what was the deal with What?

[Impact Zone's #1 DUMMY...YEAH]

I got to thinking today, trying to figure out where the whole What? chant, seeing as how people are still chanting it even after Austin has left wrestling.

I just remember him speaking into the mic and leading the fans in a chant of WHAT?

What was the origin?

[Y2M]

What?

[Bullhead]

Where?

[Gummydavidson]

The origin involved a phone call with christian as far as i know

[triplealbert]

He wanted to intimidate people as a heel and so he'd get in their face and say, "What?" after everything. When he turned, he started encouraging them to chant what with him not so much as intimidation but solidarity (which is, more or less, intimidation).

[Dub H]

From what i remember/heard,the WWF roster was on a plane,Austin was bored,so he sent a long voice message only with "what?" on it to christian,something like that

[James McCloud IS John Godot]

Didn't it come out of Austin's run as a neurotic, rambling, paranoid heel during the Invasion. He'd often use it on his Alliance cronies when running them down. It seemed to be a way of saying "You got something to say?"/"You wanna do something about it?"

[tigermaskxxxvii]

Nov 3, 2009 18:06:34 GMT -5 Y2M said:

What?

He's on second.

[Jimmy]

Nov 3, 2009 18:17:40 GMT -5 James McCloud IS John Godot said:

Didn't it come out of Austin's run as a neurotic, rambling, paranoid heel during the Invasion. He'd often use it on his Alliance cronies when running them down. It seemed to be a way of saying "You got something to say?"/"You wanna do something about it?"

Yeah. He would be like ""That's right! Heh - look atcha. 'Y2J?' Lookatchya! You're 275 pounds - your name is Hugh Morrus. What? Your name is...Hugh Morrus. What? Is that funny? Is that humourous? Are you here to make me laugh? What? You're PATHETIC! LOOK AT ME! You're pathetic! Y2J whipped your ass. I'm ashamed of ya."

And after a month or so of it during the summer the fans caught on in the fall and started bringing 'WHAT?' signs and then they began saying it in tune with Austin and it took off from there. I liked it at the time, but I can't believe people still do it, even at TNA tapings for god's sake.

[Mozenrath]

Nov 3, 2009 18:22:41 GMT -5 Jimmy said:

Nov 3, 2009 18:17:40 GMT -5 James McCloud IS John Godot said:

Didn't it come out of Austin's run as a neurotic, rambling, paranoid heel during the Invasion. He'd often use it on his Alliance cronies when running them down. It seemed to be a way of saying "You got something to say?"/"You wanna do something about it?"

Yeah. He would be like ""That's right! Heh - look atcha. 'Y2J?' Lookatchya! You're 275 pounds - your name is Hugh Morrus. What? Your name is...Hugh Morrus. What? Is that funny? Is that humourous? Are you here to make me laugh? What? You're PATHETIC! LOOK AT ME! You're pathetic! Y2J whipped your ass. I'm ashamed of ya."

And after a month or so of it during the summer the fans caught on in the fall and started bringing 'WHAT?' signs and then they began saying it in tune with Austin and it took off from there. I liked it at the time, but I can't believe people still do it, even at TNA tapings for god's sake.

Seriously. Though, the fact the man got THAT over and also listening to an imaginary watch shows just how brilliant he was about these things.

[Mehe is F'n hardcore.]

What? is the reason I want to see Sam Jackson host raw. Surely he's got a movie coming out or something.

[Bubble Lead]

Austin didnt really encourage it. The crowd just picked up on it and started chanting it, even when he was a heel in the Alliance [which is where its origin came from].

[James McCloud IS John Godot]

When Austin turned face he really did encourage it, though, leaving pauses in his promos for it and everything.

When the heels (mostly Kurt Angle and Vince McMahon) started reacting to it and angrily telling the fans to stop saying it, that's when it exploded.

[Yami Daimao]

Anyone remember when Booker T tried to "fight back" with his own version; Who?

[Allison Reynolds]

WHAT?

Was awesome back then. Not so much anymore.

[Bubble Lead]

Nov 3, 2009 20:21:35 GMT -5 James McCloud IS John Godot said:

When Austin turned face he really did encourage it, though, leaving pauses in his promos for it and everything.

When the heels (mostly Kurt Angle and Vince McMahon) started reacting to it and angrily telling the fans to stop saying it, that's when it exploded.

Yeah. At that point Austin kinda had to though, because the crowd would start with it even when he didn't pause. Not saying he didn't encourage it though, I mean he did have a freakin t shirt that said What? on it. Just that it wasn't something that was forced on the fans, it happened a lot more organically.

[Display Name]

the most annoying thing in wrestling..ever.

[Jay Carroll]

Nov 3, 2009 21:09:01 GMT -5 Display Name said:

the most annoying thing in wrestling..ever.

This is awesome chant > What chant

Although I'll get caught up in both, given the moment.

[Red Lion]

It happened so long ago that half the fanbase that say it weren't even born.

Awesome back then, annoying as hell now, it ruins promos.

[Bob Schlapowitz]

Nov 3, 2009 19:34:33 GMT -5 Mehe is F'n hardcore. said:

What? is the reason I want to see Sam Jackson host raw. Surely he's got a movie coming out or something.

Just the thought of that makes me giggle.