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The different look for WWE Raw Monday night in Little Rock sounds like it was by necessity and not by choice.
There was plenty of discussion online during the most recent episode of Raw about the new look that appeared without warning. The show featured a smaller stage and video screen, almost reminiscent of some WWE house shows, and different lighting rigs as well.
However, PW Insider’s Mike Johnson says the changes were due to the size and interior dimensions of Simmons Bank Arena, where the show was held, as well as the winter weather in the Little Rock area.
PWInsider.com is told that that the venue, which opened back in 1999, was not structured in a way that could support the company’s current lighting rigs, which hang from the ceiling of the venues, due to concern about the amount of snow sitting atop the arena due to the weather conditions.
Johnson added that the adjustments were not in any way due to WWE “cutting back” on presentation elements like pyro.
That will be a comforting thought for WWE fans anxious to see if changes are made to Raw’s staging in the company’s new era as part of TKO. So far, the new upper management headed by CEO Ari Emanuel seem content to be hands off and let WWE do its thing.
One positive outcome of this week’s Raw is that if another venue requires similar adjustments down the road, WWE now knows it can configure the stage and lighting the way it did this week. Flexibility is always a good thing, even for the industry leader.
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