The Lion Of Nottingham: Pro Wrestling House Shows In The 21st Century

Which is more effective: someone telling you of something that IS going to happen or someone excitingly telling you about something that happened that YOU missed out on? The answer to the question is really based off who you ask. I believe the second is something pro wrestling needs more of and the first is something pro wrestling needs to avoid as often as possible, especially as it relates to a crucial yet often neglected aspect of the business: the house show.

Hulk Hogan laced up the boots yet again at a 2012 TNA house show in Nottingham, England. Fans who purchased tickets were treated to something special. Fans who did not...well they were left kicking themselves in the arse when they found out exactly what they missed. Hulk Hogan is a legend in pro wrestling and all legends (in any field of entertainment) are worth seeing live at least once. However, when it comes to pro wrestling the mindset of fans is different then that of fans of other entertainment genres. When some wrestling fans found out about Hogan's surprise appearance they detest and cried out about failed business opportunities for the TNA company and potential lost revenue.

I remember some time ago when I lived in New Jersey, my father took me to a carnival. It was my first carnival I ever experienced. I don't want to get into bullshit allegory or imagery and try to paint a magical picture: but it was cool. There was a tent setup and outside a sign that advertised exactly what was going to happen at 3pm under the big top. Clowns, elephants, jugglers. It all seemed cool. I was pumped walking through the tent's curtains around 3pm as I was expecting a good show from the clowns, elephants, and jugglers. At the end of the show the ring leader comes out and announces a special surprise! A surprise!? The seven year old me couldn't handle it! I already saw clowns throwing pies, elephants doing tricks, and jugglers juggling. What in the world could top this?

In dramatic fashion the lights go out, a drum roll begins, and a spotlight hits the opposite side of the tent. A lion and his tamer enter the center ring to the biggest pop of the night. Shit just got serious! I am not sure how much my dad paid for those tickets but it was differently worth the price of admission. I got something I expected and something I didn't expect and guess what...when the carnival came back to town the follow year guess who pestered his dad non-stop about buying tickets until his pops caved in and purchased tickets!

The element of surprise. Its something that has been missing in pro wrestling since the dawn of the Internet. Fans have long (and still do) pride themselves of being 'in the know' and usually when something occurs that they didn't see coming..well they shit on it! The long rants about how its bad for the business, etc. are only superseded by the smugness and overly smarmy demeanor of the speaker. I like surprises and having surprises in the 21st century pro wrestling landscape, especially on house shows, is not only a good thing, but also something that can help improve house show business and the business as a whole.

Before there was television there was mystery and intrigue. With television came knowledge and expectations. House shows are notorious for absolutely nothing of major importance happening at said shows. On those rare occasions there are events that go down that people even years after the fact still discuss and in some cases track down and buy the accompanying recording of said events. Probably the most famous house show bit of all time occurred on May 19, 1996 involving the backstage WWF faction known as "The Kliq" (its prominent members being: HHH, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and HBK) . This gathering of 'The Klique' at MSG in an event known as "The Current Call". At the time, Hall and Nash were about to leave the WWF for WCW, and this MSG house show was their last contractual obligation for the WWF. Immediately after the match Hall, Nash, HBK, and HHH participated in a group celebration. The outside world will later know about this event due to the tape trading that occurred shortly there after and a year later WWE showing the footage on an episode of Monday Night Raw.

In the fall of 1996 ECW had a memorable house show moment when 17 year old Eric Kulas decided to lace up the boots and step in the ring as a last minute replacement for Axl Rotten (who had a family emergency to address). Kulas somehow managed to con one of the greatest wrestling con man of the 20th Century, Paul Heyman, into allowing him to step foot inside the squared circle against New Jack and D-Von Dudley. What followed was one of the most brutal- shoot beatdowns of that period as New Jack added color to the match by blading the 17 year old Kulas. Soon followed and ECW's Barely Legal PPV was pulled, all of this because of the despicable actions of several man at a run-of-the-mill ECW house show.

The "Curtain Call" and The "Mass Transit Incident" are two impromptu happenings that occurred at house shows. These events got people talking, curious, and in some cases interested to check out the next event these promotions had to offer because ANYTHING could go down.They weren't planned by the company but definitely surprises none-the-less. It got people talking and we all know word of mouth is the best advertising that can be done. Especially for the segment most reliant on it: the house shows.

Since the 1930's the business has been exposed and since then it has only gotten worse for the secrecy of pro wrestling as with the rise of the internet: there are more secrets, only expectations. And with these expectations came a sense of entitlement to some fans, believing as though they should be in-the-know about everything at all times. This has left some fans jaded and believing that the only time and money they should be willing to invest in a pro wrestling product, when it comes to the big two in the U.S., is when it comes to televised events. With this thinking these people miss things like: Booker T's surprise return to TNA on May 22, 2010 to face Rob Van Dam, Bret Hart winning the WWF title from Ric Flair in 1992, Diesel defeating Bob Backlund in 1994 for the WWF title, and countless other special appearances, title changes, and little caveats like Bradshaw Goose Stepping in Germany. All of this because we as fans 'know too much' and have been conditioned by the big promotions to ignore house shows and pay attention to the televised events.

A company with a track record of delivering ONLY what they promise will bring in fans who ONLY want to see what is advertised. A company with a track record of surprises will still get the hardcore and faithful fans, but also has a better chance of getting the casual fans who are mainly showing up because of the mystique and a truly 'anything can happen' feel to the events. So what means more? Someone telling you of something that IS going to happen or someone excitingly telling you about something that happened that YOU missed out on? For me its simple: its the second one..why? Because in reality that's why I fell in love with pro wrestling in the first place. Its the reason I watch The Royal Rumble every year, and its the reason I check out the local events when WWE/TNA/ROH come into town. Its the mystery. It shoots me back to that time when I was a child sitting in the stands of a darken big top only to be startled by the roar of a lion. Houses in the 21st century shouldn't have surprises due to nostalgia, but because its just good business. The internet, dirt-sheets, and the smarks have ruined surprises in pro wrestling on the television...at least let me get them at house shows.

In no other entertainment business do fans complain about an entertainer doing something and missing out on making a big pay day, because in all reality...it doesn't matter. It's being done for the fans. I know everyone wants to see pro wrestling survive but it can only do that by truly entertaining the fans and not being overly dependent on the complacency and old habits of these same fans. House show business is down everywhere in both TNA and WWE due to the latter two. These companies have tried the model of announcing everything in advance and I say they try it a different way for a longer stretch. A short term loss for a potential long term growth. Even in these hard economics times, consumers still like to take a gamble and be surprised...The Business should be the same as it relates to house shows. Pro wrestling house shows need more lions and less of sticking purely to what is posted on the sign outside the tent.