WWF In Your House: Rewatch

[Viking Hall]

Call me a sadist if you like, but over the next couple of months I plan on watching the WWF In Your House PPV's from beginning to end. A lot of these were broadcast just prior to me getting into wrestling and so a lot of them I've never seen at all. The ones I have seen, with a couple of exceptions were all a couple of decades ago back in the VHS days so I'll be going into most of these relatively blindly. A lot also come from the WWF's most maligned era, but actually contain a lot of wrestlers I'm a fan of, so it'll be interesting to see if I can dig out any gems along the way. And so, without further adieu, I present WWF: In Your House 1...

In Your House 1

14th May, 1995
Onondaga County War Memorial
Syracuse, New York
Attendance: 7000
Commentary: Vince McMahon & Dok Hendrix

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So here we are, at the very beginning. The In Your House concept came about as an effort to increase pay-per-view buyrates after a decline in home video sales and the demise of their Saturday Night Main Event brand a few years previously. This would be the first time that the WWF would take on a monthly PPV model, but would become a theme which would continue until the unveiling of the WWE Network nearly 20 years later. At $14.95, the In Your House PPV's were priced much lower than the WWF's headline events of the time, and subsequently usually featured a reduced card and the now iconic In Your House set to keep production costs down too. In the lead up to the event the WWF ran a sweepstake to win a house in Orlando, Florida which was toured by the professionally enthusiastic duo of Todd Pettengill and Stephanie Wiand with the promise that it would be given away live on PPV. This helped In Your House 1 gain a healthy 332,000 buys in the U.S. becoming the highest buyrate of all the In Your House PPV's and clearly proving successful enough for the WWF to move forward with the In Your House brand.

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Hakushi w/Shinja vs Bret Hart

Starting off strong with this pairing, this match has become something of a cult classic and one of the shining beacons in an otherwise lacklustre year in terms of in-ring product for the WWF. Essentially an extension of the Hart versus Jerry Lawler feud this match came about after Hart had been awarded the WWF Magazine 'Award of the People' earlier that year. Always looking for an excuse to meddle, Lawler had claimed that the Japanese portion of the vote had been excluded due to Hart being a racist which would eventually lead to Hakushi attacking Hart and the match being set for In Your House. This is also the first match of the night for Hart who is pulling double duty here as we discover he's taking on Lawler later in the evening too, a match he dedicates to his mother due to today being Mother's Day. 

This match lived up to its reputation well. It's fair to say that Hakushi was years ahead of just about everyone in terms of what the WWF were doing in the ring at the time and some of the moves he pulls off in the match, such as the Springboard Moonsault are all things that we wouldn't be seeing regularly in a WWF ring until maybe the early 2000's. Bret does his part too, putting on a typical Bret Hart clinic in terms of psychology and selling and makes Hakushi look fantastic in the process. Shinja (the former Orient Express member Sato in white facepaint) also does some quality dastardly manager work on the outside to give Bret something else to contend with. All in all a nice combination of styles, with Hakushi's high flying gelling nicely with Hart's solid fundamentals. The result, however is never in doubt, but Hart keeps Hakushi strong by rolling him up with a Victory Roll for the three count. A good, maybe even great match, which would become the highlight of Hakushi's criminally short run with the WWF. Post-match, Bret Hart apparently injures his knee slipping off the apron, creating some tension for his upcoming match with Lawler. 7.75/10

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Jeff Jarrett & The Roadie vs Razor Ramon
(Handicap Match)

This match was a continuation of Jeff Jarrett and Razor Ramon's feud over the Intercontinental title which had been ongoing for some months by this point due to in part to The Roadie's continual interference on behalf of Jarrett in the pairs matches. Originally scheduled to be a Tag Team match, the match was changed to a Handicap after Razor's proposed partner, The 123 Kid gained a legit neck injury in the run up and had to take some time off. This is also The Roadie's first on screen match as an in ring competitor and much of the lead up surrounded whether The Roadie would have the in ring skills to take on Razor.

I have to say, I really enjoyed this one. Each played his part perfectly, with Razor constantly trying to get momentum going before being cut off at the pass by either The Roadie or Jarrett. Razor was undoubtedly one of the most over characters in the WWF at this point, and the crowd are pretty hot for this one too. In the end Razor gets the win as expected, courtesy of the Razors Edge after kicking Jarrett into The Roadie which knocks him off the apron. Post match we get a beat down from The Roadie and Jarrett which gains us a wild Aldo Montoya appearance who unwisely tries to make the save before he's quickly dispatched out of the ring causing a mystery man to step up and make the real save. This was far better than it had any right to be, a testament to the three solid workers in the ring. 6.25/10

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 Mabel w/Mo vs Adam Bomb
(1995 King of the Ring Qualifier)

If any match typifies the kind of product the WWF was trying to push in 1995 then this is it. The Men on a Mission come into this one having recently turned heel and are now sans Oscar and their pre-match rapping. Adam Bomb had turned face a few months earlier and Vince was trying to push the fact that his fans were now called The Bomb Squad, because of course they are. This actually isn't terrible, they keep it brief and the two big men throw bombs (no pun intended) at each other for a couple of minutes both inside and out of the ring before Mabel puts Adam Bomb away with a massive slam. I'm going to be very much in the minority here and say that there was money to be made with Mabel in 1995 had the WWF had someone in charge with their finger on the pulse. Mabel as a Notorious B.I.G. style gangster is a no brainer and would have tapped perfectly into the zeitgeist of what was going on at the time. Instead they just dyed his mohawk black again and kept him in that giant romper suit which didn't really have the same effect. This would be Adam Bomb's last PPV appearance in the WWF and he would be gone from the company before the year was out. Seem like a bit of a missed opportunity if I'm honest. Great look, good size and could do things in the ring that many other big men of the era couldn't. 4.5/10

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Brief interlude as we get introduced to Razor's mystery man who Razor tells us is a former opponent turned friend, Savio Vega. Savio had actually been in the WWF since early 1994 by this point under the mask of Kwang but had been reduced to being a jobber to the stars right up until the day before In Your House. A definite upgrade for Savio. 

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The Smoking Gunns vs Yokozuna & Owen Hart w/Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette
(WWF World Tag Team Title Match)

This one is a rematch from WrestleMania XI where Yokozuna and Owen had defeated the Gunns for the titles after Yokozuna had been revealed as Owen's mystery partner. I was looking forward to this one as I'm a big fan of all four of these guys but I was definitely left wanting when it was done and dusted in just over five minutes. Essentially a glorified squash match, with the Gunns only getting brief opportunities to show off a couple of their cool double team moves on Owen. Yoko is the difference maker and a big 600lbs leg drop on the outside to Bart is enough to seal this one. This one should and could have gotten another five minutes in all honesty because they definitely had a good match in them. Yokozuna and Owen do come out this looking like a dominant force however. 4.75/10

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Another interlude, this time from Diesel who talks about his mother dying in 1994 (it's Mothers Day remember). It's a bit of a downer to be honest and he goes on to tell us about missing best friend Shawn Michaels who is out injured courtesy of tonight's opponent Sycho Sid and also updates us on how he's feeling after his recent attack from Henry Godwinn of all people. I think they were going for a sympathetic angle, but I'd have rather have got more of the Tag Team match if I'm honest. 

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Jerry Lawler vs Bret Hart

Lawler comes out with his mother (they're really pushing that Mother's Day angle) who of course is a young attractive model, because Lawler. Bret appears for his second shift and reveals that the knee injury was all a ruse to lure Lawler in, he's good to go. This one actually turns out to be a bit of a non-match with Bret bouncing Lawler around the ring for a few minutes until Shinja reappears to try and get involved. This leads to what is quite frankly a contender for the best ref bump ever as Earl Hebner ends up hanging upside down by his foot from the bottom rope after being knocked out of the ring from an Irish Whip while trying to remove Shinja. It's wonderfully convoluted and gives Hakushi the chance to gain revenge for earlier courtesy of a trio of Diving Headbutts to Bret which in turn gives Lawler the victory once Hebner is free via a Jackknife pin. This isn't bad by any stretch, but acts more as a setup to their 'Kiss My Foot' match at King of the Ring next month rather than as a standalone match. 4.75/10

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Our third and final interlude and the aforementioned House Giveaway. Todd Pettengill and Stephanie Wiand claim that they had over 300,000 entries for this and I have to admit, I was fully expecting some kind of swerve. But no, they gave it away to an 11 year old kid in Las Vegas. It's brilliantly nineties and over the top, but I kind of loved it too for it's wonderful absurdity. Vince finds the whole thing hilarious and laughs throughout.

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Sycho Sid w/Ted DiBiase vs Diesel
(WWF World Heayweight Title Match)

Main Event time. I'd heard beforehand that this one was a total dud, so I was going into this with low expectations. Having said that, there's no doubt that few have the all round aura that Sid had and so just his presence is enough to make even the blandest matches worth a look. Sid has Ted DiBiase in his corner too, as part of The Million Dollar Man's endless quest to gain the World title. While I didn't think this was nearly as bad as some have made out, I can see where it falls short. Sid just looks so much more of a threat than Diesel so with the obvious similarities in style, it feels like the usually dominant Diesel is way overpowered going in. This means that it's hard to see Diesel as a threat against Sid, but at the same time, him being an underdog just feels wrong too. There's a few cool moments in this, Sid manhandling Diesel into the ringpost is a sight to behold as are the dueling Powerbombs at the end, but there's a definite over-reliance on rest holds too in parts. In the end Tatanka comes in to break up the match after Diesel hits his impressive Powerbomb giving Big Daddy Cool the win via DQ. Post match Sid and Tatanka attempt a beat down before Bam Bam Bigelow runs in for the save to set up a Tag Team match at King of the Ring. I already feel like I'm being over generous with my rating of this one, perhaps because I expected it to be so much worse, but I really didn't hate it. 5.25/10

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I felt like In Your House 1 was a fun little show. The two opening matches were both really good and I expect Hakushi vs Hart to already be the best In Your House match of '95. A quick glance down the card beforehand told me that it would start strong and gradually fizzle out, which is exactly what happened. After the second match they lose the audience a bit, and never get them back which is a shame because there's nothing overtly bad here at all. Definitely feels like a glorified house show at points though, and the rows of empty seats including some in the front row are a little jarring to say the least, but I guess that's the WWF in 1995 for you. The commentary is the one real low point of the show that I can think of and while Dok Hendrix isn't too bad, Vince is at his absolute 'WHATTAMANOOVA HE GOT HIM!' worst here and by the end of the show you're ready to mute him.

Verdict: A good, if fairly unspectacular start for the In Your House brand and while I expect to see some better shows further down the line, I also expect some far worse than this too. 5.5/10

[Spider2024]

The very first PPV our family ever ordered (since we were poor and it was offered for a mere $15, as opposed to the other wrestling PPVs that were $30 at the time.)

You know, this would make a great idea for a FAN Watch-Along for multiple reasons (not just because the anniversary of it is next Thursday.) Paging Mr. EoE: Well There's Your Problem hint hint.