Lance Storm Explains Why House Show Matches Were Better Than Wrestling On TV

The two most common types of wrestling events run by WWE are Live Events — their version of non-televised house shows — and TV tapings such as "WWE Raw" and "WWE SmackDown." On Twitter, former Intercontinental Champion Lance Storm addressed the difference between competing in TV matches and those on house shows: "TV matches were usually short and rushed so I thought they were no where near as good as House Shows." With TV shows likely being live, they are on a much tighter schedule overall, while house shows do not have to be over by a certain time.

Another difference between wrestling on WWE TV and at house shows is that during "Raw" or "SmackDown," the wrestlers play more to the audience at home. With house shows, wrestlers commonly have a greater chance to fully engage and interact with the live crowd. This greater freedom may lead to wrestlers being able to try out new characters, new catchphrases, new moves, and get more reps overall in front of a wide variety of fans. Former and current WWE stars such as Santino Marella and Kofi Kingston have expressed that competing on house shows over the years helped their careers greatly, as it did for many others.

While WWE has been in the house show business for decades — minus the period during COVID-19 when touring was not an option — their biggest competitor, AEW, has barely dipped their toe in the house show market. The company recently announced that in 2023, they will begin doing more non-televised events, as in the past, they have only put on one.