Huge WWE House Show Matches That Should Have Been Televised

WWE house shows are often repeated matches on a loop that provide the talent an opportunity to get some work in with each other. However, there are certain occasions when WWE puts together a huge match to draw in a crowd, or because the company wants to change a championship.

These moments can often end up being historic, but they are only witnessed by the fans who happened to have a ticket. This means that a large portion of the WWE Universe misses out on them, and over the years there have been some massive matches that fans haven't been able to see.

10 Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (7/21/92)

Bret Hart v Shawn Michaels ladder match Cropped

The majority of wrestling fans believe that the first-ever ladder match was between Shawn Michaels and Diesel. However, that isn't the case, as the first one took place between Shawn and his legendary rival, Bret Hart, but this was kept to a house show.

The fact that WWE created this stipulation and opted to not have its debut on a television show or a pay-per-view is a strange call, and something that wouldn't happen today. Givern how the ladder match is such a historic stipulation and fans couldn't see the first-ever match is a real shame.

9 Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty (6/6/93)

Another Shawn Michaels match that should have been televised took place against Marty Jannetty. This was a major rivalry at the time as the partners splitting up shocked everybody. While fans got to see them compete plenty of times, it was shocking to know that this particular encounter was not shown.

The main reason for that is the fact that the bout saw Shawn Michaels take the Intercontinental Championship away from his former partner. However, only the live audience in Albany were able to enjoy this one.

8 AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens (7/7/17)

Title changes taking place at house shows are extremely rare within wrestling, which is why this particular house show match should have been put on television. AJ Styles and Kevin Owens competed at Madison Square Garden in 2017, making the night even more special.

They fought over the United States Championship, and while most fans would have expected a routine encounter, that isn't what happened. That's because AJ defeated KO to become champion, which left most fans surprised.

7 Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton (9/24/17)

Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton facing each other at SummerSlam 2016 was a huge deal. It was a dream match between two major stars and was something that created a lot of interest due to the way the encounter ended, with Orton being busted open.

However, WWE never capitalized on that, at least not on television. Because the company did book the rematch, but they kept it to a live event in Chicago. Despite the fact it was a must-see, pay-per-view worthy match, WWE decided to not televise this.

6 Triple H vs. Roman Reigns (12/8/17)

Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton are not the only wrestlers who have had a major rematch take place at a live event. After headlining WrestleMania 32, the storyline between Triple H and Roman Reigns was seemingly dropped on television.

However, WWE did book them in a rematch during a live show in India. WWE wanted to stack the deck for those shows. However, this is a rematch that fans would certainly have been interested in watching if they had the chance.

5 Samoa Joe vs. John Cena (8/25/17)

John Cena and Samoa Joe competing against each other is a dream match that has never ended up happening on television. This was the type of bout people wanted, alongside the AJ Styles match, but for some reason, WWE never got around to booking this one.

However, they did compete on consecutive nights during a live tour in 2017. Certain fans were able to enjoy these two legends facing each other, with this being something a global audience would have loved.

4 Shawn Michaels & Batista vs. Triple H & Ric Flair (4/23/05)

Triple-H-v-Batista-WrestleMania-21-Cropped-1

Simply from a star power perspective, this is the type of match that most fans would expect to see on a pay-per-view. WWE threw four huge names into the ring for this match, and there is no doubt that the WWE Universe would have enjoyed watching it.

It is rare for the company to create such a huge encounter with so many stars on live events, purely because WWE typically saves that for TV tapings. This is done to use big names as draws, but in this instance, that wasn't the case.

3 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe (3/2/16)

Shinsuke Nakamura lifts the NXT Championship

This match acted as proof that even NXT's live events have the potential to be unpredictable shows. At the time, Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe were the two big names on the brand, which is why they feuded over the NXT Championship.

However, when they competed at a show in Japan, WWE gave the fans a huge moment. Nakamura defeated Samoa Joe to take the NXT Championship, which is something that nobody expected until it happened.

2 Bret Hart vs. Ric Flair (9/1/93)

Bret Hart and Ric Flair competing against each other is the true definition of a dream match. While fans have been able to enjoy that at points in their careers, this particular match was different. Here, the two Hall of Famers worked a 60-minute Iron Man match.

Seeing two of the greatest wrestlers in history compete in a match for an hour would have been a unique experience and could have easily headlined a pay-per-view. Therefore, the fact that WWE put this on a live event is a huge surprise.

1 Diesel vs. Bob Backlund (11/24/94)

When it comes to live event matches that should have been televised, they don't get any bigger than this. The WWE Championship is the crown jewel of WWE and is seen as the top title in the entire industry by most fans of the business.

However, when Diesel became WWE Champion, only a select number of fans saw it happen. It was a strange place and time to do this as these title changes are expected to be huge deals that fans should pay money to see. Yet here, the company happily gave it away and let the news spread.