I was not surprised to hear that in the episode of Wrestlespective Radio where Jason Mann and Alex Torres talk about Christopher Daniels vs AJ Styles from last years’ Destination X PPV, they get into the topic of dueling chants. They think it’s a self-indulgent thing an audience does that takes away from the match. TH disagrees, saying that self-indulgence has little to do with it. He instead claims that the chant is a side-effect of how different the independent scene is from the big-times:
It might not be traditional, but that’s what’s great about indie wrestling; it often promotes the non-traditional and gives it a platform so that it might gain traction on higher levels. If the future of pro wrestling is less about monolithic heel and face roles and more about guys getting fan followings, then it’s got to start somewhere.
Chants in general are a pretty interesting thing to discuss, but I like this very specific nook, because chants are weird.
Let’s take a step back from chants to overall crowd noise, and ask ourselves: why are we making any noise at all? If you’re sitting alone watching wrestling on television, it’s not likely you’re making much noise. Perhaps you are if there are people around you. The likelihood goes way up if you’re in the arena, but even then, some crowds are famously silent.1 I’ve been criticized by people I’ve attended wrestling shows with for being too quiet, because I don’t really chant or cheer or whatever. I watch, and I watch intently. I find it really difficult to lose myself and join the masses, and because I find it so difficult, I find it really interesting.
Sometimes you cheer because there’s a guy in the ring you want to win, and him winning will make you happy. Sometimes you cheer because you know that crowd reaction is the accepted barometer for a wrestlers’ popularity, and the more he gets, the more we’ll get out of him. Sometimes you boo for the same reason: You love watching a heel do heelish things, and so booing helps that continue. Sometimes you yell things that make sense in the context of a match, and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes it makes sense, and sometimes it doesn’t, and when it doesn’t, it really does sound super self-indulgent to the rest of the audience and/or the people at home.
But I’d like to suggest that all crowd noise is self-indulgent. It may have an effect, but there’s no quantifiable result of that, only a loose aggregation.2 You may feel like you’re part of the show, but in reality, you are an extra, there to make the evening look more important to those who are not there, and you paid for the privilege. To sum up: You are cheering because it makes you feel good, or part of the show, or whatever. But nobody asked you to cheer (well, nobody forced you to) and nobody is going to get hired, fired, promoted, or demoted because you did or didn’t. These things only happen in the communal and even then only if you’re lucky.
It’s a curious thought, this idea that cheering in wrestling can help a guy win more. It’s curious because it’s probably more correct in wrestling than in sports, where a players’ ability is 99.9% the reason anything happens. But in wrestling, crowd reaction take a much bigger piece of the pie. In wrestling, crowd reaction can change finishes, alter scene and match times, and change careers and long-term planning. So it’s not crazy to think that your voice matters, and to make that voice loud and passionate.
Jason has made this argument on a few podcasts (one or two with me), that he’s not a fan of dueling chants. I think the root of his disapproval is that they seem far more self-indulgent than most, far more than simple cheering and booing. The dueling chant does come across as the crowd trying to add a layer onto the match, but it also sounds like they don’t know what to do with themselves. There are chants that favour one character over another, and there are also chants that communicate how well the entire match or show is going. But unlike chants of overall approval (“This is awesome/This is wrestling”, as snarky as they can even be at times), or chants of overall disapproval (“Boring” comes to mind as the clearest), the dueling chant is tough to shake out value. I guess the crowd likes or hates both wrestlers equally, but does that mean the show has failed in some way?
TH mentions that, no, wait, this is actually a sign of approval:
While the promotions end up pushing people as the alignment they want them as, sometimes, the fans just don’t accept it. They have favorites, and they vociferously cheer them, not as a way to get themselves over, but as a way to show that wrestler he’s/she’s supported.
I’ll extend that idea: if I hear a “Let’s go Daniels/Let’s go AJ” chant, I interpret it as not so much an approval of the two characters, but of the prospective performance they’re about to give. It’s sort of the best way a wrestling audience knows how to communicate this idea: “We know you are trying to entertain us, and we approve of this pairing based on past performances either together or with other dance partners.” It’s a chant built for the age where a wrestling fan is looking less for a winner or a loser (and, by extension, a hero or a villain), and looking more for a great wrestling match.
That does not mean I think it’s the best route to go, though. Because I had to take the time to unpack the chant, the chant is a failure. Crowd noise should be obvious. If the crowd wants to make known its approval or disapproval of a wrestler, a match, or even the prospective possibility of quality, then that chant should be crystal clear. The dueling chant is a tacked-on approach and not a proper re-thinking of what the audience is supposed to like and dislike, and it absolutely does come across as confusing. TH is probably right that it’s a side-effect of being in a small crowd where the rules are different, but that doesn’t help the guy watching the DVD, and it doesn’t help the promoter trying to figure out who to highlight for the next show.3
So, what to replace it with? I’d love to hear from people with ideas. I have a few of my own: for overall approval of a scene, why not just a round of standing applause? It’s classy, loud, respectful, and looks great on television. For disapproval? Vegetables. Throw tomatoes and lettuce and other salad items at the shitty wrestlers. If Shakespearean dandy’s can handle it, surely tough guy fake fighters can.
K Sawyer Paul is an author and publisher living in Toronto. He tweets and tumbls. In the wrestling world he is known for This is Sports Entertainment and International Object.
Edited by TH.
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This would be the Japanese, although this has changed in recent years. ↩
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Wrestlers get more high-profile roles because the overall crowd is reacting in various venues over a long stretch of time, and almost never because one place really likes one guy for fifteen minutes. ↩
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The answer, is, of course, both guys. Takes two to tango, fellas. ↩
