PWInsider.com was sent the following from a man (who is remaining anonymous) that worked a recent SmackDown taping on the production staff. In it, he provides a very detailed look at what goes on backstage in terms of preparation and planning, and is a must read for wrestling fans wanting to learn more.
As a warning, this post contains spoilers for this Friday's episode of SmackDown. I don't normally run spoilers on my site, but I thought this was interesting.
"I worked the production crew on the Smackdown taping last week and wanted to provide some insights:
First, Its not difficult to see why WWE wants to branch out and provide live event production for outside entities. Their crew is incredibly efficient, and the operation is unbelievable. The WWE crew is also very courteous and knowledgeable. The stage manager, a man named Jet steers the ship, and he does a hell of a job.
A man named Paul Jay (although it may have been Jay Paul, it was a long day) had his last day on the job. I was told that he is an extremely well respected audio engineer/producer. The entire crew, wrestlers included, serenaded him while "so long, farewell..." played on the PA. He was presented with a cake, which Triple H gently smashed in his face.
There were several talents that I did not recognize from either NXT, TE, or the FCW roster page that got significant time in the ring during the early rehearsal, so I am guessing they were locals who were getting private tryouts with the company. They all worked matches, which Nunzio refereed. Some of them looked pretty good. There was a guy with a blond mohawk with a decent look. There was also a tag team that called themselves the "Freak Squad". Their look was less than impressive.
Derek Niekirk's dark match with Johnny Curtis was not especially smooth. He was in great shape, though.
The segment with the MITB participants received a full and very thorough rehearsal. Those who got mic time read directly from scripts. Cody actually read his script completely in character, which made for humorous moments when he flubbed a line or misread something. You can tell that Daniel Bryan is uncomfortable with the whole scripted promo thing. The promos were either rewritten, or the wrestlers went off script, as they were different for the show.
Triple H was very involved in every aspect of this segment.
