5 backstage things that happen during Raw and SmackDown Live

Putting on shows like Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live requires a great deal of effort and hard work, which is something that fans of WWE seem to forget. The product may not always be great sometimes, but that doesn’t mean that we should neglect what the crew members have to go through week in, week out.

WWE, as we all know, is a year-round product with the closest thing to an off-season being the few days that superstars have off for Christmas. Other than that, they’re on the road for the majority of the year and the same can be said for the hundreds of crew members that work tirelessly to ensure the best possible outcome for the company as a whole.

Over the years we’ve been able to peek behind the curtain of WWE on more than one occasion, allowing us to see what really goes on throughout the course of the red and blue brand’s shows. There are certain aspects that we’ll probably never know the full details about.

With that being said, here are five backstage things that happen during Raw and SmackDown Live.

---

Officials and referees

Being a referee in WWE may seem like an easy task, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. Alongside having to try and protect the safety of the competitors in the ring at all costs, the refs actually have earphones plugged in throughout the course of matches as they attempt to multi-task their way through the event.

On the other end of the earphone, will usually be the voices of officials who assist the referees in telling them how long is left of the match and what he needs to do next. There’s a lot of effort that goes into it and we can imagine that it’s quite a stressful job, especially when you consider how many bumps they have to take.

No chance...

Vince in charge

Come hell or high water, Vince McMahon is backstage during Raw and SD Live directing traffic from the comfort of gorilla position. Whenever anyone goes through to the live audience in the arena, Vince is there, either to celebrate their success or berate them for something they’ve done wrong.

The boss also has a headset on throughout the shows so that he can speak to the commentators. So the next time you’re listening to Michael Cole and he makes a mistake, just remember that he has to deal with Vinnie Mac himself yelling instructions to him for the better part of three hours.

Poor old Kevin Dunn.

Camera work

The camera work that goes into the WWE product is absolutely extraordinary, with the company attempting to properly illustrate the combination of athletic performance and soap opera drama. For the entirety of these weekly events, the camera crew need to be directed in a way that makes everyone look good, although the success rate isn’t always that great.

With that being said, they still deserve a lot of plaudits as they have to be thinking about four different things at once at any given time. There’s a great deal of pressure on their shoulders and if something goes wrong with the camera angle, fans usually turn to someone like Kevin Dunn in search of answers.

Drink it in, man.

Pre-taped segments

The backstage segments in WWE can either make or break a show, depending on how confident a superstar is on the mic. However, what some people may not know is that a lot of the skits are pre-taped before the show even begins in order to either save time or give the performers a couple more chances to get it right.

We'd like to imagine Paul Heyman coaching them regarding what to say and how to say it, like how he did it back in his ECW days. Alas, regardless of whether they’re pre-taped or not it seems likely that they’re still a little bit too rushed considering how important they can be for the overall progression of a long-term storyline.

“No, do it this way”.

Match coordination

Orchestrating the perfect wrestling match can be a tricky situation, and if you don’t believe us then just go back and watch Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat from WrestleMania 3. That bout is an absolute classic and it was all rehearsed to perfection for months prior, which may be why it came out so well as a finished product.

Nowadays the basics around a match’s coordination will take place backstage between the two superstars, as they go over the intended finish and what the boss desires it to be. They’ll likely decide upon a few of the spots then and there, with the rest of the bout being called on the fly in the ring.