Opinion

Cook’s Top 5: Worst Wrestling Crowds

As SummerSlam heads to “Bizarro World,” Steve Cook takes a look at wrestling’s worst crowds!

Published

6 years ago

August 9, 2019

Steve Cook

As SummerSlam heads to “Bizarro World,” Steve Cook takes a look at wrestling’s worst crowds!

SummerSlam is taking place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It’s tough to make too many predictions, especially when most of the card is still in flux, but there is one thing that I can pretty much guarantee will happen:

At some point in the evening, the phrase “Bizarro World” will be uttered by an announcer.

See, Toronto has a tendency to react to things in a way WWE doesn’t expect. Sometimes it’s just cheering all the Canadians. Other times, it’s crapping all over a match that WWE thinks will get over big. Then sometimes they’ll just boo the top babyface. Or they’ll cheer Hulk Hogan so hard that his decrepit ass will get a title run. You just never know with these folks.

I like Toronto, for the most part. I can live without Drake, but most of it’s ok with me. The wrestling fans are cool too. Here are five crowds that I’m not as high on…

5. Long Island

New York City is known as the worldwide hub of pro wrestling. WWE has had some of its greatest events in Madison Square Garden & the Manhattan Center. ECW & Ring of Honor have torn it up in the Hammerstein Ballroom. I know there are like ten other venues within the city limits I’m forgetting about. The area has always been hot for wrestling.

But when you head over to Long Island…all that excitement fades something fierce. The Nassau Coliseum was known for years as one of WWE’s worst venues for audience reaction. Maybe it was the perception that MSG got all the good stuff while Nassau got the leftovers. Then you have the Barclays Center, which WWE is trying to turn into their new MSG, but is infested with hipsters that are more interested in getting themselves over than watching the wrestling. Maybe they’ll become the crowd WWE wants them to be at some point.

4. ECW/CZW/The/2300 Arena

Call it what you want, but that bingo hall at the corner of Swanson & Rittner has seen some wrestling through the years. After ECW came through and showed there was a regular crowd that would go watch wrestling there every month, every independent promotion tried to follow in their footsteps.

It wasn’t the worst idea in the world, but at some point every venue gets burned out. CZW had countless shows with 200 people in the Arena that didn’t make any noise and couldn’t have looked less thrilled to be there. At some point, going to wrestling shows became a chore for Arena regulars. They’d seen everything after years of hardcore violence. Ring of Honor ran some TV tapings there and didn’t get any better of a reaction. Sometimes, you just have to let a place go.

3. Impact Zone

Most of the crowd traits we complain about today started in the Impact Zone. Universal Studios Florida played host to TNA Impact episodes from 2004 until 2013, and took the company back later that year when the idea of touring nationally didn’t go as well as hoped. TNA wasn’t able to charge admission, as the soundstage was part of the Universal theme park. Some regulars attended shows, but most of the time there were people just coming through.

WCW had held TV tapings at Universal & Disney MGM Studios previously, and the crowds were generally oblivious to what was going on. They would cheer when the APPLAUSE sign came on, which worked fine for WCW purposes. By the time TNA rolled around, wrestling fans in general were smarkier. The regulars in the crowd came up with some amusing chants and were big on the dueling chants. “This Is Awesome” became a thing thanks to the Impact Zone. That alone puts it on the list.

2. Mid-South Wrestling

We’ve all heard the stories about those crazy Oklahoma & Louisiana crowds back in the day. If you’ve listened to any of Jim Cornette’s historical talk he’s gone on about how those Mid-South crowds wanted to kill him & the Midnight Express. Because they believed it was real, they thought the heels were really nasty people and wanted to fight them. Pretty much any bad guy had to fight for their life to get out of the arena. Guys like Cornette & Bill Watts put this over as a good thing, and a sign of how the business has deteoriated from the good ol’ days when men were men, women were women & the sheep were scared.

What am I missing here? Maybe it’s just me, but a crowd full of angry drunken rednecks trying to fight wrestlers sounds like the exact opposite of a good crowd. It’s one thing to loudly cheer & boo, enjoy the show & have a good time. It’s another to attack wrestlers & end up spending the night in jail with a black eye or two. These dumb fools were the original “fans trying to get themselves over”.

1. WWE Hall of Fame

The 2004 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is one of my favorite DVDs. I could listen to those classic speeches from the likes of Bobby Heenan, Harley Race, Jesse Ventura and others over and over again. I have! Something changed once 2005 rolled around, and subsequent HOF events haven’t been nearly as enjoyable as 2004.

The problem is obvious to me: 2004’s event wasn’t open to the public. It was held at the Hilton Hotel in New York City, in front of WWE Superstars & family & friends & whatnot. After that event was a success, WWE figured out they could make some money out of selling tickets to it. So fans started attending, and acted dumber & dumber with each passing year. An inductee can’t make a speech without people chanting “ONE LAST MATCH” or doing other things to interrupt speeches. Heck, this year saw some idiot attack Bret Hart while he was doing a speech.

It’s not all the fans’ fault, really. You can’t want your fans to act like manaics at every other event and expect them to behave & treat people with respect one night of the year.

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

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About Chairshot Radio Network

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1