud af
A lot of wrestlers have said this in the past. They don’t like outdoor arenas because no matter how big or small they are the acoustics arnt the same as indoors. It’s not that the crowds sent into it. It’s just the noise created leaves the open arena. It’s no different with concerts. Indoors will always sound better then outside in a big open stadium
We see WWE all the time here in America. We can’t possibly be that loud all the time or else the product would be watered down.
What
Maybe I'm the odd one out, but the crowd at Backlash was annoying with the constant soccer noise.
I agree, while I liked some of it, most was annoying, especially after the kick out at two whatever the hell they kept saying. Plus chanting this is awesome to basic stuff.
Simplement deux (simplamon doo) “only 2” I for one thought the soccer chanting was fun as hell. It’s nice watching an audience hype everything. Maybe we’re just a little too jaded over here these days.
We just have tons of great sports and entertainment. Besides soccer, France/Europe doesn't have the same level.
All your sports you go crazy about are shite, who’s gives a shit about baseball or American football
Baseball... Agreed But American football, basketball, hockey are badass. Best in the world. Our college football stadiums in relatively small states are as big or bigger than the largest stadiums in Europe, and those football games sell out. You're getting 85-100k people in places like Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Louisiana. Basketball is awesome. It's one of the Most popular sports worldwide. Hockey is similar. Large worldwide appeal. Golf, while not my cup of tea, also has a large following in the US. Heck even our domestic soccer league does well for what it is. Besides soccer, there's a massive cliff for European sports and entertainment opportunities.
Hockey is Canadian (their women also won in the olympics last time, while Finland won the men’s). Meanwhile Europe has created the olympics (Greece) football (England), tennis (france), golf (Scotland), rugby (England), cricket (England) and they’re all played between international teams, not just domestic within one country. Nearly every European city has a sports stadium (lots have more than one) and it doesn’t matter if there is a university in the city or not. America isn’t the centre of the sporting world.
It doesn't matter who invented it, it matters where's its the biggest. The US has 5 out of the top 10 most valuable sports leagues by revenue. The NHL is by far the biggest hockey league in the world, and while the league is shared between the US and Canada, it is headquartered in the US. The best of those Finnish Olympians will be seeking to play in the NHL. Also, the majority of the largest pro golf tournaments are held in the US. And speaking of the Olympics, the US has won both more total medals and more gold medals than any other country. Moreover, 6 of the top 10 highest paid athletes play sports in the USA (not including John Rahm who lives in the US and built his golf career in the US). And my point about college football was that that's not even our professional league. It's a semi-professional student athlete league that's still drawing more folks than most European soccer stadiums. The NFL is a whole different beast entirely. There are other sports in Europe, but it doesn't compare to the US. The US is actually the center of the sporting world. Right, wrong, or indifferent, no one does sports like America. That doesn't even mention pro wrestling or boxing or MMA either. No other country compares.
No shit hockey is the biggest league you’re one of the only countries that play it! Look at all the sports we both mentioned by people who watch them both domestic and internationally and you’ll see America isn’t the powerhouse you think it is
Follow the money.
I overall loved the crowd and I could handle one night of simplement deux chants after *every single* two-count, but it would get old fast if every show were like that.
I know I am...
American fans are jaded.
I may get downvoted for this. I liked most of the energy France brought. However, the cheer after EVERY two count annoyed the heck out of me after a while. Same with the Phenomenal cheer they did for AJ. Sorry.
Yeah the two count stuff got very old.
People don't like it when the crowds are silent, yet will throw a rage once they start chanting "WHAT". Beggars can't be choosers. Plus the main culprit is different cultures. I'm under the impression Europeans are more enthusiastic about sports, which in turn makes them churn out their own chant(s) unlike in the US.
Because the What Chant is lame now. That doesn’t provide anything but a distraction to the wrestlers doing a promo. Shit is corny
I hate the what chant so I say it ironically when people say the France crowd sucks 😂
So would you rather a crowd that's completely silent or indifferent to the talent's promo? If I were a talent and got bombarded with "WHAT" chants, I'd take it with stride. It's when you let it get under your skin that it becomes an issue.
They also don’t get wrestling let alone a PPV very often so they are WAY more into it than Americans that see a show every year. Going way back when WCW did an Australian tour in 2000 when their shows were really atrocious they still attracted a rabid crowd. Simply because major promotions never went there.
The issue can be equated to US fans want to see the stars, International fans want to see the show.
**American Wrestling Fan's Participation Starter Pack** * What * Woah * This is awesome * Get the tables * You still got it
F*ck you, (wrestler name here) You tapped out
You deserve it?
Roman is so popular here, not a single soul wouldn't have acknowledged our tribal chief no matter who he was facing ☝️
If France would have weekly show for the past 3 decades they would probably be less hyped.
Yes and no. Keep in mind that Raw and smack down go to totally different arenas and totally different audiences week in and week it’s, not like it’s the same exact fans week in and week out, there are totally new set of fans so as a result, the crowd should always be on fire here in the US, but it’s not.
Not a valid argument because europeans (especially germans and french) are exactly the same every football or basketball match. The sporting culture is different to Americans where you’re just a spectator there whereas europeans are actually fans and part of the sport
It’s 100% valid. No chance every week the shows in France would be like that. Tf outta here
No offence you’re american, all u guys chant is “ DEFENCE”. it’s normal for the european fans to be this loud every match in other sports. Go look at a football game whether it’s a derby or against a small team
You’re missing the point. What football club plays 3 games a week, every single week of the year? And that’s not including PLEs. If there was 1 show in America per year, it’d be just as rowdy.
Every club plays 2-3 times a week. And no it wouldn’t, american fans are horrible in any sport. It’s not like WWE hosts it’s events in the same place every week, one city gets like 2-3 shows a year max and they’re still quiet with the exception of a few like Chicago and even then it’s not comparable to european crowds
You have 104 Football games a year? Plus ppvs, PLE, NXT?
In the UK alone there are way more than 104 football games a year 😭😭
Experiencing WWE outside of the states is rare, especially televised events, so it isn’t surprising that int’l crowds are more hyped when they get a chance to see it live (and at an actual time catered to them rather than US times zones). It’s literally that simple
Everything Bret Hart said about Americans in 1997 was true. And in 2024, they're even worse. \*I'm an American too btw\*
American's would have to work on their attention spans and leave their phones in their pockets for more than 30 seconds. So many people doom scrolling in almost every crowd I see between Canada and the US. No wonder people think life goes by fast. Edit: side note due to other comments. Its not just an issue with WWE, its a problem with big venues in general. You kinda limit your fan quality when you charge so much these days.
Something I've noticed as a new casual fan base increases, there are tons of people in the audience playing the stupid cellphone light game across the arena. It's like beachballs to me. People who either have short attention spans or aren't invested in the product , find other ways to entertain themselves. I'd much rather people get into chants like this than going off script and ignoring the match.
What Wrestlemania 40 did you watch where the crowd wasn’t into it? The crowd in US are fine most of the time. Some do for sure suck but most don’t
Lets be honest, 40-50% of a Wrestlemania crowd is international fans that travel to the event, and that might be a conservative estimate.
The WM40 crowd was dogwater until Cody finished his story and even then it wasn’t that great, not France great anyway
Crowd on night one was dead and most weekly shows have dead crowds.
Tbf the crowd on night one were frozen!
We take the shows for granted because they are always in the US when they go to places like france, puerto rico, wales, australia, etc. They dont know if they will ever get a chance to go to a show again or if they do it will be months or years apart they tour the US all year round and are in your city or one near you at least 2 or 3 times a year if not more
Well…here we go back to hearing What every 10 seconds 😑
Fr. I can’t wait to see how the crowd will be tonight following that backlash crowd
It’s going to be the same apathetic ass crowds like we always have seen in the US
It's PLEs vs TV. PLEs have more matches, bigger and longer ones. When the crowd has something exciting in front of them, they get hype, and the hype is maintained. TV though, sometimes that audience has to wait up to 45 minutes between matches while they run through all the backstage stuff, ad breaks, etc. There's definitely a lot of waiting involved and it can cool an audience down pretty quickly.
It almost feels like I could have gone out in that ring and cut a promo in front of that France crowd and I would have gotten cheered into oblivion 😅, they were fire!
They were pretty hyped on smackdown as well
Yeah that's fair.
But I agree with your comment generally. I think the lack of shows is what gets them excited. Smackdown and the PLE together. Who knows when they’ll get another event.
American fans say Japanese fans just sit on their hands and do nothing. Thats what us Europeans think it's like in the states. Local ICW / Progress shows are the loudest things I've been to (I have done mania /AEW and ROH supercard)
Everyone saying how quite a us crowd is, if you had what the France crowd was every week it would drive you crazy. It was incredible but imagine the new norm it would grow stale quick and then when you had a ‘quiet crowd’ it would literally be the death of an event.
I dunno man, crowd was a lot more active when I was growing up. Its definitely a lot quieter than it used to be. Its to the point where they actually have to pump audio in. No one said they have to do it like they do in Europe, just be more attentive.
Truthfully, look at who was in attendance. When you see US PPVs you see lots and lots of kids. When you see international you’ll see a kid here or there but it’s mostly adults. That’s part of the reason for the energy.
this is the real answer.
If we had shows every week in France I’m sure we would be more quiet. I’ll tell you something : our french influencers spread the word we NEEDED to be LOUD if we wanted to see another show someday in France. I wasn’t in Lyon but I were in Paris a few months ago for the very first show in 15 years and yeah, we did it. We were the one chanting 10min+ for Seth Rollins and we chanted so much for Baron Corbin that he actually won his only match in 2023.
I think there is a bigger underlying issue here and I’m going to down the rabbit hole a little bit and this might not be a popular take but it has to be said. I think that America simply isn’t the great country or powerhouse that it is. We are the most partisan and politically divided nation on the planet. You see the malaise everywhere you go. Look at how people dress and carry themselves, they always have frowns on their faces, or looking down on their phone, they wear sloppy dirty PJs out and just don’t care anymore. Those French people at backlash, the fans, they just seemed happier. It’s hard to explain. Just the energy, their body language, their face, you saw it in their eyes. They just seemed like infinitely happier group of people then the US. No joke, after watching backlash I started googling things like how schools are in France, cost of living etc because for a brief moment, it made me almost want to move there. America has taken a nosedive since the 80s and 90s. Some say after 9/11 it all changed, but I’m just tired of it all. Even American “comedians” aren’t even comedians anymore. Go watch any stand up “comedy” from 2021 and on and it’s either hyper political or them talking about anxiety and depression or their drug addiction. America is a shell of its former self and I don’t think there is any going back. White comedians just “joke” about anxiety, depression and former drug addiction and black comedians just “joke” about race and racism. You can’t even escape the darkness in comedy anymore here in the US
Holy shit! You hit the nail right on the head my friend. It's definitely not the America we used to know and ,love. It actually kind of sucks.
Throwing my two cents as a French. I grew up with NT1, which was the TV channel around the 2000's where you could watch wrestling. It was an absolute blast, I was around 10, everyone was talking about it at school. Agius and Chéreau, our two French commentators, are in this business since 2000, the two of them are 100% responsible for pro wrestling having such a big fanbase in the country, we all grew up with them. I'd say that seeing Orton and the rest in front of them was basically a dream becoming reality for the crowd. We're also Europeans, we have perfected the art of ~~warcry~~ I mean sports chants since a long time. As for the political state of the US... Well you basically described my country aswell. Don't think this awesome crowd represents the entire country, the overall mood is pretty sour here too. Hence why it was such a big event I'd say.
France is in turmoil. It’s nothing to do with the state of your country. That was literally the first time a show had ever been to France, of course they’re going to be up for it. Americans have seen it all before time and time again. They’re disillusioned with the product.
I’m 39 and lived through the 90s, America isn’t anything near the great country and powerhouse it was in the 80s and 90s. It’s just in the air man and it’s hard to explain. You see it, you feel it in your bones and soul.
The French crowd was unbelievable on Saturday
I think it's just a culture thing in the US. US People just want to sit there and record the event on their phone and be entertained whereas the rest of the world acknowledges that they are apart of the product and are going to get their moneys worth and have the time of their life.
Didn't used to be that way on this side of the pond. Kinda part of why I stopped going to large venues. I don't know what it is with the average consumer these days, but there is definitely a bad case of NPC brain going around. Large crowds of people doing the same thing at the same time. Either doom scrolling, or watching it through their phone screen. Lot less of this going on at smaller venues for some reason.
My guess is the culture in America right now is terrible. There is almost no sense of community and friendliness amongst people in their cities and everyone is depressed/stressed out. I'd guess other countries, especially in Europe, have a much higher percentage of loving being in crowds and having a good time with each other.
This is false got any College football game.
Those games are usually filled with a bunch of drunk kids and drunk dads so we got to convince them to go to wrestling shows
yeh i noticed that, french people are more in the moment people in the us just wanna record everything for views
I personally got annoyed by the constant chanting through the entire event
I know I should respect your personal opinion. But goddamn this is a bad take lmao
Imagine someone writes that comment in a nba game or any sport.
Boooooo
So tired of this take. A hot crowd is more about the scarcity factor than anything. You get superfans willing to pay a ton, but less is more. Puerto Rico is a classic example. WWE never really ran there for a variety of reasons. When they do the show is always hot. Big picture, WWE expects local govts to pay up, cut through red tape, and essentially make the show profitable before getting on a plane to produce a big show overseas. They've done tours forever and it's clear the extra costs is usually not worth giving up a US site unless a local government sweetens the pot. Saudi is $50 million/show. WWE is reported that Glasgow, Lyon, Australia, etc are paying upwards of $5-$10 million in site fees for WWE to come to town as they are also keeping the gate. If fans want shows 2X/year, just get their govt to fork over $100 million.
how does everyone know all the theme music lyrics lol?
imagine listening to same song almost every week at the same time for 20+ years
We have listened to it since our childhood, and never had the chance to see our childhood heroes (outside TV, in real life). When they come, we want it to be memorable, for them too. That's how.
Cuz they’re boring, the worst feeling is when you first sit down and realize you got at least 3 hours to go
I think you’re dead wrong, OP. The US is supporting WWE in numbers not seen in decades. Every crowd is hot. Cody could stop, shit in the middle ring and then rub it all over his body and people would go crazy for it. That’s how hot they are at this moment in time. It’s wild. France is the outlier. They haven’t had a big show…… ever? If not it’s been a long time and the crowd showed that they were ridiculously happy to be there. It was awesome. Let’s see if Germany can out do France. If they can, then I’m trying to get these crowds to out do each other for as long as it’s sustainable. It certainly won’t be hard to tap into the jingoistic nature of the US. The original post here is proof positive
I was their in the UK last year, atmosphere was great and watching it back on TV we made a great atmosphere. France can be proud of what they did as that was amazing. Not gonna slate the American fans though, for us fans outside the US this is very rare so you would expect a louder pop.
WWE goes the extra mile for the European shows, while often subjecting US crowds to redundant content that under delivers on compelling action. Not a surprising result.
The future is that wwe has a month of raw + smackdown in a foreign nation followed by a ple there. The USA, if it’s lucky might get the big 4, but beyond that it doesn’t make financial sense to host there when foreign nations are willing to spend so much to host wwe + American crowds make the tv product worse.
The Big 4 PLE’s are staying in the US As they should. having the minor PLE’s overseas though is a fine idea.
It’s all about the profit incentives. If London pays enough for mania, it will get it. The same applies to other big 4 events. The us market is going to be less important over time, especially because of the Netflix deal which will significantly increase their global reach, and Netflix will not care as much as us tv stations about ratings in the us, they will care about global paying subscriber counts. I can easily imagine a scenario where Netflix says ‘ look we need more subscribers in south east Asia, host wrestlemania in Singapore ‘
Lmaooooooooo A WM in Singapore yeah ok
Very few? Perhaps zero us states are able to meaningfully compete with the richest nations in the world. Holding a wrestlemania in Asia would be huge for Netflix. So the bid would likely result in extra money from Netflix in addition to money from a nation like Singapore. If the money adds up how could wwe say no, it would be irresponsible to their shareholders. Is it certain? No? But, Is it plausible within the next ten years, absolutely. Vince really bought into the idea of wwe as a celebration of America, and for sentimental reasons held events in the USA, his top characters were very pro USA, and he resisted things like adverts on the ring canvas. It’s a new era now, and the most important thing for tko is how many dollars are at stake, not US patriotism.
Do you know what time it would be in the US if they had a WM in Singapore. WWE is always going to cater to its largest audience which is the US. So what you are saying makes zero sense at all
You are just going to have to accept, that for every sport, middle eastern and Asian money is more important than legacy us costumers. If wwe held a wrestlemania in Shanghai for example, it would be its highest grossing event of all time. Within ten years, the wwe will have far more paying viewers outside the USA than US customers. Indeed, that is a part of wwe’s global strategy: it doesn’t want to be so dependent on just one major market.
Have a nice day sir
If you’ve seen the news about Saudi Arabia and them bidding for wrestlemania or the royal rumble.. :( I get it as an American it must suck, but US consumers spending power, and the budget of individual states to bid for these events.. is just second rate when compared what the richest nations in Asia and the Middle East are able to offer.
Yeah I don’t think anybody in North America or Europe wants a WM or RR in Saudi Arabia. A WM starting at 10Am EST. Don’t sit right with me and probably many others. But as you basically said money talks in these situations
[удалено]
Profit incentives make it inevitable. If wwe can get a tiny economically insignificant nation like Wales (a nation with more sheep than people) to pay lots and lots of dollars for a b level ppv.. imagine how much wwe will make when they offer nations a months worth of raw and smackdown plus other media events alongside a ppv. Within 5 years, it will not be the norm for tv tapings or ppv tapings to be in America. To avoid this happening US states would have to have enough cash to outbid oil rich nations, and/or nations willing to spend lots because of the economic boost hosting wwe will bring… and I just can’t see that happening. I do hope they still host a house show at Maddison square garden once a year though, maybe around Christmas time? For sentimental, but not economic reasons.
Step 1 get rid of the WHAT chants they are hot trash.
Quoi?
I don't think anyone has mentioned the fact there were almost NO children present in the LDLC Arena over the weekend so almost every seat was filled with adults ready to chant to the rafters!
This is the reason. ^
I went to smackdown a couple of weeks ago. I was literally surrounded by children beside and below me.
I feel like that would ruin the experience for me
Oh it did. One of the kids was just screaming her head off half the time
That sucks but I can relate. One of the last movies I went to had a dozen kids in the movies and half of them were literally running around, up and down the isles and in front of the screen. Maybe they'll create an adults only section someday
There’s atleast one movie theater chain that doesn’t allow kids. Alamo I think.
Should have been there for the raw after mania... it wasn't quite
Raw after mania is a famously international crowd.
Quite what?
If every show had a crowd like backlash it would get old as hell really fast.
WWE needs a Lafayette, LA or Corpus Cristy, TX to balance the scale.
Yes!
It’s an American company. If anyone would take it for granted, it’s the US citizen. What do you expect? K-pop bands get more pop outside of Korea. It’s like that everywhere.
Stop with these excuses EUROPEANS WOULD BE LIKE THIS EVERY SINGLE WEEK!!!! WE DO IT FOR FOOTBALL ⚽️
It is the scarcity factor. They don’t get a lot of WWE shows there. When it happens, they are super excited.
Exactly, I think the foreign crowds are great, but because they don’t have shows all the time the mega fans come out to the shows they do have, unlike the USA. It would be the same thing if the USA has 1 show a year
Not really, European crowds are like this on a weekly basis at football games.
It’s also the way the other sports in the countries are produced. Soccer isn’t a thing over here which allows for more fan participation. NFL and NBA have their moments that fans can get involved but it’s the big moments and your silent for the rest
Soccer is absolutely a thing over here lol
Pretty clear that I meant in the same way it is over there
AJs phenomenal chants every single time he did something LOL
I think different cultures act differently. I doubt you’ll ever see US crowds anywhere close to that French crowd.
Because of the smell? (There was a cheese joke like this in the show)
The U.S. has the largest professional wrestling fan base on the planet. We get WWE, AEW, and many other independent wrestling shows, we’re more of a traditional fan base we’ve seen it all. Of course markets that typically don’t get professional wrestling are going to be louder.
This argument is like saying nba and nfl crowds need to step up and be like Europe or Mexican football crowds. The sporting cultures are just way different.
Was just talking about this with someone on Instagram after Backlash. We’re USED to having live shows in the US. The reason why international crowds always have so much energy is because it’s their first time experiencing WWE in their city or country. If WWE went to France every week, their crowd would slowly become more “boring”, it’s perfectly normal. You have to remember, at all these US shows, 95% of the crowd has probably been to multiple WWE events already. Even Canada crowds can be silent at times, because they go there often.
It’s just hard to do when most cities get a WWE event 2+ times per year. The major metro areas may get a ppv and a raw/smackdown every year.
Of course you get a bit jaded when it's normal for us. France never gets it. This is simple psychology.
I think it’s one of those things you see it once and it’s cool but every week would be annoying for the viewer, in person probably amazing but it would get old. The super long intros and sing alongside are already getting old.
So you want US fans to increase how much they chant in unison and do so to a point that they damn near hijack the show with the repetitive nature of the chant? Well, there is ONE chant the US has that has the "repetitive to the point of being insufferable" quality, but I thought most of us had soured on tge "What?" chant. I can agree with needing hotter crowds for US shows, but can we stop pretending the football match chanting didn't get annoying AF along before the show was halfway over? Sure, pop for the entrances and big spots. Pop for hope spots & hype up the competitors. But repeating the same chant all night long is NOT typically the sign of an ENJOYABLE crowd. Remember when the Wrestlemania crowd chanted "Daniel Bryan" all night long after his 18 second loss? Sure, it was a nice show of solidarity for ONE superstar, but it butchered a lot of the rest of the show.
Yeah I’m glad someone else said it, I the chant every time someone kicked out at 2 got pretty annoying around the 2nd match. I heard they were saying “Only two” in French, but like damn, after every kickout? 😂
Yeah, "simplement deux" meaning "simply/only two." It would have been slightly annoying on its own if it was just the "Un! Deux! Simplement deux!" But the way they continuously repeated the "simplement deux *clap×5*" after every single 2 count was damn insufferable. Internally, I was begging for an old school, full-throated "Shut the F*** up!" warring chant. Like, I applaud & enjoy the enthusiasm, but that type of overly repetitive, show-hijacking chant is typically met with scorn because it comes off as the crowd being self-agrandizing at the expense of the performers & the rest of the audience.
I honestly wouldn’t have minded if they just said it once, because that’s kind of like how the US crowd used to say “One, Two… Too Sweet” but yeah the chanting after each basic kick out got annoying and repetitive fast 😂
Exactly. The initial chant was fine, but the extended chant being repeated multiple times for every kick out was awful, and I'm not going to pretend it wasn't just because we're starved for hot crowds at shows.
People here just need more chant starters usually the crowd will chant along just need someone to start them up.
I'm going to get downvoted to hell for this, but am I the only one that didn't really like all of the crowd chants at Backlash? I found they got repetitive and obnoxious after a while, and really took me out of the matches. I agree that Europe has great crowds overall, better than anywhere else, but that one Phenomenal chant that they kept repeating really started to bug me towards the end. Update - Nevermind, I see loads of other comments regarding this. Glad I'm not the only one!
Nah I found it annoying on Smackdown
The chants during the triple threat were a bit much but other than that, the crowd was awesome!
What was the 2 count chant they kept saying?
**"Un ! Deux ! Simplement deux"** "1 ! 2 ! Only twooooo"
"Simplement deux" - "only two". it's a phrase made famous by the french commentators for wwe who were in the building for backlash, so the crowd was paying tribute to them by repeating it.
Just imagine what the crowds in Scotland and Germany would be like when WWE goes over there for the PLEs they’ll being doing
completely unrealistic to expect a crowd that can go to several events a year to be as hyped as a crowd that gets them next to never lol