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From the Fist to Ovaltron, Every WWE SmackDown Stage Ever
WWE SmackDown completed 22 years on cable television last week. The festivities and big matches are not ready to stop as the blue brand presents a Throwback edition. Ever since WWE announced the throwback edition, fans have dived into their favorite memories of SmackDown.
While others dive deep into their favorite memories, others are talking about their favorite SmackDown stages! Yes, this is true. Hence, today we’re gonna look at the evolution of SmackDown stages over the years.
The Ovaltron (September 1999 – August 2001)
Although the pilot episode of SmackDown aired on 29th April, 1999. It wasn’t until September that the show became a regular on cable television. WWE SmackDown’s debut stage was famously known as the ‘Ovaltron.’ It had four oval strips on the entrance with a fifth and smaller oval screen in the back.
The oval-obsession wasn’t limited to only the entrance area of the stage. On the right or left, they also had another giant Oval screen to display matches. The background of the stage was covered with a cloth shaped like a diamond or in a spider-web style. You can perceive what you see!
PG-Era HD Stage (January 2008 – July 2016)
WWE ushered into the PG-Era with High Definition. The company was moving into the world of HD programming, and the new stages were a part of that effort. This set is a Universal set WWE used for both Raw and SmackDown throughout for almost a decade, with small changes or additions for both brands.
The HD Stage had nothing great about it in terms of looks. It was a little too neat for a wrestling show, in our opinion. The stage had a huge WWE logo on the left, a huge titantron, and LED screens all around it. There was a curved LED screen on top that displayed the brand name.
SmackDown Live (July 2016 – September 2019)
After discarding the brand split for almost half a decade, WWE revived the Draft again. Once again, SmackDown and Raw had exclusive superstars. And it also included exclusive stages! The SmackDown Live stage had a huge rectangular titantron curved at the edges on top.
It also had 10 large LED panels and four comparatively smaller LED’s on either sides. A strip of 10 LEDs similar in size to the four on the sides makes up the top portion of the stage.
Wrestlers entered from the middle of the stage as two LED panels made up as generic boards.
WWE SmackDown on FOX set (October 2019 – present)
A new era means a NEW STAGE!
@ReneeYoungWWE, @BookerT5x, @WWEBigE, and @XavierWoodsPhD introduce the @WWEUniverse to the NEW @WWE Friday Night SmackDown stage! pic.twitter.com/upCXgdrf7O
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) October 4, 2019
The current SmackDown set debuted on WWE SmackDown’s premiere on FOX. It continued the tradition of entering from the middle of the stage. The stage has four semi-hexagonal arches on either sides. It also features a giant titantron at the top, with over 25 LED sideboards.
Currently, the arches are not seen on SmackDown as WWE is bringing the shows from the WWE ThunderDome. Setting up a full-fledged set would be a tedious task. However, we expect the company to take efforts for the Throwback edition.
The Iconic Fist Stage of WWE SmackDown (August 2001 – January 2008)
We’ve saved the best for the last! After Rhyno gored Chris Jericho through the SmackDown set in 2001, the company got a chance to revamp its look.
WWE debuted the iconic fist stage on the second anniversary of SmackDown. The stage had a semi-circle titantron that displayed the generic SmackDown logo at the bottom center.
Right over the titantron was the huge fist with two large titantrons on its either sides. Not just that, but the art around the titantrons and fist was immaculate.
It resembled shattered glass panes and was a very unique design compared to its Monday Night counterpart, Raw. This fist stage is the greatest SmackDown stage ever built and we hope WWE brings it back for the Throwback edition.
Which SmackDown stage/set do you like the most? Let us know in the comments below!
Also Read: From Jumanji to Bumblebee, Top 5 Movies Starring WWE Superstars.
The post From the Fist to Ovaltron, Every WWE SmackDown Stage Ever appeared first on EssentiallySports.
