WWE Mishandles Situation with Fans Wearing Costumes at Raw
Rather than embrace ardent fandom, WWE jabbed it with a needle, forcing several fans to remove their wrestler costumes at Monday's Raw.
WWE should celebrate its most rabid fans, not scold them. There was an opportunity in the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, to add electricity to Monday's show, to increase its spectacle. Instead, the company deflated enthusiasm by micromanaging.
Kris Laufer, Joe Clarke, Zach Schladetzky and Matt Sheridan were among a group of 10 friends who plunked down cash for front-row seats when WWE traveled Monday to Des Moines. The longtime fans donned costumes and prepared for a night of cheering to see Iowa native Seth Rollins in action.
Clarke dressed as Irwin R. Schyster, Laufer went as The Ultimate Warrior, and Schladetzky paid tribute to the late Paul Bearer. The costumed congregation also included fans dressed as Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Big Boss Man, Nikolai Volkoff, Jake Roberts and Sgt. Slaughter.
Laufer shared this shot of the group:
The kaleidoscopic display of passion didn't go unnoticed by WWE staff.
Minutes into the show, security demanded that the group change clothing. Security told the group that it was too distracting. If they didn't take off their costumes, they would be removed from their seats.
Schladetzky said of the guards, "They were polite and friendly but were adamant that we had to take off our outfits or be moved."
A walk of shame followed, Laufer, Clarke and Co. leaving their seats to trade their costumes for T-shirts that WWE provided for them. Laufer said, "It's hard to walk back to your seats after something like [that] without feeling like you were just reprimanded in front of thousands of people."
Laufer tweeted a picture of the fans sans costumes:
The friends were not unruly. They didn't look to take over the show. They did what avid fans of many a medium do: cosplay.
Clarke says, "We weren't being over the top or distracting."
On how the group behaved before being asked to change, Laufer explains, "We made sure not draw any undue attention to ourselves and planned to boo/cheer the appropriate people as to not draw the ire of anyone backstage [outside of Iowa native Seth Rollins who we did cheer for]."
He also adds, "We were preemptively given an unpleasant ultimatum by WWE based on something we might do."
In other avenues, this kind of enthusiasm-through-attire is encouraged. The folks filling the Cleveland Browns' Dawg Pound section regularly wear rubber bones on their heads or dog masks over their faces. The Oakland Raiders fanbase is famous for treating home games like Halloween.
Dressing up hadn't even been a problem for these fans in Iowa for previous shows. The Savage, Flair and Warrior trio have attended WWE events for a few years with no issues. Laufer says that this was their fourth event in costume.
Why stomp out the fun now, then?
The explanation has revolved around the word "distraction." PWInsider's Mike Johnson writes, "The reality is that WWE is also producing a show that is being broadcast in HD and in high definition, anything that could be seen as a distraction to the viewer has to go."
WWE announced the move to HD in 2008. Laufer and his friends have been attending shows in costume well after that. The broadcast being in HD can't be the only issue.
Screaming, cheering, decked-out fans in the background shouldn't be an issue. They are more of a benefit than a detriment.
Watching grown men in Savage and I.R.S. costumes roar as Roman Reigns hits a spear or gasp when Sting leaps out of the shadows only makes those moments more memorable. If they started to try to hijack the show, then ask them to change. If they are simply adding a colorful, energetic element to the images on screen, it's silly to think that's a bad thing.
The group of friends were still in costume during AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella. They are barely noticeable, much less diverting attention away from the performers:
The fans in attendance loved these friends' passion. It surely bettered their experience.
Sheridan wrote on Reddit that the friends stayed 45 minutes after the show to take pictures with fans. Schladetzky adds, "We took around, if not more than, 50 photos with fans throughout the night who all told us they love us, love what we're doing and made their kids night by snapping a photo with them."
Even WWE's top dog dug the fans' outfits. Clarke says that John Cena came down and told them that he loved the costumes.
Spreading this kind of zeal for the product can only help it. Watching other people get pumped about something is contagious. WWE should be promoting this kind of fandom. Instead, it discouraged it.
The company handled the aftermath much better.
Writing for The Washington Post, Marissa Payne reports that "WWE offered an apology on Tuesday to Sheridan and two other members of the group who independently wrote to the WWE."
WWE also offered the fans free tickets to a future show. It didn't give the friends an answer about dressing up in the future.
Rather than Laufer and his friends leaving that show feeling like they got their money's worth, that they would most certainly fork over another $1,000 the next time WWE stopped in Des Moines, the company leaves the friends disappointed and in search of answers.
Sheridan wrote in his letter to WWE, "All I am looking for is an explanation as to why you would boot fans who spend the time, energy, and money on advocating your product. Seems like just the kind of people you would want in your corner."
Schladetzky says, "We're simply paying tribute to some of our favorite wrestlers of the past and having fun while doing so." For Laufer, he said the situation soured the experience.
He says, "We are some of WWE's biggest advocates, and we felt like we were unceremoniously kicked to the curb."
That's far from the best way to encourage these men from spending so much of their money on WWE shows again. Rabid fans walked into the Wells Fargo Arena. WWE treated them like kids who tracked mud in the house.
Even so, the kind of fan passion that inspires a group of friends to buy a pile of tickets and dress like some of WWE's most memorable characters doesn't die easily. Sheridan tells WWE, "For the record, I am still in your corner, however disappointed I may be."
All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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