[JamesCurtis24]

I find when I watch WWE now things feel... different. And I don't mean from a standpoint of quality or wrestlers. I find the fact that the WWE lights the crowd Red or Blue or whatever color has completely changed the look of the WWE shows making them feel almost more cartoonish or circus like.

When I first started watching again, I thought it was kind of cool. Now I hate it. Prior to the change I feel like the WWE just felt more dark and gritty without using all the extra lights. But I mean obviously the lighting is probably use for camera tricks and I'm sure the kids love it.

I don't know about you guys, but I seriously think I'd enjoy the shows more if they just got rid of all those damn lights and make things appear a little bit more gritty. Even if they do have the big polished titantron.

What do you guys think about the lights?

 

[Ryu Hayabusa]

Visually i guess. I think its abit much when WWE makes the lights go all dark and there's a literally a spotlight on whoever's cutting a promo which most of the time is supposed to be serious but it just feels forced.

 

[Stanford]

I'm with you all the way. Exposing everything with excessive lighting hurts the atmosphere in the arena. More of an ominous feeling would definitely help.

 

[Ratedr4life]

Yeah I prefer the more gritty look of the WWE from the attitude era, all the new HD sets and lighting makes it feel cheap, if that makes any sense.

 

[dxbender]

The lighting makes it look more like a tv show, than a "sports event".

Though at times, I'd rather see the lights, than some stupid signs fans make.

 

[Ziggler Mark]

:bosh

the HD set makes the show look cheap?



I dont mind the HD set, the lighting during the show needs to be dimmer. And they need to do away with those stupid fucking beam lights they plant in the crowd. They look awful.

 

[Damage Case]

Less lighting is better lighting.

 

[2K JAY]

WWE is too over produced. You're correct.

 

[Arcade]

How do you people notice this shit?

 

[Stanford]

How do you people notice this shit?

You don't notice the red and blue lights that allow you to see the track marks on every CM Punk fan? I kid, of course. But seriously, it's the way the show is presented to us. Of course we're going to notice it.

 

[Rock316AE]

Completely agree and I'm saying it for years now. The HD ruined the wrestling atmosphere with their colorful late night show design, everything looks clean and scripted. The arenas also looked bigger back then, yes, that's also because of the number of people, still if you put 7k at that time, it would still look better than now, you can watch a segment from 99 with the wide shots they're taking and a big set, then watch a RAW from 2008-2012 in the same building and think that they're using half the venue. I get that they can't expose the empty seats but I will never know how they're managing to make their arenas look so small and bland today. You only need to look at the HHH/Orton house brawl and Austin/Phillman brawl, one looks realistic and believable, the other looks phony and scripted, says everything about the huge difference.

As for the size of the arenas, it can't be just me who sees the big change. The fact that they're now doing 5-10k on average for RAW instead of 15-20k back then is a factor but that's more than the attendance. WCW also looked specifically bigger in every arena on the same level of the WWF and probably more than that.

1:30 for example:

It looks like a 150k stadium compared to the "size" of their arenas in the SAME building now. So with the HD, somehow they ruined the atmosphere even with the angles, seating and fans don't buying tickets lol(Can't blame them TBH).

 

[Ziggler Mark]

It looks like a 150k stadium compared to the "size" of their arenas in the SAME building now.

i totally agree that the HD has ruined the look of the show today. But, by the same token, those arenas back then also looked like they were 150k capacity because everyone was on their feet, making noise for every single guy on the roster. And thats not because Vince was forcing a specific face or heel down their throats, but more because the constant action kept the crowd in the show.

Part of the reason why today's production looks like such shit is because the action isnt consistently flowing, story lines dont cross paths at all, and people get lulled to sleep by a mediocre product. The constant commercial breaks, twitter polls, and video packages do nothing to get fans off their asses. And when it comes time for the crowd to get into it, they cant be bothered because WWE has put them the fuck to sleep. Just look at the last month worth of raw...including smark cities. It's like whenever they pan to the crowd, theyre all sat there like theyre watching a fucking play. Half of them with their heads in their hands and the other half are barely into it.

 

[Arcade]

You don't notice the red and blue lights that allow you to see the track marks on every CM Punk fan? I kid, of course. But seriously, it's the way the show is presented to us. Of course we're going to notice it.

I've seen the crowd lighting before, but this isn't really a problem at all. It's not like the lights completely kills the quality of the Raw and Smackdown.

 

[Kabraxal]

I actually liked the lighting from the late eighties... just had a special feel to it to me. The Attitude Era wasn't terrible though either. I think the biggest problem isn't the lights as much as the overly gawdy and huge set that just needs to be scrapped. Simple is better WWE... simple is better.