Favourite PPV stage/set

[spinningtorturerack]

This may seem like a really wide or vague question, but WWE has always struck me as having amazing sets/stages/titantrons for their PPV's its a part of the PPV's I always look forward, seeing their amazing creative designs. I'm gonna give a top five, unfortunately (I can't find any pictures):

5) Backlash 2000 - I thought the swinging hooks looked amazing and made it look really dynamic and simple, not too over dressed like some sets.

4) Great American Bash 2004 - Again a very simple set with a giant circle titantron in the middle with american flags either side, just looked very good and suited the ppv.

3) Wrestlemania X-8 - Im sure many will have better WM's sets but this is my personal favourite. The grandness of the way it was set out, with the giant steel triangle and the spattered titantron screens made it very interesting to look at.

2) Royal rumble 2000 - This is just amazing, the themed set with the half taxi on top and the road, all based around the main event street fight gave it such a great feel, especially for madison square garden that can be quite awkward considering they have to arrange the set differently.

1) Armageddon 1999 - IT HAS A FREAKING TANK!!!! In all seriousness it summarizes the feel of the ppv and the set looks like absolute carnage which gave the ppv a very aggressive and fun feel, especially for the main event street fight of McMahon vs HHH.

I may seem biased in my limited fond memories and the fact I never really followed wcw, but feel free to add any from all and any companies.

SO what is your favourite set? And what makes a really good ppv set stand out to you?

 

[baken1942]

Id say WM 18 as well, as I was there and the stage was MASSIVE. My buddy and I walked around before the PPV started and we went around to where the stage was, and Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy and someone else, cant remember who it was now, were watching a tv of some previous match. We yelled at them and they gave us a nod, that was about it though. But thats besides the point

My other favourite was the old Circle set they used to use for like all the PPV's. It was just a big circle thing

 

[Power & Glory]

I don't think your question is vague. In fact, i often thought about this myself. The ring mats, colors of ropes, the search lights and that little extra they go sometimes like you say in example the hooks for Backlash. I'm also a big fan of open stadiums, that has a big intake on my choices which are :

5) WCW Hog Wild - any of them in Sturgis. The curvy ramp and all, just the the feeling of the crowd all stacked up like that is what made it nice for me

4) WWE Vengeance 2005 - i liked the casino and card style setup since it was in Las Vegas

3) WWE SummerSlam 1991 - MSG, i love that short entrance from the middle of arena. This event is in my top 5 all time

2) WrestleMania 23 - No big reason, perhaps the nice coloring in form of blue lights all over is what got my vote on that one.

1) WrestleMania VIII - By far the best stage i have seen, from the huge stadium to the white, open like rooftops. Hey, WM 9 was in open and didnt looked this good in my opinion.

Thats it, take care

 

[Takerfan93]

WRESTLEMANIA 24!!!!!!!!!! Easily

That stage was AMAZING, it was so big and so much different from anything we've seen before. The production of that show was spectacular in all. the set lit up so well, it's hard to even describe it. But considering you all saw Wrestlemania 24 you will know what I mean.

And I actually thought this year's Wrestlemania had a fantastic set as well. The pyramid design was amazing and just like Wrestlemania 24, the stage lit up so well and had that "huge show" feel

 

[spinningtorturerack]

I have to agree Power & Glory with your idea of open stadiums, i particularly like flat walkways to the ring aswell, like wrestlemania 16 (although that was a little bland).

Another I would like to add to the list is King of the ring 2001, i hate the royalty themed KotR's, but the creepy massive wooden throne that eerily looks like an electric chair, and the way it tied into the promos just made that set look immense.

I'd possibly add TLC 2009, only because the way they hung those tables, ladders and chairs looked pretty awesome!

 

[wwefan219]

I think this is a great topic to talk about. There have been so many great sets and many not so great sets. One of the main things I always like to see at every WWE ppv's is how the sets look. Over the years I have had many favoritrs and many not so favorites. Here are my picks

WrestleMania XXIV- The set was amazing to look at. Being that it was an outdoor show WWE had a ton of free space to work with and the set fit the whole look of the show and it fit right in with the whole Florida theme.

Armageddon 1999 and 2002- I always liked the Armageddon sets. The first one in 1999 was great. I will agree with spinningtourtureracks earlier post. It had a TANK!! The set for 2002 was nice also with all of the flames that shot up throughout the show.

Any set that was used at MSG. I always enjoy to see how WWE puts things together at MSG. Im more old school so I like the regular entrance that they use in the middle of the arena. Its always nice to see what WWE has up their sleeve for MSG.

WrestleMania XXVI- We just saw it this past Sunday. I liked the set. The whole pyramid look and the southwestern theme. I thought it ws one of the better sets WWE has put together in a while. Good set for a 'Mania.

Now here are some sets that I have never liked
WrestleMania 25- How much more worse can this event get. I recall watching the show last year and when I saw the set I thought it was just so plain. It made the show even worse for me.

King of the Ring 2001-2002- Some may disagree with this one but I never cared for the big electric chair set they used for these 2 KOTR ppv's

The old school In Your House set- At first it wasn't that bad, but afer using it constantly for every IYH until they changed it for Bad Blood 1997, it just got boring to see. Did anyone else ever notice that by 1997 the "House" set did not really fit the themes of some of the ppv's?

I will stop there I could go on and on. One last thing. Did WCW ever have a good set? I was never a big WCW fan but I did watch some ppv's during the Monday Night War era and I always laughed at their sets. The set for SummerSlam 2007 reminded me too much of the Bash at the Beach set.

 

[dionlyone18]

Wow i never thought someone would make this..but good thread...my top all time fav has to be...either summerslam 2006, this past mania, maina 18,..you know what scratch that my top all time fav one is wrestlemania 19....that set looked crazy good..heres why...
the long ramp- im a sucker for hugge ramps..and this one was at an angle....and the set look sooo amazing...i think also cause it had my all time fav hbk entrance..he made it loook soooooooo cool...
the inside outside arena- i know,i know done beofre at most manias..including the last one..lol but this one looked soooo sick...

-the awsome stage- i know alot of people who are reading this think im strange..just go back and look at wrestlemania 19 stage..and tell me it doesnt look soooo sick and gets you hyped...i know mania 18 stage was cool,and even the backlash one was sick (my second and third fav stages are vengeance 2005 and invasion 2001)

so my point is..the reason mania 19 set is my fav is when i look at it i think of all the awsome matches and the last time scsa walked down that ramp, the last mania we saw taker as the american bad ass, technically rocks last mania...i know he wrestled at 20....the first mania with the whc on the line in the wwe lineage, and the crazy lesnar and angle match...and with that awsome stage in the background...not only is that my fave mania, its my fav ppv set

 

[smfiscus1]

I know it's not a PPV stage but I always loved smackdown's old FIST over the titantron! it was awesome! but as far as PPV goes, I'm going to say TLC with all the chairs and stuff hanging from the rafters. that was done very well and it looked amazing

 

[thedriffter50]

My favourite sets were Wrestlemania 19 ( I loved that set, with the huge mirrors by the entrance ), Wrestlemania 21, Wrestlemania 20 and The great american bash 2004...i even like the current Raw set ( looks very big and shows how big WWE really is )...good thread

 

[By Eight Hooves to Asgard]

finally a decent thread...

I'm going to go with some of the other posters here and say Wrestlemania 19 had one of my favourite sets. WWE always put a great deal of effort into their Wrestlemania sets (with the exception of 22, 23 and 25) and this one is the best, by far.

Royal Rumble 2006 was a cool one as well, a lot of thought and meticulous planning must've gone into that one. Not forgetting the Cena entrance with the elevated ramp as well...

Since recently most WWE PPVs have had almost identical sets I can't think of any sets as of late that have particularly blown me away; however this year's Royal Rumble I did like. Nice color combinations and screens, lights etc.

the 2003-2006 period, overall, had by far the best sets IMO.

 

[firestormadam]

i always am amazed at the wrestlemania sets. my favorite would have to be 18 though cause the thing was nust massive and they even had an article about it in wwe magazine back then and showed how much steel they used and everything and how many lights it had on it. i also think summerslam 2007 was a pretty cool one with the tropical theme and all the surfboards. im always hyped to see what they come up with

 

[Dan E. Inferno]

I generally like the sets at Wrestlemania. They always go that extra mile to make the show feel special. One of my favourites would be Wrestlemania 21 in los angeles. They had this funny little ramp at the top of the entrance way, and the stage and ramp were covered in red carpet. It was quite simple but effective.

Also, Wrestlemania 24 had a great set. They of course had the advantage of being in the fantastic open air stadium, which added to the feel of the set. Of course, this had that huge entrance ramp that took a while to walk down but it looked great and is was fitting of the huge arena they were in. I also thought the setup above the ring was good, especially when it got dark and the lights came on.

Aside from Wrestlemania, I really liked the Vengeance 2005 set as it had a great, fun Vegas feel to it.