WWE has been known to travel the globe in order to put on their shows for fans worldwide. I’ve been lucky enough in my years to catch a bunch of live shows and a couple of episodes of Raw. I’ve never had the opportunity to see a PPV live like some have, but obviously that’s a huge wish of any wrestling fan. I wanted to share some of my favorite experiences from live events that I’ve been to and hope to learn about some of yours. I like how WWE will do different things for different markets. Whether it’s a hometown hero or a countries favorite superstar, it seems to be different in every market. I can’t remember exact dates and everything but the memory is what’s important. Please feel free to share yours below.
Calgary Stampede show – This was back in the early 90’s during the first Iraq war. This was such a huge card as I remember every superstar at the time being there. Logion of Doom, Jake Roberts, The Undertaker, Bret Hart, Sgt. Slaughter, Macho Man and Hulk Hogan. The Most disappointing part of the night for me was that Macho Man wasn’t wrestling at that time, so it was just him in the ring for a promo. The match that stood out the most for me here was Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter in a desert storm match. This was right after Sgt. Slaughter had turned on America and won the title. If any of you remember, Sgt. Slaughter threw a burning American flag on the face of Hogan causing damage. I believe at this point Hogan was already champion again. I remember the match being a no DQ match and anything goes. Hogan at one point used Sgt. Slaughters helmet and cracked him with it. Another good part was Hogan lighting something on fire and throwing it in Sgt. Slaughters face for revenge. Hogan got the win obviously and the crowd was insane. Although there was cameras I do remember it being a non-televised event.
My first house show here where I live (a small place with 80,000 population) was quite a great show. I remember being in the second row on the floor and being able to see Yokozuna, Bret Hart and others, but the match I remember the most was actually Crush vs. Macho Man. This was when Crush was a bad guy and the heart punch was a dreaded move. I remember Crush smashing Mach into the guard rails right in front of us and giving him a beating. If I remember right I did get to see the flying elbow drop.
Another show here which was non-televised was a great bout between Ric Flair and Bret Hart. The funniest part of the match was when Bret Hart pulled down Rics trunks and his old white ass mooned us. A great match regardless. Another match, which I’m pretty sure was at this show was between Mankind vs. The Undertaker. This was when Mankind first started out in WWE. It was a no DQ match once again and I remember Mankind stabbing Taker in the head with a spike. The funniest part was when Paul Bearer was walking out from the back, we were right by the ramp and my sister said “god he’s fat” to which Paul whipped his head around and starred at her for what seemed like an eternity. She was scared after that.
Right after the invasion angle with WCW I was at a Raw taping in Calgary. The only thing I really remember from that taping was that’s when Lance Storm made his WWE debut as part of Shane McMahons WCW team. It was a great show but we were up in the second section so everything was a little bit tiny. Nothing spectacular with this show besides Storm making his debut.
Another Raw taping, the most current show I’ve been to was about 2008 or so. We were second row by the ramp and I can actually see myself on TV which is funny. This was a kick ass show and the first guy who came out was Morrison for a Superstars taping. I ended up getting some great pictures of this show which I’ll end up sharing at some point. I remember Big Show being on the ground right beside us and being in awe from his size. Another funny thing was Mark Henry was the only guy to actually smack my hand. This was well before Marks push and at this time he was my most hated guy on the roster. My hand actually stung for a few minutes after the fact. Randy Orton was WWE champ at this point and I have a great pic of him with the title. I can’t actually remember anything spectacular happening from this Raw.
I know they do different things in different markets and it seems overseas even live events get absolutely crazy. This write up was not only to share my experiences but more so to hear about yours and to read your experiences at live shows. What are some of your favorite memories from the show? Did anything significant happen? Obviously I’m extremely jealous of those who have been to Mania. That experience is for sure once in a lifetime and something I have to do before I die. Thanks for the read!
James Bones
@violentshadows
violentshadows@hotmail.com
Ringsidehustle.com 
Nice topic, James.
You’ve been to quite a few. I was only ever at one, in Dublin. It was an okay show, could of been better. It was 2005 I think. The main star was Batista, King Booker and JBL. Kane was there also. I haven’t gone since because I’m just not bothered with another house show. I go to Old Trafford once/twice a season and next season I’m trying to plan to see United and WWE in Manchester so that should be fun.
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I don’t think I ever got to see Batista….if I did I don’t remember which would be weird. Are the house shows pretty corny when they come over? When Raw/Smackdown come around do they sell out almost instantly? Sheamus would be their only Irish name, or Finlay I guess if he’s rehired.
Manchester would be a TV taping?
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Corny? They were more ”careful” like you wouldn’t see them risk much TBH. I know they’re better now than 7-8 years ago, though. Finlay was actually there, don’tknow how I forgot, lol. He got a huge reception.
Manchester is a TV taping!
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Yeah corny like lame. WOOO!!! Bring a WR sign!
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I’ve been to two house shows.
1. WCW in the early 90’s. They gave them away at school. Nobody was buying them! Early Bagwell. Jesse Ventura was an announcer. Shane Douglas. The Patriot. Horseman. Vader. Sting. You could see the roots forming that would be on Nitro. Best of all, I got to see a naked Madusa.
2. WWF in the mid 90’s. We got Taker, Goldust, Mankind, a very young JBL(with “BORING!” chants), Justin Credible(with his Man-O-War gimmick), Sunny, and terrible sound!
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I’m actually quite jealous of your WCW event. I wish I could have experienced that. Something around the time NWO was hot would have been insane.
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Well, this was in 92 or 93, so the NWO wouldn’t have been around yet, but seeing a young Bagwell there and thinking how much he had improved by the time he joined the NWO is kinda crazy.
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Nope but 92, 93 would have still had some wicked talent on the roster. I always liked WCW, sometimes more than WWF.
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They really didn’t hit their stride until the MNW, but you could see signs that something was changing. Yeah, the early 90’s were an odd time for wrestling. Great wrestlers in HBK, Hart, Perfect, Flair, Sting, etc. Plus you had gimmicks that were horrible, but had charm to them like Mantaur.
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Many many realtors would like what you have but with PITI. Principal, Interest, Taxes, & Insurance. That would give us the total motnhly payments which is much more valuable than just the PI, principal & Interest calculator.It should be easy to add on.1. Tax Rate with a Drop Down List from O.1 to 4.0 in .1 increments 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, etc.2. Insurance Yearly Cost, then you divide by 12.
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I saw Flair and Michaels at a house show in Birmingham once, that was pretty cool. This was in the Evolution days, and Randy Orton got a great reaction as IC Champion if I recall rightly. Benoit as World Champion too 😡
Lee had a cracking time at ‘Mania – I understand he’s writing a report for this, and we’ve discussed it on show one of this week.
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I was so sickened one time, I went over to see Villa vs. Everton like 3 maybe 4 years ago and RAW was there but I couldn’t go because I was with relatives 😦
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Flair/Michaels is something to brag about seeing. Even being able to say you saw Benoit.
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I’ve met a few wrasslers! I met Alberto Del Rio, who tried dodging the fans lol! He smelt rich, don’t ask me to explain that one but he did smell rich. I’ve met Otunga, Ziggler, Swagger, Mysterio, Chad Patton (the ref). Going out to met the stars at the hotel is part of the experience for me, they come over here twice a year so it’s nice to meet them.
Then the house shows are good, like Ray said they are safe, well street fight at the most safe. The main events are always title matches so for me it’s always predictable. The last two times I’ve been the main event has ended w/interference DQ. I’ve touched a few hands in my recent house shows, touched Sheamus’ wrist (which is like a freaking tree trunk), slapped Sin Cara’s hand and also clapped hands with Eve which as a result left glitter on my hand.
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Maybe Alberto wears the cologne “money”. You got to see a lot more recent stars and I’m damn jealous of that. Sin Cara would be awesome. Still excited for him to do something good one day.
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Who knows, he just smelt so damn wealthy! Like really loaded.
I don’t think Sin Cara has been a total fail, I mean, a few botches here & there but I’ve generally enjoyed his work.
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Sorry for OT guys but added a bit of news and we got a surprise column re-debuting tomorrow BETTER THAN EVER!
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I have an idea for a column: Seeing how fans cheer/boo wrestlers differently today than in the past, take a match from the past, then describe what the crowd reaction was like. After that, imagine what the crowd reaction would be like today.
Example: Steamboat/Savage at WM3. Bact then, the crowd went NUTS for Steamboat to get revenge on Savage. Today, Savage would be cheered like a hero while Steamboat would be booed for being “plucky”.
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That would be a good topic.
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Cool Beans
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Yeah that would be amazing. Especially how now a lot of people will cheer the cool bad guys. nWo for example or even Stone Cold. Hometowns and different countries cheer different things too. Good idea, Smooth. Is this going to be your first column idea? 😉
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It’s not mine. I’m a slow ass writer and am DUMB when it comes to computers. I do best just peppering the comment section with quips. It was just an idea that I had and wanted to throw it out there. If anybody is interested, it’s all yours. But, I do expect royalties. 🙂
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I’ve been to two:
Smackdown houseshow in 2004, a month or so prior to WM 20. Got to see a Kurt Angle/Eddie Guerrero confrontation. Pretty sure I was the only Angle fan in attendance. JBL ragged on the audience. The Basham Brothers tried to pull their “twin” trick in a match against another team whom I’ve forgotten, but were thwarted. Cena came out rapping. Billy Gun, who at the time wasn’t doing the “Mr. Ass” gimmick, jumped up on this stage area in front of where I sitting, and teased “Mr. Ass” for us all. I wanted to know where Lesnar was, because he was a favorite at the time. The next night on RAW, I got my answer when he attacked Austin.
Wish I could remember the specific matches that took place, instead of just who was there…wish I could remember more who were there too.
The other event was WrestleMania 26. Was it a crappy WrestleMania? Yep, but it was my WM experience, so I love it.
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That would have been a cool house show still! Eddie is something to brag about and even Angle. At least you’ve been to a WM, which is awesome to be able to say. I can’t remember much of 26.
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So you got to watch Shawn vs Taker? Damn, that must have been awesome.
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It was amazing! Everyone was standing until Shawn had left, and after that, all the grown men around me were crying. Proud to say, I was at least able to hold it in until I got back to the hotel….and then I cried for three days.
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Great post! All I get to see is house shows. Which in my opinion is just as good, if not, better than most TV shows because with live events, they get more time in the ring to tell a better story and the crowd is into everything.
I remember the most recent one I went to was back in June and it was in South Texas and I remember Sin Cara getting the loudest ovation of the night and a lot of “Mistico” chants. I also remember Natalya blowing me a kiss. It was great.
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Nice man! Yeah it seems they have a little more fun at house shows and it’s not such a serious thing. They can have a little more freedom. Ohhhh Natalya blowing a kiss at you? You’ve made some jealous from that.
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She is a beautiful and talented worker 🙂
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Still doesn’t beat seeing Madusa naked…
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When was this?
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The WCW house show in the early 90’s. I was 12-13 at the time. I left to use the restroom, got lost, thought I found my way. When I opened a door, I saw it all. I froze, said, “OOPS! SORRY!” and left. As I was walking back down the hall, she opened the door(with a robe on) and called me back. I told her what had happened. She could see that I was terrified and was very nice about it, showing me the way back to my seat. None the less, I became a Madusa mark from that day on.
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I also remember my very first house show that I went to. It was back in 2003 and I got pics with Kanyon, Brian Kendrick, Benoit, Los Guerreros, and Rey Mysterio. My fav one was with Eddie. I remember him being so nice and down to earth.
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We should really have a section of our live event pics and stuff, cause if you posted those that would be an awesome article. Those are some incredible talents man.
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My first show I saw (Indie Indie) there was a fake Kane who fell out of the ring, got his leg stuck in the ropes and couldn’t get free. He won by DQ…
Thats all you need to know.
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So it was a five star match then?
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Stellar, the lack of clean finish completely ruined it though
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That’s so true.
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That was the pop of the night I hope. hahah!
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Interesting topic, and good choice for a post. In the time I’ve been a fan, I’ve been to many shows. I’ve been to *takes a deep breath* 3 WWF House Shows, 1 WWF UK PPV (don’t know if US fans saw these?), 2 WCW House Shows, 2 WWE TV Tapings, 7 WWE House Shows, 4 TNA House Shows and 4 UK Indy shows.
From those, I have some great memories, including seeing Macho Man v Shawn Michaels in 1993 (little did I know how big Michaels would become), Chris Jericho’s “UK debut”, Terry Funk and Dustin Rhodes fight with a frozen Chicken (I kid you not!!), Hornswoggle blow up the ring, Layla doing the “farting” gimmick, Sheamus v Daniel Bryan go longer than 18 seconds and much more.
Maybe one day with Ray’s permission, I could go more in depth than this? Don’t want to post a longer reply than what I type for my own posts!! 😀
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Thanks James! I’m extremely damn jealous of this. You should do your own article like this for sure, you have way more memories and have been to wayyy more shows. Please do one! I’m kinda most excited to hear about the WCW shows. That’s awesome they traveled over there.
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I shall certainly do one in the future, may need to look at splitting it into more than just 1 article though. I’ve also got photos from the majority of shows I’ve been to, so can add them into the article.
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Yep, you can.
P.S, sorry for late reply I never saw this!
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Nice memories especially the story relating to your sister and Paul Bearer – that must have been hilariously awkward.
I’ve only been to house shows but the best one I’ve attended was a TNA event in London. I rarely watch the show but enjoy the roster away from their crappy storylines and they just went out there and put on a brilliant show with AJ vs Angle as the main event. Afterwards I turned to my friend and said that if they just did this as their tv show every week they would see an increase in ratings.
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Paul Bearer is a frightening man up close! Especially with the makeup and eyes and skin flapping everywhere when he’s screaming ohhhhh yessssss. LOL.
I think going to a TNA house show would be good because there wouldn’t be 4 x 20 minute promos in the ring. LOL. AJ vs. Angle is def. something to brag about seeing. I wish.
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