There’s a reason you don’t remember this show.

https://411mania.com/wrestling/halls-wwf-in-your-house-its-time-review/

NXT In Your House 2022
Date: June 4, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

We’re back with another special show as NXT gets in on another WWE pay per view weekend. This time around they’re dusting off another classic with In Your House, which has very little to do with what we’ll be seeing. The card is fairly short but there are five titles being defended, making it pretty stacked at the same time. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is based on the old In Your House intros, complete with Todd Pettingill (ah the memories) doing the voiceover to run down the card. Joe Gacy gets to come through the house’s door and lights a poster on fire.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Tony D’Angelo/Stacks/Two Dimes

The losing team has to join the winners. During Legado’s entrance, the referee finds a crowbar, which seems to have been planted by D’Angelo and company. We also get a video with Tony Gallante narrating about how this is about controlling the streets and imposing their will. Wilde and Two Dimes start things off with neither being able to get very far.

Wilde sends him into the ropes to pick up the pace before handing it off to Escobar vs. D’Angelo. Everything breaks down early (that’s well received) and we settle down to Two Dimes getting caught in the corner for a running kick to the face. Del Toro loads up a springboard but gets shoved out to the floor for the crash. Back in and Stacks gets to stomp away, with D’Angelo getting to do the same. A suplex gives D’Angelo two and Stacks grabs the chinlock with a knee in the back.

That’s broken up and del Toro is able to bring in Escobar to clean house. Everything breaks down and del Toro/Wilde hit stereo springboard dives to the floor. Escobar loads up a super hurricanrana but Stacks makes the save to send him crashing to the mat. Wilde comes back in for the running kick to the face/Russian legsweep on Two Dimes with Stacks making the save. The six way slugout is on but D’Angelo’s crowbar is knocked away. Wilde crowbars Stacks but D’Angelo gets in a brass knuckles shot to knock Wilde silly. Stacks, out on his feet, is shoved onto Wilde for the pin at 13:28.

Rating: B-. The fans were more into this than I was but it was a hot enough opener. If nothing else, it should take away some of the focus on the turf war stuff, which has only been so good so far. Either way, this was a good way to get the show going as a six man usually is. The ending worked too, as Stacks was out cold and then got the pin anyway, which is at least a different way to go.

Reality sets in fast for Escobar and he isn’t happy.

Alba Fyre video.

A bunch of the women are watching the Alba Fyre video and Lash Legend is really not impressed.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Toxic Attraction

Toxic Attraction, who arrive in a car in the back, is defending but it’s Jayne getting taken into the corner for some early kicks to the ribs. Dolin comes in off a blind tag though and the choking is on in the corner. Chance fights out of a chinlock and something like Private Party’s Silly String takes Dolin down for a change. The hot tag brings in Carter to clean house but Jayne gets in a shot from behind to take her down.

That doesn’t last long as Chance comes back in with a superkick before super hurricanranaing Jayne onto Dolin for two. Everything breaks down and the champs go high/low on Chance, with Carter shoving Doling into the cover for the break. The 450/neckbreaker combination gets two on Dolin with Jayne making the save this time. Jayne gets in a cheap shot on Carter, who is knocked into a half and half suplex from Dolin to retain the titles at 9:00.

Rating: C. The match was about what you would expect from these four, which is to say a match that was only so good. NXT still doesn’t need Women’s Tag Team Titles and now that Toxic Attraction has beaten Carter and Chance, I’m not sure who else there is to go after the belts. Must be time to set up another team who suddenly gets a title shot.

Pretty Deadly sing about beating the Creed Brothers tonight.

North American Title: Cameron Grimes vs. Carmelo Hayes

Hayes, with Trick Williams, is challenging. Feeling out process to start until Grimes grabs a backslide for two, giving us a standoff. The threat of the Cave In sends Hayes into the corner so Grimes kicks him down for two. A high crossbody gives Grimes the same but Hayes trips him onto the apron to take over.

Back in and Hayes takes him into the corner before suplexing him back out for two of his own. Hayes argues with the referee long enough that Williams can tie Grimes’ wrist to the middle rope. That lasts all of three seconds before a tilt-a-whirl faceplant drops Grimes for two more. A hurricanrana out of the corner gives Grimes a breather and he plants Hayes for two of his own. Grimes superkicks him for two more, with Hayes grabbing the rope this time.

Back up and the flipping powerslam gives Grimes another two so it’s time to load up the Cave In. That is broken up (as Grimes wasn’t even running) with a kick to the head but Grimes hits a poisonrana. Grimes’ running flip dive takes down Williams and Hayes on the floor. Back in and Williams offers a distraction, allowing Hayes to drop Grimes face first onto the buckle. The top rope ax kick gives Hayes the title back at 15:28.

Rating: B. I was a bit surprised by the ending here and it doesn’t bode well for Grimes’ future. Unless he is given a surprise NXT Title chase, I don’t see him having much else to do around NXT. The accent and country/southern boy thing isn’t going to work on the main roster, where he would probably be Hillbilly Jim Jr. Maybe he gets into the Hayes vs. Solo Sikoa stuff but other than that, I’m worried about his future. Good match here, which shouldn’t be any kind of a surprise as they’re both incredibly smooth out there, making this the likely match of the night.

Joe Gacy is ready to take care of the present and future by winning the NXT Title. Maniacal laughter ensues.

We recap Wendy Choo vs. Mandy Rose for the Women’s Title. Rose is tired of being told that she doesn’t deserve to be the champion and now she is ready to keep the title from someone as ridiculous as Choo.

Women’s Title: Wendy Choo vs. Mandy Rose

Choo is defending and we get a dream sequence (just go with it) of her spraying Toxic Attraction with water guns and then winning the title. We get the Big Match Intros, allowing Choo to shoot a slingshot at Rose. That earns Choo a beating in the corner but she fights right back out. Choo misses a running elbow though and a snap suplex gives Rose two. The bodyscissors goes on for a bit, followed by a reverse t-bone suplex for two on Choo. The abdominal stretch is broken up and Choo grabs a rollup for two.

Some strikes and a clothesline put Rose down and Choo knocks her to the floor. Rose manages a spinebuster on the floor for a nine count, followed by a spinebuster for two back inside. We now pause for Rose to tear up Choo’s pillow, which annoys Choo so much that she hits a dropkick to start the angry comeback. Choo unzips her track suit to reveal a Toxic Attraction shirt before grabbing the sleeper. Rose makes it over to the rope so Choo goes up, only to get slammed back down. The running knee retains the title at 11:04.

Rating: C. Choo is far easier to watch in the ring, where she does enough to have a passable match. Other than that though, it is a little hard to care about much of anything that she has going on. Rose continues to win and unlike her stablemates, there is quite a list of people who can come for the title. Not an awful match, but the less of Choo outside the ring is an improvement.

Roxanne Perez and Tiffany Stratton are both ready for the Women’s Breakout Tournament final, though Stratton thinks the interviewer is the WORST PERSON EVER for thinking Perez might win.

Quick video on the Creed Brothers, showing a time line of their lives and success.

Tag Team Titles: Pretty Deadly vs. Creed Brothers

Pretty Deadly is defending and if the Creeds lose, they’re out of Diamond Mine. Brutus powers Wilson around to start and wrestles him down a few times with little trouble. Back up and Wilson manages to get him into the corner for the tag to Prince, who is wrestled down as well. Everything breaks down and stereo German suplexes drop the champs again.

A stretch muffler to Prince and an ankle lock to Wilson have them in more trouble but both are escaped before it gets too bad. Back in and Prince runs Julius over before Julius clips him on a leapfrog attempt. An armdrag into an armbar has Prince in trouble but he slips out as well. Wilson comes back in and gets kneed in the ribs over and over for his efforts. Everything breaks down and the Creeds throw the champs around, including slamming Wilson off the top.

Julius goes out after them and is quickly Rock Bottomed onto the steps to put him in trouble for the first time. Back in and the armbar goes on Julius, setting up a Boston crab to stay on the back (and send a message to Roderick Strong at the same time) even more. Julius powers up and knocks Prince down, allowing the tag off to Brutus.

House is cleaned, including Brutus’ top rope elbow to a standing Prince for two. Hold on though as Julius teases using a title (as slid in by Prince), only to look at his dad in the crowd. Julius throws the title down and instead Brutus slams Wilson, setting up a shooting star press. The sliding forearm gives the Creeds the pin and the titles at 15:07.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t so much a surprise as much as it was the end of a countout to the Creeds winning the titles. Pretty Deadly never felt like the long term champions and that is not a bad thing. What matters the most is having the right team as the champions and that is what we now have. I don’t know what that means for the Diamond Mine, but the Creeds fighting up to win the titles in the end, as they should have, worked well.

The Great American Bash is on July 5.

We recap Bron Breakker vs. Joe Gacy for the NXT Title. Breakker defeated him to retain the title but Gacy has gone supervillain and tried to make him snap. This gives Gacy a rematch, and if Breakker gets disqualified, he loses the title.

NXT Title: Joe Gacy vs. Bron Breakker

Gacy, with minions, is challenging and if Breakker is disqualified, he loses the title. Breakker goes right at him to start but has to pull back from going too nuts. Gacy is knocked outside so Breakker grabs a chair to help him with the minions, allowing Gacy to post him. Back in and Gacy runs him over again, setting up the chinlock to keep Breakker in trouble.

Gacy sends him face first into the buckle and then drops Breakker onto the rope for two. Brakker fights up again but this time gets pulled into a chinlock with a bodyscissors. With that not working, Gacy goes up top but gets knocked out to the floor. That’s ok with Gacy, who comes right back to set up another chinlock. That’s broken up as well and Breakker starts the comeback, including sending Gacy to the floor.

That means the big flip dive so here is one of the minions on the apron. Gacy grabs a chair and hits the mat before throwing it to Gacy ala Eddie Guerrero. Cue another referee to say not so fast, meaning the match continues, with Breakker knocking Gacy off the apron and through the announcers’ table.

Back in and the Steiner Bulldog gets two on Gacy so Breakker grabs the chair. That doesn’t happen either as Breakker hands it away, allowing Gacy to hit him low. A rollup gives Gacy two so Breakker grabs the chair again…but hits one of the minions instead. The spear cuts Gacy down and the gorilla press powerslam retains Breakker’s title at 15:45.

Rating: C. They had me thinking they might change the title once near the end, but other than that this was Breakker surviving the limited offense that Gacy threw at him and retaining. It wasn’t awful, but it also didn’t feel like a big main event. Instead, it came off like they had no one else to put with Breakker so they just did the same thing again. This should be it for Gacy in the main event scene, but I’m sure he’ll have someone else to annoy soon enough.

Replays and posing wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C+. The show was pretty good for the most part with nothing bad, but to say this is a downgrade from the almost always incredible Takeover series would be the understatement of the year. There is nothing on here that you really need to see and it felt like an extended version of the TV show rather than anything special. What matters here is having a show that felt bigger though and they did manage to make that happen. Now just find something more interesting to do.

Results
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks/Two Dimes b. Legado del Fantasma – Brass knuckles to Wilde
Toxic Attraction b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance – Half nelson suplex to Dolin
Carmelo Hayes b. Cameron Grimes – Top rope ax kick
Mandy Rose b. Wendy Choo – Running knee
Creed Brothers b. Pretty Deadly – Sliding forearm to Wilson
Bron Breakker b. Joe Gacy – Gorilla press powerslam

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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This is the kind of show that NXT needs every now and then and thankfully they haven’t gone too nuts and done them every month. At some point you need to have a big, special show and this time around you have a fairly stacked show. Granted the main event might not be the most exciting, but at least the show is taking place. Let’s get to it.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Toxic Attraction(c) vs. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter

This is one of those matches that is made a bit more interesting by the fact that Toxic Attraction has lost the titles before. As a result, it means that another loss is not out of the question, which opens up some doors. Granted I don’t know how wide those doors are, but at least there is an option. Toxic Attraction has held the titles longer than anyone in history, with their reigns lasting all but three days since late October. That’s quite the target and that should be a good thing here.

I’ll go with Chance/Carter to win here, as they are one of the only women’s teams in all of NXT. Someone has to take the titles from Toxic Attraction and they have held the things long enough. Let Chance and Carter finally win the things so they can start what should be a path to the main roster. There is enough talent there to make it work and I could go for the title change here, as it is fairly overdue.

Tony D’Angelo/Stack/Two Dimes vs. Legado del Fantasma

The turf war continues and this time the losers have to join the winners’ team. That makes for some…possibilities, though I’m not sure I would call them interesting. This story hasn’t been for me, but maybe the match can work out well enough. If nothing else, Santos Escobar should be good enough to carry a lot of the load and I’m sure there will be some shenanigans going on.

I don’t see any reason for Legado to win here so we’ll go with D’Angelo and company wiping them out. After spending what feels like years doing the same thing, there isn’t much of a point in keeping Legado around. Odds are the big united team doesn’t last long, but for now that is the direction they go. D’Angelo is in an interesting spot as they seem to want to push him, but the character is so over the top that it is hard to see how far it could go. It’s good enough to win here though.

Tag Team Titles: Pretty Deadly(c) vs. Creed Brothers

I know I might be in the minority but I still like Pretty Deadly. They’re the perfectly annoying champions that you want to see get hit in the face and have their titles taken away but they manage to squeak by. That is a team that can work in a lot of spots and they are working well enough here. The problem this time though is that the Creed Brothers need to actually win the things at some point and I’m not sure if they do here or not.

While there is a possibility that the Creeds lose the title due to some shenanigans and get thrown out of Diamond Mine as a result, I think they go another way. I’ll go with the Creeds winning the titles here and walking out on Diamond Mine as a result, as it gives them the best of both worlds. The Creeds are at the point where they have to win at some point or none of what they do matters so let them win here and get one up on Roderick Strong for a bonus.

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose(c) vs. Wendy Choo

I’ll continue to be the one who can’t have any fun and whatever other negative things can be said, but I cannot bring myself to like Choo. It’s too much with the goofy and the annoying and the costume and everything else. That SIGN THE CONTRACT bit from NXT was more than I could handle and I can’t manage to want to see her win the title. Choo is a talented person and what she is having to do isn’t her fault but I can’t go with it.

As a result, I’ll take Rose to retain, which might be due to the sake of false hope. Rose has held the title for about seven months now and has to lose it to someone, but I don’t think I could handle her losing it to Choo. The problem is, I’m not sure who else can take it from him, but I’ll go with Rose keeping the title here, if nothing else for the sake of my own sanity.

North American Title: Cameron Grimes(c) vs. Carmelo Hayes

Now this is the one that has me interested, as Grimes can work well with anyone and Hayes is about as smooth as you can get in an NXT ring. These two and Solo Sikoa have turned out to be one of the better things going at the moment and I could go with seeing more of any combination of them. Grimes has to beat Hayes at some point if he wants to be an established champion though and now he has his chance.

While I think there is a chance that Hayes takes the title here, I’ll take Grimes to retain here, if nothing else for the sake of continuing to build him up. Hayes is someone who could go a long way, while Grimes’ future is a bit harder to pin down because of how over the top he is. What matters is that there is a good chance this steals the show and I’m wanting to see how it goes.

NXT Title: Bron Breakker(c) vs. Joe Gacy

Please let this be it. This has been one of the most WWE feuds that I can remember in a long time, as it wasn’t an interesting idea in the first place and then they kept going with it over and over, which has turned it into a total mess. Breakker has hit an absolute wall with this story and the thing just won’t end, as Gacy now has minions. The last thing I want to see is more Gacy, which has me scared of how this is going to go.

I’ll say Breakker retains here, but that might be the false hope talking. I have no desire to see this match and I don’t care about the whole deal with Breakker’s anger, but this feud has already dragged on beyond Breakker winning, making me wonder why it’s still here. Just get this over with already, as long as Breakker retains because I can’t take more of Gacy doing anything.

Overall Thoughts

This show really doesn’t sound very interesting and I’m not sure how much I want to see it. There is the chance for multiple title changes, but what matters most is that NXT is having the show. They need to get out there and feel like a bigger deal at some point and that is what they are doing here. Now just don’t do anything stupid here and let things move on towards whatever is next around this place and we should be fine.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Takeover: In Your House 2021
Date: June 13, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

We’re back to this series but in this case, the card isn’t looking like the strongest in the world. That has been the case for some of the last few of these have not exactly had a great build. I’m not sure what to expect from this one, as the main event is a five way match for the NXT Title. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a pretty standard look at every match on the card.

Naomi Fox performs the theme song live.

There seems to be a full capacity of fans here, making the show feel much more like classic NXT.

Here’s Todd Pettengill (who looks and sounds the same, albeit with a beard) to welcome us to the show.

Tag Team Titles/North American Title: MSK/Bronson Reed vs. Legado del Fantasma

Legado is challenging and it’s winner take all. We get a nice shot of Legado putting their masks on the apron before Lee and Mendoza go with a fast pinfall reversal sequence to start. Lee flips out of a headscissors to land on his feet and it’s off to Wilde to send Carter into the corner. A dropkick sends Wilde into the corner so Escobar comes in for the big staredown with Reed.

As expected, Escobar tags Mendoza back in rather than face the monster. A blind tag brings Escobar back in for a cheap shot to the head, but for some reason Escobar tries a slam. This goes as badly as expected and it’s MSK taking turns on Wilde. MSK holds Wilde up for a running backsplash from Reed but Carter gets sent outside. The parade of alternating dives is on with Reed’s big one knocking out everyone else. Back in and Lee gets taken down, including an elevated 450 from Wilde.

Lee manages to roll over for the tag to Reed though and house is cleaned in a hurry. Reed wants Escobar, who somehow manages a Michinoku Driver to stun Reed for two. It’s already back to Carter, who gets caught in the Russian legsweep/running boot to the face. Lee dives in for the save in a pretty hot near fall but Reed comes back in to wreck things. The big charge sends Escobar through the set, leaving Wilde to take the Blockbuster Hart Attack. Reed adds the Tsunami to retain at 12:29.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but there were some hot near falls, including a good false finish with Carter. Reed is a force of nature though and that Tsunami is an awesome finisher which looks great every time. It was a hot choice for an opener here and while I’m not surprised at the result, Reed vs. Escobar should be a good singles match down the line.

Earlier today, Kyle O’Reilly nearly got in a fight with the Way in the parking lot but security broke it up.

Todd Pettengill throws us to a video (as in a tape) of Xia Li losing to Mercedes Martinez in the 2017 Mae Young Classic, but McKenzie Mitchell says it’s all digital now. Todd calls her Stephanie Wiand in a joke a lot of people probably won’t get.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Xia Li

Boa is here with Li. Martinez starts fast and knocks Li to the apron but Li ties her up in the ropes. They head outside with Li sending her into the post, starting the XIA LI chants. Martinez’s bad ribs are wrapped around the post and a running dropkick sends her outside again. Back in and Martinez gets smart by kicking at Li’s legs to give her an opening.

Li manages to send her back into the corner but charges into a hot shot. Something like a Razor’s Edge Dominator gets two on Li and Martinez hits a running knee to the face to send her outside. Boa’s distraction doesn’t do much for Li, who is backdropped onto the floor. Back in and Martinez loads up the Air Raid Crash but Li slips out for the spinning kick to the face and the pin at 7:40.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what that was as it felt like they were getting into another gear and then the match just ended. Li is a monster and beating Martinez means something but it wasn’t exactly a match that felt like it belonged on Takeover. This could have been a fairly hot TV match but the sudden ending and pretty short run time hurt it a bit.

Post match Li grabs a chair but Martinez takes it away and drops Boa. Some chair shots put Li down but Mei Ying gets up for the staredown. Martinez gets caught in a Tongan Death Grip and, after shrugging off some chair shots, throws Martinez into a cage wall to leave her laying.

Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher are REALLY fired up to fight the Grizzled Young Veterans on Tuesday.

Ted DiBiase narrates a video on the history and value of the Million Dollar Title. It matters the most because it costs the most and now it is time to find someone to carry on its legacy. That will be either Cameron Grimes or LA Knight, who can fight for it in a ladder match.

Million Dollar Title: LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes

Ladder match for the vacant title, which Ted DiBiase and some lackeys bring to the ring in a case. They shove each other to start and the fans are behind Grimes. Some chops have Knight staggered and a clothesline puts him down. Grimes knocks him to the floor and grabs the ladder but Knight gets in a cheap shot. The ladder is thrown at Grimes but only hits the floor, meaning Knight settles for a hard clothesline instead.

They pull each other off the ladder until Knight uses it to knock him outside. Grimes sends him outside, where Knight grabs his own ladder to begin the ladder jousting. Knight gets knocked outside in a heap with the ladder being driven into his ribs. For some reason Grimes goes after him and gets laddered down as well. Knight strikes the pose on the steps and sends Grimes into the barricade (Knight to the fans: “YOU WANT TO MEET HIM???”).

Back inside and Knight hits a slingshot shoulder but Grimes sends him into the corner. A crotching with the ladder misses though and Knight neckbreakers him onto the ladder. The big ladder is set up with Grimes being sent face first. Grimes is right back with a whip to send Knight face first into the ladder in the corner and it’s time to kick at Knight’s chest. Knight gets tossed over the top and onto a bridged ladder, so Grimes wants THAT GOLD! He means the gold ladder and gets his hand on the title but has to shove Knight off the ladder.

That’s fine with Knight, who shoves the ladder over for the big crash. A double knockdown leaves them both on the mat before Knight sends him onto the ramp. They fight to the floor, with Grimes being sent into a ladder, which he climbs in a hurry. Grimes climbs onto the set to dive down onto Knight for another knockdown. Knight makes a save but gets knocked down and hurricanranaed out to the floor. That lets Grimes climb but Knight knocks him over with the big crash onto a ladder on the ramp. Knight pulls down the title for the win at 19:25.

Rating: B. It checked all of the ladder match boxes but that’s about all I can give this one. Ladder matches are just so completely played out in WWE and NXT these days and it’s hard to get excited about another one. This had dives, drama and crashes, but almost nothing that you haven’t seen in a more memorable version elsewhere. Knight winning makes sense, though I’m hoping Grimes wins something sooner rather than later.

DiBiase presents Knight with the title.

Hit Row interrupts Todd Pettengill’s merchandise shilling and plugs their new song.

We recap Ember Moon challenging Raquel Gonzalez for the Women’s Title. Moon has been back for a little while now and wants the title back. Gonzalez is ready to destroy her to continue her legacy, but the Eclipse is a dangerous weapon.

Women’s Title: Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon

Gonzalez is defending and has Dakota Kai in her corner. Moon starts fast by hammering away in the corner but has to counter the lifting powerbomb. Gonzalez sends her outside and hard into the barricade for two back inside. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Moon and Gonzalez tosses her into the corner again. There’s a side slam to set up a twisting Vader Bomb for two more on Moon, followed by the Canadian backbreaker.

Moon gets out and fires off some kicks, including a superkick into a Code Red for two. Kai has to save Gonzalez from the modified STF so Moon is back up with a suicide dive to knock Gonzalez over the announcers’ table. Back in and a running Downward Spiral gives Moon two but Kai offers another distraction to break up the Eclipse. Gonzalez is right back up with a superplex but the lifting powerbomb is countered into a rollup for (another rather slow) two.

A big boot gives Gonzalez two so she loads up a suplex, which is countered into a spinning Stunner. The Eclipse connects but Kai puts the foot on the rope. Cue Shotzi Blackheart to chase Kai off as Moon tornado DDTs Gonzalez onto the ramp. That gets a rather delayed two so Moon tries a headscissors, only to get caught in Snake Eyes. The lifting powerbomb retains the title at 12:07.

Rating: B. I was getting into this one a good bit and the time helped it. What mattered here was Moon felt like someone who might have had a chance to win the title, which is hard to do against a monster like Gonzalez. Beating Moon means something for her too, so it was a good way to go for both of them, as Gonzalez gets a nice title defense and Moon looks like a player again.

Todd Pettengill plays Karate Fighters (now that feels like it belongs on this show) with Dexter Lumis but makes the mistake of asking him about his love life. Lumis stops the game and crushes one of the fighters, with Todd declaring him the winner.

We recap the NXT Title match with Karrion Kross defending against most of the main event scene. Kross wants to fight everyone at once and it has been near chaos as everyone wants to go after each other.

Johnny Gargano is on his way to the ring and sees Shotzi Blackheart having to be held back from Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez. William Regal continues to lose control.

NXT Title: Karrion Kross vs. Pete Dunne vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Kross is defending and it is one fall to a finish. It’s a big brawl to start (of course) with Kross tossing people around. O’Reilly goes for a kneebar to slow Kross down but he powers out without much trouble. Gargano is back in to strike away at Kross, setting up a running hurricanrana. Dunne pulls Gargano down and ties him into the ring skirt to hammer away but Kross is back up to suplex both of them at once.

It’s O’Reilly getting back up to strike away at everyone, including some shots to Cole’s face. The cross armbreaker goes on but Dunne grabs one on O’Reilly to break it up. Gargano gets in on the parade of holds until Kross breaks it up. Kross wants Cole, who bails up the ramp. That nearly earns him a powerbomb on the ramp but Cole rakes the eyes to save himself. Gargano and Dunne shove Kross through the house door in the set.

Back in and Cole hits the fireman’s carry neckbreaker for two on O’Reilly but Gargano comes back to put Cole in the Tree of Woe. Dunne is back too but the Bitter End is countered into a DDT to give Gargano two. We get an accidental Undisputed Era reunion as some double teaming puts Dunne down but everyone gets dropped. Cole is smart enough to cover Gargano for two and it’s time to get back up for the next Cole vs. O’Reilly slugout. O’Reilly gets kicked into the ropes, where Kross is back up to pull him to the floor.

That means Kross can wreck everyone until he is left alone with Gargano. A huge release F5 sends Gargano flying for two but Dunne makes the save. Gargano knocks Dunne outside for a suicide dive, earning himself a superkick from Cole. The slingshot spear is countered but so is the Panama Sunrise, with hitting a sunset driver for two. Everyone pulls themselves back up so it’s time for a string of oddball double teamings until Gargano has to break up O’Reilly’s fisherman’s belly to back suplex on Cole.

Kross is back in to hit a bunch of running corner clotheslines but everyone gets together to take him down again. Another series of strikes gives us another five way knockdown for a breather. It’s Kross up first again with a German suplex on Cole, setting up some posing. Cole and O’Reilly get together one more time to powerbomb Kross onto the announcers’ table, leaving everyone but Kross to slug it out inside. Dunne and O’Reilly grab holds but opt to slug it out instead.

O’Reilly gets the better of it until Cole comes back in for the brainbuster onto the knee for two. Dunne’s enziguri hits Gargano (though he was aiming for Cole) so Gargano and Cole double superkick his moonsault out of the air. Gargano is back in with One Final Beat to Cole for two and it’s a double Gargano Escape. O’Reilly breaks that up but gets shoved off the top. Cole hits the Panama Sunrise on Gargano but walks all the way around to cover so Dunne can pull him out at two (that looks so dumb).

Kross is back up to slug it out with Dunne, who grabs the Bitter End for two of his own. A triangle choke has Kross out but everyone else makes the save. It’s time for Dunne to start hurting fingers but Kross Doomsday Saitos Dunne and Cole at the same time. The Krossjacket Choke is countered with a snapped finger and there’s the One Final Beat to drop Dunne.

Kross is back up with the Krossjacket Choke to Gargano but that’s broken up as well. O’Reilly hits the top rope knee to Kross with Cole making the save. Cole gets pulled into O’Reilly’s heel hook but Kross grabs the Krossjacket Choke to knock O’Reilly out and retain at 26:15.

Rating: B+. This was all action and fun, but I never could shake the feeling that it was all a big exercise until Kross retained the title. They did a good job of giving everyone a moment, even if it was finding ways to slow Kross down. The interesting thing now is who faces Kross next, as it isn’t like anyone is going to be seen as a serious threat to him one on one. I’m not sure how many of these guys are going to be sticking around NXT with the return to the road coming soon for WWE, but more than one of them seem ready for the call up.

Kross and Scarlett pose with the title.

We cut to William Regal leaving, but first he says that he has never seen such bedlam in his time in NXT. Maybe it’s time for a change. Regal walks off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. That’s going to put it on the lower end of Takeovers, though it was certainly a good show. The problem here is there was no must see match, with a bunch of above average though not exactly blow away stuff. The main event was the best part of the show, but it didn’t quite feel like anything significant happened (save for the end, which is going to get some more attention on Tuesday). Overall, it’s another more than fine Takeover, but they need some kind of a big story to energize things around here.

Results

Bronson Reed/MSK b. Legado del Fantasma – Tsunami to Wilde

Xia Li b. Mercedes Martinez – Spinning kick to the face

LA Knight b. Cameron Grimes – Knight pulled the title down

Raquel Gonzalez b. Ember Moon – Lifting powerbomb

Karrion Kross b. Pete Dunne, Kyle O’Reilly, Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano – Krossjacket Choke to O’Reilly

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Unforgiven: In Your House #21
Date: April 26, 1998
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Attendance: 21,427
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

As mentioned, this is in a new era for the WWF as they’re back on top of the mountain for the first time since about In Your House #10. The company is on fire with Austin at the helm and the most evil man in company history going after him. This made for some very entertaining shows and hopefully this is one of them. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on Undertaker vs. Kane which is the bigger story coming into this show.

Nation of Domination vs. Faarooq/Ken Shamrock/Steve Blackman

Rock has officially taken over the Nation after kicking Faarooq off the team. The non-Nation team does the Nation salute just to tick them off. Tonight the Nation is Rock/Henry/Brown. The fans are already all over Rock about five seconds after the bell. Brown grabs Blackman’s (a rather generic martial artist) arm to start things off and they trade shoulder blocks until Brown hooks a snap suplex. Blackman comes right back with a dropkick and an armdrag into an armbar.

It’s off to Shamrock to stay on the arm but the ankle lock is escaped via the ropes. Faarooq hesitantly comes in but Brown asks for mercy. Instead he gets a whipping with Faarooq’s belt and a snap suplex from Blackman. Back to the armbar but Brown gets away to tag Henry. That lasts about five seconds before it’s back to Brown who walks into a cross body for two. Back to Faarooq who is easily taken down before it’s back to Rock for the cheap shots he’s been looking for.

Henry comes back in and drops some elbows for a somewhat delayed two count, allowing Faarooq to pound away and make a tag off to Blackman. Henry runs Steve over but takes his time covering again. Back to Brown for a middle rope elbow and a standing one to the jaw for two. Rock comes in and stomps away in the corner while talking a lot of trash.

The still yet to be named People’s Elbow gets two and you can see the crowd really starting to react to it. Rock hooks a chinlock and it’s back to Brown for some trash talk and a backbreaker. D’Lo misses a moonsault and Steve makes the hot tag off to Faarooq. The Nation’s house is cleaned and everything breaks down with Faarooq hitting the Dominator out of nowhere to pin Rock.

Rating: D+. This didn’t do much for me. The match wasn’t horrible but the crowd didn’t really react to it very strongly and the ending didn’t work nearly as well as it was supposed to. Faarooq getting some revenge on Rock is a good idea but when the fans seem to like Rock more than Faarooq, it’s not the best move.

Before we get anywhere else, here’s Austin to really fire the place up. He calls the timekeeper into the ring due to him ringing the bell on Vince’s orders last week during a match. If that happens again tonight and Austin gets screwed, the timekeeper will be beaten out of the company. It’s fine if Dude Love beats him for the title, but if Austin gets screwed, the timekeeper is going to feel some pain.

European Title: Owen Hart vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Owen had won the title by dressing up as Goldust and surprising HHH but then HHH went after a bad leg injury that Owen had suffered to get it back. Chyna cost Owen his rematch at Wrestlemania, so tonight Chyna is trapped inside a one person cage suspended above the ring. Slaughter forces Chyna into the cage as a lot of time is killed. HHH spends too much time talking to Chyna and Owen gets in a cheap shot to take over. They fight up the aisle and the bell hasn’t rung yet.

Owen pounds on HHH in the aisle and sends him face first into Chyna’s cage while it’s still on the ground. They finally get inside and the bell rings as Chyna’s cage rises into the air. All Owen still as he chops away in the corner until HHH drops him face first onto the top turnbuckle to get himself a breather. The jumping knee to the face puts Hart down and HHH chokes away with his boot in the corner. The knee drop to the head gets two and HHH hooks a dragon sleeper of all things.

Back up and Owen is sent chest first into the corner ala his brother to give the champion another two count. Chyna drops what appears to be a small saw from the cage but neither guy in the ring noticed it. Owen gets two off a sunset flip but HHH grabs a swinging neckbreaker for the same result and it’s back to the dragon sleeper. Hart fights up again but gets sent into the post and middle buckle to put him right back down. A facebuster gets two more for HHH as this continues to go slowly.

We hit the dragon sleeper again but Owen fights up and flips over HHH to suplex him down. Chyna has bent the cage bars open as Hart gets two off an enziguri. The spinwheel kick gets the same and there’s a piledriver on HHH for good measure. A top rope elbow hits HHH but Chyna is out of the cage. She can’t get down though so it doesn’t matter much.

HHH gets his leg caught in the ropes for a bit as Owen goes over to look at Chyna. That gets boring though so Hart DDTs HHH and puts on the Sharpshooter. The cage is lowered though and Chyna gets to the ground so Owen breaks the hold. Slaughter holds Chyna back as X-Pac (new DX member) comes in to blast Owen with a fire extinguisher to keep the title on HHH.

Rating: D+. So to clarify, Owen stuck around after his brother got screwed, doesn’t get the world title shot, and gets to lose to HHH on back to back PPVs (not counting HHH eliminating Owen from the Royal Rumble. HHH on the other hand gets to lead DX and win the European Title. Funny how that works. The match was dull stuff though with the majority being spent on HHH putting the same hold on Owen.

Post match Owen says enough is enough, which meant a heel turn for him.

Here’s Jim Cornette to introduce the next match.

NWA World Tag Team Titles: Rock N Roll Express vs. New Midnight Express

The New Midnight Express is comprised of Bombastic Bob (Bob Holly) and Bodacious Bart (Bart Gunn). The original version was managed by Cornette and feuded with the Rock N Roll Express (challengers tonight) for most of the 80s in a feud that revolutionized tag team wrestling. The Rock N Roll Express comes out to the Rockers’ (a WWF tag team) music. Bob and Robert Gibson start things off with Gibson shoulder blocking Bob out to the floor.

Back in and the formerly very fast Rock N Roll Express are just kind of quick here with their signature double leg snap into a rolling double punch to the Midnight on the apron. The fans just do not care here and it’s rather sad to see. Ricky Morton comes in and works on Bob before sending him into Bart, starting an argument between the champions. Bart comes in and puts on an abdominal stretch as I think this is a way to replicate the original feud but it’s just not working at all.

Cornette gets in an argument with the referee and comes into the ring for a boxing match which is an old signature spot of the feud. The referee is ready to go and Cornette runs away to wake up the crowd a bit. Cornette drops back to the floor and trips Morton, allowing Bart to hit a knee to the back, sending Ricky to the floor. The Midnights double team Ricky for two and Bart’s powerslam gets the same.

Bob misses a top rope legdrop though and it’s off to Gibson with no one reacting at all. Everything breaks down with the Rock N Roll in control and hitting their double dropkick on Bart. Gibson has to avoid a Cornette elbow drop but the distraction lets Bart bulldog Gibson down for the pin to retain.

Rating: F. This match wasn’t so much bad as it was pitiful. This was a tag team trying to get back to its old level of glory and just not being able to do it anymore. The match wasn’t horrid, but the idea of the match just didn’t work at all. The NWA angle never worked and had to have been a way to humiliate Cornette instead of help the company at all.

Luna says she’ll win the evening gown match.

Sable vs. Luna Vachon

This is the first evening gown match, meaning they start in gowns and the first to be stripped to their underwear loses. They walk around very slowly with both girls losing a sleeve each. Luna, an actual wrestler, drives in some shoulders in the corner before ripping off Sable’s skirt. Lawler is thrilled and Sable charges at Luna to take over. Mero comes out to yell at Sable, allowing Luna to strip the rest of Sable’s dress off for the win. There wasn’t enough to rate here but this wasn’t wrestling anyway.

Sable powerbombs Luna and rips off most of her dress anyway. They head under the ring and Sable comes out with Luna’s underwear in hand. Goldust covers Luna with a robe to get her out.

Here’s Vince, flanked by his Stooges Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco. Vince addresses the rumors that he’s here to screw Steve Austin out of the WWF Championship. However, he’s really here because he was born here in North Carolina but stops to listen to the Vince sucks chant. He won’t be responsible for the main event tonight and Austin will screw himself.

Tag Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. LOD 2000

LOD 2000 is nothing all that different, including that they’re challenging tonight. It’s still Hawk and Animal but with helmets on the way to the ring and Sunny as a manager. Road Dogg says they’ve brought University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith out of retirement for one night only but it’s actually a blowup doll. Billy starts with Animal but is quickly taken down by a shoulder block. Gunn misses a cross body and gets taken down by another flying tackle.

Road Dogg comes in and has his arm cranked on before it’s off to Hawk for an ax handle to the shoulder. A powerslam puts Dogg down and a jumping fist to the face sends him crawling into the corner. Gunn is literally pulled into the ring for a botched slam and a shoulder breaker for two. Animal comes back in for a chinlock as this has been one sided so far. Another powerslam gets another two on Gunn before it’s back to Road Dogg. The LOD immediately loads up the Doomsday Device but Gunn comes in with a chop block to break it up.

Roadie puts Animal in a spinning toehold and drags the bad leg into the corner so Billy can wrap it around the post a few times. Back in and Dogg puts on a leg lock before driving his own knees into Animal’s knee. Billy drives a knee in as well before cranking on a leg lock of his own.

Back to Dogg for some punches in the corner and some choking from Billy. Gunn comes in but can’t piledrive Animal, getting caught in a leg drag instead. The hot tag brings in Hawk to clean house as everything breaks down. Hawk hits a top rope splash on Dogg but Billy hits him in the back with a tag belt….for two. Dogg hits Gunn in the face with a belt and a German suplex by Hawk gives the LOD the titles back.

Rating: D. So basically it was the same match as last time but with the LOD regaining the belts instead of losing again? That doesn’t really make me want to see more from the LOD as they’re just too far gone in years at this point. It’s not as bad as the Rock N Roll Express but it’s still not working at all.

Or not as the referee says Hawk’s shoulders were down and Dogg’s were up, meaning the Outlaws keep the belts. The LOD beats up the referee as a result. The replay shows that Dogg never raised his shoulders at all and the referee screwed up.

Here’s Jeff Jarrett to sing with Sawyer Brown. There isn’t really anything to say here other than Jeff sings and the band has the real talent. This goes on for the better part of seven minutes until Steve Blackman comes out to break it up. He gets a guitar to the head and the Figure Four.

Lawler gets out some marshmallows and hot dogs to roast during the inferno match.

We recap Undertake vs. Kane which we’ve pretty much covered already. It’s a rematch from Wrestlemania where Undertaker beat Kane, but Paul Bearer wants more revenge. Tonight it’s about lighting the other person on fire. Various caskets with various remains of Undertaker’s relatives were burned to further the feud as well.

Kane vs. Undertaker

They get in the ring and the flames come up around the ring in a cool visual. They slug it out in the corner and Undertaker actually busts out Old School, giving us the other feature of the match: the flames go WAY higher when anyone lands hard on the mat. Kane gets back up and sends him into the corner before choking away on the ropes. Lawler wants Undertaker’s face lit on fire. Undertaker rips at Kane’s mask to blind him for a second and fights back up.

Kane powerslams him down, sending the flames higher into the air. Paul throws in a chair which goes upside Undertaker’s head to give Kane the first significant advantage. Undertaker pops back up though because that’s the kind of guy he is. They slug it out in the middle of the ring with Kane taking over but not being able to put Undertaker in the fire. Kane pounds away in the corner but charges into a boot to the face. A Russian legsweep puts Kane down and a legdrop sends the flames flying up again.

Both guys grab the other by the throat but it’s Kane chokeslamming his brother down. Undertaker slips out of a tombstone and chokeslams Kane down this time. Kane is up in just a few seconds so both guys kick the other in the face at the same time. Undertaker misses his jumping clothesline and Kane goes up, only to have Taker crotch him down onto the top rope. A superplex takes Kane down and sends the flames to an even higher level than they were before.

With little else to do to each other in the ring, Undertaker throws Kane over the top rope and over the flames. Kane tries to walk out so Bearer bullies the guy in charge of the flames into turning them up even higher. Before Kane can get away though, Vader returns to fight Kane back to ringside. Undertaker dives over the top rope to take them both out in a great visual.

To sum up what just happened: a possibly undead 7’0 demonic man just dove over a wall of flames to get his hands on his possibly even more demonic, pyromaniac brother who is trying to light his on fire as well as a man known as the Rocky Mountain Monster. That sounds AWESOME among many other things. Vader leaves and Undertaker caves in his brother’s head with a pair of chair shots. That leaves Undertaker alone with Paul Bearer and Paul is chased up to the band set where a drum is wrapped around Bearer’s head. Back to ringside and a big boot puts Kane’s (covered) arm into the fire for the win.

Rating: D+. This is a good example of a match where a bunch of still shots and audio clips of the match would have done much better than the match itself. There were some AMAZING moments in there like the dive over the top and that superplex, but that’s not enough to carry a fifteen minute plus match. It’s fun, but would be better with just a highlight package.

We recap the main event with Austin becoming WWF Champion and Vince declaring it a public relations nightmare. Cactus Jack wasn’t pleased with the fans’ universal love for Austin and became corporate Dude Love to fight Austin for Vince. Austin is convinced there’s a conspiracy and Vince sitting at ringside for the match ala Montreal isn’t helping things.

WWF World Title: Steve Austin vs. Dude Love

Dude jumps Austin from behind but Austin pounds away on him in the corner to take over. An elbow sends Dude to the floor before a Thesz Press takes Love down back inside. Austin hits a snapless spinebuster and an elbow drop for two before having to chase Dude up the aisle. They head back to the music stage with Austin slamming Foley down and hiptossing him off the stage and down onto the floor in a big crash.

Back and ringside and a clothesline puts Love down again before they get back in the ring. Love avoids a running hip attack to the ropes and bulldogs Austin down for two. Steve explodes out of the corner with a clothesline but Dude gets in a shot to the ribs to put him down again. Dude puts on a bodyscissors with a choke as Vince and the Stooges come out to watch. Austin fights out of the hold with a bunch of elbows to the face but stops to look at Vince, giving Dude a rollup for two.

Steve wraps both legs around the post and does the same to the arm for good measure. They head back to the floor with Love backdropping out of a piledriver attempt on the concrete. Austin is sent into the barricade so Vince can go laugh at him like the evil monster he is. Steve gets up but Dude saves his boss from probably death. Dude knocks Austin off the apron and Vince tells Austin to be a man and get back in.

Back inside and Dude puts on an abdominal stretch with Vince nearly calling for the bell as fast as he could. They head outside for the fifth or so time with Austin suplexing Dude legs first onto the steps. Now they head into the crowd with Austin in full control but once they’re back inside, Dude is able to score with a swinging neckbreaker to put the champion down.

Sweet Shin Music (exactly what it sounds like) is blocked but Dude clotheslines the referee down. The Stunner is countered and Dude gets the Mandible Claw. Austin goes out but there’s no referee to call the win. Dude lets go of the hold and gets backdropped out to the floor. Austin and Vince fight over a chair but Dude saves his boss again. The chair is knocked into Love’s face but Austin misses Dude and knocks Vince out cold with a chair shot to the head. Back inside and the Stunner puts Dude down for Austin’s own three count to end the match.

Rating: B+. This is another solid brawl with both guys knowing exactly how to work this style. Vince being out there was a sword of Damocles over Austin’s head and the chair shot to him sent the crowd into delirium. Love would be back but this was a solid way to have Austin’s first title defense. The pin didn’t count of course but it kept Austin looking strong, which is what you needed here.

A long stretcher job by Vince ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This is another example of the main event being the only thing worth seeing on the show, but unlike the older shows it’s not enough to save things. That’s the problem with having a three hour show: you need more than a great twenty minute match. The main event scene was on fire at this point but everything else was pretty dreadful. However, that would soon change and things would get a lot better in a hurry. Not a good show here, though the main event is very good.

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IMG Credit: WWE

In Your House 4: Great White North
Date: October 22, 1995
Location: Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Attendance: 10,339
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Vince McMahon

The main event tonight is Diesel defending the title against British Bulldog in a match that very few people cared to see. So few in fact that this show set a record for the lowest pay per view buyrate in company history which lasted for over ten years. Other than that we have Shawn defending his Intercontinental Title against Dean Douglas, allegedly. Let’s get to it.

We open with a decision made by WWF President Gorilla Monsoon: Shawn Michaels has been stripped of the Intercontinental Title due to a real life attack by anywhere between 2-19 United States Marines (depending on how many Shawn feels like saying there were at the time). Therefore, he has to forfeit the title to Dean Douglas, his challenger for the night, though there will be a title match tonight.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Fatu

The undefeated Helmsley would eventually go just by his initials while Fatu would become Rikishi. At the moment though he’s trying to Make A Difference with wayward kids. To say the gimmick didn’t work very well is an understatement. Helmsley has a bottle of perfume to spray on Fatu but gets punched in the face for his efforts. Fatu takes him into the corner and pounds away, sending Helmsley to the floor before he can get his shirt off.

Back in and Fatu is sent face first into the turnbuckle to no effect whatsoever, so HHH throws him into the ropes with Fatu’s neck getting tied up in the cables. Helmsley pounds away at the tied up Fatu before dropping him with a piledriver. The shirt is finally off about three minutes into the match and Helmsley walks around for awhile. A neckbreaker puts Fatu down for two and a knee drop gets the same.

We hit the chinlock on Fatu, who looks to be nearly dead as a result. Back up and a clothesline turns Fatu inside out for another two count. A Pedigree is countered with a backdrop and Fatu scores with a superkick. Fatu hits a backbreaker to set up a middle rope headbutt for another two count. Lawler is losing his mind watching Helmsley get beaten up like this. A running Diamond Cutter puts Helmsley down again but Fatu misses the top rope splash, allowing Helmsley to hit the Pedigree for the pin.

Rating: C-. This actually wasn’t that bad despite Helmsley still being a glorified rookie. Fatu wasn’t completely huge yet so he could move around the ring far better than he would be able to later in his career. This wasn’t the best choice to open a show with but Fatu was popular enough to keep it from killing the crowd.

Post match Lawler talks to Helmsley when Henry Godwinn comes up with the slop bucket, sending Helmsley running away.

We look at British Bulldog pinning Diesel in a tag match from a recent episode of Raw. The Bulldog says he’s ready to take the title tonight.

Tag Titles: Smoking Gunns vs. 1-2-3 Kid/Razor Ramon

The Gunns are defending while the challengers aren’t getting along all that well. They swear they’re fine though. The challengers both slick back their hair instead of shaking hands with the Gunns. It’s the Kid starting things off with Billy and is easily shoved down. Since power doesn’t work, the Kid opts for speed with a leap frog and an arm drag but Billy comes back with an armdrag of his own, giving us a stalemate.

Off to Razor to crank on Bart’s shoulder, only to be taken down by a fireman’s carry. Now it’s Bart working on a wristlock but Razor comes back with a big right hand, sending him to the ropes. With the referee and Razor’s backs turned, the Kid pulls the ropes down, sending Bart out to the floor. Back in and it’s off to the Kid legally with a dropkick to take Bart down again. Some running legdrops keep Bart down and it’s back to Razor for some power. There’s the fallaway slam and it’s already back to the Kid for some kicks.

Razor comes in again but Bart scores with a clothesline as Dean Douglas is watching in the back. Apparently Razor will be the one getting an Intercontinental Title shot against the new champion Douglas later tonight. A double tag brings in Billy and the Kid with Billy cleaning house and getting two off an elbow drop. Back to Bart for some backbreakers but Razor comes in to break up the pin.

The Gunns hit a nice dropkick/suplex combo for two but the Kid avoids a Stinger Splash in the corner. The referee goes over to check on Razor so Bart pulls Billy on top of the kid for two. He gets caught, so Razor comes in and puts Kid on top of Billy for two. Now it’s a hot tag off to Ramon who cleans house with right hands and the Razor’s Edge to Billy, but the Kid asks for the tag. The Kid takes forever to cover and gets cradled for the pin out of nowhere to keep the belts on the cowboys.

Rating: C. This wasn’t bad but the match was mainly about the angle at the end. Kid just wasn’t working as a good guy for the most part so the turn and feud with Razor was the logical ending. The Gunns weren’t great champions but they were the best that the company had at this point. Not a bad match here though.

Post match the Kid snaps and kicks the Gunns down, only to be calmed down by Razor.

Marty Jannetty vs. Goldust

Goldust is a rather interesting character who was obsessed with movies and was pushed as being gay at first until the character got a bit too risque for 1995 and that aspect was toned WAY down. This is his debut as well as Jannetty’s return to the company after a lengthy run in the indys. Golden glitter falls from the ceiling as Goldust gets in the ring for a cool visual. Marty jumps him in the corner and clotheslines Goldust out to the floor where another clothesline puts him down again.

Back in and Goldust stares at Marty for about 45 seconds before getting two off an O’Connor Roll. An uppercut staggers Jannetty and a second one puts him right back down again. Jannetty comes back with a hurricanrana and it’s time to shove each other a bit more. Goldust takes his head off with a clothesline and drops an elbow for two. We hit the chinlock as the match stops almost dead. Goldust backdrops him down and pounds away before sending Marty into the steps on the outside.

Marty comes back by flipping Goldust back to the floor and sending him into the steps for some nice retaliation. Goldust will have none of this being in trouble though and sends Marty into the post to put him right back down. A suplex brings Jannetty back in and we hit another chinlock. Marty fights up but misses a cross body in the corner, allowing Goldust to DDT him down for two. Jannetty scores with the Rocker Dropper (modified Fameasser) but his top rope fist hits a top rope boot. A gordbuster (front suplex) is enough to pin Jannetty.

Rating: D. This went on WAY too long, running over eleven minutes instead of the five or so that it needed. The interesting thing though is how dull the match was. This is interesting because in just a few months, Goldust would be years better and challenging for the world title. The lesson: you can’t judge a wrestler by his debut match. You have to recognize the talent and work around them instead of bending them to your system.

We recap Yokozuna and King Mabel crushing Undertaker’s face on Raw recently. As a result, Mabel and Yokozuna have a match tonight as punishment. I’m not sure I get that logic.

King Mabel vs. Yokozuna

They stare each other down to start before Yokozuna wins an early slugout, knocking Mabel out to the floor. Back in and they very slowly look at each other before Mabel slowly pounds him down and out to the floor. Back in again as JR uses his special code to apologize for how boring this match is. Yokozuna slugs Mabel down again but misses a legdrop. Mabel misses an elbow before trying a bulldog. I say trying because he grabbed Yokozuna’s head and runs, but Yokozuna doesn’t go down…..for a few seconds until he falls out of the ring. Mr. Fuji shoves down Cornette and Yokozuna splashes him, resulting in a double countout.

Rating: F. I think this is one of those matches that doesn’t need a lengthy explanation. Fat guys wrestling in short matches is a staple of wrestling, especially in the WWF so it’s not like this is unheard of. The match of course was junk with about a minute and a half of “action” spread across five minutes of ring time.

Post match the fat guys get in the ring and stare each other down before raising each others’ hands.

Here’s Dean Douglas to be awarded the Intercontinental Title from the concussed Shawn. Shawn is very depressed of course so Douglas snatches the title away from him and puts it on. There’s no announcement made here or anything so I guess the live fans are left figuring this out on their own. Shawn walks away and does the long look back before walking away. There is a title match tonight though.

Intercontinental Title: Dean Douglas vs. Razor Ramon

Razor charges to the ring and pounds away before being dropped by a right hand to the jaw. The champion bails to the floor before coming back in for some shoulders from Ramon. Razor cranks on the arm even more and we hit the armbar. Dean is sent to the mat by the arm and Razor slaps him in the back of the head to rub it in a bit. Back up and Razor stays on that arm and hangs on even through an armdrag.

Dean FINALLY sends him into the corner to escape and pounds away, only to be caught in the fallaway slam. A clothesline puts Dean on the floor as this is one sided so far. Razor snaps the champion’s throat across the ropes but Dean pokes him in the eye to get a breather. That’s all it’s good for though as Ramon punches him off the apron and out to the floor. Razor suplexes him back inside before whipping him right back to the floor. Ramon pours water over Dean’s head and we head back inside for more work on the arm.

The Razor’s Edge is countered with a backdrop over the top rope to give Douglas his first bit of control. Again it doesn’t last long whatsoever though as Dean goes up, only to jump into a chokeslam. Douglas breaks up a belly to back superplex but his cross body is rolled through into a near fall for Ramon. Back up and Razor grabs a quick belly to back suplex and awkwardly covers Dean for the pin and the title, despite Dean putting his leg under the ropes.

Rating: D. This was a squash that happened to last eleven minutes. Dean got in almost no offense with his one big move being a counter to Razor’s finishing move. This was the last you would see of Dean as anything of note in the WWF and he would be back to much friendlier pastures in ECW by the beginning of the year. Douglas’ title reign lasted no more than fifteen minutes at most, easily the shortest reign on record. This was also Razor’s fourth Intercontinental Title, a record that would stand for nearly four years.

Bret Hart comes out for commentary on the main event since he gets the winner for the title at Survivor Series. Lawler runs away in fear.

WWF World Title: Diesel vs. British Bulldog

Diesel, the champion, has no comment on the way to the ring. They shove each other around to start before Diesel puts him down with a forearm to the head. A cross body is easily caught in a slam from Diesel, sending Bulldog out to the floor. Back in and the Bulldog goes after the leg, only to be sent into the corner for a clothesline. More elbows in the corner have Smith in trouble but he comes back with right hands of his own.

A dropkick puts the champion on the floor but he lands on his feet. Diesel gets in a shouting match with Bret, allowing Bulldog to take out Diesel’s legs to take over. Back in and Smith works over the leg as the match slows down a lot. Bulldog can’t hook something like a Texas Cloverleaf but he sends Diesel out to the floor anyway, allowing Cornette to get in a cheap shot to the leg.

Bulldog sends Diesel into the steps and gets admonished, allowing Cornette to get in some tennis racket shots to Diesel’s bad leg. Bulldog puts on a half crab and then a full Boston crab to stay on the leg. Diesel powers out but gets caught in a second half crab. A legdrop gets two for the challenger and it’s back to another leg lock. Diesel finally fights up and scores with some more forearms, only to have Bulldog go right back to the knee. Bulldog loads up a cannonball down onto the knee, only to have Diesel kick him out to the floor.

Back in and Smith goes right back to the leg lock to make sure nothing gets interesting in this match at all. Diesel scores with a quick suplex and its belly to back cousin gets him a breather. Smith is up first and, after a point to Bret, puts on a sloppy looking Sharpshooter. Davey can’t slam him though (after being able to slam the much larger Bam Bam Bigelow last month), allowing Diesel to hit a big boot to the face. Cornette is dragged into the ring and thrown at the Bulldog, sending Davey out to the floor. Diesel is sent face first into the post but Bulldog shoves Bret, drawing him in for a very lame disqualification.

Rating: D-. This was terribly boring with the leg work going nowhere at all. The ending didn’t do the match any favors either with the match taking forever to be set up and then having nothing for a finish. No one was interested in this match beforehand and it was clearly just a setup for Bret vs. Diesel next month.

Post match Diesel gets in Bret’s face and they slug it out to end the show.

Overall Rating: F. This is one of the worst shows I’ve ever seen. The best matches are the first two and neither of those are anything past watchable at best. As mentioned earlier, no one seemed interested in seeing this show and it drew the lowest number of PPV buys for well over ten years. Just a horrible show and proof that a change was needed.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

In Your House 3: Triple Header
Date: September 24, 1995
Location: Saginaw Civic Center, Saginaw, Michigan
Attendance: 5,146
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross

The title of this show refers to the main event, which is only one match. It’s Michaels/Diesel vs. Yokozuna/Owen Hart will all titles on the line. In other words if Diesel and Shawn win then they’re the tag champions but if Owen or Yokozuna beat Shawn or Diesel, the person with the pin gets the respective singles title. In other words, practically everything is on the line in one match so it better deliver. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about the Triple Header match and refers to Owen and Yokozuna as perhaps the greatest tag team in company history. To say that’s a stretch is the understatement of the year. Also keep in mind that Shawn and Diesel are former tag team champions.

The theme song talks about going home and being In Your House. Well you can’t say they’re being subtle at least.

Jim Ross’ prediction for the main event is Yokozuna winning the Intercontinental Title.

Savio Vega vs. Waylon Mercy

Waylon Mercy is……interesting. He’s based on Max Cady from the movie Cape Fear, but if you’ve never seen that, basically he’s a 6’7 man (probably more famous as Dan Spivey) who dresses like a very laid back southern gentleman but turns into a psycho when the bell rings. After the match is over, he’s right back to being the kindest man you’ll ever meet. The character had some staying power to him but a bunch of injuries forced him to retire just a few months after debuting the character.

Mercy offers a handshake to start so Savio dances a bit. Vega avoids a charge in the corner and cranks on the arm to start. Mercy is taken to the mat by the arm but comes back with a clothesline. We head to the floor with Mercy firing off chops and slamming Savio down before choking away back inside. A hot shot gets two for Mercy and he sends Savio into the corner but we cut over to Doc Hendrix in the back, saying that tag team champion Owen Hart hasn’t arrived yet.

Savio comes back with a hiptoss and some forearms but gets caught in Waylon’s sleeper. Vega is in big trouble but manages to send Waylon face first into the buckle to escape. A belly to back suplex puts Mercy down before Vega takes over with some right hands. Vega kicks Mercy in the face and bulldogs him down for two. A side roll gets another near fall but Mercy comes back with a brainbuster for two of his own. Savio gets a quick German suplex for two before hitting a spinwheel kick for the upset pin.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t too horrible but what in the world was the point of having Mercy lose here? Mercy was about to start feuding with the WWF Champion but you have him lose to Savio Vega in the opener of a pay per view here? My guess is that Mercy was about to leave due to the injuries so get the value you can out of him beforehand.

Cornette, Fuji, Yokozuna and British Bulldog are panicking in the back because WWF President Gorilla Monsoon is saying the tag titles might have to be forfeited. Gorilla says the title match is happening tonight.

Sycho Sid vs. Henry Godwinn

Henry turned down an official spot on the Million Dollar Team and got beaten down, turning him face as a result. Godwinn even slopped DiBiase for good measure, but got powerbombed on the floor. Henry pounds away to start and slams Sid face first into the mat as JR drops the term slobberknocker, blowing Vince’s mind. Sid gets suplexed back in from the apron but Henry hurts his back in the process. He can’t pick Sid up for a slam and the Sycho takes over.

They head to the floor with Sid jumping off the apron with an ax handle to Henry’s bad back. Back in and some kicks in the corner have Henry in even more trouble and we hit the camel clutch. Sid jumps down onto the back to slow Henry down again before ripping at his face. There’s another camel clutch but Sid isn’t even pulling back, making this look ridiculous. Back up and Sid misses a charge into the corner and Henry starts pounding away. A boot to the chest sets up the Slop Drop (reverse DDT) for two but DiBiase makes the save. Dibiase trips Henry again and Sid powerbombs him for the pin.

Rating: D. Nothing to see here again but the fans were at least getting behind Henry a bit here. Sid was just worthless in the ring as he couldn’t even perform a rest hold properly. Then again when you’re that size you can do almost anything you want and the fans are going to buy it. Still though, not a good match here as the bad start to the show continues.

Post match Kama Mustafa comes out to help Sid and DiBiase try to slop Henry but Bam Bam Bigelow makes the save and pours the slop on DiBiase again.

Monsoon says that Cornette can find a substitute for Owen Hart and he’ll have a chance at the Intercontinental or World Title in the main event just like Owen would have. The tag titles would still be on the line.

British Bulldog vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Bulldog has a match on Raw tomorrow night against Undertaker so the announcers spend most of the match ignoring Bigelow to talk about tomorrow’s match. Bigelow runs over Smith to start and then does it again for good measure. Bulldog bails to the floor and we go to a split screen to see Cornette recruiting Sid for the main event. Back in and Bigelow misses an elbow drop before being put in a quick chinlock.

Bigelow fights up but misses a headbutt, allowing Bulldog to hit a nice suplex. Bam Bam comes back with some clotheslines, only to miss a charge and fall out to the floor. Davey can’t suplex Bigelow back inside so Bigelow lifts him up for a crotching on the top rope. Smith goes after the knee and Bigelow is down again, giving Davey a nice target. Bulldog kicks away at the knee as the announcers speculate over who could be Yokozuna’s partner.

We get a leg lock on the mat as the fans try to get Bigelow back in this. Back up and Bigelow is sent into the buckle but comes back with an enziguri. He can’t follow up though due to the knee and Smith goes right back to the leg. We hit the half crab for a bit before a knee to the ribs gets two for the Bulldog. Off to the chinlock for a bit before Smith fails at a slam attempt, giving Bigelow a two count. Bigelow sits down to block a sunset flip attempt but the moonsault misses. Smith avoids a charge in the corner and hits a quick powerslam (standing instead of running) for the pin.

Rating: D+. Still nothing good here but it was WAY better than the previous match. Smith wasn’t much by this point but he was fine for beating up guys on a lower level than he was. Bigelow was pretty worthless here and would be gone in just a few months, which is probably the best result for everyone.

Here’s Bob Backlund who is thinking about running for President of the United States. He insults the fans for having a poor lexicon before talking about little victories in life, such as learning to read and write. Backlund introduces Dean Douglas for his match while praising him using words most fans don’t understand.

Dean Douglas vs. Razor Ramon

This is a result of Dean insulting Razor for losing the Intercontinental Title match at Summerslam and Ramon has bad ribs coming in. Razor goes right for him to start and clotheslines Douglas out to the floor. Back in and they take each other to the mat a few times with no one being able to get an advantage. Dean fires off some right hands but gets hiptossed over the top and out to the floor. We cut to the split screen again with Mabel looking at Yokozuna and Cornette looking thrilled. Nothing is official though.

Back in again and Douglas cranks on the arm, only to have Razor counter into a top wristlock. Dean flips out of a hammerlock but gets caught in the fallaway slam for two. Razor snaps Dean’s arm over the top rope before putting on an armbar. Back up and Dean’s sunset flip out of the corner gets two before Ramon clotheslines him down for the same. It’s a back and forth match so far and we hit the armbar again. Dean gets back up and avoids a charge to send Razor out to the floor.

Razor gets slammed on the floor and they barely break the ten count. A knee to the back sends Razor into the steps before Dean rams him back first into the post. Back in again and a top rope ax handle gets two for Douglas. Dean’s major flaw is really showing here: he’s a pretty generic in ring worker and doesn’t do anything particularly better than anyone else. He’s much better on the mic but it doesn’t help him in the ring.

Dean stays on Razor’s back before cranking on the arms for a bit. Some right hands to Razor’s bad ribs keep him in trouble and a gutbuster gets two. Off to a reverse chinlock but Razor eventually gets to his feet with Dean on his shoulders for an electric chair drop. Ramon pounds away and rolls through Dean’s middle rope cross body for two. Dean sends Razor into the referee to knock both guys down but Ramon comes back with a quick Razor’s Edge. No referee though and here’s the soon to be heel 1-2-3 Kid to count the pin behind Razor’s back. Ramon thinks he’s won and Dean rolls him up for a quick pin.

Rating: C-. The ending was more clever than a lot of others I’ve seen but it still wasn’t anything special. As I said, Douglas was a much better character than wrestler which makes these fifteen minute matches fairly dull to sit through. Razor continues to be at about the same level he’s been at for years while never really moving further up the card at all. He’s still very popular though so it’s not the worst thing in the world.

Shawn Michaels and Diesel talk about what it’s like with being in love with a girl when you’re younger but having it pulled away from you. That’s how they feel with Owen backing out tonight.

Jean Pierre LaFitte vs. Bret Hart

LaFitte is a 275lb pirate, more famous as one half of the Quebecers tag team, who has been stealing the sunglasses that Bret gives to fans and then stole Bret’s trademark leather jacket. Seriously that’s the whole story. Bret dives through the ropes to take out LaFitte to start and the brawl is on in a hurry. Jean comes back with right hands and takes it into the ring, sending Bret into the corner over and over. Hart avoids a charge and takes the pirate down by the arm.

Bret hooks the armbar but gets clotheslined down, sending Lawler into fits of glee. LaFitte stomps away as this is still in first or second gear. Bret gets pounded down in the corner before missing a charge into the post to damage his own shoulder. We get the required Bret chest first into the buckle bump as things speed up a little bit. Bret manages to backdrop Jean over the top to the floor but gets sent into the steps for his troubles.

Back in and Bret’s comeback is stopped via a spinebuster for two and we hit the chinlock. Bret fights up for about the fifth time and gets two off a sunset flip, only to be caught in a side slam. Jean gets two off a guillotine legdrop before loading up his Cannonball (Swanton) finisher. Hart rolls away at the last second and both guys are down as the fans are getting into this. The Sharpshooter is countered with Bret being kicked through the ropes, only to avoid a dive over the top from LaFitte.

Bret sends Jean into the steps before whipping him chest first into the buckle in a nice callback from earlier. A Russian legsweep gets two on Jean but he gets the boot up to block Bret’s middle rope elbow. Bret’s crucifix is countered into a rolling fireman’s carry senton but Hart gets a quick two off a rollup.

A bulldog is countered with Bret being sent chest first into the buckle again as Lawler is losing his mind on these kickouts. Jean’s top rope splash misses and a double clothesline puts both guys down. With both guys on the mat we get one of Bret’s favorites as he puts on the Sharpshooter from his back and turns it over for the submission.

Rating: B. This started slow but got much better by the middle. Bret continues to be able to have good matches with anyone he’s put in there with, which explains why he had such odd choices of opponents around this time. LaFitte was pretty much done after this match but it was a dead end character anyway.

Bret gets his jacket back post match.

British Bulldog will be Owen Hart’s partner. Gorilla approves this move, saying that Bulldog can win or lose the tag titles as well as win either singles title.

Tag Titles/WWF World Title/Intercontinental Title: Yokozuna/British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels/Diesel

All titles are on the line here with the person getting the fall winning the belt of whomever they pin. Smith and Shawn get things going by trading some weak hammerlocks. A backdrop puts Smith down and a clothesline sends him to the floor with Shawn skinning the cat to get back in. Yokozuna comes in sans tag but Diesel punches him out to the floor, leaving the good guys to rule the ring.

Yokozuna comes in legally now and Shawn gets down in a sumo stance in a funny bit. Shawn of course moves from a charging Yokozuna but runs into a back elbow to put him down. A big fat elbow misses and there’s the tag off to the world champion Diesel. Yokozuna gets dropped by a running clothesline but Bulldog gets in a cheap shot to slow Diesel down. Smith actually gets Diesel up for his trademark delayed vertical suplex for a two count but Diesel is right back up.

Bulldog can’t hit the powerslam and Diesel comes back with a corner clothesline to drop Smith. Back to Shawn who climbs onto Diesel’s shoulders for a huge splash, getting two. Smith pops back up and gorilla presses Shawn before crotching him on the top rope to send him to the floor. They head inside again for a BIG backdrop for two on Shawn and we hit the chinlock.

Shawn scores with a cross body but gets slammed down again, drawing in Diesel and allowing Yokozuna to come in for a nerve hold. Jim Ross (JR) asks a good question: why would Bulldog tag out? If Yokozuna gets the fall then Bulldog comes out with nothing. Shawn avoids the Banzai Drop and there’s the hot tag to Diesel.

The big man runs over the Bulldog and puts him down with the side slam. Everything breaks down with Smith being sent into Yokozuna with the fat man falling down onto him. Yokozuna breaks up a Jackknife attempt but Shawn superkicks him to the floor. Shawn breaks up a pin attempt by Davey but here’s Owen Hart who is immediately Jackknifed by Diesel for the pin and the titles. You read that right.

Rating: C+. This was a decent match until the stupid ending. Naturally this didn’t last and was overturned the next night, as it should have been. The fans popped for the finish but it was clear this wasn’t going to last at all. At least Diesel had someone he could work with here as both tag champions could hang in a power match with him. Shawn was his usual good self.

Jim Ross points out how ridiculous this is to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This makes three straight bad shows to start this series. I promise things will get better but it’s going to take a little while to get there. This wasn’t anything special and only a few decent matches aren’t enough to make it worthwhile. Diesel just wasn’t working as champion as he didn’t have enough to carry the entire company. Shawn was popular but he was still several months away from a world title push. Things will get better though, I assure you.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Pay per view is one of the most important aspects of professional wrestling. You can get a lot out of television, but at the same time you need a big show to build towards. That’s where pay per view came in, though originally they were fairly infrequent. Eventually the shows became more common, and the WWF even offered a series of cheaper shows. That’s where In Your House came into play, though there was a lot more to it than just some lower priced events.

In this book, I’ll be looking at all twenty eight editions of In Your House, which ran over the course of about four years. Each show will be broken down match by match and segment by segment. Included will be analysis and ratings for the shows to see what worked and didn’t work about the entire series.

The book runs about 270 pages and is available on Amazon both in a physical paperback for $9.99 or an e-book format for $2.99. In case you don’t have a Kindle, there are plenty of FREE apps you can get from Amazon for pretty much any electronic device, all of which are available at this link.

You can pick up the book from Amazon here in paperback and here as an e-book.

And from the UK Amazon here in paperback and here as an e-book.

Or if you’re in another country with its own Amazon page, just search “KB’s History Of In Your House”.

Also you can still get any of my previous books on the Intercontinental Championship, Monday Night Raw from 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003 and the first half of 2014, Smackdown 2003, Monday Nitro from 1995-1999, In Your House, Summerslam, Starrcade, ECW Pay Per Views, Royal Rumble, Saturday Night’s Main Event, the WWF and WCW pay per views from 1998, Wrestlemania, WWE Grab Bag and Clash of the Champions, NXT Volumes I, II and III at my author’s page here.

I hope you like it and shoot me any questions you might have.

KB

IMG Credit: WWE

No Way Out of Texas: In Your House #20
Date: February 15, 1998
Location: Compaq Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 16,110
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Since we have the main event already set for Wrestlemania, tonight’s main event is a way to develop the world title feud while also tying in the other main feuds. The main event is an eight man tag between Austin/Owen Hart/Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie (Terry Funk) vs. Shawn Michaels/HHH/New Age Outlaws. However since Shawn is injured, a replacement will be announced during the show. Let’s get to it.

Marc Mero/The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust vs. Headbangers

Goldust is still desperate for attention and is in this tag team which won’t bring him much attention whatsoever. Mero’s entrance gets a huge pop due to Sable coming with him. Goldust’s manager Luna hates Sable so we might get a catfight sometime tonight. Mero tells Sable to get out of the ring and the arena because there’s only room for one beautiful lady. Goldust is dressed (I think) like Marilyn Manson tonight to keep the levels of strange up high.

Mosh and Mero get us going with Marc pounding away in the corner and dropping Mosh with a back elbow to the jaw. More body shots put Mosh down but he comes back with a hard clothesline to put Mero on the floor. Back in and Thrasher scores with a middle rope clothesline before it’s off to Goldust who is loudly booed. Thrasher stomps away at Goldust and brings in Mosh for a backdrop. In a nice double team, Thrasher goes to the middle rope to lift Mosh up and drop him down on Goldust for two.

Mero comes in off a blind tag and scores with a knee lift to take over on Thrasher. The fans chant for Sable to tick Marc off and it’s back to Thrasher for some running shoulder blocks. Goldust pulls Thrasher to the floor though and sends him into the steps to put the Headbangers on defense again. Back to Goldust for some slow fist drops and a running clothesline for two. Thrasher is bleeding from the back of his head but it doesn’t look that bad.

Mero pounds away and puts on a chinlock as the blood starts flowing much worse. The fans get all over Mero to mess with his head again so it’s back to Goldust. Thrasher comes back with a quick cross body for two but Goldust makes a tag to Mero who takes Thrasher down again. A choke with some wrist tape makes Thrasher scream even more and a sitout powerbomb gets two for Marc.

The TKO (Mero’s fireman’s carry into a spinning Diamond Cutter) is countered into a DDT and it’s finally off to Mosh. Everything breaks down and Luna crotches Mosh to break up the powerbomb/legdrop combo. This brings out Sable (in less clothing than earlier) to go after Luna, but the distraction lets the Headbangers switch places, allowing Thrasher to roll up Mero for the pin.

Rating: D+. The match was pretty dull stuff but opening with Sable was a good idea. The fans absolutely loved her and she would get the crowd fired up every time she was on screen. Sable was probably the most financially successful Diva of all time as she drew insane money and ratings for the company around this time, which is unheard of for a woman in wrestling.

Luna tries to go after Sable but the guys break it up. Sable yells at Mero and slaps him down, furthering the split between the pair.

Jackyl, a semi-religious prophet character who did interviews and occasional commentary at this time, predicts that the mystery partner will lead DX and the Outlaws to victory tonight.

Owen doesn’t care who the mystery partner is but thinks things will be fine if Austin stays out of his way.

Light Heavyweight Title: Pantera vs. Taka Michinoku

Sunny is the guest ring announcer. Pantera, the challenger, is another guy who has had success in Mexico but isn’t known by about 99% of the American audience at any point in history. Brian Christopher comes out to do commentary as both guys speed things up to start. Taka slides to the floor and Pantera hits a nice dive but the camera is on Lawler and Christopher. Back inside and Pantera gets taken down by a nice headscissors to the floor, allowing Taka to hit his signature huge dive to wipe Pantera out.

Back in and Pantera is sent to the apron but he comes back with a top rope headscissors to the floor. The camera misses a suicide dive because of Lawler and Christopher again but thankfully replay shows us what we missed. Back in again and Pantera hits a butterfly backbreaker to set up a camel clutch. Off to a surfboard submission, complete with Pantera pulling on Taka’s neck for added leverage. Taka gets out and fires back with some strikes to the face but gets backdropped out to the floor.

Pantera hits a great looking dive over the top, landing head first on Taka’s back to keep the pressure on. A backbreaker sets up a top rope elbow to the back as Christopher talks about eating tacos with chopsticks. Taka gets in a shot to the ribs and goes up top, only to be caught in a top rope hurricanrana. Pantera gets two off a moonsault but misses a second attempt, allowing Taka to hit a top rope knee to the back of the head. Pantera comes back with a quick majistral cradle and a powerbomb for two each but misses a missile dropkick. The Michinoku Driver retains the title a few seconds later.

Rating: C+. Nice match here even though the fans didn’t care at all. The WWF was trying with this division but it never clicked with the audience. Taka was fine for what he was but he never became a big deal at all for the most part. Pantera was fine out there but the WWF never had a Mike Tenay (WCW commentator) to fill us in on the details and history of all these guys.

Post match Christopher tries to go after Taka but Lawler stops him, allowing Taka to dive on both of them to show them up.

Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie don’t care who the mystery partner is. Tonight is all about revenge for them though so they’ve been coming up with some evil ways to hurt the Outlaws.

Godwinns vs. Quebecers

The Quebecers (Jacques and Pierre) were a glorified comedy tag team from 1993 who came back for a few weeks in 1998. No one is really sure why as they were nothing special and a very random team to bring back. It didn’t help that they lost their signature Mountie outfits and are now just generic guys. Henry and Jacques get us going with the fans booing both heel teams. After a minute of stalling it’s Henry grabbing a headlock but Jacques suplexes him down.

Off to Pierre to trade some wristlocks until Henry grabs an armbar. Back to Jacques who gets clotheslined down and screams a lot during a wristlock. This match is already boring and it doesn’t help after the fans haven’t been interested in anything tonight. The Godwinns double team Jacques as Lawler implies he wants Bill Clinton shot. Jacques gets a quick two off a sunset flip to Phineas but it’s back to Henry to keep control with a chinlock.

Phineas comes in to headbutt Jacques in the ribs but Jacques comes back with an elbow to the jaw. The ice cold tag brings in Pierre as things break down. A bad looking piledriver puts Phineas down and the Cannonball (assisted top rope flip splash from Pierre) gets two with Henry making the save. Not that it matters as Henry clotheslines Pierre from the apron to give Phineas the pin.

Rating: D-. It was long, it was boring, and the fans didn’t react to anything in the entire match. I’m not sure why the Quebecers were hired again but it never worked for the most part. The tag division still isn’t great from top to bottom but the Outlaws have definitely helped things out a lot.

The Godwinns lay out the Quebecers with the buckets post match.

The Outlaws say they don’t know who their partner will be.

Jim Cornette and Jeff Jarrett say they’re ready for Bradshaw. This is part of the NWA storyline, where the WWF brought in some old guys to be the NWA representatives and basically humiliate the NWA as a whole. Jarrett is going to go after the leg that the NWA guys hurt recently.

NWA North American Title: Bradshaw vs. Jeff Jarrett

Bradshaw, the native Texan and challenger, chases the NWA (Cornette, Jarrett, Rock N Roll Express and Barry Windham, Bradshaw’s former tag partner) to the floor to start. The NWA save for Cornette is quickly ejected to make this as fair as possible. Bradshaw throws Jarrett back inside and whips him with his chaps to start before chopping Jarrett down over and over. A big boot to the face staggers Jarrett and a clothesline sends him to the floor.

Bradshaw makes the mistake of going after Cornette though and Jeff gets in some kicks to the chest to take over. There’s a middle rope dropkick from Jeff for two and Cornette gets in some choking of his own. The choking only ticks Bradshaw off and he rolls up Jarrett for two. The referee yells at Jarrett though, allowing Cornette to blast Bradshaw in the bad knee with his tennis racket.

Jeff goes after the knee but gets crotched on the top rope. Bradshaw’s superplex is blocked but he catches Jeff in a fallaway slam to put both guys down. There’s the powerbomb to Jeff but Bradshaw pulls Cornette into the ring, allowing Jeff to hit Bradshaw in the chest with the tennis racket for the DQ.

Rating: D+. Not as bad of a match as some of them and the Texas man helped get the fans interested but this still didn’t do much for me. The NWA angle was little more than a way for Vince to make fun of the organization and make them look like nitwits. The match was nothing special either with a basic knee story which went nowhere.

Post match the NWA jumps Bradshaw until the LOD makes the save.

HHH and Chyna won’t say who the mystery partner is either but there’s a long list of people wanting the spot with DX because they’re the new train in wrestling. However, there’s no one that can replace Shawn so tonight it’s a handicap match.

Faarooq says the Nation is ready for war while Rock makes funny faces.

Nation of Domination vs. Ken Shamrock/Ahmed Johnson/Disciples of Apocalypse

This is a ten man tag with the Nation comprised of Faarooq, Rock, Kama, D’Lo Brown and the now heel Mark Henry. The match has been billed as a war of attrition which would imply survival and elimination rules, but this is one fall to a finish. Skull starts with D’Lo and Brown goes to the eyes for an early advantage. An atomic drop slows D’Lo down though and it’s off to Shamrock for a back elbow to the jaw. A double tag brings in Kama and Chainz with Mustafa pounding away in the corner.

Some quick elbows have Kama in trouble so he tags off to Mark for some raw power. Henry wants Ahmed though and the fans till care about Johnson at this point. Johnson wins a slugout and slams Henry down, only to have the Nation come in with some cheap shots to take over. D’Lo hits a spinebuster to put Ahmed down and a long distance frog splash gets no cover. Instead it’s off to Faarooq who walks into a spinebuster from Ahmed but Rock breaks up the Pearl River Plunge.

8-Ball gets the tag and powerslams Faarooq down for two as the good guys start speeding things up. It’s off to Rock vs. Shamrock which is one of the matchups that people have wanted to see. Rock scores with a quick DDT and stomps away in the corner before bringing in Kama to miss a charge. Skull and 8-Ball take turns on Kama as we get some o the original twin magic. Kama will have none of that though and takes Skull into the Nation corner for a beating.

Rock comes in with the yet to be named People’s Elbow for two and it’s back to Faarooq to punch Skull in the jaw a few times. Skull comes back with a faceplant but Rock breaks up a hot tag attempt. Henry comes in to pound on Skull for about ten seconds before it’s back to Kama for a chinlock. D’Lo gets a tag but misses a moonsault, finally allowing for the hot tag off to Shamrock. Everything breaks down and the ring is cleared except for Shamrock to ankle lock the Rock for the win.

Rating: C-. It’s not a great match or anything and the elimination rules would have helped things a lot, but it was certainly better than some of the other stuff tonight. Above all else though the fans CARED about this. It wasn’t some dull filler match that was there to make sure a card was complete but rather a match with characters and a story we’ve been given reason to care about. That’s a big step up from a lot of this show.

Post match Rock and Faarooq are about to fight but they eventually make up.

Austin doesn’t care who the mystery partner is.

We recap Kane vs. Vader. There isn’t much here other than Kane attacking Vader because Kane is evil and Vader wanting a fight as a result.

Kane vs. Vader

JR says Vader has won titles on more continents than he can count. That says a lot about the Oklahoma school system. Kane gets a BIG pop during his entrance. The brawl is on to start with Kane taking Vader down via a clothesline. They head outside with Kane still in control, even though the fans chant for Vader. Back in and Vader kicking away at the leg before dumping Kane out to the floor for a whip into the post.

They head back inside again with Kane hitting his top rope clothesline before pounding Vader down into the corner. A nice looking suplex puts Vader down and a top rope forearm to the back does the same. The slow pace continues until Kane clotheslines Vader down yet again. We hit the nerve hold for a bit until Kane slugs Vader down to stop another comeback bid.

Vader finally scores with some right hands in the corner and a low blow to break up a chokeslam attempt. The moonsault mostly connects but Kane pops up, only to be clotheslined out to the floor. Vader is sent into the steps but comes back with a fire extinguisher to blind Kane. Vader’s powerbomb is no sold and it’s a chokeslam and tombstone to give Kane the win.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t terrible but it’s another case where the ending was obvious. Everyone knew that Kane was destined to face Undertaker and that Undertaker was the only person capable of defeating him. Vader was nothing more than a jobber to the stars at this point and his time was coming to a close in the company.

Post match Kane grabs a wrench from under the ring and blasts Vader in the face with it to put him on the shelf for a few months.

We recap the main event which is really three feuds combined into one. The Outlaws put Cactus and Chainsaw into a dumpster and dumped them off the stage a few weeks back. Owen is feuding with HHH since Michaels wouldn’t do it. Austin would be feuding with Michaels but he’s injured, necessitating the mystery partner.

New Age Outlaws/HHH/??? vs. Steve Austin/Chainsaw Charlie/Cactus Jack/Owen Hart

This is one fall to a finish and anything goes. Billy Gunn brings a table with him just in case. The mystery partner is…..Savio Vega, who is a pretty big disappointment, but to be fair there was no one who wouldn’t have been a downgrade. At least he does have a history with Austin, but Rock would have been a much better choice. Cactus brings a small dumpster full of weapons to make sure this is as violent as possible. Austin comes out to a roar and the fight is on fast.

Austin blasts Billy in the head with a trashcan lid but Billy bails from a Stunner attempt. The bad guys all bail to the floor as Austin and Charlie rule the ring. Everyone heads to the floor now with Austin choking HHH with I think a broom. Back in the ring and it’s Cactus working over Road Dogg while Austin pounds on the back of HHH’s head. The table is brought in as Charlie hits Dogg in the head with something in a bag. Dogg is sent into but not through a table in the corner as the carnage continues. This is one of those matches where it’s practically impossible to call most of the stuff.

Gunn is powerslammed through the table and Vega is sent knees first into the steps. HHH has to break up a Sharpshooter on Gunn and DX actually makes a comeback. Austin gets pounded down with a trashcan lid and HHH powerbombs Owen for two. HHH blasts Charlie in the head five or six times with a trashcan but it takes a DDT to put him down for two. Owen comes back with a spinebuster to HHH and a quick Sharpshooter but Road Dogg breaks it up.

The referee actually tries to get people on the aprons for a tag match but they’ll have none of it. Road Dogg hits Charlie low and the Outlaws double powerbomb him through a pair of chairs. We actually get some of the people on the apron and start (seven minutes after the bell) with Billy pounding Charlie down until it’s off to HHH for more of the same. Dogg suplexes Charlie onto a trashcan lid for two as Cactus makes the save.

Austin comes in without a tag and throws a trashcan at Gunn’s head but it’s HHH with an atomic drop on Charlie before Austin can do any more damage. Owen gets the tag but the referee was busy with Road Dogg so it doesn’t count. You know for a match where anything goes, it certainly seems like there are a lot of rules being enforced. Charlie runs Road Dogg over and makes the hot tag off to Cactus to clean house. He puts Road Dogg under part of a table in the corner and throws Gunn into the same corner to crush Dogg even worse.

A double Mandible Claw slows the Outlaws down but HHH hits Cactus low to break up the hold. The fans demand Austin but get Cactus and Billy fighting to the floor instead. Gunn crushes Cactus with the steps and we head back inside for a two count from HHH. Savio comes in to wrap barbed wire around Cactus’ head before kicking him in the ribs. Owen FINALLY comes in to break it up despite the lack of a tag but Vega blasts Cactus in the head (still wrapped in wire) with a chair.

Cactus ducks a Gunn chair shot which blasts Dogg in the head and Jack has an opening. The hot tag brings in Austin to the pop of the night and house is cleaned. Austin destroys everything in sight and sends Road Dogg to the floor. He stomps away on Gunn in the corner before Dogg comes back in for the Stunner from Austin and the pin.

Rating: B. This was a nice tag match with the wild carnage part at the beginning and the perfect ending. There was no way this didn’t end with Austin getting the pin and standing tall which is exactly what we got. The fans went NUTS for Austin and he’s got all the momentum rolling into Wrestlemania. It’s the exactly right ending and it was done very well.

Post match Chyna gets in Austin’s face and gets a Stunner for her troubles to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event was exactly what it should have been but the rest of the show wasn’t much to look at. This was nothing more than a breather before the biggest show of the year which is all it was supposed to be. Austin is on top of the world at this point but he still needs to make it official next month in Boston.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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It’s not like he shouldn’t have another nickname.

So a few years ago, Mick Foley did a stand-up comedy special for the Network where he jokingly said that he was Mr. In Your House. Since a few years had passed, that popped into my head and I started to wonder who that would be. As it turns out, this isn’t really up for debate and, again, it’s another item on someone’s long list of incredible accomplishments.

As you might have guessed, it’s Shawn Michaels, by a pretty wide margin. Think about what he did at that show alone.

In Your House II – Jeff Jarrett. Great match.

In Your House VII – Diesel. One of the best brawls ever in the WWF.

In Your House X – Mankind. Instant classic, still praised today.

In Your House XVII – Undertaker. Incredible brawl that felt like it was a war.

In Your House XVIII – Undertaker. Inside the Cell, absolute masterpiece.

That’s a rather nice DVD on its own and you could add a few more matches to the list. Maybe Foley is up there with him, but for overall match quality it’s pretty easily Shawn’s show, again, which tends to be the case more often than not.