A group of front row fans at last night’s RAW taping were asked to remove costumes after they appeared in the opening segment dressed up as popular wrestlers of the past (Flair, Savage, Warrior, IRS). One of the men noted that they were told to take the costumes off or be removed from their seats. The group was then walked out and given new WWE shirts before returning. WWE doesn’t mind fans dressing up at events, but has a policy that to not have them sitting across from the hard camera due to potential distractions to the viewer. Here is an image of the fans from last night’s show.
From left to right Macho Man, UW, Ric Flair, and IRS #RAW pic.twitter.com/RjeBggnwyT
— ZombieProphet (@ZProphet_MMA) March 17, 2015
.@wwe We weren’t looking to hijack the show or steal the spotlight. Wrestling is supposed to be fun, right @CMPunk? pic.twitter.com/VlQIrU9ixC
— Butters (@Laufered) March 17, 2015
We were told take off costumes or give up our front row seats. Tell our story. #RAW @AKATheMaskedMan @crab_dangler pic.twitter.com/O5Ofl8DXD1
— Butters (@Laufered) March 17, 2015
They made us take the outfits off or give up our front row seats. #TheMan #RAW @aubreysitterson @MichelleDBeadle pic.twitter.com/eLPZZYRVkY
— Butters (@Laufered) March 17, 2015
.@MichelleDBeadle Put out another Twitter APB. Back in the front row for RAW and 10 strong this time. @crab_dangler pic.twitter.com/Umz8tMyxTl
— Butters (@Laufered) March 16, 2015
Agreed. #RAW pic.twitter.com/o5ynvjCDLP
— Butters (@Laufered) March 17, 2015
Here is an email one of the fans sent to WWE following the event:
Hey guys. I was Macho Man last night at Raw. Here is the email I sent to WWE.com in response to the actions taken by WWE last night.
As a life-long fan of your product, I was very excited to attend your show last night (Des Moines 3/16/2015). I had secured 10 tickets in the front row at $100 a ticket. By my math that is $1,000 that we paid the WWE to attend your event. The seats were in the front row. Being a huge fan, I made sure to invite 9 other rabid fans and we all made the decision to pay tribute to our favorite wrestlers and dress like them. Within 10 minutes of the show starting, we were told that our outfits were “too distracting” and to change clothes, or we would be moved. I assure you none of the members of our party were being in any way unruly or belligerent. You can watch the taping and see for yourself. We were merely watching the show. Now, I have heard rumblings in the past of people being booted from their seats for costumes, but I always sided with the WWE and assumed that those fans HAD to have done something else to lose their seats, and WWE wouldn’t boot people for simply dressing up. Now I know that they indeed will do that, regardless of how respectful you are. This seems to contradict your “Be a Star” promotions (which ironically enough was running on the screen as we were being scolded by WWE producers) that seem to encourage fanaticism.
I guess at the end of the day, all I am looking for is an explanation as to why you would boot fans who spend the time, energy, and money on advocating your product. Seems like just the kind of people you would want in your corner.
For the record, I am still in your corner, however disappointed I may be.
Thanks for your time, Matt Sheridan
PS – Had we all been dressed as John Cena or Roman Reigns would the outcome have been different? Please advise so I can let the other 9 guys know for future shows.
