The Natural Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 Been meaning to do this one a while and was reminded by something today to do such a topic. I miss distinctive stage sets. WWE with the exception of WrestleMania mainly use the same ones. I remember looking forward to seeing said sets wondering what we'd get. Shame the MSG entrance in the middle of the stands is no longer there. Least AEW makes an effort. I'll start with these three: 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 Wrestlemania IX: bad show, great staging: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shartnado Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 26 minutes ago, Zimbra said: Wrestlemania IX: bad show, great staging: This is really hard to argue with! When I first saw the hype for WMIX I was losing my shit and then some! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 30 minutes ago, Zimbra said: Wrestlemania IX: bad show, great staging: I've never watched it. Seriously, that show was during a time where watching wrestling was legitimately my favorite pastime and I never felt the need to watch this show. I used to rent wrestling tapes pretty much every single weekend and have seen Wrestlemania 5-8 and Wrestlemania X about 5056546754 times a piece. I also skipped XI before watching all of them up to XX too many times to count. I would have watched damn near any wrestling show at that point, but neither card appealed to me at all. As far as great sets, Wrestle Kingdom 10 was pretty dope. I remember Nakamura's entrance looking amazing at the time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
For Great Justice Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 Not the best but nothing tugs at nostalgia with me like the early 90's WCW ramp. Maybe with "Smokin'" playing and GMC on the PA 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiztor Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 i always really liked the beach sets. something about the surfboard racks and lifeguard posts really kind of set the event apart.  also when WCW did their Spring Break-Out! at Club La Vela 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 21 minutes ago, supremebve said: I've never watched it. Seriously, that show was during a time where watching wrestling was legitimately my favorite pastime and I never felt the need to watch this show. I used to rent wrestling tapes pretty much every single weekend and have seen Wrestlemania 5-8 and Wrestlemania X about 5056546754 times a piece. I also skipped XI before watching all of them up to XX too many times to count. I would have watched damn near any wrestling show at that point, but neither card appealed to me at all. As far as great sets, Wrestle Kingdom 10 was pretty dope. I remember Nakamura's entrance looking amazing at the time. April 93 was the end of my WWF fandom for several years. For some reason Friar Ferguson debuting on Raw the week after this was the last straw. I stuck with WCW a little while longer because of Vader/Sting, but this basically killed wrestling for me until the Monday night wars and discovering puro tapes.  15 minutes ago, For Great Justice said: Not the best but nothing tugs at nostalgia with me like the early 90's WCW ramp. Maybe with "Smokin'" playing and GMC on the PA I am a sucker for pretty much any setup with a ramp to the ring. Always looks cool and I like spots on the ramp. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 I was always a sucker for the NOAH setup, and Korakuen Hall. But the real answer here is that crazy-ass gym or whatever in Japan that has the stained glass wall. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinit Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 31 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: I was always a sucker for the NOAH setup, and Korakuen Hall. But the real answer here is that crazy-ass gym or whatever in Japan that has the stained glass wall. KBS Hall in Kyoto! Such a classy looking place for a wrestling show. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James F'n X Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 I always enjoyed the look of Hammerstein Ballroom when WWF and ECW did shows there. As for sets, I was a sucker for the WCW Saturday Night smoky door from the mid 90's. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krone Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 Man I am so happy that this is a topic. Wrestling sets were one of my favorite things as a kid - waiting to see what the PPV set would look like (or if I couldn't afford the PPV tuning into Sunday Night HEAT for a glimpse at it) was always fun. I'll throw a couple of my favorite ones in here. King of the Ring 2001 WrestleMania X8 Raw is War (I prefer this one with the towers on the sides and just the banners vs. when it got all flashy and screens) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbra Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 One of my low-key favorites was the fancy ballroom that PWF used to run with chandeliers and shit: They regularly ran another hall with a super-low drop ceiling and it was always fun to see guys try to modulate their highspots so not to hit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinit Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 For some reason as a kid I really liked the "walking down the hallway" entrance that Center Stage had for 90/91 World Championship Wrestling. Still do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoFistsJustFlips Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 Great topic @The Natural. Seeing that sweet King Of The Ring 2001 set reminded me how close they cut it with the Invasion set that year. I was at Invasion (in the cheapest nosebleed seats available lol) and they were still constructing the stage during Sunday Night Heat. It was wild. They literally were sawing and drilling in wood still on the Alliance side during the Chavo v Scotty 2 Hottie match on Heat. They threw on the carpet over the ramp on that side while the PPV intro video was playing. I wonder if that played a part in having Storm & Awesome starting the PPV in ring. Because they never did that in that era. But that set was also a very cool concept (that almost killed Trish when she almost fell off after her match). I miss actual PPV sets. (Best pic I could find) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 I loved the AEW cruise ship set. I hope we see this again some day. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 Irish McNeil Boys Club 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zendragon Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 4 hours ago, twiztor said: i always really liked the beach sets. something about the surfboard racks and lifeguard posts really kind of set the event apart. Those WCW sets always lead to DDP fighting someone in a graveyard or on the stage coach. Fun Stuff  For me I've always loved the old MSG set up where it looked like the wresters where coming directly through the fans like Sid with the fist bumps  Also the set up for Wrestlmania 13 with Austin literally having glass shatter. I guess I like the idea of an isle more than a ramp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxB Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 1 hour ago, TheVileOne said: I loved the AEW cruise ship set. I hope we see this again some day. The next Jericho Cruise is from October 21st-2th 2021. So, in 3 months. Hopefully they don't call it 'Third Wave' though, because we might be in the middle of one by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonzombie Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 4 hours ago, Infinit said: KBS Hall in Kyoto! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwoy2j Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 (edited) I always liked the Spring Stampede set. Mainly because it gave us Tony Schiavone's classic "That can be very abrasive!" call of Sting hitting Randy Savage with a bale of hay. Â Edited July 17, 2021 by cwoy2j 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwoy2j Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 (edited) Also, Sandman jumping off of an old-timey stage coach onto Bam Bam Bigelow and going through a table Edited July 17, 2021 by cwoy2j 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vgmastr Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 WCW didn't have their own production crew, they always used crews from Turner Sports. They ran into a problem in the summer of '96, the Summer Olympics were in Atlanta, Turner's backyard, so all of Turner production was loaned out to broadcasters for the Olympics. Faced with having to run a month of shows with no production crew, WCW went back to Disney, who had their own house production. However, instead of going back to the stale soundstage, they built a makeshift outdoor arena in the park. What helped was the timing of the shows, they ran Nitros here for five weeks, every Nitro in between Bash at the Beach and Road Wild. That means the first Nitro here was the night after Hogan's heel turn joining the nWo. There was a sense of uneasiness throughout these shows as you were wondering when the nWo would attack next, and being outdoors in a makeshift arena helped add to that atmosphere as it would be easier for the nWo to attack here instead of a real arena. WCW even played into that with Tony announcing all the main eventers who weren't at one of the shows because they were on a Japan tour. Seems like an odd way to market the show, "Look at all the guys who you won't see tonight!" but it worked in making WCW seem even more vulnerable. Then the big attack happened, one of the most memorable angles in WCW history, with the nWo laying out a bunch of guys backstage. They made it seem so real and not scripted. The show stopped to a halt as the wounded were attended to and ambulances were called. Guys who had just been fighting in the middle of the ring were now working together, Heenan walked off the set out of fear for his safety. We were told since all of the attacked guys were scheduled to wrestle that night, the entire show had to be rebooked on the fly with who was available backstage. That led to some funky match-ups, including a main event of the Giant defended the World Title against Greg Valentine. That entire episode of Nitro was a master class in wrestling angles, and the set helped add to that.  9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted July 17, 2021 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 (edited) This WWF stage was used through 1994-1997, most memorably the Austin 3:16 glass break for Steve Austin's entrance and the shot of Bret Hart stepping on the broken glass as he made his way to the ring for their Submission match at WrestleMania 13. We also got: The Undertaker wearing his most famous garb again, the black and grey. Sometimes the simplest stages are the best. Edited July 17, 2021 by The Natural 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted July 17, 2021 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 Shame the WCW Monday Nitro set and WCW logo was replaced by the God awful one in 1999. Starrcade 1997. As ever fuck Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff for fucking up the payoff to the great build for Sting vs. Hogan. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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