8 Reasons WWE Needs To Bring Back Custom PPV Stages

Dust off the trusses and pull out the projectors - things are about to get custom.

by Chris Rowlands

There was a time when monthly PPVs had a surefire surprise in store for fans: a new stage set. From water€“spray screens (Rumble '03) and fire-breathing dragons (NYR '07) to swinging scythes (Backlash '02) and ruddy great thrones (KOTR '01), WWE knew how to build brilliant entrance backdrops. Sure, they weren't all great. Some were forgettable (No Mercy '00), some were weird (Rumble '07), and some flew in the face of everything they stood for (One Night Stand '08). But the bespoke TitanTron surrounds and arena sets were there to do a whole lot more than look pretty. Unique staging brought concrete character to PPV events in the biggest way possible. Gimmicks they might have been, but, by its nature, WWE survives on just such gimmicks, relying on event theming to drive storylines, hype Sunday night brawls and get fans on board. Where are we now? WWE has ditched the logistical nightmare of one-off event sets in favour of the big-screen, technicolour behemoth that is the universally-used HD-era entrance. Gone are the signature setups of special events and the ingenious invention of bold designs for every PPV, in favour of sky-high visuals and enough pixels to overpower Adam Sandler €“ and that's a darn shame. In an era of middling mid-card matches and perplexing title pushes, WWE needs some serious Sunday night sparkle €“ and custom stages could just be the answer. Here's why...

 
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Happy-snapping worldly wordsmith. In between snapping street shots, tapping out stellar prose and having more hair-brained ideas than a barber with a bachelor's in business, you'll find him fumbling with the latest fitness fads and dreaming of a debut in F1 (he's a late bloomer, OK?).