WWE: 10 Reasons You Should Go to House Shows/Live Events If You Never Have

The Internet is a great place for wrestling fans to voice their opinions on what the WWE gives us on Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown every week.

But hardly anyone ever talks about the WWE's forgotten shows: House shows.

The results of house shows, aka live events, are largely inconsequential when it comes to what we watch on TV, except for the rare occasion when something that happens at one is worked into a storyline.

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.

You may love going to a Raw or SmackDown taping because it's on live TV, and that's OK. But every wrestling fan should go to at least one house show before they're six feet under.

And here are 10 reasons why.

10. Heels Acting Like Baby Faces

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.

9. See Big Matches Before They Air on Pay-Per-View

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.

You might very well get to see a marquee match before anyone else.

8. Fewer Restrictions

Here's what WWE Diva Natalya said in an interview with the Press-Register in Alabama about live events:

"

“Our Supershows are really unique because our live events, it’s different from the TV tapings in the way the WWE Superstars and Divas can get a little more intimate and personal with the audience,” Natalya said. “We can kind of let our hair down and have a bit more fun, and it’s not as strict as a TV taping."

"

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.

7. Very Little Focus on Storylines

Storylines obviously are the driving force of professional wrestling, but sometimes, they can take away from a product more than they add to it.

At house shows, however, you usually don't have to worry about that.

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.

Instead, the focus is where it should be: On the wrestlers in the ring.

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.

6. No Pointless Backstage Segments

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?"

Of course, there usually is none.

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.

5. Appearances from Rarely Seen Mid and Lower-Card Workers

There are at least 10 to 20 (maybe more) Divas and superstars who hardly ever appear on Raw or Smackdown, and that's disappointing.

Given that NXT is a joke and Superstars doesn't air in the United States anymore, I almost never get to see my favorite stars who are stuck in the mid-card or Jobberville.

I hate that.

House shows, however, allow fans to see some of these forgotten WWE stars--guys like Tyson Kidd or Drew McIntyre--in action, and on some occasions, they actually get a decent amount of ring time.

I've always been a bit agitated by the fact that some guys with loads of talent never get on TV, and that probably won't change anytime soon.

But, at least at house shows, I can see them in action for a change. 

4. More Than 30 Seconds of the Divas

We all know that the Divas generally don't get more than a few minutes on TV every week, and it's one of the biggest complaints many of us have about the WWE.

That's precisely why you should go to a house show.

I'm not saying you are going to see classic Divas matches at live events, but what you'll see is much better than the crap we get on TV every week.

Instead of seeing Beth Phoenix and Natalya vs. Kelly Kelly and Eve end with a rollup after one minute like we typically do on Raw, we can see Beth vs. Eve in a match that actually gets eight minutes or so.

Yeah, it's not like they're going 20 minutes in the ring. But it's definitely a start.

These women work hard, and since it certainly isn't seen on TV, house shows are where they are rewarded for all the training they've done.

3, Special Appearances by WWE Legends

We see special appearances by WWE legends and Hall of Famers all the time on Raw or Smackdown.

Heck we've seen both Mick Foley and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper on TV in just the last few weeks.

But the appearances by these Legends are a lot more intimate and personal at house shows, where you witness things like "Bret Hart Appreciation Night" or see the show hosted by someone like Dusty Rhodes or "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.

Typically, a TV appearance for someone like Piper means that he shows up at the beginning and then isn't really scene the rest of the show.

At live events, however, the legends are there the entire time and play an integral part in what goes on throughout the event.

And I have to say it's pretty cool to see some of the biggest names in the wrestling business live and in person.  

2. More Fan Interaction

WWE wrestlers obviously interact with fans at every WWE show, whether it be a TV taping, pay-per-view or a live event.

But nothing compares to the way these superstars get involved with the fans at house shows.

CM Punk and Chris Jericho are prime examples of this.

They will take their time on their way to the ring, get into an altercation with a fan that lasts a couple of minutes and turn up their heel personas to all-time highs.

At TV tapings, they can't use up all this time when the show has to be fit into a certain window of time, but at house shows, all bets are off.

Most wrestlers will generally interact with the fans more at live events, and that's especially true if you're a heel.

If you don't believe me, then just ask the guy in the video what Punk thinks of him.

1. Better (And Longer) Matches

The No. 1 reason why you should attend house shows: Better matches.

Though I will give the WWE credit for giving us long, high-quality TV matches more often in recent months, the company does this much more consistently at live events.

Since there are no pointless segments or story lines to worry about, the wrestlers get a lot more time for their matches than they typically do on TV.

That will allow you to see great bouts between top stars or ones that hardly ever get long TV matches, such as William Regal.

Just watch Regal take on Daniel Bryan in that video, and you'll get an idea of what to expect wrestling-wise at a house show.

See, I told you live events were the way to go.