When WWE made the jump to high definition programming in early-2008, there was a lot of hullabaloo about what this actually meant for the average fan. At the time, television sets which could carry HD were still pretty expensive, but obviously it's now the norm for even the most budget of sets to be HD ready. It's all well and good that the company would want to show their product off in the flashiest way imaginable, but why was the decision taken to create a standard HD set for each show? Beforehand, both Monday Night Raw and Smackdown were differentiated not only by their rosters and colour scheme, but also by the different set which would sit atop the entrance ramp. Gone was the infamous fist breaking through glass which had been a staple of Smackdown, and in place was a fairly mundane looking square set-up. This has been a similar problem with Pay-Per-Views, which don't have quite the same unique vibe. Bring back those swinging claws from Backlash!
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
