WWE Brings Down the House in Detroit

Last week, the WWE went back on the road to continue its long-running tradition of holiday tour house shows. Unlike Raw, Smackdown, or Premium Live Events, house shows are only seen by the people who are in attendance that evening. 

 

Before the advent of Monday Night Raw, house shows were the bread and butter for the wrestling industry. TV shows such as Superstars, Wrestling Challenge, and All-American Wrestling usually featured nothing but “squash” matches and interviews, all to encourage people to buy a ticket when wrestling came to their town. It was the only time when you could see the heroic baby face take on his heel nemesis and finally get justice for whatever wrongdoing the heel had caused him (unless you wanted to wait until Wrestlemania). The thought was, “if we put it on TV for free, nobody will pay when the show comes to town.”  

 

Of course, this is a relic of a bygone era. When the famous Monday Night Wars started, WWF and WCW started to show more competitive matches on TV in order to compete in the ratings with one another.  Although the television formula was no longer the same, the sentiment still holds. Usually, at house shows, you are seeing matches and feuds that haven’t quite made it to television. It’s a great opportunity for talent to work the kinks out and figure out the right “story” to tell before their feud gets settled on TV. 

 

It’s also a great place for people to make debuts and returns without the scrutiny of a worldwide audience. So, while you usually won't see a title change hands or a major development happen in a feud, you do get to see something truly unique for you. In fact, at the holiday house show in Detroit in 2012, the New Age Outlaws had their first match in a WWE ring in more than 13 years. They wouldn’t compete on TV for another 3 months, which means that everybody who went to the house shows from late December to early March got to see two of the biggest stars of the Attitude Era reunited before the rest of the world got to see it. 

 

So, aside from the occasional huge return, what is the appeal of the house show? Well, first of all, the action is pretty much non-stop. There are no commercials or long talking segments slowing down the action. It’s pretty much match after match after match, with the exception of a lone intermission. 

 

Second, there seems to be a lot more comedic moments at house shows. Since you don’t have to worry about advancing a dramatic story, there's a lot more freedom (and necessity) for levity to keep people entertained. Above all else, wrestling should be fun. Nowhere is that fun put on full display more than at a house show. 

 

Third, it’s cheap! Go look up ticket prices for a Premium Live Event. Then, compare that to the prices for a ticket to Raw or Smackdown. Then, compare that to the house show. It’s easy to see why house shows are much more appealing for people, especially families, to go to. In a time where there is no shortage of entities competing for our entertainment dollar, the house show offers perhaps the most economical option to see your favorite stars live and up close.

 

Which brings us to last week, when the 2023 holiday tour returned to Detroit. As expected, no major moments changed the course of the wrestling Road to Wrestlemania, but a lot of fun was had!

 

Solo Sikoa vs. Kevin Owens

 

The opening match got the crowd invested right away, as Kevin Owens and Solo Sikoa wasted no time before brawling on the outside of the ring and giving all the front row fans a heck of a show. At one point, Kevin Owens’ hand protector comes off, leaving his “broken” right hand exposed and vulnerable for the rest of the match. At one point, Solo grabs it and puts it on his hand, attempting to do a Samoan Spike, but KO is able to counter and the match goes on. 

 

KO hit Solo with all of his big moves, and Solo was able to kick out of each one, really showcasing how strong and resilient he is. Eventually, Kevin Owens channeled his inner Eddie Guerrero. He grabbed a chair from the outside of the ring and went to hit Sikoa with it, but as the ref took the chair from Owens and went to put it back on the outside, KO grabbed his hand protector, nailed Solo with it, then gave him a second stunner to finally pick up the win. 

 

Winner: Kevin Owens

 

Grayson Waller vs. Butch

 

Grayson Waller comes out in Grinch-inspired gear, and says he’s here to steal the Christmas cheer from the Detroit crowd, but that’s impossible since there’s nothing joyous about being in Detroit. Classic heel cheap heat, and done to perfection. He calls the audience fat, insults the Detroit Pistons (the ultimate low hanging fruit right now), and spends a good amount of time implying a guy in the first row is a virgin. 

 

Eventually Butch comes out to shut him up and the two have a great match. Both the opening match and this match got a lot more time than I thought they would, but with only seven (really, six) matches on the card, each contest was allowed to go for quite a while, which was nice to see. 

 

Butch is an absolute beast in the ring. He’s the very definition of a workhorse and can bring out the best in anybody. Waller, on the other hand, has the ability to be the next generation’s Miz. He’s Charismatic, entertaining, and gets a ton of heat.

 

In the end, Butch hits Waller with the Ten Beats of the Bodhran and follows it up with his own version of the Brogue Kick, a nice homage to Sheamus, and gets the win. Afterwards, he chases Waller all the way to the back, getting a big laugh from the Detroit crowd. 

 

Winner: Butch

 

Street Profits w/ Bobby Lashley vs. Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde

Despite working most of the match as heels, the audience was decidedly behind the Street Profits. This match was exactly what you would expect out of these four sports entertainers. It was high flying, fast paced, and a ton of fun. The Profits dominated the action throughout most of the match and after some very nice double team work, they hit the Electric Chair and pick up the win. LWO sorely misses Santos Escobar.

 

Winners: Street Profits w/ Bobby Lashley

 

The Club (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows) vs Austin Theory and Pretty Deadly

 

Remember how I said house shows were all about having fun? This match is exactly what that sentiment meant. So many comedy spots, mixed in with the insane athleticism from AJ Styles and Austin Theory made this the match of the night. Pretty Deadly does not get the credit they deserve, and it would be a shame if they are relegated to glorified enhancement talent for their entire WWE run. They deserve a bigger spotlight. The highlight of the match was when The Club had all three of their opponents “racked” on the top rope, bouncing them up and down and doing some major damage to a very sensitive area. As one might expect, the good guys continued their dominance of this show, and The Club gets the win. 

 

Winners: The Club (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows)

 

Shotzi vs. Iyo Sky w/ Bayley for the WWE Women’s Championship

 

The lone title match of the evening was short lived. After three minutes of back-and forth action, Shotzi shoved Bayley when they were on the outside of the ring. Apparently this was a much egregious offense and Bayley came in and attacked Shotzi with a chair, costing Iyo the match, but not the title.

 

Winner by DQ: Shotzi

 

Not one to stand by and let someone take a senseless beating, Bianca Belair came out to a huge pop from the crowd and said “since you like working as a tag team on my girl, we should just make this a tag team match right now!” The crowd erupts and the match restarts as a tag team match. 

 

Shotzi and Bianca Belair vs. Iyo Sky and Bayley

 

While Bianca’s athleticism has never been in question, she’s never particularly been my favorite. Part of it is the way she was booked so strong right out of the gate, so she never had to face adversity. The other part is simply that I didn’t get “invested” in her matches. After seeing her in person, I can say I’m totally converted. Belair’s performance was so strong, the dad sitting next to me (who was clearly only there because his teenage son wanted to go) was hooting and hollering, and by the time Bianca got the pinfall, he was jumping out of his seat, fist pumping like this was an episode of the Arsenio Hall show. 

 

Winners: Bianca Belair and Shotzi 

 

Main Event: LA Knight vs. Jimmy Uso in a Detroit Street Fight

 

Finally, the show closed with the man everybody came to see, and that’s no exaggeration. Conservatively speaking, LA Knight merch made up at least 50% of all the shirts and gear (those glasses are amazing) in the Little Caesars Arena that night. LA Knight and Jimmy worked a methodical match, but with plenty of high spots so the crowd stayed in it the whole time. After Kendo Sticks, Steel Steps, Steel Chairs, and exposed turnbuckles, the crowd was ALMOST satisfied. However, we needed one more thing to make this night complete. After teasing it through the whole match, LA Knight finally pulled out the table! The crowd erupted for for the table’s debut, and blew the lid off of the place when he finally put Jimmy through it and got the win. After the match, LA Knight “talked to ya” for a bit and let us all know that he’s not done with the bloodline and his thirst for the gold will be quenched. 

 

Winner: LA Knight

 

This event was so fun, from the opening match to the main event, the crowd had a blast. Premium Live Events will always be spectacular because of the heightened potential for major moments, but if pressed, I’d take a house show over a PLE or a Raw/Smackdown taping any time. It was so much fun, it actually inspired me to write a little poem about the experience. 

 

Ode to the House Show

 

You won’t see a title change hands

And the fight won't go into the stands

But that doesnt matter to the fans

When we go to the house show. 

 

Most of the good guys will win

Either by submission or by pin

We will scowl and boo the villain

When we go to the house show.

 

We buy up some merch and a program

And nobody plays to the hard cam

We just enjoy time with friends and fam

When we go to the house show. 

 

We can all go, the tickets are cheap

But not quite as cheap as the heat  

Everybody’s night is complete

When we go to the house show.

 

And when we leave, nothing has changed

But it’s also not really the same

We have a new stop on memory lane

Because we went to the house show.