10 Things We Learned From Attending WWE WrestleMania 35 Live
5. Daylight: The Atmosphere Killer
This wasn't just your writer's first WrestleMania, but his first open-air wrestling show held in a big sports stadium. Thus, the day/night dynamic was totally new for him.
WrestleMania's atmosphere is partly dependent on whether it's dark or not. It doesn't truly feel like 'Mania when the sun's still up. The lighting effects are mostly useless, the pyro doesn't pop like it would against a black backdrop, and the building just looks like a big, grey mulch. It's ugly and not what you expect from 'The Grandest Stage Of Them All' when you've only ever consumed 'Mania on tape.
Everything changes when the sun goes down, the building transforms into a beautiful bowl of colored lights, and the audience gets into the 'Mania groove. It feels like a different show entirely. Even if you aren't totally into whatever is happening in the ring, you can just look around the stadium and enjoy the visual feast.
That isn't to say there can't be a special atmosphere when the sun's still up. Seth Rollins' Universal Title win over Brock Lesnar proves there can, but a dark-sky ambiance helps.