WrestleMania 26 Almanac + First Look at WM26 Set

The following is from the WrestleMania 26 Almanac (Special Collector’s Magazine, on sale now)…

Exclusive First Look At WMXXVI!

AUDIO/VISUAL OVERLOAD: A four-sided LED video system will hang from beneath the ring A/V structure. At a cost of a quarter-million bucks and packed with 150 individual speakers, this bad boy ensures that even fans in the nosebleeds will see and hear the action.

RING PLACEMENT: As in previous years, WWE staffers carefully examined the layout of the University of Phoenix Stadium, meticulously scoping out the entire seating arena to find the perfect location for the ring. Not surprisingly, the ideal spot is dead-center on the 50-yard line, So wherever you’re sitting, you are guaranteed an unobstructed view.

STAGE DESIGN: Before heading down the ramp, Superstars will first make their entrance onto a custom built stage that stands eight feet off the stadium floor and measures 120 feet wide. They weren’t kidding when they called WrestleMania “The grandest stage of them all.”

FIRE: As of press time, the entrance-way design has the ramp leading to the ring lined with smoldering cauldrons of fire. These cauldrons will also be situated all around the set, and be cued to burn high or low, depending on what the action calls for. The average temperature of each cauldron? A cozy 1,000 F.

CENTER STRUCTURE: Mr. McMahon has decreed that the roof of the stadium be rolled back for another outdoor ‘Mania. This means building a massive, 110-foot tall above-ring structure, similar to the one used at WrestleMania XXIV, to hold 30 tons of light, sound and video equipment (see Audio/Visual Overload!).

LIGHT SHOW: In order to illuminate the ring, entrance-way and stage, WWE will be running more than 1,500 miles of wire and cable throughout the stadium. All told, nearly 175,000 watts of juice will be used to power the 1,000 plus lights. Also, given the show’s western setting, the lighting will be specially calibrated to handle sunlight and illuminate the shadows as the sun sets.

PYROTECHNICS: No WrestleMania would be complete without an eardrum-shattering display of combustion, and this year WWE’s design team is taking the explosions to the next level. The resident firebugs will be rolling out 300,000 individual pieces of pyro product (when you add in concussion mortars, the number climbs closer to 400,000). When set, they’ll be launched 200 feet into the air over Phoenix. Even if you’re standing outside the stadium, you’ll get an eyeful.

I Picked this magazine up today, and it is very nice. That little handbook thing is a piece of shit though. No way should they advertise that as being “two magazines for the price of one”. It is small and only 12 pages of nothing but a few small pictures and results of all 25 WrestleMania’s.

The actual almanac though, is great and I recommend it to any WWE fan and most especially to the magazine collector’s like me.

The WrestleMania 26 set is going to be fantastic.