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Best wrestling sets/stages.


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1 hour ago, The Natural said:

Sometimes the simplest stages are the best.

This is very much my take on the subject. I joke around a lot, but I am 100 percent serious when I say that my favourite recent wrestling stage set, by far, is NWA Powerrr:

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It's at least partly the nostalgia fator but in all honesty I think I'd be perfectly fine if all TV tapings took place on a standard studio set like this one, with the simple additions of a ramp/elevated entranceway  and "bicycle rack" railings around the ring for big arena shows and PPVs.

I can appreciate a good light/laser/smoke show and a great sound system when I'm at a live show but watching on TV I think I tend to ignore a lot of the design elements. 

I mean, I think I'd also be fine if everyone wore plain tights or trunks or singlets in basic colour combinations, as well.

It's cool that other people are into those thing, though, and this thread is interesting for me just to see what everyone here likes. 

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If you don't have an insane design elements (ie: giant throne, fake beach, Backlash scythe thingies), I have no need for a giant set-up. Leave more room for the people. In that spirit, the best big wrestling show set designs of the last decade are the dugout set-ups at the Chase Field and Minute Maid Rumbles. Giant screens can fuck off forever. Give me absurd design elements or make shit small. No in-between. 

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For me this is the best stage of all time, give me something like this over a million LED screens any day. I’m still hoping that AEW goes for something like this whenever they decide to refresh the Dynamite look.

Even WWF used a more raw looking version of this for some of their IYH shows in 97-98. I just love this style of set over any other in history. I think it looks so much more badass than huge sets with screens everywhere taking half the arena.

Go to minute 7:00

 

My only exception to this rule is NJPW Wrestle Kingdom sets. They go for the big stage/ramp set up but they don’t look as shiny and polished as what WWE does so it’s a pretty awesome look.

 

 

Edited by eikerir
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10 hours ago, Vgmastr said:

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.

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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.  

Yup, that attack episode is probably in the top five episodes of pro wrestling ever. I believe they went 30 minutes, and they made it up to the live fans by having Scott Steiner bust out the nastiest Screwdriver ever on Robbie Rage.

That’s one authentic reaction on commentary.

Edited by LoneWolf&Subs
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10 hours ago, The Natural said:

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I felt this made WWF look dated, especially when Shawn would come out wearing feathered earrings felt like posion video in 95.

 

I hope AEW does a Saturday show and brings back the hydraulic doors Ryan Satin on Twitter: "If AEW is the successor to WCW, and now they're  getting a second show .... Saturday night seems wide open.… "

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10 hours ago, The Natural said:

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Give me these WWF distinctive sets 20 years ago to WWE's today.

They weren't all hits (looking at you No Mercy lol). But they sure gave a shit and put all their creativity into set designs back then. I get that today you just throw a 30 foot video wall up and can put any design you want on it for virtually $0. But it loses a lot of charm. It's also a very effective way at branding your PPVs. Backlash always had the gigantic scythes worked in for instance. What sticks out about any PPVs today?

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1 minute ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

It's also a very effective way at branding your PPVs. What sticks out about any PPVs today?

i never would have thought of it in these terms, but that's probably why there's an increase in "theme" ppvs- HIAC, MITB, etc. which makes the fact that they phased out KOTR even more baffling. Are Survivor Series matches still a thing?

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20 hours ago, The Natural said:

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Shame the WCW Monday Nitro set and WCW logo was replaced by the God awful one in 1999.

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Starrcade 1997. As ever fuck Hollywood Hogan and Eric Bischoff for fucking up the payoff to the great build for Sting vs. Hogan.

These two and the Halloween Havoc set will always have a special place in my heart because of WCW/NWO Revenge. I have seen them an essentially infinite number of times.

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On 7/16/2021 at 3:56 PM, AxB said:

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.

I'm somewhat concerned where we will be with COVID around that time. It feels like we're getting worse.

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One of my pet peeves of modern day WWE is that if you watch the Royal Rumble and RAW next to each other they look exactly the same. Same set, same design, everything is the same except the branding. That's how Money in the Bank is tonight, it's the same giant set from SmackDown! but with ladders on the stage. Add on that everything needs to be LED from the ring posts to the ring apron, to the entire set. Yuck.

Here's another few of my favorite sets.

Royal Rumble 2006
Watch Videos Online | royal rumble 2006 | Veoh.com

WrestleMania 33 (Let's be honest, a fucking roller coaster for a set is pretty sick)
???????????? on Twitter: "Could we just take a second to  appreciate how incredibly awesome the Wrestlemania 33 stage was.… "

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On 7/17/2021 at 6:07 PM, NoFistsJustFlips said:

. Backlash always had the gigantic scythes worked in for instance. 

the first one to come to mind for me. Loved when they included that in one of the video games. 

On 7/17/2021 at 7:01 PM, Zimbra said:

These two and the Halloween Havoc set will always have a special place in my heart because of WCW/NWO Revenge. I have seen them an essentially infinite number of times.

Agreed, Revenge is also my first thought seeing the awesome Starrcade set there

Also co-signed on WM33, loved the Ultimate Thrill Ride~! 

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Nth-ing the love for the WCW themed sets from 95-98. It was the perfect balance of cheese, but also giving shows a unique and special feel. Plus there would always be a garbage match that would ensure all the props were used appropriately for a pro wrestling show. Also, Hog/Road Wild, while not having a great stage or seating, looked badass in the wide shots with the sun setting on the black hills in the background.

And you have to give credit to the LU Temple as well.

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Just remembered another one that doesn't get mentioned often and it's one of the few instance where I think the massive amount of LED screens looked cool, Wrestlemania 26. The Red and Yellow/Gold colour scheme also looked great IMO:

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I took wrestling out of the smoke filled arenas and put it into garish, LED-engulfed hellscapes so gaudy that even the most ostentatious Branson Missouri lounge singer would say "damn, Vince, that's too much."  --Vince McMahon, probably

Edited by Technico Support
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I really loved the Superbrawl ‘97 entrance with the crowd behind the small stretched screen. 
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I just always think to myself… how the fuck can you sit there, and enjoy the show?

Also it’s so strange to see La Parka be so *clown-ish in his mannerisms, when later on he gets more cynical with his in-ring persona.

*Edit: Changed word to Clown-ish.

Edited by LoneWolf&Subs
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3 hours ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

I really loved the Superbrawl ‘97 entrance with the crowd behind the small stretched screen. 
la-parka-rt.gif

I just always think to myself… how the fuck can you sit there, and enjoy the show?

Also it’s so strange to see La Parka be so spastic in his mannerisms, when later on he gets more cynical with his in-ring persona.

Please don't use the word spastic. It's a word I find offensive as someone who has Cerebral Palsy where it comes from and struggling to walk right now. Most people find it offensive in the UK, as bad as the R word. An insult. Had this discussion a while ago on the board. Some don't know how bad a word it is until informed otherwise. Tiger Woods apologised for saying "I was a spaz" and Nintendo recalled Mario Party 8 here for "Turn the train spastic".

Edited by The Natural
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1 minute ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

Meant no offense. Sorry about it.

We're cool, fella. Sorry if it seemed I was having a go. You weren't aware how the S word is regarded in the UK, a really offensive taboo. Some people with CP don't mind the S word whereas most do take issue with it. 

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I loved the green WCW Worldwide set from the late '90s for some reason. Same with when Pro got the warehouse look. 

This is cheating because it's not really a set, but I'm big into any venue with a balcony. Hammerstein Ballroom, Manhattan Center, Terminal 5 (though I've read it sucks live) Madhouse of Extreme, Lowell Auditorium, Sumo Hall

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Every wrestling show set is the best. There is no bad one. The simplest old TV sets, the dirtiest late 90s indie set, and all the other less glamorous ones were just as great as the ones mentioned. 

That WCW ramp wasn’t fancy but it was legit. Every big thing on TV had a ramp, so WCW made themselves a ramp. That ramp might have been their best idea ever as far as what to steal from other TV to look good.

Speaking of the ramp and Spring Stampede, who can forget Cactus Jack almost killing himself twice in that match. Then Beach Blast which I think was the same set as BATB. Those might have been his 2 most dangerous matches after HIAC.

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