wrestling

'WE WANT REFUNDS!': How Philly hijacked Royal Rumble and spoke for millions

"Anybody who will ever watch Royal Rumble 2015 will hear the hell Philly unleashed."

WWE.com

I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder to be in a Philly crowd than I was last night during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Wells Fargo Center and oddly enough, it was not a happy time at all. Were we loud? Yes. Were we brutal? Yes. But with the praise we’re receiving, from Bill Simmons to long Reddit threads, it’s clear that we channeled the anger of millions of wrestling fans around the world who have repeatedly been burned by the company.

Whether or not you’re a pro wrestling fan, to fully understand what happened last night during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Wells Fargo Center, one needs to look no further than the aftermath: immediately following the event, the top trending topic in the world was #CancelWWENetwork, the company’s subscription-based streaming service, which broadcasts their live pay-per-views including the annual Royal Rumble. With the network already struggling, it’s safe to say that WWE really does not need a PR fiasco like this. But late Sunday night, Twitter was flooded with screencaps of fans canceling their subscriptions. So many, in fact, that the WWE Network’s website soon crashed.

So what happened to drive all of these angry fans over the edge?

After an admittedly incredible Triple Threat title bout, the winner of this year’s Royal Rumble match—where 30 wrestlers enter one-by-one, but only a single last man standing is awarded an eventual shot at the World Heavyweight Championship—was Roman Reigns. Crowd favorite Daniel Bryan was eliminated midway through. To an overwhelming majority of the fans in attendance, this was tantamount to a slap in the face. And we gave it right back to them, tenfold.

But to understand the anger, you need to know some backstory: Over the past year or so, Reigns has been pushed as the future of the WWE. And although he’s got the look and ability of a megastar, it’s obvious to pretty much everyone — except for head honcho Vince McMahon — that he’s just not yet ready to carry the company on his shoulders. (Take a look at this cringeworthy compilation of some of his recent promo interviews.) It’s not that we don’t like him; it’s just that it’s too soon for the young guy to be the top star.

On the flip side of Reigns is the universally loved Daniel Bryan. He’s the classic lovable underdog, representing the heart of the WWE fans. He doesn’t fit the tall bodybuilder mold of the WWE, but he’s hands-down the best performer on the roster. While the fans feel that Reigns is being shoved down our throats, Bryan’s relationship with the crowd came organically. The snowball effect of his immense popularity started with last year’s Rumble event, when the crowd booed relentlessly after Bryan was kept out of the match. It led to a long, uphill battle, when he realized his dream of winning the World Heavyweight Championship at last year’s WrestleMania. Unfortunately, this beautiful storyline was cut short after Bryan was forced to undergo major real life neck surgery, putting him out of action for nine months.

So, when it became seemingly obvious that Reigns wasn’t ready and with Bryan now back in the ring, much of the fan base felt that this was the company’s chance to let Bryan win Rumble and begin the road to the championship reign that he never truly got. Plus, after last year’s debacle, the WWE surely wouldn’t make such a huge, disappointing mistake yet again, especially here in Philadelphia, the storied home of ECW. Right?

Cut to Sunday. Bryan receives the biggest reaction of the night, leading the entire audience in his trademark “Yes!” chant. And not even 12 minutes later, after eliminating only one other participant, Bryan is unceremoniously knocked off the ring apron by creepy cult leader Bray Wyatt. The crowd is stunned. Is this really happening? Are they really this blind?

From my section, I could see Bryan walk back to the locker room with an incredibly angry look on his face. It might have just been to sell his disappointment with the result for the audience, but I can’t imagine some of that rage wasn’t legitimate. The boos were rained down immediately. WWE must have expected this, but probably thought we’d tire ourselves out soon. They clearly had underestimated the punishment a pissed-off Philly crowd could dish out.

Before Roman Reigns’ music was even finished during his entrance, the Philly crowd had it out for him. Everyone realized that obviously, Reigns was going to win — unless they were going to throw us a curveball with another fan favorite like Dolph Ziggler or Dean Ambrose … but these short hopes were quickly dashed after both were soon eliminated. It was if Vince McMahon was punishing us.

Before the night was over, the crowd not only requested refunds, rooted for evil Russian superheel Rusev to win the match, in the Birthplace of America, but we began booing The Rock after he came to Reigns’ rescue. That’s unheard of. The Rock is maybe the single most beloved athlete in WWE history and he got booed. His nickname is The People’s Champ. It was that bad. (The Rock, not to mention Reigns, looked pissed off after getting showered with nonstop boos, but trust me, Rock: that hurt us more than it hurt you.)

In watching the event back, even on TV the audience’s reaction was so loud. Everyone who watched heard it. Anybody who will ever watch Royal Rumble 2015 will hear the hell Philly unleashed. You can’t help but feel that this is the catalyst for a change in this company. That they’ll actually start listening to the fans. Because if a reaction like that doesn’t tip off a company that you’re doing something wrong, then I don’t know what will.

Either way, I’m proud of us. And I’m especially proud of whoever brought this sign.