WWE Fans Needs To Stop It With The 'What?' Chants

It has been years since “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has appeared regularly on WWE. He remains a hugely important figure in the history of wrestling, although most of the things he brought into the WWE universe have been left in the past with him. That is, except for one trick from his bag that has, inexplicably and unfortunately, stood the test of time. That would be the “What?” chant, the most annoying thing in all of wrestling.

It all started innocently enough. Austin was looking to change up his schtick a bit, all wrestlers do it lest their act get tired, and started saying “What?” a bunch, often in interrupting another person. He was a wrestler characterized by his obnoxiousness and abrasiveness, so it made sense. The audience grabbed onto “What?” but, alas, nobody knew what Austin had wrought at the time. Fans started chanting “What?” all the time. When wrestlers would be in the ring, fans would yell out “What?” every time they finished a sentence. Promos were ruined. The shows suffered, especially for the home audience. Only the people constantly yelling “What?” seemed to be enjoying themselves.

httpss://youtube.com/watch?v=J3kqfuGHbeI

Mercifully, the frequency of “What?” chants has died down. However, despite Austin’s absence, you will still occasionally hear it rear its ugly head. It was annoying back in Austin’s day, but it is unjustifiable now. Fans chant “What?” literally only to be obnoxious. It isn’t related to anything going on in WWE right now. Obviously, fans are part of the show. It’s even fine for them to heckle people cutting promos, especially heels, from every now and then. This isn’t about fans being part of the storytelling, though. It’s about them being annoying and derailing the show, and it needs to stop. They’re just ruining things for everybody, including the people in the ring who are trying to perform. (On a side note, it seems like its female wrestlers who get their promos undercut by fans yelling things apropos of nothing most. Just sayin’.)

Steve Austin no longer wrestles. He is part of WWE’s past. It would be great if the “What?” chant joined him. It’s a vestige of a bygone era that needs to die a swift and ignominious death.