5 Things in Pro Wrestling That Need to Go Away #5 by The Russ

#5) The “WHAT?” chant

There have been two major psychological constants in wrestling for the past decade.

One constant is that anyone will shout “WHOO!” whenever a guy chops somebody. It doesn't matter that Ric Flair is on his third retirement now and paying Dixie's money to his fourth ex-wife. It doesn't matter if the guy delivering the chop is the Heavyweight Champ working in front of millions at Wrestlemania or Jobber #3 under a hood jerking the curtain for the local indy in front of 53 people.

The Pavlovian response of wrestling fans to “chop” is “WHOO!” just like Missy Hyatt's Pavlovian response to the word "man" is asking herself, “Have I ever had sex with him?”


Maybe the “WHOO!” is a sign of respect for Flair, or maybe it’s just a collective memory we have as fans that Flair was the guy who made the knife-edge chop famous. Maybe we’re all engaged in a crowd mentality that everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn’t we? Still, most fans young or old can trace that chant back to its origin.


However, if you're not legally able to drive, do you remember how “WHAT?” started? Here's a bit of history if you don't know or remember: