9 Things You Notice Attending WWE Live

4. In-Your-Face Cameras

Do you ever wonder why the Tombstone is executed with The Undertaker always facing the same direction? Or why every superstar conducting an interview always has their back to the same section of the audience? Why doesn't Roman Reigns make his entrance from the opposite side of the arena, just once? The answer is the same in all instances: it's because of the hard camera. To fans in the arena of a WWE event, one of the more obvious components of the WWE's staging and setup is the placement of the hard camera. Usually positioned in the first elevated mezzanine with the Titantron to its left, the hard camera has come to be the main area of focus for WWE wrestlers. They are trained to "play to" the hard camera and must be aware of its location and, more importantly, their location in relation to it, at all times. Wrestlers need to know where the hard camera is so that their move (especially their finisher) are best captured for the television audience. Superstars and divas also need to know where to focus their pre-match, mid-match and post-match poses, which side of the ring to enter, which part of the apron to stand on, and more. These are seemingly innocuous but vital things that every WWE star must remember and adhere to. As important as the hard camera is, the cameras that are worked by various camera operators are often more visible to the live audience than the stationary camera. These men are constantly moving all around the ringside area, attempting to capture the best possible angles for everything that's being recorded. For the fans in attendance, it's a perspective not seen from home and is most obvious during an in-ring interview or certain wrestler's entrances. Ryback is a great example, as his walk to the ring is basically obstructed by a camera man sticking a huge HD camera inches away from the Big Guy's face. Watching the show from the comfort of your living room they are hardly noticeable, but in the arena its difficult not notice the cameras and the camera operators. It's show business and it is the nature of the beast, but it can be distracting.