House show

Last updated

A house show is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as to test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and gimmicks that are being considered for the main televised programming and upcoming pay-per-views. As house shows are not televised, all matches are technically dark matches, though that term is usually reserved for non-televised matches at otherwise televised events.

Contents

House shows are also often scripted to make the face wrestlers win most matches, largely to send the crowd home happy. If a heel defends a title, the face may win by disqualification, preventing the title from changing hands.

Until the 1990s, most televised professional wrestling programs were taped weeks in advance in small studios and featured primarily matches with lesser-known wrestlers while interviews revolved around feuds between upper level talent that were to be settled at an upcoming major show at the promotion's flagship venues. Prior to the 1980s, these were house shows, though with the advent of closed-circuit television, and later pay-per-view, these became televised events as well. Later on in the 1990s, the advent of weekly shows such as WWF's Monday Night Raw and WCW Monday Nitro , where competitive matches between upper level talent and storylines play out as they happen in front of a live audience, and with the increase in number of pay-per-view events held by promotions, angles are now typically developed during weekly shows, and resolved during the next pay-per-view (or, on occasion, a special episode of the series), rendering house shows to be mostly minor events with no long-term story significance.

Production

WWE Women's Championship match at a WWE Live Event on September 30, 2023. House shows utilize a more scaled-down production than a televised show. WWE SuperShow Sep 30 2023.jpg
WWE Women's Championship match at a WWE Live Event on September 30, 2023. House shows utilize a more scaled-down production than a televised show.

Since house shows are not televised, promotions do not usually deploy the same setup for staging or pyrotechnics used for their television counterparts. In the past, a WWE house show would consist mainly of a ring, essential lighting, and a crowd. [1] In late 2011, WWE invested US$1.5 million in production improvements, which included three LED-lit entrance stages (one each for Raw and SmackDown, and one backup) [2] featuring a ramp and video display, and leveraging venues' existing AV equipment for multimedia such as entrances. [1] As of 2021, a new stage was introduced that closer-resembles the stages used by televised events at the time. [3]

During the first brand extension, each WWE tour was exclusive to either the Raw or SmackDown brand. This remained the case through 2012, even after the first brand extension ended in 2011 on televised programming. [4] In 2013, the shows were rebranded as "WWE Live", with NXT house shows subsequently branded as "NXT Live". [1] After WrestleMania 38 in April 2022, WWE began to brand house shows held on weekends as "Saturday Night's Main Event" (reviving the branding of a former WWE television series) and "Sunday Night Stunner". [5]

Because house shows are not televised, sometimes controversial things occur during them (although this is rare) which might not happen on a televised show. For example, on May 19, 1996, the MSG "Curtain Call", which was also a rare example of a shoot, occurred at a house show taped at Madison Square Garden. At the same show, The Bodydonnas lost their WWF Tag Team Championship to The Godwinns. [6]

With the advent of WWE Network, WWE has televised portions of what are otherwise house shows as hour-long specials on the service, such as Starrcade—an event that shares the name with the flagship pay-per-view of the now-defunct WCW (whose assets were acquired by WWE), and The Shield's Final Chapter—a special which featured Dean Ambrose's final WWE appearance with his stable The Shield before his departure from the promotion. [7] [8]

Starting in March 2023, All Elite Wrestling launched a series of house shows under the "House Rules" brand. [9]

Title changes

Jeff Hardy and Triple H pose amongst the pyrotechnics at a Raw house show in Australia Jeff-Hardy-&-Triple-H on Stage,-RLA-Melb-10.11.2007.jpg
Jeff Hardy and Triple H pose amongst the pyrotechnics at a Raw house show in Australia

Most major promotions try to develop their angles only during televised shows and will rarely book a major development (such as a title change) for house shows. House show title changes can occur both to gauge how fans would react to a certain outcome, and allow for outcomes that would appeal to local fans—such as Edge winning his first WWF Intercontinental Championship over Jeff Jarrett at a 1999 house show in Toronto. [10] [11]

If there is a title change, the title usually changes back during the same show or at another show on the loop before another televised event, like several titles changes of the WWE Hardcore Championship or when Booker T and Chris Benoit traded the WCW World Television Championship back-and-forth on several house shows, with Booker (the official champion) always having the title back in time for Nitro . Edge similarly lost the aforementioned Intercontinental Championship back to Jarrett at Fully Loaded the next evening in Buffalo. [12]

Even rarer is the top title of a promotion changing hands. This has occurred relatively few times, notable occurrences include Bret Hart winning the then-WWF Championship from Ric Flair in 1992 at a live event in Saskatchewan and Diesel winning the WWF Championship from Bob Backlund in 1994 at a live event in Madison Square Garden.

There have also been occasions when title changes occur but are not recognized by the promotion. Some notable house show title changes include an August 10, 1987 match where The Rougeau Brothers (Raymond and Jacques) won over the champion Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) to take the WWF Tag Team championship in the Rougeau's home town of Montreal. This change (and the eventual "decision reversal") was only ever mentioned during segments taped specifically for and shown in the Montreal market. [10]

A fictional house show can be used to explain a sudden vacation or change of a title caused due to backstage issues on television. For example, on October 4, 1999 edition of WCW Monday Nitro , the commentators stated that Psychosis had defeated Lenny Lane for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship on an unspecified house show (thereby giving the title to Psychosis), after WCW management was forced to drop Lane's gimmick that was perceived as offensive by the GLAAD. [13]

As a metaphor

The phrase has been used to pejoratively describe WWE pay-per-views intended primarily for specific markets, including UK-only pay-per-views such as Insurrextion and Rebellion, [14] and WWE's events in Saudi Arabia. [15] [16] In 2019, Shawn Michaels defended his one-off return at WWE's 2018 Crown Jewel pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia (reuniting D-Generation X to participate in a tag team match against The Brothers of Destruction) despite his retirement, describing the event as being a "glorified house show" that was not as important as WrestleMania or "coming back as the Heartbreak Kid". [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Championship Wrestling</span> Defunct American professional wrestling company

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territory Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bret Hart</span> Canadian-American professional wrestler, writer and actor

Bret Sergeant Hart is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler and actor. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College. A major international draw within professional wrestling, he is credited with changing the perception of mainstream North American professional wrestling in the early 1990s by bringing technical wrestling to the fore. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time; Sky Sports noted that his legacy is that of "one of, if not the greatest, to have ever graced the squared circle". For the majority of his career, he used the nickname "the Hitman".

<i>WCW Monday Nitro</i> WCW television program

WCW Monday Nitro, also known as WCW Nitro or simply Nitro, is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the United States from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sid Eudy</span> American actor and former professional wrestler

Sidney Raymond Eudy is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), under the ring names Sid Justice, Sid Vicious, and Sycho Sid.

Jonathan Hugger is an American professional wrestler and author. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Johnny the Bull, for World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Johnny Stamboli, and for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Lucha Libre AAA World Wide and Lucha Libre USA under the ring name Rellik.

Starrcade was a recurring professional wrestling event, originally broadcast via closed-circuit television and eventually broadcast via pay-per-view. It was originally held from 1983 to 2000, first by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1983 to 1990, with the 1983–1987 events specifically held by Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) under the NWA, and then held by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1988 to 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Adams (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler (1964–2007)

Brian Keith Adams was an American professional wrestler. Adams is known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), under the name Crush, and for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name Brian Adams. Trained in Japan by Antonio Inoki, he was a two-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, a one-time WWF Tag Team Champion and a one-time AJPW World Tag Team Champion, among other accomplishments. He was a challenger for various singles titles in the WWF and WCW, including the WWF Championship. In 2002, he briefly tried a career in boxing until retiring due to back and shoulder injuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Invasion (professional wrestling)</span> Professional wrestling storyline

The Invasion was a professional wrestling storyline in the World Wrestling Federation during the Attitude Era that ran from March to November 2001 and involved stables of wrestlers purporting to represent World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)—which merged to form The Alliance—placed against a stable of wrestlers purporting to represent the WWF. The storyline began shortly after the WWF's acquisition of WCW in March 2001, and concluded with a "winner takes all" match between The Alliance and the WWF at Survivor Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE brand extension</span> Professional wrestling roster division in WWE

The brand extension, also referred to as the brand split, is the separation of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE's roster of wrestlers into distinct divisions, or "brands". The promotion's wrestlers are assigned to a brand via the annual WWE Draft and exclusively perform on that brand's weekly television show, with some exceptions. Throughout its history, WWE has utilized the brand extension twice. The first brand split occurred from 2002 to 2011, while the ongoing second began in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional wrestling in Australia</span> History of professional wrestling in Australia

Professional wrestling in Australia makes up a small part of Australian culture. Unlike the North American or Japanese products which have large, globally renowned organisations such as WWE, AEW, New Japan Pro-Wrestling or Impact Wrestling with several hundred smaller promotions, Australia only has approximately 30 smaller independent circuit promotions which exist in all Australian states and territories. Tours from the North American product are regularly sold out in capital cities such as Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SummerSlam (1997)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 1997 SummerSlam was the 10th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on August 3, 1997, at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Seven matches were contested at the event. This event was second to be held in New Jersey with the first previous event in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of World Championship Wrestling</span>

World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that existed from 1988 to 2001. It began as a promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that appeared on the national scene under the ownership of media mogul Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to the launch of WCW as a separate promotion, the "World Championship Wrestling" name was used for a television program produced by NWA promotions Georgia Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions on TBS; the name came from an Australian wrestling promotion of the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starrcade (2000)</span> 2000 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view event

The 2000 Starrcade was the 18th annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on December 17, 2000, at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. This was the final Starrcade event produced by WCW, as it was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in March 2001. Another Starrcade event would not be produced for another seventeen years, when WWE used the name for a special live event in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of the Ring (1996)</span> World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

The 1996 King of the Ring was the fourth annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation that featured the 10th King of the Ring tournament. The event took place on June 23, 1996, from the MECCA Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies</span> 1996 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies was the seventh In Your House professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. The event took place on April 28, 1996, at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska. It was the first In Your House to originally carry a subtitle; the previous events had their subtitles added retroactively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In Your House 8: Beware of Dog</span> 1996 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

In Your House 8: Beware of Dog was the eighth In Your House professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. The event was originally only scheduled to take place on May 26, 1996, from the Florence Civic Center in Florence, South Carolina, but a second night of the event also took place on May 28, 1996, at the North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monday Night War</span> Era of professional wrestling (1995–2001)

The Monday Night War or the Monday Night Wars, was an era of mainstream televised American professional wrestling, from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001, in which the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw and World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) Monday Nitro were broadcast opposite each other in a battle for Nielsen ratings each week. It largely overlapped with the Attitude Era, a period in which the WWF used the term "WWF Attitude" to describe its programming from November 9, 1997 to May 6, 2002.

History of <i>WWE Raw</i> History of the WWE professional wrestling television show Raw

The history of WWE Raw began as WWF's Monday Night Raw on January 11, 1993. Over the next two decades, Raw would become the promotion's flagship show, achieving numerous milestones along the way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starrcade (2019)</span> WWE Network event

The 2019 Starrcade was the 21st and Final Starrcade professional wrestling livestreaming event. It was the third Starrcade promoted by WWE and was held as a live event for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. A portion of the event was livestreamed as a one-hour WWE Network special. It took place on December 1, 2019, at the Infinite Energy Arena in Duluth, Georgia. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an event was not held in 2020 and no further events have been scheduled since.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bishop, Matt. "House show upgrade helps WWE show in East Lansing". Slam! Sports. Canoe.ca. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  2. ↑ Styles, Joey; Patts, James. "WWE debuts set for live events". WWE.com. WWE . Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  3. ↑ Mientus, Joe (2021-07-25). "WWE DEBUTS A NEW SET AND MORE NOTES FROM THEIR PITTSBURGH, PA SUPER SHOW" . Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  4. ↑ Atkinson, Bill. "WWE Reportedly Wants to End House Show Branding, Give the Tour a New Name". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  5. ↑ "WWE REBRANDING MORE LIVE EVENTS | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  6. ↑ "The Godwinns's First Reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
  7. ↑ "The Shield's Final Chapter live results: Ambrose's farewell match". F4W. 2019-04-21. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  8. ↑ "WWE moves Starrcade to YouTube amid WWE Network outages". Awful Announcing. 2019-12-01. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  9. ↑ "AEW Announces Launch of Live Events Series: "AEW House Rules"".
  10. 1 2 TJ Madigan (August 16, 2003). "Final chapter for Booker T?". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved 2008-04-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ↑ Copeland, Adam (2004). Adam Copeland On Edge. World Wrestling Entertainment Books. p. 130. ISBN   978-1-4165-0523-5.
  12. ↑ Copeland, Adam (2004). Adam Copeland On Edge. World Wrestling Entertainment Books. p. 131. ISBN   978-1-4165-0523-5.
  13. ↑ "Lenny Lane profile". OWOW. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  14. ↑ Furious, Arnold. "The Furious Flashbacks – WWF Rebellion 2000". 411Mania. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  15. ↑ "Piledriver: Bad reviews for 'Greatest Royal Rumble'". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  16. ↑ Beaston, Erik. "WWE Raw Preview: Money in the Bank Fallout and More for May 20 Episode". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  17. ↑ Rueter, Sean (2019-06-24). "Shawn Michaels still says his comeback at 'glorified house show' Crown Jewel doesn't count". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.