(Sip of beer) Hey yo! (Another sip of beer) It`s time for a survey! (Another sip of beer) How many of you all out there think chanting WHAT!? is hot? (Another sip of beer) Or (Another sip of beer) or how many of you all out there think chanting WHAT!? is not hot? (Another sip of beer).
My signature best sums up my feelings about "What?"
"Say 'what' again. SAY 'WHAT' AGAIN! I dare you, I double dare you, motherf--ker! Say 'what' one more goddamn time!" -- Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction (1994)
I'm as sick of it as anybody, but it really goes to show how bored people get with all the talking ont he show. Notice that a legitimately good promo will shut up the "WHAT"s real quick. [Except for Angle, because being the brilliance he is, he's made "WHAT" part of his act.] In that sense -- communicating the "get to the point already" message -- I like it.
I don't think you realize until you go to a live show how easy it is to get caught up in the What? chant. It's addictive and you really feel almost kind of silly not doing it when the other 10,000 people are going on with it. Plus it is more fun to do live than to listen to at home.
That's a very good point. Sometimes things are great for the live audience and not so good for those at home, and vice versa. People enjoy chanting almost anything to be part of the show. As people have mentioned before, sometimes a guy gets over due to the "chantability" of his name. The pyro falls into this category as well, on television it is just background noise, but live it was quite impressive.
"What" is OK when done during a Steve Austin interview and to a lesser extent to those who are feuding with Austin. Otherwise it makes about as much sense as chanting "X-Pac sucks" during an Edge/Regal match.
Everything's cool when you're Yun [point] Cheol [point] Su [point]
Let me take that analogy. Saying "What" besides during an Austin interview/match or maybe an Angle promo, is like saying "USA! USA!" when both wrestlers are from other countries.
IMHO, the "What?" chants are great whenever Angle is doing a promo, because Angle works with them brilliantly, and they are great whenever Austin is feeling inspired. I agree that the chants are silly any other time, but idon't think the fans are doing that very much anymore. I think that's a combination of it getting a little old, Angle intentionally playing to it and drawing it just to himself, and Jericho demonstrating how to kill it: longer sentences and shorter pauses.
I loved "what?" chants when Austin was a heel, hated them when he first turned face, then he found ways to make them entertaining again. I think that his promo about his Royal Rumble strategy was the best example of this: "Beer belly!" "What?" "Beer belly!" "What?" "Beer belly!". Now the feud with Hall just seems directionless and so do his promos again.
I think Austin should feud with Angle and agree to stop saying "What?" if he loses the PPV match. There would be something at stake for both of them without needing a title on the line, "What?"-lovers and "What?"-haters would both have a reason to care about the outcome, they could cut some great duelling promos with lots of audience participation, and if they decide that it's finally time to kill it, they could use the stip to accomplish that.
Can't you picture Austin the next night on Raw? "Could you please clarify? I don't think I heard you right. Could you repeat? Pardon?" etc. ad absurdum.
sergei
"I tear my quadracep all the time! I tore it this morning, I'm fine!"-- Kurt Angle
I think...(WHAT?!) I said...(WHAT?!) I was trying to...(WHAT?!) I just wanted to...(WHAT?!)...say that I think (WHAT?!)...grr...is pretty..(WHAT?!)... I said "what" is pretty...(WHAT?!)... ARGH!!! I want you people to... (WHAT?!) AHHHGHH!! (WHAT?!) Shut up! Shut up! (WHAT?!) Stone Cold isn't even around! Shut up you stupid idiots! (WHAT?!) [Shoots himself.]
See? "What" sucks because heels can't get promos out, and faces other than Austin can't either. The fans just chant "What" until the cows come home, and it ruins the crowd's heat.
Holden: Judging by the buzz, that movie's gonna make some serious bank. Jay: What buzz? Holden: The internet buzz. Jay: What the f*ck is the internet? [Holden (Ben Affleck) & Jay (Jason Mewes) in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back]
Originally posted by Yun"What" is OK when done during a Steve Austin interview and to a lesser extent to those who are feuding with Austin. Otherwise it makes about as much sense as chanting "X-Pac sucks" during an Edge/Regal match.
Anytime is a good time to say X-Pac sucks.
Those educated feet! One went to Harvard. One went to Yale. Their daddy must be proud! - good ol J.R. hating his life
Amazing Red vs. Kiyoshi was fun enough; Red wins with the Red Star Press. Yeah, if it was just a "Knockouts Hardcore Match" it would've been fine, but calling it a "Monster's Ball" raises expectations that it couldn't meet.