WWE: The Live Event Experience

On Monday, I attended Monday Night Raw at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA, where the contract signing between the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar for their match at Sunday’s Battleground took place. This was the third WWE event I have been to in this building. The first being a televised Raw, featuring a reunited D-Generation X, and the other being the pay-per-view event Backlash, back in 2007.

I was born and raised in the Atlanta area, and I’ve pretty much been to every sports game or event the city has to offer. Falcons, Braves, Hawks, arena football, minor league baseball, hockey, Georgia Tech football, the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, concerts, a Harlem Globetrotters game, and even a Comic Con. Been there, seen that.

But nothing is like going to a live WWE event.

If you have been to the Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta, you know that the arena is connected to the CNN Center and the Omni Hotel, where there is a food court with many great restaurants and a few shops. Before a Hawks or Falcons game (the Georgia Dome is just a couple of blocks down the road from the arena) or event, the crowd gathers at the CNN Center to eat and hang out. I

Usually when I go to the arena (mostly for Hawks games or concerts), I can just walk right in, get my food, eat, and walk right into the arena in no time at all.

Not this past Monday though, however.

The CNN Center before Raw was packed. I had to wait 20 minutes to get my food, and couldn’t find a table to eat at, so I settled by sitting in the floor. The line at the entrance of the Philips Arena was by far the longest I have ever seen it.

The buzz around Raw was so much more prevalent than any event I’ve ever been to. Everyone had a T-shirt or a replica title belt or a sign. John Cena sells a ton of T-shirts by the way. People were excited to be there. It wasn’t just any old event at the Philips Arena. It felt big.

People were chanting and screaming even before the show started. When one screamed Ric Flair’s infamous “Wooo!”, everyone else wanted to “Wooooooo!” too. Everybody was excited to be there. It was easily the loudest crowd I have ever been a part of in the Philips Arena.

Another thing I noticed, was that there were a large population of young boys, which is fine for the WWE, because that’s their target audience. But there was also an abundance of middle school, all the way to middle age men there. You could see many fathers taking their son(s) to see their favorite wrestler. There were also groups of men there, just enjoying some wrestling with their friends.

Women in the crowd were scarce. But it’s okay, pro wrestling doesn’t appeal to females much anyways. Barbies tend to not sell to boys really well, so it’s not the end of the world in that retrospect.

Monday Night Raw was a fun event to be a part of. If you are looking for a night to go drink beers with your buddies, or just take your kids out for some entertainment, go buy WWE tickets, it will be a fun night.

Dusty’s Note: It was one of the best events I’ve been to in Atlanta, good thing I didn’t go to that stinker they call WrestleMania 27. Be prepared to see a lot of Cena shirts!

Next: WWE Commentator Rips Tough Enough Cast

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