Earlier today, a fan tweeted CM Punk complaining that they only got to see a house show next week, not a TV taping.
The WWE champion replied by saying: "House shows are way better, trust me. Why would Punk say it's way better? Because they are fun. Wrestling is supposed to be fun! Wrestlers enjoy the freedom they get on house shows. During a live Raw, you have to follow a script. For example, let's say Generic Wrestler has 45 seconds for a backstage segment, three minutes for a promo before his match and then six minutes for the match. He has to make every second count out there. Sometimes, though, another segment may run long.
That would mean that before Wrestler got out there before his match, the ref or somebody else may inform him that he has for the match. That changes things. The television show is all about change. A house show is a much more relaxed atmosphere. At a house show, if you're in the main event match like CM Punk often is, the guidelines are much more simple.
They'll tell you how much time you have; they'll tell you the finish and the rest of the minutes is up to you. In a business where the stress level of the performers is likely very high especially on TV days, you need to believe a guy like Punk when he says to trust him that house shows are better. The reason Raw and Smackdown are considered the better events is because that's where storyline progression happens.
Have you ever been to a Raw where there was about 20 minutes total of in-ring action? I have. While some performers can entertain the crowd with their promos, not all can. There's an unknown when you're at a Raw.
Anything can happen, but anything isn't always a good thing. I'm still having nightmares from going to a Smackdown where they had to tape a Nathan Jones segment three times because he couldn't deliver a big boot without messing it up.
They are better because they are usually good matches featuring top talent while also having over two hours of wrestling mixed in with everything else. The main event of the show I'll be attending is CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler. They will likely get 15 minutes in the ring. Being able to see two of the best in-ring performers up close like that will be enough for me to say: "I'm glad I went to that. The only other advertised matchup is Kane vs. John Cena.
I'll probably encourage Kane to work an extremely safe match because Cena's health is very important for the WrestleMania main event. That's the other thing about sitting close to the ring: perfect heckling range.
I'm not the type to rip on any wrestler because I respect what they do, but I'm always in favor of starting a funny chant. Others on the lineup include Chris Jericho, who wrestled Kofi Kingston at the house shows last week, so that's a match I'd like to see.
The Miz will be there to lose somebody because that's his new gimmick, right? We'll also see some undercard guys that don't make it on TV on Monday nights very often. Maybe somebody will catch my eye. So, because of the little fanfare that live events get, fans probably don't realize what they're missing out on if they've never been to one. But every wrestling fan should go to at least one house show before they're six feet under.
This could be a buzz kill for someone who still thinks wrestling isn't scripted, but house shows often feature heel wrestlers doing things you'd general see a baby face do. For instance, check out this video, and you'll see two heels at the time, Alex Riley and CM Punk , cutting a rug in the middle of the ring. Heels smiling, dancing and acting like idiots? That's something that only Michael Cole does on TV. But, since house shows aren't going to be shown on TV, you can see Riley do the worm or Punk do some crazy dance that I can't really describe but definitely gets a laugh out of me.
It's kind of weird to see these heels essentially break kayfabe in front of thousands of fans, but it's kind of fun and pretty harmless as well. My ideal "heel acting like a baby face moment" would definitely have to involve John Laurinaitis.
House shows are used as "dress rehearsals" of sorts, with two wrestlers working matches against each other at live events before they do so on a big TV special or pay-per-view. Basically, the house shows are used so that two guys can comfortable with each other in the ring. They also have an added advantage for you and me. Whereas a certain pay-per-view might be the "first match" between, let's say, Alberto Del Rio and Randy Orton , there is probably a select group of fans who have already seen that match at a live event.
Sure, it's not going to have the same big match feel that it will at the actual pay-per-view, but it's a bonus of house shows nonetheless. Whereas TV tapings revolve around a script and force wrestlers to stick to very tight time constraints, house shows give the wrestlers a bit more lee way in everything that they do.
They're not relegated to two-minute squash matches or shortened entrances. Instead, they can take their time as they walk to the ring and play to the audience a bit more than usual. It's almost like house shows are days when you have a substitute teacher: You know you can get away with things you would never do if the normal teacher was there. Storylines obviously are the driving force of professional wrestling, but sometimes, they can take away from a product more than they add to it.
There are occasions when major angles--like this one involving The Miz and R-Truth--are worked into live events, but for the most part, there is very little focus on story lines at these shows. Certainly, there are still heels and baby faces, and guys who are feuding on TV face each other at these live events.
But, whereas the storyline itself takes a primary role on TV, it takes a secondary one at house shows. Every time I watch Smackdown and see both Aksana and Teddy Long on my screen, I think to myself, "What the hell is the point of this segment? Thankfully, though, house shows completely eliminate these dumb backstage segments and almost get rid of pointless segments altogether.
There are still a few segments that may take place in the ring and don't really serve much of a purpose, but it's not even one tenth as bad as what you see on TV. You won't see the Bella Twins appearing with Zack Ryder for no reason or Rosa Mendes jumping rope, and I think most of us can agree that that's a good thing.
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