9/24 WWE No Mercy HOLT Report #2: On-site report detailing crowd chants and reactions to big moves and finishes, when WWE lost the crowd

NO MERCY PPV HOLT REPORT (Happenings Off Live TV)
SEPTEMBER 24, 2017
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. AT STAPLES CENTER
LIVE ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY JULIE NETCHAEV, PWTORCH CORRESPONDENT

Just a few thoughts after attending No Mercy last night with my 17 year old son.

As far as attendance goes, from where I was sitting (four rows up from the floor facing the Titantron), the building was packed full.  The only empty areas were the ones that are always blocked off for cameras and equipment.

In one funny note. if anyone watching the preshow caught the crowd chanting “You deserve it,” it was due to a fan with a sign that said “My wife left me so I bought $500 WWE tickets.”  We were seated with the preshow panel a few seats to our left and our section was fairly loud with the chant so, if it was heard, it wasn’t directed toward Kurt Angle for any odd reason, just a fan with possibly the sign of the night.

Not much to report on the preshow match between Elias and Apollo other than the fact that Elias was heavily booed as he ran to the ring and the booing was so loud my son and I couldn’t even understand the words of his song.

During the Miz vs, Jason Jordan match I’m sure it was obvious how badly Jordan was booed. I heard that some people thought the crowd at one point chanted ‘This is awesome” during the match, but where I was at they were actually chanting “Miz is awesome.”  I heard commentary tried selling it as this Miz being in his hometown, but as someone who has been attending events since Miz was first seen in WWE, I can say with confidence no one has ever cared about him being from California… ever.  I’ve heard him booed out of the building many times.  Just go back to the Network and see how big the hometown hero was when he hosted Summerslam 2013.  Personally, I think after Miz delivered the infamous promo on Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack and through the build to WrestleMania this year, he has gotten more people behind him.  Combine that with the fact that so many people were against Jordan and you get the response Miz had last night although you’d never expect to hear that on commentary. The post-match interview did Jordan no favors at, all especially his last statement that Miz really does suck.

As for Finn vs. Bray, the one thing that shocked me most that probably didn’t come across on camera was how behind Balor the crowd was.  In our section the floor was quite literally shaking from people stomping their feet and yelling in support for Finn when Bray was on offense.  He had a huge pop when he won as well.

My son and I thought the tag team match was match of the night.  We had missed what happened to Cesaro until they showed the replay.  From our angle we couldn’t see that he hit the top of the LED post with his mouth.  We saw him bleeding and he was attended to about three times after first tagging out, but after that he was back to the match.  After seeing the replay in slow motion I give him all the credit in the world for getting back in and working as hard as he did.  Our section was loud though this whole match and heavily behind Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.  Dean was getting the majority of the cheers, but in fairness he spent more time in the ring and nearly pinned so I couldn’t say for sure if he was the more popular of the two. I actually caught video of the near fall with Seth being power bombed onto Dean.  When Dean kicked out everyone around us, including me, jumped up and stayed on their feet until the end.  I think I lost my voice on that match along with most people around me.

The thing that stuck out most in the women’s match was the crowd reactions as the came out and during ring introductions. Bayley had a mixed response coming out, but when she was introduced was heavily booed.  I think that booing was second to Reigns which just made me shake my head compared to her reactions even a few months back.  The only person it seemed like the crowd was fully behind was Nia Jax.  During the match when Nia was out of the ring at one point my son even looked at me and asked if this crowd going to cheer any of them?

Cena vs. Roman, I’m sure, had some sound alteration.  Because of all the talk of muting the crowd, I purposely recorded Cena’s entrance and left it going through Roman entering the ring. Now I just need to watch it on the Network to see the difference. The crowd loved Cena to start; any cheers for Roman were drowned out by booing.  At one point the crowd started a “F*** you, Roman!” chant so I’m sure that was edited or muted.  Of course there was also “You can’t wrestle” and “You both suck.”  Considering how people cheered Cena at the start mixed with “Let’s go Cena / Roman sucks” chants, the “You both suck” started to get irritating but to each their own.  I just think you make a little more sense when you pick a side and stay with it instead of cheering someone one minute and then telling them they suck two minutes later.  I had no idea what to expect for the outcome of the match, but I can tell you the crowd and my son were extremely angry when Reigns won. The crowd around us were all yelling “bullsh–” when it ended.  I did enjoy the standing ovation Cena got.  It was funny, he went and sat back against that ringpost when Roman left.  I was there at WrestleMania 21 when he won his first WWE Title and if I remember correctly that was the corner where he jumped out of the ring and went right into the crowd.

All I can say about the Cruiserweight match is that it got a ton of boring chants and considering how unhappy people were with Reigns winning Enzo hitting a low blow and winning did not help matters. In fact, a man two rows up who was standing just bent and put his head on the metal hand rail shaking his head.  That earned the second “bullsh–” chant of the night.

I think everyone hoped that the main event would save the night after two finishes that the crowd hated, but no such luck.  I saw the time and knew it would be quick but I think everyone expected the Summerslam type destruction and, when they didn’t get it, there was disappointment. There were some incredible moves in the ring like the chokeslam to Brock Lesnar and the suplex landings that echoed through the building, but like many reports I’ve heard, no one liked the fact that it took one F5 to beat Braun Strowman after all that offense he had prior.

Overall, it was a fun night but I think the ending of Cena-Reigns deflated the night. My son and I thought the tag match was the best of the night.  When we were leaving, people seemed to have enjoyed the show overall, but no one was talking much about the last three matches.

Thank you for your continued great work.

NOW CHECK OUT THIS OTHER REPORT: 9/24 WWE No Mercy HOLT Report: On-site report of what happened in the arena, how fans reacted, security check, more