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WWE has had an established presence on Mondays and Fridays with Raw and SmackDown for decades, but the untelevised live events are what the company was built on.
Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and countless others all made WWE the success that it is today thanks to their tireless work as traveling world champions, primarily in the northeast region of the United States and eventually across the country.
All these years later, while they aren't as essential to the company's business model as they once were, the house shows (as they're commonly referred to as) are essentially the lifeblood of talent development on the main roster.
One week before heading to Cardiff, Wales, for Clash at the Castle, Superstars from SmackDown and Raw collided on a supercard in Springfield, MA at the moderately sized (capacity: 8,000) MassMutual Center.
Outside of the arena, fans awaited the arrival of all the notable names scheduled to compete that night including AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and The Usos. Coming off a double taping of SmackDown in Detroit the night prior, Drew McIntyre was the last to roll in.
"On the weekends without the cameras there, we have an opportunity to try things out that you don't want to try on TV for the first time in case they don't work," the Scot told B/R. "If it doesn't, we'll have a laugh about it and so will the crowd. That's for the more established Superstars. For our younger talent, these shows are more essential to get the reps in and hone their craft."
Having been with the company on and off for the past 15 years, McIntyre is more familiar with WWE's live events than a vast majority of the current roster. He's well aware of how pertinent they are when it comes to creating new stars.
Matt Hardy, Finlay and R-Truth were among the seasoned vets he had the privilege of working with early on in his run. He says he learned something new every time he shared the squared circle with them on the house shows. Then again, it would have been impossible for him not to.
"I think William Regal actually first told me when I was asking him, 'How do you get over? How you get those reactions and get people to know who you are and build those connections?' He said, 'Go out there and give it 110 percent every single time and they'll remember. Next time you come around, you do the same thing.' It's all about reps."
Wrestling fans never forget. It's that interaction with the audience that separates pro wrestling from anything else in sports and entertainment, and WWE is in a league all of its own when it comes to that.
Embracing Audience Interaction
The VIP Experience is a staple of all WWE's live events. For a premium price, fans are allowed to meet selected Superstars backstage before the show, receive ringside seats and complimentary merchandise, touch the ring canvas, and more.
Kofi Kingston, who teamed with McIntyre and Xavier Woods in the main event in Springfield against The Brawling Brutes, feels he's basically watched many members of the WWE Universe grow up by seeing them in the same spots at live events, airports, meet-and-greets and elsewhere in public.
The house shows have undergone a significant transformation since The New Day star began on them in 2008, specifically in regards to their production level.
"There are some elements that are the same as far as the interaction and being able to be more intimate with the crowd, but now it's more full-scale, professional-looking," Kingston told B/R. "We used to come out of a black curtain. That was our presentation."
The idea is to make fans feel as if they're attending a Raw and SmackDown, just without a lot of the limitations of airing on cable or network television.
Without commercials, the live events are straight-up action–brief intermission aside. They typically take place on Saturday and Sunday evenings, welcoming more a family friendly vibe compared to the television tapings.
Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods were well received as a trio on the house-show circuit when they started out as The New Day in the summer of 2014, only to find out their act didn't click quite as well as officials thought once they finally debuted on Raw that December.
Kingston credits a great deal of the group's innovation and evolution to what they were able to experiment and get away with on said shows.
"Everything we've done on TV started at a live event, whether it be traveling on the road in the car or doing random stuff in the ring," he said. "We usually go out there and try to entertain each other, and when it works, we say, 'Oh, they liked that, let's see if they liked it this time.' Being on the road for these live events was integral to the chemistry development of me, Woods and E."
Kingston had the entire evening to do whatever he wanted before competing in the final match at Saturday Night's Main Event in Springfield. He chose to spend a portion of the precious downtime filming for UpUpDownDown with Woods and others members of the roster.
Anything Can Happen at a House Show
From a behind-the-scenes standpoint, the atmosphere of WWE's live events is more relaxed than it's ever been before. Laughter and banter could be heard from the hallways, which were roamed by everyone from Tommaso Ciampa and Cedric Alexander to Bobby Lashley and Gunther.
There wasn't a single hint of chaos in sight, the exact opposite of what an average afternoon at Raw, SmackDown or a PPV would bring. Matt Riddle embodies that easygoing attitude like no one else.
Due to having debuted on the main roster during WWE's empty-arena ThunderDome era in 2020, The Original Bro didn't get the same reps newcomers normally would on the road.
However, wrestling on the independent scene in the years prior to signing with WWE helped prepare him for that hectic lifestyle.
"I like live events because they're very lackadaisical compared to TV," Riddle told B/R. "It's still a show, I'm still going out there and have someone's life in my hand, but it's not TV. They're both fun in different ways. For me, I prefer TV because I like the pressure. These shows are very laid-back.”
Riddle's 2022 has been tumultuous, to say the least. He spent the first five months of the year enjoying tag team glory alongside Randy Orton before an injury to The Viper forced him to branch out on his own, resulting in a string of singles losses.
His latest defeat saw him fall short against Seth Rollins at Clash at the Castle, but in Springfield, he managed to score the important victory over his archrival in a highly physical Street Fight.
These are the types of marquee matches fans can expect at live events, along with Iyo Sky vs. Asuka for the first time.
Much to the disbelief of the internet, WWE did indeed give away that WrestleMania-worthy one-on-one encounter in front of a few thousand people and, as expected, it was excellent.
Gunther vs. Ricochet for the Intercontinental Championship, The Usos vs. The Street Profits for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, and Bobby Lashley vs. AJ Styles vs. Austin Theory for the United States Championship filled out the card as well.
Although no titles changed hands, it isn't completely uncommon for a new champ to be crowned at a live event. It happened as recently as December 2019 when Andrade beat Rey Mysterio for the star-spangled prize at Madison Square Garden.
House shows serving as a precursor to what fans will witness on Raw that Monday is what's so enticing about them to Theory.
"Getting the experience to be in the ring with guys like AJ Styles, Finn Balor, Bobby Lashley and that level of excitement and getting to bring that to fans... At live events, you never know what's going to happen," he told B/R. "Usually, you get to see what's going to happen before Monday Night Raw. It's a tease."
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Corey Brennan of BodySlam.net) reported in July that Theory was set to feud with Dolph Ziggler so he could gain experience from working with him on the house shows.
At only 25 years of age and a Money in the Bank contract in his possession, Theory has a bright future ahead of him and plans to take advantage of every opportunity presented to him, especially on the smaller shows. That's where he'll make the most progress.
He's already improved his audience interaction skills immensely thanks to the live events, gradually getting closer and closer to capturing WWE world title gold in the process.
"The biggest difference [from TV] for me is the audience and the connection we get to make with them," Theory said. "There's no focus on cameras and stuff like that. We're focused on playing to the audience and getting to try so many new things. Maybe I'll try a move I've never done. Maybe I'll say something I've never said in a promo and see what the response is. That's what's cool: These are for fun."
He even teased the possibility of cashing in his briefcase on an upcoming non-televised event–the ultimate incentive for any fan to attend.
It became clear coming out of the pandemic period from March 2020 to July 2021 that WWE would hardly suffer financially from doing away with house shows, but the ability to continue developing Superstars' skill sets far outweighs any potential drawbacks of running them.
The intimate environment, heavy emphasis on in-ring action and overall freedom for the roster make untelevised live events almost the antithesis of the TV tapings in many ways and provide WWE with a tried-and-true formula for consistent talent development.
Long gone are the days of the business being built off the backs of one or two household names. Nowadays, it's all about the brand of WWE and the must-see aura they bring from town to town with these house shows and how they're gradually giving fans a glimpse into the future.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
Eight days out from what will undoubtedly be the biggest match of his life at WWE Clash at the Castle, Drew McIntyre was obliterated with a series of chair shots by The Bloodline on SmackDown.
Less than 24 hours later, he drove to the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, for a live show in which he'd compete in the main event with a black-and-blue-bruised back alongside The New Day against The Brawling Brutes in a six-man tag team match.
The only thing missing from his carrying case that evening was the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
WWE's top title has hardly been defended on live events since shortly following WrestleMania 38.
Current champ Roman Reigns' new part-time schedule doesn't include the untelevised shows, and although he's deserving of the luxury, McIntyre is of the mindset that The Tribal Chief's hardware should be represented on all of WWE programming and not solely on special occasions.
He'll have his chance to bring the belts back to the full-time roster at Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, when he challenges Reigns in the night's highly anticipated main event.
The Scottish Warrior is no stranger to beating part-time performers in an effort to prove his worth as a world championship-caliber competitor. He previously defeated Brock Lesnar for his first WWE title–albeit in front of no fans thanks to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic–at WrestleMania 36 and went on to defend it successfully against WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg, among others.
“They're huge stars, it's as simple as that," McIntyre exclusively told Bleacher Report in Springfield. "With the Roman thing, I would never harp on him in a way where I would say, 'Screw him and his part-time deal.' It was forced in his lap, and he's in a different place in his life, and I'm sure he regrets some of the things he's said in the past with where he's at now. They're just things you say in the moment.
"I would never say to anyone, 'How dare you do that,' but I do have my feelings about how I think the title should be represented, and we need people like Roman on the show, he's our biggest star by far," he continued. "The numbers are all real, but I do think the title should be featured in every event, and I do believe Drew McIntyre is the man to do that."
As the self-proclaimed Needle Mover of WWE, Reigns has legitimately done big business for the company for the last two years of his historic title reign: steady SmackDown ratings, higher attendance numbers and overall renewed interest in the product.
He hopes Reigns, John Cena and The Rock can all appear whenever possible, as they are guys who put their time in and are household names within the industry. That applies to celebrities coming in as well.
In his mind, if they can drive outside eyeballs to the product, that's what matters most.
Clash at the Castle will be far from the first battle between McIntyre and Reigns.
Their initial encounter came on the equally grand stage of WrestleMania 35, where Roman reigned supreme. He won all of their subsequent rematches, including a champion vs. champion affair at Survivor Series 2020.
That last outing of theirs was easily their strongest because of the roles being reversed at that point, with McIntyre as the babyface and Reigns as the heel. Both hit their stride with new characters in 2020 and have made magic every time they've shared the squared circle since then.
“He's always been my biggest foe, my Kryptonite," McIntyre said. "We've had so many significant matches, so many significant moments. He's always come out on top. I've let him know that by yourself, you can beat every man on earth except one. Now that he's taken one step back in his life and career, it's allowed me to take two steps forward. That's why I'm the man that's going to take him down.”
The stage was set for Clash when McIntyre bested Sheamus, a longtime-friend-turned-foe, in a Good Ol' Fashioned Donnybrook match on the final SmackDown before SummerSlam to earn himself the title shot that has alluded him all year long.
The marquee match was originally teased at May's WrestleMania Backlash event, but The Bloodline's victory that evening ensured McIntyre would be kept at bay for a bit longer. Sure enough, the stars aligned just right for it to happen in Cardiff, marking the first-time WWE has held a major pay-per-view in the United Kingdom in almost exactly three decades.
McIntyre lobbied for an event across the pond for years, specifically after becoming a top guy when he had more leverage to make it a reality. Now that it is, he's feeling confident and relaxed, if not a bit beaten up with all the attacks he's endured at the hands of Reigns in addition to WWE's rigorous road schedule taking its toll.
Although it's only been two-and-a-half years since WrestleMania 36, he's gained an unmeasurable amount of experience in that span of time and knows what it's like to be at the apex of the promotion.
That said, this is not an opportunity he plans on taking lightly.
“It's a different feeling, being a couple of years older and more experienced," McIntyre said. "I have been champion and had the significant responsibility of being at the top of the card. Roman talks about the levels thing. It's a real thing. When you're at the upper-echelon, your life is 24/7 WWE, and I've had that for a few years now.”
Becoming Undisputed WWE Universal champion at Clash would also in turn cement him as WWE's top babyface, despite it being a role he already occupies unofficially.
The idea of Drew McIntyre being a natural fan favorite would have been unfathomable when he started out in 2009 on SmackDown. Interestingly, it wasn't until he departed WWE in 2014 that he discovered that about himself.
"When I got fired from WWE and went out and had my journey, I had to find myself, and that was when I really got comfortable," he said. "I started being the real Drew on the indies and TNA. When I came back to NXT, it was something similar. When I returned to Raw, I was a bad guy, and I was talking about feasting on carcasses and eviscerating the competition. Nobody talks like that.”
He's been a victim as often as anyone of subpar promos being written out for him word for word, though the hope among fans is that those days are over with Triple H now running things creatively.
Before The Game took the reigns, it was former Raw Executive Director Paul Heyman who really took a chance on him in early 2020 and allowed him to break out as a babyface. Sure enough, the experiment worked.
“I never imagined I'd be a good guy in WWE, especially as a big foreigner," McIntyre said. "And then I got the opportunity one time. I believe Paul Heyman was in charge of Raw at the time. He knew what I was capable of. We needed a replacement for a cage match for The Fiend in a dark match. He told me to go out there and buy time on the microphone. I was just the real Drew. I started chatting, having a laugh, messing with some of the guys in the front row, and you could see people turning around. The right people saw that and said, 'Just let Drew keep doing that.'”
He wanted to be someone fans could relate to. It was a stark contrast to the angry, one-dimensional Scotsman he portrayed previously.
Along with injecting more personality into his promos, he started counting down with the fans right before hitting his patented Claymore kick on his opponents for the win. That increased interaction endeared him to the audience that much more.
“After my Rumble win was the first time I thought to myself, 'Wow, being The Chosen One, the corporate Chosen One, didn't work out, but I can be the people's Chosen One," he added.
It's been over 550 days since McIntyre last held gold in WWE. He wants nothing more than to experience that feeling of euphoria again, this time in a jam-packed arena on his home turf of the United Kingdom.
Six months ago, it could've been argued he was the wrong guy to dethrone Reigns as champ and hand him his first loss in almost three years. He was stuck in a dead-end feud with Happy Corbin while spinning his wheels character-wise, but his recent resurgence combined with his booking has made him a prime candidate to take the title.
He's a rare case of a WWE babyface not getting overwhelmingly negative reactions after remaining a fixture in the main-event scene. Even he is surprised to still have so much crowd support, and his picture-perfect presentation ahead of Clash has had a lot to do with that.
“There have been times where I can't believe the people are still so strongly behind me as a good guy," McIntyre said. "This day and age, it's hard to keep people's attention for more than a second. They'll switch to someone else and let you know it's time to do something different. Even certain things that I didn't always agree with, I did the best job I could with what was presented to me."
Ditching the sword that he carried consistently from late 2020 to mid-2022 was a crucial part of his evolution. Fans may have noticed that it hasn't been around as much lately, and that was done by design.
"The sword was featured probably more than the man a lot of times," he explained. "I was of the mindset that we should develop the man behind the character more. I love the sword. I think it's a great visual, especially for outside viewers. And I agree, there's no payoff. I can't stab somebody with it.
"I wanted to use it Saving Private Ryan style and get some actors and do it Hollywood style, but it was shot down very quickly," he joked. "But I think that was an issue with character development for a while. The sword was front and center...but I think a big benefit has been taking the sword out, developing the character, and reminding them who I am."
From starting out on the UK wrestling scene as a relative unknown with broken dreams to now headlining Principality Stadium for WWE's most prestigious prize, McIntyre's career will come full circle at Clash at the Castle if he can finally fulfill his destiny and be crowned champion.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
