WWE decided a Fatal 4-Way pitting Carmella vs. Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Alexa Bliss on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw was the way to determine the next challenger for Becky Lynch’s Raw women’s championship. Nattie ultimately emerged victorious and the two will wrestle at SummerSlam next month in Toronto.
The match was, to be as nice as I can be here, not very good.
It went long, featured multiple commercial breaks, and the fans completely turned on it. They chanted “this is awful” while also chanting for other wrestlers. They, essentially, did everything they could to make it clear just how much they disliked what they were seeing in the ring.
Bliss didn’t take too kindly to this, as she made clear on her social media after the fact:
Just Disrespectful.
— Lexi Kaufman (@AlexaBliss_WWE) July 16, 2019
Yes we encourage reactions, cheering & booing & chants . We don’t encourage people to be rude https://t.co/LP85C4F3wm
— Lexi Kaufman (@AlexaBliss_WWE) July 16, 2019
It can’t feel great to be one of the participants in a match the fans turned on the way they did here. Having said that, it certainly didn’t seem malicious towards any particular performer. They didn’t like what they were seeing and they chanted to make that clear.
Sure, they could have simply sat on their hands and been quiet but you don’t go to a pro wrestling event for that. What’s more, the fans are the consumers. If they don’t like what they see, they are not the problem.
But, hey, this is pro wrestling, where fans have long been treated lesser by the very performers who depend on them.