The One Where Brock Comes Back

So as reported by ESPN and CNN and Wrestling Observer, Brock Lesnar has "miraculously" recovered from diverticulitis. Great news for him and UFC. Lesnar has shown himself to be one of the biggest draws the sport has seen and his absence not only affected PPV buys but also the title picture. As Carwin and Mir head into a match to determine the interim champion, I'm sure it will be in the back of everybody's head that the real champion is sitting on the sideline. The goal is to have Lesnar back at the UFC 14 show.

TNA apparently lectured fans on how to behave at their shows. According to Dave Meltzer, Steve Small, Director Of Production, came out before the taping and talked to the fans. "It was surreal...He tried to explain that they are not fans, but as far as the television production, they are cast members." The gist of it was they don't want fans swearing on camera or giving the finger, which yeah, that makes sense. It won't happen, but it makes sense.

"They never said they would kick people out for booing babyfaces, but it was said that they have a message and stories to get across to the nearly two million viewers and told the crowd it was their job to go along with the stories and not to do things that will throw off the wrestlers."

Calling going along with the story lines the fans "job" seems pretty unbelievable in an industry where the promoters constantly cheat fans out of promised main events. Even a company like ROH that is carried by the hardcore fan has pulled the wool over fans eyes. I can remember paying to see Samoa Joe and Danielson in what was supposed to be a street fight for the title, only to have it changed to a non-title match right beforehand. Does TNA expect fans to just "go along" with that? I do get that fans in the arena do not pay to see the shows. It's debatable whether that makes a difference though. People have expectations of how they can behave at sporting events. If you're going to argue wrestling is more of a play, then I can see why fans would be expected to comport themselves a certain way. However, that does fly in face of years of tradition.

The idea is there's a middle ground of being a part of the show, without ruining it. One of the things that makes TNA unique from the WWE is the fact that audience is such a part of the show. If they start to try and dictate how fans react, they run the risk of killing that aspect of their program. Seems like a big risk just to make sure people go along with story lines that have a habit of being...confusing at best.
Case Closed!