Hey Scott,
First time/long time etc.
Is it my imagination or is WWE using the same arena/stadium sets -- Tron, stage, short aisle -- for its PPVs as it does for RAW/Smackdown.
If this is true, how long has this been the case? And why? My guess would be smaller setups meant more seats in hotter eras but now it's cheaper to just use the regular setup for non-Mania PPVs.
I'm a pretty casual fan nowadays so apologies if this is way off/been covered before.
Cheers, thanks for all the rants.
It's not your imagination, it was part of the cost-cutting initiative they started doing a few years ago along with downsizing pyro and a million other little changes that no one noticed but that saved them hundreds of thousands per episode. It's also one of the reasons why people complain that the shows all seem so homogenized and same now, since they recycle the same basic set for RAW, Smackdown, Superstars, Main Event and PPVs. That being said, I totally get why they do it and I don't blame them one bit. Better to cut costs via changes no one will notice anyway rather than purge the roster every year and leave a bunch of guys without jobs.
And here I was thinking Alberto Del Rio had just become disinterested in expensive cars.
ReplyDeleteIt's another reason why the PPVs(or "Supershows") don't feel special. Every show looks the same, so there's nothing to get excited about. The 1994 RAW shows may have sucked, but they at least made the PPVs seem like a big deal. Since WWE have effectively killed off PPV now, it's understandable from that viewpoint, but it just means that everything drags on and on with nothing to get excited about coming down the road.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the sets really effect anything outside of Mania, and I actually think it makes Mania seem even bigger now, being that it usually gets a dramatically different set. With the HD set they implemented in 2008, they were pretty smart about how they went about making it totally digitally customizable so it can be changed easilly for each show or Special Event. And they can still add some things to it to dress it up for Special Shows.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, it would be nice to see a new set put into effect and for the product to get a bit of a visual overhaul, since we have had the same basic look for the last six years. In TV time, that's an eternity. Maybe with the profits from the new TV contract, they can get a new HD set in the works. Every show, from the news to late night shows changes up their general look once in awhile.
BTW, when are we going to see the mass rollout of the new logo that the Network and NXT have been using?
This must have been sent by a new fan. He would have probably gone bonkers if he knew that the WWF used the same set (black curtain with huge block WWF logo on top or on the side depending on the layout of the building) for five consecutive years (1988-1993).
ReplyDeleteAnd that pales in comparison to using the same ring aprons and banners for Wrestlemanias 8-13, Royal Rumble 1989-1995, King Of The Ring 1993-1997, Summerslam 1989-1997 and Survivor Series 1989-1995.
Not to mention the interview sets for all of the PPVs being the same blue cloud backdrop with (insert PPV sign here) tacked on. And not having a video screen until 1992 and not having flashy lights and pyro as a regular part of entrances until 1994 (Fun fact: For all of the claims WWE has made about how their production values were always ahead of WCW's, WCW had the pyro, flashy lights, video walls and elaborate sets several years before the WWF, that's a fact WWE always fail to mention).
In other words, the sets now are not nearly as bad as the cutbacks they made to the product in the early '90's.
But am I the only one who liked the sets of the early 90s? WCW had always their entrance area completely covered with curtains (like WWE today) while WWF had small entrances but you could see much more from the arena and they actually looked bigger than today, where 1/4 is gone because of the big titan tron and so. They had always flags over the ring, where the PPV logo was and everything was contentrated on the most important thing of a PPV: the ring.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't think that a PPV needs a big entrance screen, because these are only good for interview and angles for interacting with a person in the ring and backstage or elsewhere. And a PPV/special event should have none of this but only the matches and some backstage interviews.
And then when they DID get the video wall going in the early 90s, it was like they didn't have a clue what to do with it. Mr. Perfect's coming out? Let's plaster his name and a statue's head on this bad boy.
ReplyDeleteWCW had some great sets. Spring Stampede '97 is a personal favorite.
ReplyDeleteAnd look where they are now looking. Though I think it had a lot more to do with other things besides sets haha
ReplyDeleteAnd yet I enjoyed the WWF shows back then just fine. All the gaudy video screens and lights now are just dressing up an inferior product. And it's still really the same arena setup that they went to when Raw is War started in 1997.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it really doesn't change much, but like others have said, it definitely changes the feel of the PPVs. I remember watching Sunday Night Heat on PPV nights just to see what the set looked like. Definitely wish they'd go back to that but it isn't the end of the world.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a set per se but my favourite set-up is the Madison Square Garden one. You know which one I mean.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one that finds pyro useless? Other than Goldberg, I don't think it actually enhances anyone.
ReplyDeleteThe Manhattan Center had no real setup but it still looked lively. Those mid 90's Raw's with just the letters R-A-W looked real cheap though.
They haven't used that since what, Royal Rumble 2008?
ReplyDeleteThey didn't look really expensive either. Like bash at the beach was a cardboard cut-out of a beach with some sand and chairs.
ReplyDeleteWhile he was right about the cost saving measures, Scott forgot to mention that this set that we see every show was brought in during the venture into HD, and it was specifically built for that
ReplyDeleteThe question is why, because what has a screen in the arena to do with what we see on TV?
ReplyDeleteYou are not. I like the 90s sets as well
ReplyDeleteI kinda like Batista's machine gun motion with it. Kofi's drives me nuts because he claps with the pyro and then claps later and there's no pyro. I guess my real thing is the sound more than pyro itself. It kinda smells up the arena after too.
ReplyDeleteThe huge inflatable demon at Halloween Havoc 98 is still my favorite.
ReplyDeleteAnytime I hear it live it scares the crap out of me. Never can get used to it being so loud. I can't remember it actually getting me hyped or excited though. Stuff like the glass break, "if ya smellllll", or "are you ready" do a whole better job of that.
ReplyDeleteI remember back at the first Sunday Night Heat right before Summerslam 98 and wow was is awesome to see the setup for the PPV. The short MSG entrance, the black and fire motif and the first time they ran out the current black barriers instead of the bikerack fencing.
ReplyDeleteKanes entrance needs it. I was also a big fan of the raining pyro for Christian and then Orton. Oh and Sids big SID sign that would drop down into the ring area was simple but awesome.
ReplyDeleteI liked Razor's rain effect in the ring. Kind of a combo of those ideas.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that HHH's water is far more effective than 90% of the pyro used.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? The content on the screen is part of the whole visula of the show, it isn't just a screen for fans in the arena to watch.
ReplyDeleteall workers having their own logos was stupid and amazing at the same time.
ReplyDelete"Better to cut costs via changes no one will notice [...]"
ReplyDeletewell, I am gonna to be THAT guy now: obviously people do notice.
RE the logo, I've been wondering that too. You're starting to see them use it more and more (like you said, for the Network and anything NXT related). They're using it for WrestleMania 31, they put it on their new corporate jet, they used it on Twitter for their "Happy Mothers Day" message, and they used it for that nice little collage they did for Connor when he died. I keep expecting to go to WWE.com one day and just see that logo used permanently.
ReplyDeleteThat it is.
ReplyDeleteNot true, they used a similar version at MSG in November of 2009.
ReplyDeleteWWE is so cheap that they even recycled Ernest Miller and The Patriot's themes because Jim Johnston gets paid by the hour.
ReplyDelete:rimshot:
ReplyDeleteShocking, this CFO$ group is getting more projects everyday.
ReplyDeletetna needs to bring back the heel and face tunnels
ReplyDelete*recycled rimshot*
ReplyDeleteand they'll never use it again, due to the renovations :(
ReplyDelete"that hay is very abrasive"
ReplyDeleteI will rarely notice a lack of pyro or Alberto's cars, but I find the recycled PPVs sets lame. We've seen that giant HD...thing...several times a week for years. If they're going to repurpose it, at least reconfigure it differently from the TV shows. Make the entrance way diagonal, have them come out just by the giant WWE logo like the old days - something. Hell, we know they keep pretty much everything. With the nostalgia kick even higher from the Network, they could make some sort of entrance out of all the old SummerSlam aprons or something.
ReplyDeleteThis is true
ReplyDeleteForgot about Kane but he doesn't have it anymore right?
ReplyDeleteI liked the old elevated ramp WCW used to use. Guys could get a little more creative with that.
ReplyDeleteThe Dudleys' one that was like a bomb hitting the stage was cool.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised they never had his water sponsored by anyone.
ReplyDelete"When you see this Dasani sprayed into the front row, you'll know it's time to play the game!"
he had it Monday before dragging DB out. His stage pyro at least.
ReplyDeleteYou know Perrier would be a nice nod to his Greenwich snob gimmick.
ReplyDeleteThey could bring back the In Your House set if they wanted to get REALLY ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI always felt like they dropped the ball with that. He's billed from Greenwich and so are the McMahons. Seems like it would write itself.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was a holdover from the Saturday Night's Main Event days. And they at least spelled the names right unlike WCW's attempts to create wrestler logos (like "Rick Flair" and "Barry Windam").
ReplyDeleteI agree there.
ReplyDeleteI notice that shit. Its so boring. Everything is the same. Which is why I turn to MLB Network during RAW now. I want to watch RAW. I really do. But its been so dreadfully boring since Mania'.
ReplyDeleteEveryone notices that they use the same set.
ReplyDeleteHave they completely gotten rid of Fandango's hanging silhouette, or do they still bring it out for special occasions?
ReplyDeleteThey still bring it out.
ReplyDeleteI still laugh when I think of Shawn Michaels trying to get into the house to escape the Undertaker at Ground Zero.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why they even use a Titantron for some events. They don't even need a ramp. 1998 PPV's and such didn't need to use a ramp.
ReplyDeletePyro worked for certain guys. I liked the "gold shower" for Razor Ramon's entrance and HBK's pyro when he posed. However, I agree that not everyone needs pyro. Gillberg had the most hilarious pyro ever with the sparklers!
ReplyDeleteKane's pyro was a spoiler in the mid-2000s. If he set it off before the match, he was guaranteed to lose. If he didn't, he was guaranteed to win because he'd set it off at the end.
ReplyDeleteI remember doing the same thing when WCW had the Main Event.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the sets included in WCW vs. NWO Revenge. The Halloween Havoc and Bash at the Beach ones were awesome.
ReplyDeleteI remember when you won a mach with a guy in RAW on the SNES that they would bring up the logos on the TVs as their theme music played. A cool touch.
ReplyDeleteMan I had forgot all about the pyro during the New Generation. I liked the logos a lot more than the pyro.
ReplyDelete