10 months ago
61 ARTICLE AD
WWE
The January 15 edition of "WWE Raw" is in the books, but one thing that had people talking about the show wasn't the in-ring action, it was the look of the program. WWE is known for having an LED screen with the entrance way built into it, and lighting rigs to brighten up the whole arena. However, the show that took place at The Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas had a much darker set-up, accompanied by a different stage design.
While some people might have thought WWE was scaling back on its production, PWInsider confirmed that isn't the case. Instead, the change of look was down to The Simmons Bank Arena being structured in a such a way that the building wouldn't be able to support the lighting rigs the company regularly hangs from the ceiling. This choice was also made due to the amount of snow that was sitting on top of the arena, which had gathered during a snowstorm that hit the area earlier in the day.
The structure of the arena also resulted in the entrance way being a different design to what fans are used to, which also caused the amount of pyro used on the night to be changed as well. This isn't expected to be the norm, as this Friday's "WWE Smackdown" at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, as well as next week's "Raw" at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, are expected to have the regular stage set-up and lighting rigs return. Fans in Little Rock saw an action-packed show that included #DIY defeating The Judgment Day in the opener, Becky Lynch staking her claim to Rhea Ripley's Women's World Championship, and Seth Rollins retaining the World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Jinder Mahal.
