{"id":58040,"date":"2018-04-08T16:42:45","date_gmt":"2018-04-08T21:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=58040"},"modified":"2018-04-08T16:42:45","modified_gmt":"2018-04-08T21:42:45","slug":"wrestlemania-34-production-notes-experienced-wrestling-tv-producer-presents-a-look-at-the-potential-run-sheet-a-different-aspect-of-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/04\/08\/wrestlemania-34-production-notes-experienced-wrestling-tv-producer-presents-a-look-at-the-potential-run-sheet-a-different-aspect-of-event\/","title":{"rendered":"WRESTLEMANIA 34 &#8211; PRODUCTION NOTES: Experienced wrestling TV producer presents a look at the potential run-sheet, a different aspect of event"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1948268920\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Having worked in both television and wrestling production for years, when WrestleMania season rolls along I\u2019m always fascinated by the entire aspect of trying to time and produce such a massive show. Just for fun, I would type up a very basic run-sheet for my like-minded friends to enjoy. Like clockwork, as Mania day grew closer every year, I would frequently be asked if I was going to do one. The same occurred this year and for the first time, I thought I would share it with the Torch readers to possibly give fans a different way of viewing such an event.<\/p>\n<p>Every live televised broadcast you see gets very specifically timed out and produced to the smallest detail &#8211; from the projected hit time for every individual segment to where the cameras need to be to when the announcers are on screen to every single pre-tape, musical cue, and on-screen graphic that is needed throughout the broadcast. The live nature constantly dictates a series of changes that evolve throughout the show such as segments getting killed due to running heavy (i.e. the show is running longer than originally planned and changes have to be made to keep it on schedule to hit the same out time). Sports events are a little more unpredictable when it comes to their length and have \u201cfloating\u201d out times as opposed to a news broadcast or a \u2018Saturday Night Live\u2019 type show which have \u201chard\u201d out times (meaning they have to be hit at an exact time). At one time, all WWE pay-per-views had to be out by the 3-hour mark (4 for WrestleMania) but with the evolution of the WWE Network, their pay-per-view events have migrated more towards a floating out time.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s out time is a floating 12am ET\/9pm PT, a five hour window which is the same as the last two Manias (which ended at 12:10am and 11:52pm). There will be likely between 22-27 segments depending on how many matches actually end up on the pre-show. It\u2019s in the timing process that you really determine what there will not be time for on the main show. Now when you see the 22-27 segments, keep in mind that covers a variety of things that are not actual wrestling matches which usually add up to around 30-40 minutes worth on the show. Here is a breakdown of the ones that regularly occur during WrestleMania:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>6:00 segment &#8211; \u00a0&#8216;America The Beautiful&#8217;, followed by pe-produced Cold Open for the show<\/li>\n<li>2-3:00 worth of segments \u2013 One or two backstage promos<\/li>\n<li>1:00 segment \u2013 On-camera introduction of ringside celebrities<\/li>\n<li>1:00 segment \u2013 Site location of next year\u2019s WrestleMania announced in pre-produced commercial<\/li>\n<li>2:00 segment \u2013 Announcement of crowd attendance<\/li>\n<li>3:00 segment \u2013 On-camera reset\/recap with preshow hosts about 3\/4 of the way through the show.<\/li>\n<li>6-7:00 segment \u2013 for any potential concert act that is not part of a specific ring entrance<\/li>\n<li>6-7:00 segment \u2013Hall of Fame introductions<\/li>\n<li>6:00 worth of segments \u2013 Commercials for various products \u2013 WWE video games, Snickers, Tap Out, WWE Network, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Between the ones that do occur and then the additional pieces such as exterior shots of the Superdome, New Orleans, and on-camera announcer segues between segments you end up with right around 30-40 minutes of non-match segments on your typical WrestleMania show. There will occasionally be a non-match segment aberration such as the Rock\/Rousey-Triple H\/Stephanie promo from Mania 31 which was a 24-minute segment but blew up the non-match segment total for that show to 56 minute. On the other hand, the Rock-Wyatts segment from Mania 32 was a 28 minute segment but since it was \u201ctechnically\u201d a match, that kept 32\u2019s non-match segment time at 32 minutes. So as we progress just keep in mind that for WWE\u2019s purposes, it\u2019s all about the segment time and not the actual match itself. In fact, the segment time is usually close to 3\/4 of whatever the actual match time is. Two drastically different random examples: Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy at WrestleMania 25 went 13:13 from bell to bell but was a 21 minute segment with the packages, ring-introductions, and post-match wrap-up. Undertaker vs. Triple H from WrestleMania 28 technically ran 30:50 but had a whopping segment time of 52 minutes.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Moving on to breaking down the WrestleMania 34 undercard where there are 14 matches scheduled (the most since WrestleMania VII and production elements were MUCH different back then so there really is no comparison for this article\u2019s purpose). Here\u2019s how each segment time breaks down based upon what has traditionally been the case for similar segments:<\/li>\n<li><em>Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali \u2013<\/em> Neville-Aires last year had a <span data-term=\"goog_778979647\">20:00<\/span> segment\/15:00 match which seems on the high end as far as a Cruiserweight match on a Mania card so trimming it back just a hair, a <span data-term=\"goog_778979648\">16:00<\/span> seg\/11:00 match feels about right. For anyone wishing this match to be on the main show instead of the pre-show; if it was moved it\u2019s time would be cut and a <span data-term=\"goog_778979649\">12:00<\/span> seg\/8:00 match would probably be the maximum.<\/li>\n<li><em>Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal &amp; WrestleMania Women&#8217;s Battle Royal &#8211;\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Last year\u2019s battle royal was a <span data-term=\"goog_778979650\">17:00<\/span> seg\/14:00 match and the inaugural one at WrestleMania XXX was a <span data-term=\"goog_778979651\">17:00<\/span> seg\/13:00 match so I\u2019d expect about the same here for both. Only a handful of wrestlers will get actual ring entrances and it\u2019s pretty straight forward.<\/li>\n<li><em>The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor\u00a0\/ Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev \/ The Usos vs. The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers<\/em> \u2013 The multiple-man undercard title matches usually fall into a similar range with both last year\u2019s Women\u2019s 4-way &amp; Men\u2019s tag title 4-way getting a <span data-term=\"goog_778979652\">23:00<\/span> seg\/11-12:00 match while the World Heavyweight title 3-way at WrestleMania XXV with Cena-Big Show-Edge got a 28:00 seg\/14:00 match. A <span data-term=\"goog_778979653\">23:00<\/span> seg\/13:00 match feels close to the max on all of these. I should note that the Smackdown U.S. title Fatal 4 way match feels like the most collapsible for time if the show runs heavy which makes it a prime candidate for the semi-main spot on WrestleMania.<\/li>\n<li><em>Cesaro and Sheamus vs. Braun Strowman and TBD \u2013<\/em> Usually these mystery partner scenarios range a little close to the shorter end of things and considering Braun is already in the match only makes it that much more likely. There\u2019s not a lot of similar situations for Mania specifically but the Dolph\/Big E vs. Kane\/Bryan tag title match at WrestleMania 29 had an <span data-term=\"goog_778979654\">11:00<\/span> seg\/6:00 match which feels about right for this.<\/li>\n<li><em>Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax \u2013 <\/em>It\u2019s a unique case to have multiple women\u2019s matches on a WrestleMania but this one being third from the top on the women\u2019s side means it will get the least segment time. Last year\u2019s Smackdown Women\u2019s 6-way got a <span data-term=\"goog_778979655\">12:00<\/span> seg\/5:00 match and this one should be along those same lines.<\/li>\n<li>Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn \u2013 Now we get into the matches that will really get time as well as certainly having packages attached to their segment (adding around 3 minutes each). Shane and Owens had 29:00 and 25:00 segments last year respectively and while this match will seemingly be more story based than anything, that feels like the proper range for a 5<sup>th<\/sup> or 6<sup>th<\/sup> from the top match.<\/li>\n<li><em>Undertaker vs. John Cena \u2013 <\/em>Undertaker historically gets time at WrestleMania more than anyone, including Cena. In fact, over the past ten years, there have been five segments that hit the 50-minute mark and Undertaker was involved in four of them. Realistically, that trend shouldn\u2019t continue considering he\u2019s another year older but that could have also been said three Manias ago. In addition, there has been a very unusual build for this match which seemingly indicates a promo instead of the traditional package before the match and possibly a much shorter entrance than the traditional Undertaker WrestleMania one. The Undertaker\u2019s shortest WrestleMania segment in years was with Bray Wyatt at 31 (27:00 seg\/15:00 match) and this one feels like it\u2019s headed more in that direction.<\/li>\n<li><em>Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka \u2013 <\/em>The longest Women\u2019s singles segment in WrestleMania history is the Women\u2019s 3-way from \u2018Mania 32 at 29:00 seg\/16:00 match and there\u2019s no reason to think that this one won\u2019t at least match that.<\/li>\n<li><em>AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura \u2013<\/em> The #2 belt on the show but the #1 match for the hardcore fans. The closest comparisons would probably be Jericho-Edge from WrestleMania 26 who had a 27:00 seg\/15:00 match or Punk-Jericho from WrestleMania 28 and it\u2019s 32:00 seg\/22:00 match. I feel that 32\/22 is in the ballpark for this one.<\/li>\n<li><em>Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon \u2013<\/em> Triple H\u2019s times usually skew high with 39:00, 44:00, 36:00, 42:00, &amp; 37:00 segments the last five years but it\u2019s reasonable to think that they keep the segment fairly contained due to Ronda\u2019s experience. Of Triple H\u2019s shortest times \u2013 the 36:00 seg\/18:00 match with Sting at WrestleMania 31 &#8211; seems the most similar in nature to this one.<\/li>\n<li><em>Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns \u2013 <\/em>Since they last met at WrestleMania 31, Reigns\u2019 segment times have been 51:00 and 44:00 while Brock\u2019s have been <span data-term=\"goog_778979656\">19:00 and 23:00<\/span> so they\u2019re clearly on other ends of the spectrum. Their match three years ago had a 31:00 seg\/16:00 match which feels like a solid median of everything they\u2019ve done since and a safe bet for this year.<\/li>\n<li>Trying to come up with a match order prediction is next to impossible when you\u2019re dealing with fourteen matches and seven hours including the preshow so in trying to finalize it all, I laid out everything in a logical order, added the times, and moved the stuff that could be moved as needed. After completion, I was able to end the show at <span data-term=\"goog_778979657\">12am ET<\/span>on the dot but the one omission that could alter things is the addition of any live musical concert, including a potential Elias segment. A normal concert would add approximately 7 minutes to the event and an Elias segment would likely add closer to 15-20 minutes. Again, for our purposes, that\u2019s why the U.S. title 4 way match is slotted in the semi-main spot as it\u2019s a glaring candidate to shave time off of. So with that said, here is my very unofficial WrestleMania 34 runsheet predictions:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979658\">5:00pm ET<\/span>\/1pm PT \u2013 Cold open for Preshow, out to exterior shots of Superdome, Cut to Preshow panel<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979659\">5:30pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali (<span data-term=\"goog_778979660\">16:00<\/span> seg\/11:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979661\">5:57pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (<span data-term=\"goog_778979662\">17:00<\/span> seg\/14:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979663\">6:30pm ET<\/span> &#8211; WrestleMania Women&#8217;s Battle Royal (<span data-term=\"goog_778979664\">17:00<\/span> seg\/14:00 match)<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-539932087\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979665\">7:00pm ET<\/span> &#8211; &#8216;America The Beautiful&#8217; by Chloe x Halle, followed by pe-produced Cold Open for the show (<span data-term=\"goog_778979666\">6:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979667\">7:06pm ET<\/span> &#8211; The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor (<span data-term=\"goog_778979668\">23:00<\/span> seg\/13:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979669\">7:29pm ET<\/span> \u2013 Commercial (<span data-term=\"goog_778979670\">1:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979671\">7:30pm ET<\/span> &#8211; The Usos vs. The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers (<span data-term=\"goog_778979672\">23:00<\/span> seg\/11:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979673\">7:53pm ET<\/span> \u2013 Commercial \/ On-camera introduction of ringside celebrities (<span data-term=\"goog_778979674\">1:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979675\">7:54pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax (<span data-term=\"goog_778979676\">12:00<\/span> seg\/5:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979677\">8:06pm ET<\/span> \u2013 Backstage Promo (<span data-term=\"goog_778979678\">2:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979679\">8:08pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (25:00 seg\/16:00 match)<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1639870961\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979680\">8:33pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Commercials (<span data-term=\"goog_778979681\">1:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979682\">8:35pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Cesaro and Sheamus vs. Braun Strowman and TBD (<span data-term=\"goog_778979683\">11:00<\/span> seg\/6:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979684\">8:46pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Commercials (<span data-term=\"goog_778979685\">1:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979686\">8:47pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Undertaker vs. John Cena (27:00 seg\/15:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979687\">9:14pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Site location of WrestleMania 35 announced in pre-produced commercial (<span data-term=\"goog_778979688\">1:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979689\">9:15pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (29:00 seg\/16:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979690\">9:44pm ET<\/span> \u2013 Hall of Fame introductions (<span data-term=\"goog_778979691\">7:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979692\">10:51pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Backstage Promo (<span data-term=\"goog_778979693\">1:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979694\">10:52pm ET<\/span> &#8211; AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (32:00 seg\/22:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979695\">10:24pm ET<\/span> \u2013 On-camera reset\/recap with preshow hosts (<span data-term=\"goog_778979696\">3:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979697\">10:27pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon (36:00 seg\/18:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979698\">11:03pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Announcement of Superdome crowd attendance (<span data-term=\"goog_778979699\">2:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979700\">11:05pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev (<span data-term=\"goog_778979701\">23:00<\/span> seg\/11:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979702\">11:28pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Commercials (<span data-term=\"goog_778979703\">1:00<\/span> segment)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979704\">11:29pm ET<\/span> &#8211; Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (31:00 seg\/16:00 match)<\/p>\n<p><span data-term=\"goog_778979705\">12:00am ET<\/span> \u2013 Fade to black<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Grant Sawyer has been the technical director for over 600 professional wrestling events and is the editor of the History of Professional Wrestling books at Amazon. You can follow him on Twitter\u00a0@Statmark.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3674115034\"><div id=\"pwtor-3071830756\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Having worked in both television and wrestling production for years, when WrestleMania season rolls along I\u2019m always fascinated by the entire aspect of trying to time and produce such a massive show. Just for fun, <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/04\/08\/wrestlemania-34-production-notes-experienced-wrestling-tv-producer-presents-a-look-at-the-potential-run-sheet-a-different-aspect-of-event\/\" title=\"WRESTLEMANIA 34 &#8211; PRODUCTION NOTES: Experienced wrestling TV producer presents a look at the potential run-sheet, a different aspect of event\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-guesteditorials"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2018\/03\/WrestleMania34.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58040"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58041,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58040\/revisions\/58041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}