Why WWE Always Uses The SAME STAGE! EXPLAINED! 

What do you think of my explanation? Do you think it's accurate about WWE using the same stage design for all their events?

To add with stadium shows using the tunnels for shows like the Rumble or SSlam, it saves time and even uses more seating for the venue.

Personally I always thought they should’ve gone back to the 2020 crowd raw and Smackdown Arenas but it’s understandable how they can’t

In my opinion although simple they must make slight variations in Raw and SmackDown arenas so as to provide each more of a unique identity, like in 2016 the Raw titantron was curved while SDLive had a different design. Also I believe that PLEs are happening only once a month so they should have special stages for each event!

In this case, I believe televised (including peacock original wwe events/NXT) should stick to this, but old paper views must have some sort of unique design to make everyone who walks in feel more hype rather than just saying oh just feels like what it is on TV

Smackdown Ovaltron '99-'01, Smackdown Fist '01-'08, Raw is War '97-'02, Raw '02, and many of the classic WWE arenas had a different styles that show presented every year until 2022. I miss that WWE used to have different arenas from their shows. That's what makes it special.

The Smackdown fist will always be iconic it should’ve been kept

I really loved 2016 to 2019 stages

I miss the Smackdown 2019 and RAW 2020 Stage (pre-Covid) 🥺🥺🥺

Nobody can say that Smackdown's fist wasnt the most nostalgia inducing stage. It came during the time when so many hall of famers were active wrestlers and was during the end of the attitude era through most of the ruthless aggression era.... Those were good times... Heck it even had been referenced on the WWE spinner belt when it had the SmackDown plate on it even after they went HD

Raw thunderdome stage needs to come back and Smackdown 2019 stage needs to come back Too cuz I HAD ENOUGH 🤬🤬🤬

The screens look a lot cleaner and sleek but some shows it looks cheap when a superstar comes through what looks like a side door with LED lights

I'm used to the same stage setups by now, so I'm not expecting any big stage builds anytime soon (with the exception of WrestleMania)

I feel like the only place they go all out with their stages is Royal Rumble, WrestleMania (with the exception of WrestleMania 35), Crown Jewel, and SummerSlam. I believe it's due to laziness to only have creatively designed arenas rather than being futuristic.

But the thing is in 2020 they had selerstd Smackdown and raw stages. They weren’t as crazy different as back then but were still cool. I mean the Smackdown one was amazing. I don’t get why they never brought that back with crowds.

Not an important question Christian, but why do you think the WWEs using white Ring ropes for both raw and Smackdown?

They should find a way to make stages creative while at the same time being easy to move around. I never understood the complaining about the LED graphics for the ring, barricades, etc. Not asking for much really; just saying it would be cool to add some props every now and then. I'm sorry, but putting a huge LED screen with the Extreme Rules logo doesn't make it feel like Extreme Rules, but it wouldn't hurt to put a few weapons and light designs here and there. I don't want to feel like I'm at a typical RAW show when I'm at freaking summerslam or royal rumble. As it's freaking 2023 and technology is evolving, so it's only fitting for this current era. At least have creative stages for the Big 4 events. I mean I wouldn't care if it takes the crew more effort to create a mania set, as it's freaking WrestleMania. I don't want it to look like mania 35. I mean some of the best stages didn't look like it took much to set up, like KOTR '98 for example. Another example is when NXT had the giant X on the stage for a while during the pandemic era, and their current stage now with the curved titantron and the unique NXT graphic above the fans. I'm curious how difficult it is to hang the wrestlemania sign every week during mania season. I understand how some arenas can't handle the old elimination chamber structure and some old WWE stages, but there's a difference between state of the art LED graphics and just being plain lazy. I remember when NXT had unique stages for Great American Bash in 2020 and Vengeance Day last month, and it wasn't overboard like Armageddon or No Mercy. Just like how I can accept names removed like Bad Blood and Judgment Day, but names like Super ShowDown, Over the Limit, Roadblock: End of the Line or Great Balls of Fire are just plain lazy.

Not like they had a set for RAW & SmackDown from late 2019-early 2020 that they can set up nicely while still having LED screens

I dont mind the giant screen over custom stages. I just wish they actually took advantage of it and did vertual sets like when doing a smackdown anniversary, recreating the fist set or for PLEs doing more complex moving designs instead of it just being the shows logo with some background effects. During RAW XXX they missed a big opportunity to have the giant screen look like the Raw is War set or the iconic set from the 2000s

answer: Logistics

i remember backlash has these iconic blade on each sides of the entrance, it makes more unique ppv on its own

I don't mind looking at the same stages for Raw/Smackdown and some PPVs, however I still think those entrance ramps are not high enough

Great video,as always. Also.I can't help but feel like you and Tempest from PartsFunKnown/Wrestletalk sound a little alike.

I don't need this...back in the 90s there were so many unique stages...every show was something special...today everything looks the same

They should at least have special stages for their big time live events and PPVs.

I really appreciate how difference each show before had a special impact on watching. I never really liked the simplicity of each area. I never enjoyed Raw Smackdown and NXT went away from this. Each venue like Wrestlemania X8 in Toronto was special.

I do understand how it’s a lot easier but damn man, at least bring back the raw and SD stages from 2019-2020. Also bring the red and blue ropes back

I miss when each brand has their own pay paper views as well

while its true that the stages would be really expensive and hard to set, the same cant be said with moving cards. It cant be that expensive to just use a simple green screen for the wrestlers to pose and move while the card is being announced for the PPV. AEW has been doing it recently though and its really cool to see them in HD

Nope they just lack creativity. A billion dollar company, how sad

My favorite WWE stage of all time is the 1999 - 2002 RAW stage. A simple but iconic stage for its time. I also liked the 1999 - 2001 Smackdown Stage and the Smackdown fist stage.

They should get rid of led barricades and post and bring back black barricades And they can make new led stage with Titantron at up and slides downward with same technology

First of all, WM22 and the Raw after 'Mania topk place in the same building. They took down the WrestleMania set and put up the Raw set like it was nothing

I just think it's for budget cuts, and to make themselves more efficient, hence, more profit.

I really miss the Late 2019 - March 2020 stages for RAW and Smackdown

WCW did this same thing in their final year they were in business. Every show - Nitro, Thunder, PPVs - had the same stage setups, making every show look generic and uninspired. I utterly HATE the giant LED screen. It just looks bland. There's no imagination anymore.

Money isn't the issue with WWE as they make boat loads of Dosh so they can definitely afford it. And they used to do it for years using different stages. They just use excuses that aren't really believable just to not do it

I think it's lazy and cheap WWE has a lot of money they can afford it. But I think they should at least give the ppv different stages.

WWE should do what WCW did and at least for PPVs renting out super unique location like how Bash at the Beach would always be at an actual beach or summer resort with a pool around the ring. They don’t have to worry about cost for equipment as much because the location is the theme.

Just bring back the smackdown fist set and do a makeover for raw

Big 4 PLEs should all have unique designs

WrestleMania should be only event a year that should get the special stage treatment. All the other events are fine having the same universal set of both RAW and SmackDown. Honorable mention: The Royal Rumble from the past two years not having much of a stage, keep it that way because of the unique factor.

All these LED boards and bright ass lights need toned down. Miss the old Ruthless Aggression days. When the sets made ppvs feel like something more than just Raw/Smackdown+ on a Sunday night.

It's funny they use the same stage now that they are richier than ever

I miss raw 2016 stage and Smackdown 2019 stage 😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞

I personally think they’ve gone lazy and should go back to doing custom sets for PPV’s and the British flag set for Raw and or Smackdown. They need to set a specific date to have the construction to start and do that because I don’t think some of the fans wanna see the same looking stage just with different designs and events

Big 4 and MITB should at least have a unique stage

What about some game discussion? Not in terms of the game itself, like wrestling gaming channels already do, but in terms of the in-universe production taking place within the games' story modes. I know I asked for sins of them beforehand, but I also meant to ask for discussion topics around them. For example: I'm sure there's at least a handful of people who will go into 2K23 on the day they buy it and immediately redo that match at Starrcade from WWE '12, as a proper WarGames match like it appeared to be intended.

Aew easily does unique stages. I dont hear of Khan or any crew member coming out and saying its the end of the world to transport bc its a job. They signed up for it, not the other way around. And AEW makes a fraction of what WWE makes. Id say i agree with the lazy remarks people make about the stages bc its true. Its even way easier now to create those set pieces with 3D Printing and way less cost effective than back in 2004 when they were doing it regularly.

Everything in this world has become so bland and lazy.

This is the new definitive RAW and Smackdown stage...but I agree with the general consensus on changing up the stage construction for PPV events.

I like the stages. But the LED screen can show the old SD set or Raw set for anniversary shows instead of just the logo

lets hope this changes under the new owners

Seeing Raw live last month which was my first WWE show since Mania 35, I can say the new set is definitely awesome live. You get more of an appreciate for something like it in person. I miss the days of the different set designs, but you are on the money with how bad inflation is, this is the most ideal thing they can do weekly. With that said, Wrestlemania this year I’m sure will have an awesome set design!

I miss smackdowns silver fist. Best times ever to me

I just mostly cared about the fact that they used to show a video instead of their name

Budget cuts….That’s why,we know this already.

I grew up watching WWE where each show and PPV had their own unique look and that’s an aspect about the shows I really liked back in the day. Sure it maybe more work than just adding a big screen for your background, but it added to the experience.

About the price of the stage setups, WWE is a multi MILLION dollar company (& should be a multi billion dollar company), they CAN afford it (they're not MLW or NWA who have little to no LEDs in their setups), they're just lazy & creatively bankrupt. EVERY PPV should have it's own stage design & RAW/Main Event should be different from SmackDown visually with their own stages like in late 2019-early 2020 those stages were & still are great, now RAW is just WWE Red & SmackDown is just WWE Blue, even NXT has different stages (& not WWE Yellow) from the weekly shows to the PPVs (as of 2023). If they don't know how to design it then they can just look up a custom "X" PPV arena in the game's community creations & blammo a unique design for the upcoming PPV (if you take a moment to look at the arenas in CC you'll see that the fans are creative af).

Not to mention saving money on creating specific logo banners when they can now just change the displayed image, it wakes perfect business sense

Thats not torture for the stage crew when that was for a long time the standard and what they are payed to do anyway. Not to mention the wwe has way more than enough loney to pay for a construction crew to set up stages for the weekend and thats assuming wwe doesnt have their own stage crew anyway

Doesn't mean they cant be a little creative

I think Triple H and Nick Khan are focused on improving the in ring product and getting the best talent possible while retaining their main assets than waste money on expensive stages especially now that the WWE is going Global with their PLEs. Also, having a real full capacity crowd is what’s on their mind.

At least the Big 5 (MITB, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, & Wrestlemania) should have custom designs since they are big major ppv in WWE

So the biggest company in their industry decided to lack creative outlets and save money? Bring back the early 2000's. Personality was👏

I don’t mind the giant screen I just want them to make the stage’s unique again and get more creative I don’t really like all the shows such as raw smackdown PPV’s look the same

Thankfully the royal rumble and summerslam aren't affected and I wish they never got rid of entrance videos now it's just boring logos.

The Big 5 PPVs (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Money in the Bank, Summer Slam, and Survivor Series) should have unique stage designs. Wrestlemania obviously does, but the others should too.

I think only the main PPVs should have a special stage design such as Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and obviously WrestleMania.

“Cheapness is not a sense” - Jerry Seinfeld

1:51 bs,they did it just fine when raw smackdown and ecw each had ppvs in the same month.

I’ve always like the 2001 ppv stage set up. That was something else. Now it’s just so generic and bland.

Laziness is the only reason

2002 stages 👌

LED lights makes it look so much better

I think some PPVs should have some custom designs to make them look different from Raw/Smackdown.

All of the stadium shows should have special stages. So Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, Crown Jewel, Clash at the Castle and MITB if they actually plan on keeping it in a stadium this time.

Raw 2001 and Smackdown 2002 are the best arenas

They're being lazy 😞.. SmackDown and raw are two different shows. They deserve to look different.. even the ring ropes are the same white color

The fact is they half ass the arenas now I used to love the classic wwe Areas with the ruthless aggression era and pg era. I just don’t get it man it’s not special anymore. All Thow the arenas look especially amazing on 2k23 not gonna lie

I don’t really care for stages if they change them I’d be like that’s cool I guess

Honestly, Royal Rumble and Sumer Slam should have some kind of stage considering that they're now STADIUM 🏟️ SHOWS

I honestly think the other big 4 ppv plus money in the bank and (sigh) show that take place in KSA should have unique stages

I don't mind a few LED lights and screens but when the stage is nothing but LED lights and screens, it takes away from the fun, I also loathe those LED ring-posts.

I agree

I remember i used to draw wwe ppv stages on my old notebooks

They could at least put stage props and frames at the entrance

Honestly I think it's just money everything is expensive LEDs along with paying staff and not to mention you only use that stage setup once for a pay-per-view that can be a waste of money and it just goes right back into storage never to be used again if they really wanted to do custom stage setups I think they should go back into the archives and use some of the old stuff like they doing for the NXT events I was in the performance center a few years ago

It will be great if the stages had minor/major differences besides motion graphics and lighting

honestly, i like the simplicity of modern wwe stuff

At least the big 4 ppvs should have custom sets that are designed either around the theme of that years ppv or the city it’s in. Royal rumble should always have small set, tunnel entrance. Fits the theme of the show. Summerslam and Survivor Series should always have a custom set whether it’s in a stadium or arena. Honourable mention. Money In the Bank should also have a custom set

The big screen is to simple smackdown could have two fists on the side of the stage that are pyro and for raw that could have like gears that are fire pyro

Using the same stage is fine with me - the LEDs are what changes the show - RAW is red adn SMACKDOWN is blue - Now Wrestlemania YES - big grand stage for the venue. Royal Rumble needs LED screen - not big for the entrances of 70 plus superstars. I'd rather have easy low-key entrances such as Backlash 2023 - very basic. Keeps the eyes to the ring. SummerSlam could have a big stage - and Survivor Series - could use a different stage especially if it is WarGames. The other PPVs use the regular weekly stages and change the logo as per the PPV dictates - change the colours of the ropes would be a nice touch. I"d like to see green ropes for Money in the Bank . Black ropes for other PPVs. Bring in the red, white and blue for house shows or just for fun.

Wwe have own stage for SmackDown and raw ??

I miss the old days.

It would be cheaper not to even have a stage entrance. Just a hallway entrance and a black curtain should be more than enough and save the company tons and tons of more money. Glue an ipad to the curtain to look "futuristic"

Bring back titration vids at least

While i do like simple stages like NXT, it can get generic and stock like WcW 2000 stages. The reason they use the same stage for weekly shows since 2008 was because of WWEHD. Then 2014 hit with the Royal Rumble and every PPV used the same generic weekly stage (and even the same white post and ropes for the rings), the only exception was Elimination Chamber, WM 30, Exreme Rules and Payback. They did this because of cost, they have to save up for the WWE Network to stay a float. It gets annoying when they think of new concepts and the stages don't allow that freedom (GBOF). when the New Era hit, we felt like we got the return of different stages for RAW and SD despite the PPV for respective brands follow this design. 2019 was the high point of the unquie stage philosophy and then the Pandemic ruined it and were stuck with a small tron with no crowd, to a PPV stage with facecam crowd to a WM 35/Supershow Down recyle. With a few exceptions they never went back to the unqie stage designs, all they care about is CGI entrances and royalty free entrance music. Hopefully we get another Unque Stage boom like this.

I heard they do that because it's cheaper to do so

I 100% agree, but I do think the Big Four should go all out with the set up, just leave it away from the ring, where those awful pillars block the views of many in attendance...Only the entrance and sides of the arena ...