For some of my friends, “Saturday Night’s Main Event” was their first introduction to professional wrestling. While we watched Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater soar against Dragon Lee and AJ Styles, Sol Ruca best Bayley for the biggest win in her career, and John Cena tap out to GUNTHER, one common thread continued to be brought up. Throughout the show, my friends consistently lauded the Washington D.C. crowd for their chants, their engagement, and their reactions to the in-ring action. I’m inclined to agree with them.

You hear wrestlers give credit to the fans constantly. Whether they’re the WWE Universe, the AEW audience, or just a bunch of marks, the audience provides half the experience of live wrestling shows. People have made their careers made by cheers and boos alike, and many industry figures say that being met with apathetic silence from the fans is the worst thing that can happen to a wrestler’s blossoming career. Most WWE crowds tend to be pretty engaged, but Washington D.C. stood out the most.

Of course, D.C. was extremely receptive to Cena’s final match, but they were there for most of the night. They rallied behind Oba Femi during his entrance jaunt. They were there for Ruca’s match against Bayley, and they came alive as bodies flew in Saturday’s tag team match. “Saturday Night’s Main Event” was a shorter card, yes, but they managed to keep their energy consistent throughout most of the show. That’s commitment, D.C.

I’d go as far as to claim that, if the crowd hadn’t been where they were at for Cena’s final match, it would have been the most nothingburger retirement match to exist. With the cameraman certainly not doing any favors for kayfabe and Cena himself being a bit slow and noncommittal in his offense, that crowd singlehandedly saved the match. The rest of the DMV could hear every cheer, every boo, every “f*** you GUNTHER” and “you tapped out” chant this sold-out D.C. crowd had to offer. The crowd enhanced the aura, the ambience, of this match, and turned it from a middling wrestling match to the big fight feel that WWE advertised it to be.

If you thought the crowd was nuts during Cena’s match, you should have heard them when Paul “Triple H” Levesque led a gaggle of WWE personnel out to the ring post-match. I could hear their boos from California, and honestly? Levesque completely deserves it. A lot of WWE’s recent creative snafus can be traced back to him, and if anyone was going to let him know that he is a hated man, I’m glad it was D.C..

Shoutout Washington D.C.. You made an otherwise mid show worth sticking around for.

Written by Angeline Phu