Dave Bautista’s return to WWE in 2014 seemed hamstrung out of the gate, and that fact isn’t lost on the talented wrestler.
He’s gone into detail many times about conflicting creative visions for his character, but in a recent interview with Alex Greenfield on his The Writer’s Room Podcast for MLW, Bautista got a bit candid about how the audience at times affected him during his second run with the company (via Cageside Seats).
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“I was really confused by the way the crowd was acting, they had changed a lot since I left and somebody said to me and it stuck in my head, “it’s monkey see, monkey do”. If somebody starts doing something the rest of the people will start doing it. And it was also – the crowd, they don’t really want to watch the show and they don’t really want to participate in the show. They want to be the show. It really seemed true sometimes. It was like, they didn’t even care what was going on in the ring. They just wanted – they wanted to be the show, they wanted to be the highlight of the show.”
It’s not an unheard of complaint, and it seems to coincide with WWE’s changing focus on more reality-based storytelling methods. Partly it’s due to crowds feeling that their opinions are much more informed as an unprecedented level of behind the scenes information is readily available through social media and news outlets. Their responses to wrestlers and angles are also actively used in storylines for characters, which has helped feed their want to somehow control a bit of that direction themselves.
That might be the new way of things, but it doesn’t sit well with Bautista.
“And I always say, if you want to be the highlight of the show, go to f****** wrestling school. Lace up your god**** boots, take your bumps like everybody else and you go through the steps, man. Start off with a wrestling camp. But don’t come and not, you know, watch the show and give the performers the respect they deserve. You know, they’re out there beating themselves half to hell for you, to entertain you and you can’t even give them the respect of just watching the show. We’re all for interaction, but don’t try to steal the show by chanting, start chanting stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with what’s going on in the ring. C’mon, man, pay attention. Be a fan. That’s your job. You be a fan, I’ll be a wrestler. You know, if you want to be a wrestler, go to wrestling school. Start there.”
Those are strong words, and I do feel as if he brings up some valid points. I can’t be alone in my distaste for the umpteenth “WHAT!” or “CM Punk” chant shouted out by the crowd when someone is trying to talk or worse when a match is going on in the ring. I get it, it might not be the hottest act in town, but these are still performers doing their best to put on a show. There has to be some meeting in the middle.
What the exact solution is, I’m not sure, but it’s an interesting discussion, and one worth having. At least we know where Bautista sits on the subject. You can listen to the entire podcast here.
