10 Best WWE Set Designs

2. SmackDown (2001 - 2008)

Smackdown Fist
WWE.com

Was this set designed to foreshadow how every fan of a certain age felt when the words "new SmackDown set" were followed by the reveal of something that wasn't the old one?

Absolutely beloved by everybody that lived through it, the ginormous "SmackDown Fist" smashing through glass in between two TitanTrons really is a Sports Entertainment-style artistic triumph with genuine beauty in its ostentatious ugliness.

Thanks to at least one of the video games around the time, there's something of a Mandela Effect regarding the giant clenched beast itself - nobody ever did it for real, but the ability to do it on Shut Your Mouth for the PlayStation 2 buried the idea in people's heads that Jeff Hardy must have done it at least once.

Like the set itself and the indestructible nostalgia around it, the insane mythology is no bad thing. Better that it's remembered for an act of violence that didn't happen than the horrific consequences of somebody trying it for real.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett