Why is it so fun to boo at a wrestling show?

We’re all in on it. That understanding is there, just beneath the surface, for wrestling fans.

Take the experience of booing. In most settings, you boo someone to express displeasure. If you asked those fans to point to the emotion behind booing, it might be anger. It might be sadness. Fans boo because they aren’t happy.

That’s generally the idea behind booing at a wrestling show. There are more layers to it, though, because there’s a certain appreciation that goes along with the booing. Those fans boo to express emotions, but they also boo to participate in the show.

Take Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) during the peak of his initial heel run in AEW. People booed - they booed loudly. But many fans did so with a wink. They laughed as they booed, because they might be booing the nasty heel for being mean to them, but they also appreciated how well he was doing his job to get those boos.

They booed the heel to play their part, to deliver the desired response. Later on, they might have talked about how great MJF is or how funny the one-liners were that night.

The boos might have been loud, but many of them probably weren’t because the fans were upset. Those fans were having a great time.

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