WrestleMania 28: How Crowd Reactions Make or Break Live Events

When WWE’s premiere event, Wrestlemania 28, hits Miami in just a few days, the only thing certain will be the fact that the crowd in Sun Life Stadium will be rocking.

With a maximum capacity of 75,192 people for football games, it’s hard to believe that there won’t be even more people there with the extra room on the field. While the number doesn’t guarantee a great crowd reaction, it never hurts to have that many wrestling fans in one spot.

How the Miami crowd reacts to the matches on April 1 will have as much to do with the success of the PPV as the performers and what they do in the ring. Just like every wrestling show in history, crowd reactions make or break live events.

Gives Superstars a Chance to Pander

When the crowd is getting behind a match and letting their voices be heard, it’s easy for a wrestler to play off of that energy and feed into it. Just like Mick Foley and The Rock have perfected, pandering to the crowd is as easy as dropping the city’s name in a promo.

Finally, Donny has come back to Bleacher Report (huge mental pop).

The main goal as a wrestler is to sell yourself to the people in the crowd and on television. If the fans buy into their gimmick, wrestlers will continue to be pushed and rise through the ranks of the company.

WrestleMania 28 will be a great chance for the younger WWE superstars to work with a crowd that wants to have fun and get behind matches. If a star can’t whip this Miami crowd into a frenzy, they will never be able to.

Forces Everyone to Bring Their A-Game

From the guys that set up the ring to the heavyweight champion, when the company knows that a crowd will be into an event, the group as a whole steps up their games.

Heading to cities like Philadelphia, New York and Chicago that have such storied wrestling traditions means that no matter the size of the promotion, there will be ravenous fans looking to get involved.

If two wrestlers get in the ring and mail in their effort, a true wrestling crowd will not only disapprove of what they see, they will vocally express it. While wrestlers and promotions want heat on their heels, there is a difference between good heat and true distaste.

With so much emphasis on the event, that shouldn’t be a problem at WrestleMania.

Booing or Cheering, As Long As They Care

When The Rock and John Cena square off in the main event of this year’s WrestleMania, the crowd reaction will be unlike anything we have seen in a long time.

If and when John Cena wins, I expect to hear one of the wildest reactions in WWE history, comparable to Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock at WrestleMania 18.

With such a clear line drawn in the sand between the opponents, the fan basses have gone to war via crowd reactions. The dueling “Let’s go Cena” and “Cena Sucks” chants have resonated through buildings across America, but at the outdoor stadium in Miami, they will be unleashed on the world.

No matter who wins or how the crowd reacts, booing or cheering, as long as they feel a strong emotion at the conclusion of the bout, it was a success.

Wrestling is supposed to tug at your emotions. WrestleMania will do plenty of that this year.

Check back for more on the World Wrestling Entertainment as it comes, and visit Bleacher Report’s Wrestling Page to get your fill of WWE/TNA. For more Wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics you just can’t miss (some language NSFW).

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