WWE's YouTube Page Criticizes WWE Raw Lafayette Crowd

The Feb. 18 episode of Monday Night Raw was highlighted by the arrival of NXT call-ups Ricochet, [...]

By Connor Casey

The Feb. 18 episode of Monday Night Raw was highlighted by the arrival of NXT call-ups Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa as the four went undefeated in a series of three matches.

But, as many fans on social media were quick to point out, the crowd at the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana wasn't very receptive to the new Superstars.

In the fans' defense, smaller markets tend to not be as familiar with stars who aren't on the main roster shows every week (the crowd in New Orleans the following night for SmackDown Live was much more receptive to the four). But in a new series, WWE's Pat McAfee decided to call out the fans for not being loud enough.

The former NFL punter went on a rant about the fans in a video uploaded to WWE's official YouTube page on Monday.

"We're on the road to WrestleMania. Everybody's jacked up, everybody's excited, popcorn's popping, ... adult pops are being swallowed all over the place," McAfee said. "Except for one city. One city doesn't have a clue that we're on the road to WrestleMania right now. That we're breaking down barriers, breaking down walls, changing the entertainment business as a whole, and that's Lafayette, Louisiana."

McAfee then described how he felt watching the four NXT call-ups appear on the show, then cut to live shots of the crowd giving no reactions while cricket noises played over top.

He then gave credit to three fans who kicked off the "You Deserve It" chants for WWE Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and Bayley during the show.

"But the rest of the place, the rest of the Cajundome, nothing," McAfee said.

He then jokingly said that it wasn't the fans' fault.

"They could've never known that they as a group weren't supposed to be a live audience together, because the WWE Universe is one with the WWE. The Universe makes a show, breaks a show, makes it better, propels people into limelight, super stardom (cuts to a photo fo Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). Unless it's a Monday night in Lafayette, Louisiana.

McAfee said he was disappointed in the crowd, but closed out by saying he thinks they'll be louder next time.

As a well-known WWE fan, McAfee first appeared on WWE programming as a pre-show panelist for NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. He's since been a recurring panelist on TakeOver pre-shows.

In late December McAfee announced he had singed a multi-year deal with the company to be a content creator.

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