Wrestling Wednesday - The Beauty of House Shows

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House Shows – Where Wrestling Still Matters

The smell of popcorn and hot dogs fill the air. The roar of the crowd makes for a constant background noise. The lights dim as a single spotlight follows a modern-day gladiator from the arena entrance to the ring. The sound of bodies crashing against the mat echoes throughout the arena. The comments exchanged between the wicked and those onlookers close enough to get his or her attention bring smiles to all. This is not just any ordinary event – this is a house show.

Mickie James loves me.  Fact. 

 
Recently, I attended my first TNA Wrestling house show at the LJVM Coliseum Annex in Winston-Salem, NC. It was a great event. I met Mickie James for the second time in my life (and didn’t make a fool of myself nearly as much this time) and shared a brief conversation with legendary referee Earl Hebner that I will cherish. It was an outstanding experience to share with the person who got me interested in the wrestling business some 23 years ago – my mother. 

After this event, I was on Twitter and observed a young wrestling fan talking about his yearning to attend an event. He said something to the effect of not feeling bad for missing a house show because “nothing happens at a house show.” The statement bothered me. House shows do not generally feature title changes or major storyline happenings anymore like in the golden age of professional wrestling. However, in this era of professional wrestling where everything seems to be about promos, pay-per-views, catchphrases, trending on Twitter, and delivering either over-the-top or underwhelming and childish storylines, house shows deliver the one thing we all fell in love with the first time we tuned in – professional wrestling. House shows are where we actually get to enjoy the in-ring action that hooked every one of us when our respective journeys as fans began.

I remember my first house show experience like it was yesterday. On November 22^nd, 1997, I went with my mother to the Greensboro Coliseum for a WWF show. The opening match saw Taka Michinoku defeat Brian Christopher. While I am sure that match was easily forgettable by the thousands in attendance, it stays with me because it was my first match to see in person. They went for almost 10 minutes in a match that was about wrestling; not advancing a storyline or filling a five-minute segment of a TV show. It was a beautiful sight to witness and one that I wish I could enjoy every time I tuned into wrestling on my television.

Over the last fifteen years, I have attended house shows in Greensboro, Raleigh, Fayetteville, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Roanoke, Virginia from World Wrestling Entertainment/World Wrestling Federation, TNA Wrestling, and Ring of Honor Wrestling. Honestly, I have no clue how many shows I have been blessed to witness in person. Despite also attending multiple RAWs, SmackDown tapings, and pay-per-view events, the majority of my favorite memories come from my house show experiences. It was at these events where I witnessed the best wrestling matches. As a wrestling fan, that is what I want most to see. I will never forget Kurt Angle defeating Brock Lesnar after 45 minutes in Roanoke in 2003 or the electricity in the crowd when Steve Austin stunned Mankind to win a Fatal Fourway over Mankind, The Undertaker, and Kane inside a steel cage in Greensboro in 1998. It was magical to watch performers like Matt and Jeff Hardy, Trish Stratus, Dolph Ziggler, and Rob Terry before they become known the wrestling world over and to witness to evolution of stars like John Cena, Dave Batista, John Bradshaw Layfield, Ken Anderson, CM Punk, and even Triple H from curtain jerkers to main event stars. From Taka and Christopher in 1997 to Jeff Hardy and James Storm over Austin Aries and Robert Roode on September 21^st, house shows have been the location for some of my favorite wrestling memories.

I encourage anybody who has the chance to attend a house show to do so. As disenchanted as the wrestling fan inside you may feel when watching the programs on television, your love will come alive again at a house show because that is the only event that focuses solely on what initially drew you to the business – wrestling. The lights, fireworks, and pageantry of the television tapings and pay-per-view events are gone. However, the in-ring action more than makes up for the lack of bells and whistles that companies use now in substitution of in-ring substance.

House shows are truly the last place to go where you can see the best wrestlers in the world apply their craft without reigns to hold them in. To those who turn down a house show because “nothing happens,” I feel bad because you are missing the best part of professional wrestling. House shows are where wrestling happens.