This week’s Friday Night SmackDown in Houston will see WWE’s first episode of TV in front of live fans since March 2020. And on top of some surprises that are reportedly on the way, the show will also see the debut of a new entrance set for the Blue Brand. Stephanie McMahon gave some insight into what the new set will look like in an interview with Forbes this week, confirming they would include “more digital and augmented reality integrations.”
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“Entrances are going to be more dynamic and captivating thanks to a higher-resolution set for the Jumbotrons used, resulting in more of a theatrical presentation,” the article read. It was not confirmed if Raw will also see its set change for next week’s episode in Dallas.
“We’ve learned a lot during this time utilizing these different techniques and we’re really ready to merge the physical and virtual worlds in ways we never have done before,” McMahon said. “… We’re always looking to be slightly ahead of the curve. From a technology standpoint I think that we’re constantly reinventing ourselves. While we were utilizing some of these techniques, I think the key learnings during Covid absolutely sped up the adoption of those technologies in this way.”
During that same interview, WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns talked about how he has consistently drawn the strongest reactions from crowds for several years, long before he debuted his “The Tribal Chief” heel persona during the Pandemic Era.
“There’s never a time when my music hits, where it’s ‘Oh, I don’t care.’ It’s either ‘I love this guy’ or ‘I hate this guy,’” Reigns said. “I’ve always been able to really pull on the emotional strings of our crowd. For me, that reaction has always been an incredible strength of mine and it’s always been something I’ve been able to rely on.
“Yeah, you say you like this person or think this person should be in my position or this person deserves it or they’ve been through a greater journey or more adversity, but when it comes down to it, who makes the crowd louder? I’ve always, always been that guy. There’s only a handful of guys in the history of our company and the history of our business that can say they have it — that factor that registers with the people, that makes the people stand up and make noise, and I’m in that group.”
