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A house show or live event is a
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
event produced by a major
promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
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 A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
that are being considered for the main televised programming and upcoming
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
s. House shows are entire events and not the same as dark matches—untelevised matches that occur as part of an event that was already being televised. House shows are also often scripted to make the
face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...
wrestlers win most matches, largely to send the crowd home happy. If a
heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...
defends a title, the face may win by disqualification, preventing the title from changing hands. Until January 11, 1993 most televised professional wrestling programs were taped weeks in advance in small studios and featured run-ins, promos and primarily
squash match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence ...
es (unless it was part of an ongoing
feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
or a title match), which revolved around feuds between upper level talent that were to be settled at an upcoming house show at WWF's flagship arenas of the time —
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, the
Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and the
Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (lat ...
in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. However, with the advent of weekly shows such as WWF's ''
Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...
'' (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 Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
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).


Production

Since house shows are not televised, promotions do not usually deploy the same setup for staging or
pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating such things as fireworks, safety matches, oxygen candles, explosive bolts and other fasteners, parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, quarrying, and demolition. ...
used for their television counterparts. In the past, a WWE house show would consist mainly of a ring, essential lighting, and a crowd. In late 2011, WWE invested US$1.5 million in production improvements, which included three
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
-lit entrance stages (one each for
Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
and
SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
, and one backup) featuring a ramp and video display, and leveraging venues' existing AV equipment for multimedia such as entrances. 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. In 2013, the shows were rebranded as "WWE Live", with
NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
house shows subsequently branded as "NXT Live". After
WrestleMania 38 WrestleMania 38 was the 38th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event was held as a two-night eve ...
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". 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 In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the spri ...
, occurred at a house show taped at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
. At the same show,
The Bodydonnas The Bodydonnas were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the mid-1990s, consisting of Chris Candido as Skip, Candido's real-life girlfriend Tammy Lynn Sytch as Sunny, and Tom Prichard as Skip's kayfabe cousi ...
lost their
WWF Tag Team Championship The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...
to
The Godwinns The Godwinns were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Dennis Knight (Phineas I. Godwinn) and Mark Canterbury (Henry O. Godwinn) that they used in the WWF. The team has used other gimmicks before they joined the WWF and had a gimmick c ...
. With the advent of
WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...
, WWE has televised portions of what are otherwise house shows as hour-long specials on the service, such as
Starrcade 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 1 ...
—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 Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wres ...
's final WWE appearance with his stable
The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt pol ...
before his departure from the promotion.


Title changes

Most major promotions try to develop their
angles The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ' ...
only during televised shows and will rarely
book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...
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 The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roste ...
over
Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development. Beginning his career in his father ...
at a 1999 house show in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. 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 The WWE Hardcore Championship was a hardcore wrestling championship in WWE which was contested under "hardcore" rules (no disqualifications, no countouts, and pinfalls count anywhere). In the latter part of the title's history, a rule was im ...
or when
Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944) ...
and
Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...
traded the
WCW World Television Championship The WCW World Television Championship was a professional wrestling television championship owned by the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion. The title was created in 1974 by Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW) as a ...
back-and-forth on several house shows, with Booker (the official champion) always having the title back in time for ''
Nitro Nitro may refer to: Chemistry *Nitrogen, a chemical element and a gas except at very low temperatures, with which many compounds are formed: **Nitro compound, an organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups, -NO2 **Nitroalkene, ...
''. Edge similarly lost the aforementioned Intercontinental Championship to Jarrett at Fully Loaded the very next evening in Buffalo. Even rarer is the top title of a promotion changing hands. This has occurred relatively few times, a notable occurrence including
Diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
winning the then
WWF Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDow ...
from Bob Backlund in 1994 at a live event in
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
. There have also 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 The Fabulous Rougeaus (also known as the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers) was the professional wrestling tag team of real-life brothers Jacques and Raymond Rougeau, best known from their time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1986 to 1990. ...
(
Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...
and
Jacques Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
) went over the champion
Hart Foundation Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores * Hart's Reptile ...
(
Bret Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...
and
Jim Neidhart James Henry Neidhart (February 8, 1955 – August 13, 2018) was an American professional wrestler known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, where he was a two-time WWF Tag T ...
) to take the
WWF Tag Team championship The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...
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. Other exemple is when the
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...
lost the World Heavyweight Championship to
Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European i ...
in 2012 during a
SmackDown Live ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simul ...
in Lisbon In reverse, 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 3, 1999 edition of ''
WCW Monday Nitro ''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 Unite ...
'', the commentators stated that
Psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...
had defeated
Lenny Lane Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * ''L ...
for the
WCW Cruiserweight Championship World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (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 Nationa ...
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 GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
.


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 Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
, and WWE's events in Saudi Arabia. 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 D-Generation X (DX) is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, and later a tag team, who consisted of Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The group originated in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF ...
to participate in a tag team match against
The Brothers of Destruction The Brothers of Destruction were a professional wrestling tag team in WWE composed of storyline half-brothers The Undertaker and Kane. With more deep-seated drama and dysfunction than other WWE tag team combinations, their relationship/brot ...
) despite his retirement, describing the event as being a "glorified house show" that was not as important as
WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...
or "coming back as the Heartbreak Kid".


See also

*
Glossary of professional wrestling terms Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:House Show Professional wrestling slang