"WWE is too polished/overproduced/nice-looking"

[Burst]

Just another criticism pet peeve of mine I'd like to hear justified by people that believe it.

I'm not talking about over-scripting the promos, the predictable commercial break spots, or the arguable predictableness of the shows in general, I'm talking more about the production aspects, e.g. the titantron/stage, the ringside area, that sort of thing.

What seems the most inexplicable to me (and again, to me) is the people that hate on the titantron and lighting and what not. To me, part of wrestling has always been about the spectacle, and one of the big appeals to me of going to one of the taped shows, even though you know you'll get more and longer matches and arguably better wrestling at house shows, is the pyro, the lighting, the titantron, all that.

It's 2012, we can't expect a company as rich as the WWE to have production values looking like 1997 ECW, as much as an awful lot of fans seem to want it to.

I've also seen, not so much here but in other places, inexplicable hatred for the type of ringside barricade the 'E uses verses the more traditional but more painful and arguably dangerous metal railings. Yeah, I get tradition, but IMO the 'E's barricades looks nicer, looks less Mickey Mouse league, and probably hurts less to hit.

I guess I just don't get the notion that crappy production values make wrestling look "more authentic". If anything it makes it look more like the "wrasslin'" stereotype that fans in general have been trying to ditch for ages but are probably never going to be able to.

But that's just me, and that's just me ranting.

[rapidfire187]

I complain about things like that sometimes when it's something stupid and distracting like the red/blue light on the crowd and the blue lighting of Sin Cara matches. I also comlain when people in backstage segments hav entrance music (aksana) or cut to a video (johnny ace). Things like that are completely unnecessary and make the show look bad. WWE IS overproduced. Yes, wrestling is a spectacle but by having such an elaborate set up 4 times a week, theres nothing spectacular about it.

[comahan]

On problem I have with the tron is that its the same on both shows. I liked it when each show had a unique look, now its just a change of color.

[Deleted]

WWEs production, lighting, camera angles etc are a good thing that other feds should aspire to, honestly.

[Beartato]

I also think this is one of the dumbest criticisms ever.

[Nerdkiller the threadkiller]

Maybe it's the nostalgia goggles talking, but I do like the older style RAW arenas, with the banners hanging down, the metal grates and the big titantron, just being...a titantron. It doesn't have to be too cheap, just don't go overboard with the production and style of the show.

[Allie Kitsune]

Jan 20, 2012 12:59:44 GMT -5 Nerdkiller the threadkiller said:

Maybe it's the nostalgia goggles talking, but I do like the older style RAW arenas, with the banners hanging down, the metal grates and the big titantron, just being...a titantron. It doesn't have to be too cheap, just don't go overboard with the production and style of the show.

I think the only thing I miss from the old era is the Blue Cage.

[Alex Shelley]

I don't think it's wrong for WWE to have higher quality production, but for whatever reason, the crappier quality stuff is a lot easier for me to watch, and I do prefer it.

Not at a criticism as much as a preference on my part.

[Bone Daddy]

To think of WWE and ROH as the same thing, or WWE and 1997 ECW as the same thing, is just crazy. At this point the products are totally different, with just a few things in common.

[Djm Doesn't Find You Funny]

I think this argument is on par with a discussion I had with somebody about comparing WWE and other companies.

WWE is American Idol. It's mean to be an over the top spectacle for the mass audiences. A company like Ring of Honor is like the show Austin City Limits. It's not going to compete as far as production goes.

I made another comparison. You've got a lot of mainstream music that is produced and pristine down to the smallest nuance, just so it's easily accessible for the mass audience. People see that as the standard and "the only way" to do things. To other people how synthetically and perfectly produced WWE is may be a turn off because it can be seen as contrived, inauthentic, for the sake of being easily digsetible.

I see the appeal in both. I don't think you can write off either one, the way a lot of people that will praise WWE will.

Part of me does find WWE's production to be overly synthetic. Matches and TV segments have grown formulaic and repetitive. The set has grown stagnant, and the look of the show, while state of the art, is hardly innovative.

There's very little sense of "anything could happen" on WWE television, mainly because of how overly produced everything is.

[PKO]

It's just preference really isn't it? Some people will like the flashy/professional look and some will like the rough around the edges look. Neither is right or wrong, it's just opinion on a visual aspect. Some people will like carpet in their houses, some will like floorboards.

As for the barricades, I liked the ones they had in the late 90's early 2000's. The hard plastic ones that could be stripped away to reveal the metal.

[Brother Nero....Wolfe]

I'll say this, I love how overproduced the WWE is. I couldn't get into TNA and ROH because of how underproduced they were, and TNA really isn't that bad production wise.

[Dean-o]

Ever heard of all style, no substance? That's what the WWE is. They are too overproduced.

[xCompackx]

I don't mind it for how bright and shiny it is... It just gets a bit hard to suspend that disbelief when you see shiny guys wrestling in a shiny right when they're supposed to settle differences.

[jcsuperska]

I think the only problem I've ever had with WWE's production is the Sin Cara lighting. That's the only production-related thing that has made me enjoy the product less.

[barefoot]

Just like Rome before the fall... Nice looking facade, but the things going on inside are not near as nice as it looks. That's the first thing that always pops into my mind.

I really like the simple sets the best. Like the one they use for MSG... It is great.

[Lance Uppercut]

Jan 20, 2012 12:56:39 GMT -5 Beartato said:

I also think this is one of the dumbest criticisms ever.

The criticism is that the WWE always uses the same style for everything to the point where it's stale and stagnant.

The sets make every show, in every city look exactly the same. People liked when the arena looked different depending on the city they were in. That's why a lot of people liked MSG shows on TV, cause that giant entrance in the middle was different.

"Too polished" argument is for things like backstage where The obvious perfect lighting and perfectly timed cues make the segment look too much like a perfectly scripted tv show void of any spontaneity instead of the "anything can happen" sporting event most people like wrestling to pretend to be.

Overproduced is for situations like when a person makes a surprise or impromptu apearance and they just have to come out with theme music, pyro, and whatever special entrace gimmick they got going.

"Oh no the office guy has something to say, time to pump that entrance music".
"Who's that guy? I've never seen him before in my life, but he's here to save Kofi with his perfectly time and produced entrance music".

[Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill]

Jan 20, 2012 12:56:39 GMT -5 Beartato said:

I also think this is one of the dumbest criticisms ever.

[MrBRulzOK]

Eh, I don't see a problem with the production values. Honestly that's one of the few things that has been consistently good about the WWE in the past few years. In fact it's probably the only thing that you can say has remained that way for a long time now.

Sure, they do tend to overproduce things a little, I suppose, and some of their designs are a bit lazy (The set design whenever they go to England that always involves those stupid old fashioned red telephone booths for example.) But overall I really don't have that much of a problem with the sets. It definitely gives you the feel of what you'd expect from the number one professional wrestling company in the world.

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2012 12:56:39 GMT -5 Beartato said:

I also think this is one of the dumbest criticisms ever.

This. I hate looking back at how minor-league a lot of the PPV sets from the Attitude Era look.