Corey Graves thinks Mexican wrestling crowds hit different — and he says some WWE audiences may simply have seen too much.
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Graves was talking about the importance of lucha libre in Mexican culture when the conversation turned to the fans themselves. According to Graves, wrestling in Mexico isn’t just something people watch. It’s something many fans grow up with, and that connection shows up the second the cameras start rolling. Graves explained that wrestling fandom is often passed down through families in the United States too, but said that same relationship exists on a much bigger scale in Mexico.
“If you take those little snippets that we as American wrestling fans grew up with and you kind of paint a huge portion of the culture with it in Mexico, it’s the same but it’s just on a much grander scale. You grow up doing it. It’s just a thing, you know, on any given week in Mexico City, you can go watch live lucha all over the place.”
He said the atmosphere outside the buildings is part of it too, with vendors lining the streets selling wrestling shirts and masks before events.
“And the coolest thing is Dave, I don’t know if you’ve ever had the pleasure of heading to Mexico City, but outside of any of these events that we’ve put on in Mexico, the streets are lined with vendors and there’s T-shirts and masks. I mean, it’s like going to an American sporting event down there.”
Once the show starts, Graves says the difference becomes even more obvious. He described Mexican crowds as if everybody in the building already agreed they were there to make noise and have a good time.
“And it’s almost like the Mexican fans have all signed the same agreement. From the time the red light comes on until we’re off the air, we’re having fun. We’re going to chant. We’re going to sing. We’re going to have the best time possible.”
That’s when Graves compared them to certain WWE crowds. He was careful to say he didn’t mean it as an insult, but admitted there are cities where fans have already seen just about everything WWE can throw at them.
“It’s almost like, and I hate to say it because I don’t mean this in a negative way, but some of our audience depending on the city has seen everything. They’ve done everything. They’ve seen Roman Reigns. They’ve seen John Cena. So, you have to give them something else.”
Graves said Mexican fans don’t seem to need that extra push. They show up ready to party, and once the building gets hot, everybody in the ring feels it.
“It’s like the Mexican fans just go, ‘Hey, this is what we do. We love this. Let’s go party for two hours or an hour, whatever that may look like.’ And that is contagious, Natty. As you know better than anybody, when that crowd is nuclear, it makes everybody in the ring step up their game. It makes everybody backstage want to keep doing that.”
Graves basically summed up why wrestling crowds matter so much — a hot building can change the entire feel of a show, and in Mexico, he says the fans are already bringing that energy before the wrestlers even have to earn it.
Do you think Mexican wrestling crowds bring more energy than WWE crowds in the United States, or does it all come down to the city and the show? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
