Thanks to Mike Informer for this link:

Estero Community Center hosts Undertaker, Triple H and other WWE talent for photo shoot

By MATT CLARK (Contact)

Monday, November 19, 2007

While karate, piano and aerobics lessons continued quietly, the wrestlers growled menacingly nearby.

Standing larger than life, the superstars and divas clenched their teeth — and muscles — into a massive 35mm motion picture lens. A 20-foot-tall wall of multicolored lights strobed behind them and heavy metal music blasted from speakers. Several crew members sent sparks showering from both sides of the stage, the grinding roaring loudly and smelling the whole place of smoke.

It was just another fun-filled day at Estero Community Center.

World Wrestling Entertainment, known commonly as “WWE,” held a film and photo promotional shoot in the center’s gymnasium Saturday and Monday. Nearly all of WWE’s talent came to the shoot, about 65 all told. WWE Champion Randy Orton, WWE Heavyweight Champion Batista and Superstars Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Undertaker were all there.

All day long the wrestlers wandered through two photo shoots and two film shoots for between 15 and 30 minutes. One film shoot was in front of a green screen. Another, was a stage stacked with effects, from wind to mirrors to the half-dozen lights.

The cost of facility, camera, lighting, film, effects and 50 crew members? “Six figures,” said John Gaburick, WWE’s television promotions director. “A lot of stuff we do is like a rock concert”

Photo by MATT CLARK / Daily News

A WWE wrestler poses during a photo shoot Monday, Nov. 19, 2007 at the Estero Community Center.

While the location might contrast a bit with the supercharged shoot, Gaburick was quite pleased with Estero. He said it’s better than last year’s venue: A haunted prison in Pennsylvania.

“This was actually a lot more conducive, this year we had some room where we could design and spread out,” said Gaburick. “We started planning to shoot this two months ago.”

The decision to use Estero came from happenstance: Much of the talent was performing in either Miami or Estero this weekend. “WWE: Supershow,” was the first time stars from WWE’s RAW, SmackDown and ECW rosters have performed together in Estero. The event was held Saturday at Germain Arena.

As his daughter’s tae kwon do class continued, David Miles learned of the happenings in the gym around the corner. “This is probably one of the best places unknown to many people,” Miles said. “I’m happy to see outsiders coming to utilize it ... for 5 bucks a year, isn’t it the best unknown?”

Estero Fire Marshal Tom Siegfried stood outside the doors of the shoot. He said Estero Fire Rescue was there mainly as medical and emergency evacuation support, but also made sure the effects went off safely.

Originally, said Siegfried, the plan was to use pyrotechnics. But when the ceilings of the gym proved to small for fireworks, the production switched to sparks. “I thought the slag even from this thing was going to burn the wrestlers,” he said, “but they’re fine.”

This was not the first time the venue had been used for celebrity shoots. In March, David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox and Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears stared in a commercial for Vitamin Water shot in the gym.

Gaburick said the superstars and divas at the shoot are “athletes and entertainers in the truest sense.”

While work done in the wrestling ring may appear to be the hardest they do, Gaburick said wrestlers encounter another set of problems during a shoot. Mainly, that it’s not as easy to strut their stuff when in the relatively docile gym of a community center. What they are used to, Gaburick said, is 20,000 people chanting their name.