Crowd boos U.S. anthem at WWE Crown Jewel Perth preshow

A WWE Crown Jewel event in Perth opened with a controversial moment on Saturday when a live rendition of the United States national anthem was met with loud boos from the crowd at RAC Arena, fans and circulating video footage show. The reaction occurred during the event preshow before the main card, and was followed immediately by a strongly positive response when the Australian national anthem was performed, with the crowd singing along.

The boos for the Star Spangled Banner were audible in fan-shot video from the arena and prompted commentary that production reduced the crowd audio on the broadcast. A wrestling commentator on a radio show said production "had to turn the sound really low" and quoted an attendee saying the reaction in person "was a lot worse than it came off on TV." WWE did not offer an on-the-record explanation for the broadcast audio level during the anthem sequence.

Reactions inside and outside the arena were mixed. Some attendees and commentators criticized the boos as disrespectful, while other fans defended the crowd for expressing displeasure at an American anthem being presented before the Australian anthem at a show on Australian soil. Local media and...