WM31 - 5 star production values

[PeterSellersSTL]

Wrestlemania 31 was an orgy of visuals, and just insane production values. The terminator tie in wrestlemania font was really cool. I really got a futuristic late 21st century east asia feel from it. I loved the set and stage, "wrestlemania" written across the stage really sold the enormity of the set. It must have taken Seth 7 seconds in a full sprint to get down to the ring.

I thought Wrestlemania 29's set was a bit too busy and I'm guessing obtrusive to those in attendance. I thought the ring area this year for WM31 was very sleek and streamlined, I liked the clear roof above the ring to protect it but also keep views as clear as possible. I usually don't like outdoor Mania's because of all the work they have to do around the ring but this wasn't distracting at all.

Other thoughts:

There's a shot during Undertaker's entrance of Taker and the backdrop of the set from the far end of the ring that was amazing. The sun was beginning to set, the flames and smoke were in the background, the logo and the higher led screen. Sick.

Bray's Scarecrows - just an awesome play on Undertaker's druids. They did what they could being outside in the sunshine, keeping the camera on Wyatt and allowing the scarecrows to fall in behind him was great. The match itself wasn't as electric as Rock Hogan but for me it was iconic. Wyatt sharing a ring with Taker was amazing, what a rub.

Rusev's tank and entrance - possibly IMO the greatest Wrestlemania entrance of all time. Time Magazine even agrees:

http://time.com/3762902/greatest-wrestling-entrance-tank-rusev-wwe-wrestlemania31/?xid=IFT-Trending

Everything Rusev does is done with a quiet brooding charisma. This stage and moment weren't too big for him at all.

Reigns 360 pan with the fireworks was really epic and actually really pretty.

HHH's entrance was really cool, nearly as good as 30's but I love tight closeups. Sting's entrance was just as cool, I loved the red jacket, again, Asia-esque. I felt like this Wrestlemania set could have been sat down in Seoul, Korea. It looked that cool. It looked even cooler as the night closed. All that was missing was a dragon.

A tip of the hat to everyone getting to the stage and setting up so quickly, it really moved along. The set design team really outdid themselves.

 

[Bagpipes]

Despite the way the physical and performance aspects of the show looked, I thought the hands-on technicality in the camera department was very poor.

Numerous times there were awkward angle shots, extreme closeups of various non-important body parts at random times and a total lack of camera on important spots during a big entrance or match.

It's not something that really effected how much I enjoy the show (very much), just something that really shouldn't happen at your biggest event of the year.

 

[Dave]

In terms of the overall production of the show, there were positives and there was negatives too. The set design was actually a lot better than last year's; which I thought was overly elaborate and too clunky looking. This year's attempt was a lot more sleek and a little bit more elegant.

But Bagpipes is right, there was too many times when the camera crew and the production office made a complete hash of it. Too many times they got too close to the people and we're knocked out of the way. It happened with The Rock, Stardust and Skyler Grey too. What's more, you can hear a camera guy cough when The Undertaker appears and then he manages to capture another member of the production care running across the entrance before Taker appears.

 

[Navi]

I loved the set design and all the elaborate entrances. I have to say though the camera work was not up to WWE standards for their biggest show of the year. Many times they missed spots that should have been front and centre and took away from the whole thing.

The one thing that did bother me was the open air stadium in bright sunlight. I'm used to watching PPV's in either a closed stadium or an open stadium but at night. It really looked more like a Tribute to the Troops show. I can't help but feel that the fans way up top would have had issues being able to make out who was who. At least at night you have the lights and while you still might be pretty far away, you can at least see the tron, and who's coming down the ramp.

I know Vince loves those big attendance records, but when it starts to take away from the show itself, then maybe it's time to rethink. Sometimes less is better.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I wouldn't be shocked if they are using newer camera people, remember Full Sail is working with WWE as part of the NXT stuff, so one or two of them might have been promoted up after graduation. The problem I found was that it being outdoors meant things like the Renee/Panel segments suffered from sound echo and flutter from the PA and crowd.

Entrancewise, Rusev's blew my mind... it was the single best ring entrance I think WWE has ever managed, even if it was stolen a bit from Rocky 4. The Russian Anthem is extremely stirring in that kind of situation, sure the flag and Lana were a bit cheesy but a fucking TANK? It beat Bray's from last year, perhaps that's why his fell a little flat this year... Lana was beaming and rightfully so that her man was getting his Mania moment and even the most patriotic American was gonna be awestruck by the sheer audacity and spectacle of it. It'll be remembered for a LONG time, whatever becomes of Rusev.

Daylight really messed with the show, Taker and Bray both suffered badly and with Bray's injury as well it just shows how good the kid is that he managed to pull out a strong match in what must have been bitterly disappointing circumstances. Everything seemed set for "American Badass" Taker... even his look once in the ring, no one has said if it was an option, but I wouldn't be shocked if both garbs/setups were available in case the light just didn't fade in time...

My only major gripe with the show was the timing was clearly off... Bray's injury might have caused some of it but there was a real "on the fly" vibe about it, they seemed to be stalling and then suddenly rushing to fit everything in. It's never really been THAT noticeable in any other WWE PPV I've seen ever... usually they have a plan for this kind of thing, they can go backstage for a promo or throw in a quick squash (not sure why Sheamus couldn't have destroyed someone in 4 minutes with intros...). I can't put my finger on where it went wrong, but it just seemed to very quickly and they shaved the main event to accommodate... most likely Trips and Steph/The Rock took too long to get Ronda involved or Trips' Terminator stuff took too long to get going... It could have been done far better if Arnie just donned the costume and accompanied Trips... then again it could have been simply down to giving Bray precious minutes to get ready, as if the stories are true and he could barely walk most of the day...the longer he'd have the better.