PWP Nation’s Sam Thorne continues his journey through the video vault, as he reviews WWF ‘In Your House’ #3.
It’s time for the second pay-per-view of the Monday Night Wars, as we take a look at the third of many cost-cutting WWF Pay-Per-Views known as In Your House. This time around I’ll be taking a look at the blandly named In Your House 3, which captures the WWF at it’s very worst point in the later months of 1995.
We start with Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross and Vince McMahon not at the commentary desk, but simply standing awkwardly in front of the crowd. Immediately, the production values seem somewhat worse than WCW’s Fall Brawl. To start, Vince takes predictions for the main event, King thinks that Owen Hart will take the Intercontinental Championship from the Heartbreak Kid, while JR thinks that Yokozuna willl dethrone Michaels. Vince says nothing and says it’s time for our first match.
Savio Vega vs. Waylon Mercy
A surprisingly over Savio Vega comes out to a huge ovation shaking the hands of the Spanish commentary team before he enters the ring. They show a brief clip of the first In Your House, featuring Savio destroying several mid-carders in his debut. He’ll be facing the man who gave Rotunda the Bray Wyatt gimmick in recent years, known as Waylon Mercy.
Everything from the unwashed hair, the vest/ garish Hawaiian shirt combo, the southern voice, Waylon is remarkably similar to Bray Wyatt. Waylon offers a handshake to Vega, Vega accepts, but as soon as he turns his back, Waylon charges but only catches the turnbuckle. Savio takes the early offense beating Mercy from corner to corner with punches and chops, dodging all of his opponent’s offense. Vega goes for an arm drag but Waylon is clearly jumping to the mat, it’s far too obvious that Vega isn’t doing this. Vince remarks ‘That’s most unusual’. Good cover Vince.
Another botched arm drag, JR remarks ‘Waylon’s a southpaw, that’s why Savio is working hard on the left arm of Mercy’, great commentary by Jim, as usual. Waylon wipes out Savio with a lariat and starts chopping him on the outside, as Vince mentions Waylon’s undefeated streak in the WWF. Waylon whips Savio and slams him neck-first into the rope in a brutal looking move.
Dox Hendrix interrupts the match to appear on screen as he informs us that Owen Hart isn’t here for the main event, he’s at the hospital as his wife is giving birth. Interesting. Waylon sends Vega to the ropes and catches him in the sleeper hold, whilst doing his crazy, wide-eyed look. Savio surprisingly makes it to the buckle and is able to get free. Naturally, Waylon picks him up and does it again, but Vega hits a back bodydrop to survive. Both exchange awful punches, Savio hits a big boot to Waylon, and a spinning heel kick for a 2-count. Savio hits a RIDICULOUSLY GOOD bulldog for a 2-count.
Waylon kicks out and dominates the offense with several body slams, but Vega runs the ropes and hits another incredible spinning heel kick for the 3-count!
Winner: Savio Vega
That was a surprisingly good opener, both looked fairly strong from the match, the Waylon Mercy gimmick is gold, but it doesn’t pan out in the long run as Dan Spivey retires shortly after this pay-per-view due to sustained injuries. It’s a shame for sure, as the weak WWF roster in 1995 might have resulted in him having a monster push at some point. We cut to backstage as WWF President Gorilla Monsoon grills Jim Cornette about the whereabouts of Owen Hart for tonight’s main event. He says he’ll be there, as Sid comes out for his match.
Sycho Sid (w/Ted DiBiase) vs. Henry O. Godwinn
Henry Godwinn is feuding with the corporation and that’s why this match is a thing. Sid looks absurdly ripped at this point in time, he’s a monster. Looking at Godwinn, it’s hard to believe that this’ll be anything other than a squash match.
The bell rings, but we’re staring into Godwinn’s slop bucket instead, for some reason. Both men start brawling and Jim Ross remarks ‘This is gunna be a slobberknocker!’ to which Vince and Jerry just bury completely. Sid takes control and drives Henry Godwinn out using his knee, as he falls to the floor. Sid gets on the apron and drops a stiff axe handle to the back of Godwinn. Sid starts working on Henry’s back, presumably weakening it, ready for a powerbomb.
Sid traps the pig farmer in the corner, striking him repeatedly in the stomach. Sid straps in the camel clutch, but releases it, choosing to repeatedly attack the back of Godwinn instead. His pace is incredibly slow, but when you’re Sid’s size and condition every simple move looks completely devastating. Pig farmer Henry finally gets in some offense with a few slaps and a neckbreaker but Ted DiBiase grabs his ankle, preventing the 3-count. You’d think Sid would kick out anyway, considering he’s been hit maybe 3-4 times in total.
Godwinn drops out of the ring to get revenge on DiBiase, but the ref demands he get back in the ring and Sid catches him off guard, as you’d expect. Sid strikes him a few times, sets up for the powerbomb and gets the easy 3-count.
Winner: Sycho Sid
Bam Bam Bigelow runs out and attacks Sid, Kama attacks him, while DiBiase just stands there, holding Godwinn’s slop. He tries to ‘slop’ Bam Bam, but Henry grabs the bucket from behind and slops DiBiase. The match was pretty average, but it was watchable. The problem is the after-match segment, DiBiase’s suit getting ruined by pig slop is pure cartoon foolery and it was wearing thin by 1995 after years of silly gimmicks and nonsense story lines. As for Sid, this match seems like a major comedown considering he was challenging for a WWF title months ago, and for the Intercontinental Championship just weeks before.
Another segment with Dox, Cornette and Gorilla, as the WWF President tells us if Owen doesn’t show up, Yokozuna will defend on his own, or Cornette will have to find another tag team partner for tonight only. Cornette says he’ll find someone.
British Bulldog vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
Bulldog’s out first for his match against Bam Bam, who just received a beating from Sid and Kama.Yet, Bigelow just comes out as if nothing happened.
It’s a few minutes before either man really does anything, until Bam Bam whips Bulldog and hits a rough shoulder tackle, as the Englishman bails outside. We see a side-by-side shot of Cornette and Sid yelling at each other for some reason, as Bam Bam starts to push the offense. Bulldog hits a snapmare into a chinlock, while Vince and co tell us about Bulldog’s recent change in attitude.
Bigelow hits a number of clotheslines, but Bulldog ducks the third as Bam Bam falls over the top rope. Bulldog’s failure to capture the WWF Championship is mentioned a number of times, as it becomes apparent Bam Bam’s just a stepping stone for title contendership in this match. British Bulldog chops the calf and starts working on the leg of Bam Bam, grounding him on the mat. Davey Boy keeps on the leg of Bam Bam over the next few minutes, he hits an impressive enzuigiri, but he’s still stranded on the canvas.
Bulldog’s got the half-Boston Crab locked in, but he relinquishes it and starts stomping on the ankle and knee of his opponent. Smith counters a clothelines and gets a 2-count, before he puts Bam Bam in a headlock. He eventually gets to his feet, driving Bulldog into the corner, Bulldog tries to press slam Bam Bam, but he uses his weight to press him to the mat. Bam Bam whips Davey Boy, he tries a sunset flip, but Bam Bam again counters using his weight advantage.
Bam Bam’s up on the top rope but he misses the moonsault. After a series of near-falls, Bulldog hits the power slam for the clean 3-count.
Winner: British Bulldog
This was a cookie cutter match, Bam Bam definitely got some offense in, but the commentary team made it abundantly clear that this was just a roadblock for Davey Boy and that he’d be moving onto bigger and greater things very soon. The match itself was okay but nothing special. Mainly due to a lot of rest holds and the leg psychology didn’t make a lot of sense, as Bam Bam Bigelow still hit his moonsault with no problems.
Bob Backlund is out as he rambles generic educational nonsense at the crowd, before introducing Dean Douglas. We see a brief recap of his feud against Razor Ramon, which sees Dean mostly get the better of Ramon because of the 1-2-3 Kid’s interference.
Dean says if Razor’s not prepared, he’ll be the test that he’s sure to fail. He introduces Razor while calling him a loser as Razor huffs it to the ring.
Razor Ramon vs. Dean Douglas
Razor hits a flurry of punches and knocks Dean Douglas out of the ring in the first few seconds. Dean scrambles to recover, but the pace slows down significantly after Ramon backs him into a corner. Dean whips Razor, but Razor hip tosses him back out to the side for the third time in the match, as Dean consults with Bob Backlund. Dean’s back in, he gets an arm drag on Razor, as both take turns reversing it. Dean runs the ropes, ducks Razor twice and hits a crossbody, but Razor catches him and hits a press slam for a 2-count.
Dean’s on the apron, but Razor drags him back in by the arm, whilst still working the forearm afterwards with an arm drag, before slapping Douglas’s head mockingly. Razor’s keeps the arm in lock before whipping dean into the corner, for some reason Razor hits the mat, but gets back up, presumably due to a mistimed spot. Once again, Dean’s on the canvas in an arm drag, as Razor insists on giving us his most boring offense possible.
Douglas has his turn hiptossing Razor out, as he press slams him, then lines him up for a high knee to the back. He then picks him up, and rams the back of Scott Hall into the corner post. Dean rolls him back in and hits an axe handle to the back of Razor for a 1-count. It’s Dean’s turn for a never ending rest hold as he grounds Razor, holding his arms to his side in a very loose, painless looking submission. Razor teases the reversal and eventually gets it, but don’t worry! It’s time for another rest hold as Douglas puts Razor in a camel clutch, Razor refuses to sell at all, he eventually powers to his feet and drops Douglas by falling back.
Both men get up and exchange punches, with Razor getting the upper hand. He whip Douglas from corner to corner before crotching him on the top rope, Douglas hits a quick crossbody, Razor reverses it into a pin but Douglas kicks out. He then shoves Razor into the referee, after some very botched timing, Razor hits Razor’s Edge, but the ref is still down. 1-2-3 Kid runs in and counts the pin fall, they start brawling, the ref’s back up as Dean rolls him up for the win.
Winner: Dean Douglas
This match was total garbage. There’s constant restholds and Razor’s being very difficult to work with, completely refusing to sell for Douglas who he apparently hated. As for the feud, it simply doesn’t make sense with the 1-2-3 Kid angle, and they’ve already buried Dean, because he’s not even the focal point in his own feud, Waltman is. After Dean wins, he runs straight to the back, while Razor and 1-2-3 brawl for about 2 seconds, before WWF officials storm the ring. These guys are both great workers on paper, but all of this was completely terrible.
We’re backstage as Doc Hendrix asks Shawn and Diesel whether Owen’ll turn up or not, they say very little of anything and pose. We’re back in the ring, as Jean-Pierre Lafitte makes his entrance. We cut to the back as Bret Hart cuts a brief promo before the camera follows him to the ring, which is odd. He says something about Captain Crunch and that he’s going to win. WWF circa 1995, ladies and gentlemen.
Bret Hart vs. Jean-Pierre Lafitte
Bret Hart catches Jean-Pierre with a suicide dive as soon as the bell tolls, but almost lands on his neck. He then batters him down and strips him of the leather jacket that they’re fueding over, before rolling him in the ring. Pierre gets his offense of the match with a series of headbutts and forearms in the corner, he whips Bret to the other corner, but misses a splash.
Bret grounds hart, working on the arm and elbow of Lafitte. Bret gets a roll-up for a two, then grounds Pierre a second time with a drop toe hold, then straight back to the arm. Hart showing why he’s easily one of the best technical performers in wrestling history. Pierre slams Bret’s head against the ropes, then tugs it backwards to knock him over. He stomps Bret down, as he attempts to slow the pace of the much more agile Bret Hart.
Bret’s in control again, running circles around Lafitte, but Jean-Pierre dodges an attack in the corner as The Hitman goes shoulder first into the ring post. Pierre covers Bret, but only manages a 2-count. He charges Hart, Hart tips him over the ropes, but Pierre drags him along and slams him into the steel steps. Vince remarks ‘And that’s the match won right there’, trying to convince us that Pierre’ll get the clean count-out victory. It doesn’t get a chance to happen as Pierre gets tired of waiting and goes after Bret, as Bret starts to fight back with punches and a clothesline, but it’s reversed into a spinebuster.
Jean-Pierre’s wearing Bret Hart down with a headlock but he fights out of it, runs the ropes and dives into a sunset flip, for a very close 2-count. Jean-Pierre’s up on the top rope, the commentators tell us he’s going for the cannonball, but Lafitte goes for a mild leg drop across the neck of Hart instead. Pierre’s up on the rope again, this time he misses the cannonball. Wait what? This doesn’t make any sense. Oh well.
Lafitte’s failed finisher gives Bret time to get onto his feet as he clotheslines Pierre down and teases a sharpshooter, but Lafitte kicks Bret over the ropes, then goes for a springboard plancha and misses it! Great sequence here. Bret rolls his opponent back in the ring, takes him down with a Russian leg sweep and rolls him up with a schoolboy, but Jean-Pierre kicks out again. Bret goes to the top rope, but Lafitte catches him with a boot as both men are down.
Bret goes for a running bulldog, but Jean-Pierre gets a great counter as he pushes Bret straight into the ring post. Hart recovers quickly and knocks Pierre and his arms tangle behind the top rope. He dives at him, Lafitte dodges and Bret dangles helplessly on the rope! Some really great back and forth action by both here. Pierre goes for a top rope nothing and gets predictably countered, as both men are down. Hart’s able to lock in the sharpshooter from a prone position as he gets to his feet and apparently Lafitte taps or submits even though it’s not visible on the hard camera.
Winner: Bret Hart
Considering these two men are feuding over a jacket and Jean-Pierre is a fairly average performer, this match was great. There’s was great ring awareness, great use of reversals and counters, a constant back and forth between Bret and Jean-Pierre, it’s probably one of Bret’s most underrated matches. While there’s little to no story here besides Bret wanting his jacket back, this match made for a very pleasant surprise.
Cornette’s backstage as he reveals that Bulldog will be replacing Owen, kind of anti-climatic since we’ve already seen Bulldog tonight. Gorilla says he’ll be sanctioned as a tag-team champion, so if Bulldog loses Owen and Yoko’ll lose the tag belts, but should he get a pinfall, he’ll be the WWF or Intercontinental Champion.
Triple Header Match: British Bulldog & Yokozuna vs. Shawn Michaels & Diesel
Every Title is on the Line
We get plenty of time wasting and tedious show boating from The Dudes With Attitude, before Michaels and Shawn finally lock up. It’s straight to full speed, as Shawn and Davey run ropes several times and dodge each other, the exchange ending in Bulldog being dumped out of the ring. Yoko runs in to mow Micheals down, but he also tumbles out as Diesel and Michael reign dominant in the ring just a few minutes in.
The heels regroup as Bulldog gets back in before tagging the monstrous Yokozuna. Michaels does a stupid sumo pose and takes the piss out of Yokozuna, Yoko charges, but Michaels ducks under, runs the ropes and is knocked flat by a stiff clothesline. Diesel’s in, but he’s flattened by Yokozuna as well. Diesel runs and hits a strong forearm, followed by a big boot to knock Yoko out of the ring for the second time. Bulldog clocks and pummels Diesel despite not getting a tag, he goes for a delayed vertical suplex but drops him flat. Bulldog repeats the spot and hits it this time, as he strands Diesel in the corner and starts to choke him out.
Diesel fights out of it and hits Bulldog with running clotheslines from corner to corner, before tagging HBK back in. Michaels climbs on Diesel’s shoulders and hits a crossbody from the top! No matter, Bulldog’s back to his feet, as he picks up Michaels and dumps him crotch first on the ropes, as the heels finally take advantage. He tags to Yoko who starts choking him with his foot, before a few stiff chops in the corner. He whips him to the over corner, and Michaels does the over-the-top turnbuckle selling.
Michaels finally crawls back in and is met by a great back body drop from Davey Boy Smith. The heels strand HBK in the heel corner for several minutes, as Yokozuna locks in another headlock, and Bulldog waves Mr. Fuji’s Japanese flag around, for some reason. After several other headlocks, arm drags and stalling, Yoko misses the Banzai drop and Michaels gets the obvious hot tag to Diesel. Big Daddy Cool dominates both men easily, and Yokozuna accidentally squishes Davey Boy in a goofy, stupid looking corner spot.
Diesel telegraphs the powerbomb, but Michael’s is busy dealing with Cornette and Yoko catches him from behind. HBK superkicks Yokozuna out of the ring, but Davey hits a power slam on Diesel, but Michaels breaks the count. The match breaks down even more and Owen Hart appears! He misses a top rope nothing and Diesel hits the Jack-Knife Powerbomb for the 3-count. Hmmm.
Winners: Diesel and Shawn Michaels
Well, we’ve got new tag-team champions, but they didn’t actually pin Bulldog or Yoko, the two men who were actually sanctioned in this match. We’ll have to see if it sticks on Raw. This match was a pretty generic tag-team affair, with a screwy ending tagged on for good measure. The finish was a bit pointless given that we’ve been told throughout the night that Owen isn’t here, which is effectively lying to us, while it makes Owen look completely incompetent, as he’s powerbomb’d and pinned immediately, seconds into his interference. At least it was interesting and not as predictable as War Games was.
Conclusion
Overall, this wasn’t a terrible show, but it’s just a pay-per-view for the sake of having a pay-per-view, which is the problem with a lot of In Your House shows. Bret and Lafitte were great, Savio and Mercy was okay, everything else was completely forgettable, including the main event. Fall Brawl had Arn vs Flair which was better than anything on IHY #3 by a mile, and the fact it had storyline continuation just made it a generally more interesting show.
War Score: WCW 2 – WWF 1
Tune in next time to From the Vault as Randy takes a look at the RAW for all the aftermath.
Thanks for reading.