Doubleshot #3: Part One – WWE In Your House #1

Doubleshot #3 Part One
WWE In Your House #1
Featuring Mark Adam Haggerty & Gary Mastriano

The year is 1995 and WCW is still months away from debuting Monday Nitro at the Mall of America. By this point Eric Bischoff has complete creative control and has increased the frequency of pay-per-views to once a month. Vince McMahon maintained his "Big Five" PPV model until the spring of '95 when the WWF would unveil a new concept called "In Your House." The IYH PPV's would happen during the months that weren't already hosting Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Summerslam, or the King of the Ring, starting in May of 1995. Welcome back one and all to the second installment of the retro review series that pits the WWF against WCW to see who comes out on top. My name is Mark Adam Haggerty alongside Gary Mastriano. This week Gary has the honor of writing about the first ever In Your House so without further ado, let's kick things off with the WWF—this is "Doubleshot: 2-in-1 Wrestling Reviews."

"Welcome Home: In Your House May 1995"
Written by Gary Mastriano

In our previous installment of Doubleshot, I was able to cover the ending of an era at WrestleMania 17. Today I have the pleasure to review the other side of that spectrum- the very first In Your House pay per view. Here's a brief rundown of the In Your House concept for those who are not familiar. Prior to May 1995 WWF only ran 5 PPV events a year. This business model was working fine during their heyday, however by 1995 there was a rumbling down south. WCW had recently acquired Hulk Hogan and other WWF stars, and had begun to run their pay per views monthly. In the midst of financial troubles following a nasty steroid trial, Vince McMahon decided to expand his business model to now run monthly special events. Each In Your House ppv was shorter than one of the Big 5 events, and therefore was offered at a cheaper price ($15-20 if I remember correctly.)

The addition of extra pay per view events would prove to be historic. It is now common place for the WWE to run 12-13 ppvs a year. While this over exposure of events may have its flaws today, it worked GREAT in its early days. Tons of talent was able to get big match exposure. The WWF gained more mainstream exposure as it made every month a big event, must see show. New stars were able to develop, and fans got to see big time matches at a cheaper price point. I have tons of fond memories of watching In Your House ppvs, and still love seeing that old logo/house set.

We are greeted by Todd Pettengill, who makes some goofy "house" puns while running down the card- "Razor Ramon looks to give a wakeup call to Jeff Jarret", "Big Daddy Cool Diesel rolls out the welcome match to number one contender Psycho Sid." Also- THEY GAVE AWAY A HOUSE!!!! HOLY SHIT! Pettengil tells us all about the contest the WWF was running at the time to win a house in Orlando Florida. I had forgotten about this until rewatching the ppv, but now I remember hoping that I would win the house so I could move there with all my friends. True story. Sadly I did not win.

Vince McMahon welcomes us to Syracuse NY and we get our first view of the AWESOME In Your House set. One thing missing from modern WWE events the past few years is the great themed sets. The In Your House set was one of the coolest. Wrestlers would come out through the front door. I think the house was supposed to be based on the actual house they were giving away, which was a really cheeky but neat idea. I wonder why they kept the set for so long after. Did they plan to give away more houses? Did WWF buy an entire development of homes in Orlando Flordia? Oh man….

Opening Contest
Bret �The Hitman' Hart vs Hakushi
We are informed by Vinnie Mac and Doc Hendrix (why was that the name that Michael Hayes was using…does anyone know?) that Bret Hart will be wrestling TWO matches tonight. The first will be a match with the undefeated Hakushi, then he will continue his ongoing feud with Jerry Lawler later in the night. I am not sure if this is a testament to how over/good Bret Hart was in 95, or just how weak the WWF roster was. Hakushi was a visibly striking grappler who was working the undefeated foreigner with pride in his country gimmick. Sound familiar? He even had a mouthpiece, although the masked Shinja was no Ravishing Russian.

We are given the background of this match. Bret was being honored by for his accomplishments by… the entire country of Japan???? Hakushi of course thought this honor should be his, leading to this feud and match. There actually a ton of 1995 heat on Hakushi when he arrive in the arena. His entrance is legitimately drowned out by the "We want Bret!" chants. WOW. Bret cuts a backstage promo, wishing Helen a Happy Mother's Day (the day this event took place). The promo was pretty good, but Bret's teeth were not. I wonder if this led to the need to involved Jerry Lawler's dentist in their feud later on. Seriously, Bret's teeth are pretty bad.

Bret comes out to a monster pop and I immediately transported back to 1995. Bret gets a lot of shit these days for not being the coolest face, or as over as Hogan, but the pop he received was pretty big. Bret really was the top guy in the company at the time. The match starts off hot with solid back and forth action. Neither man takes the distinct advantage until some outside distractions lead to some high flying spots courtesy of Hakushi. The biggest pop of the match comes when Bret goes to apply the sharpshooter, only for Shinja to get involved. Bret eventually wins with a roll up to end the 6 month undefeated streak of Hakushi.

This was a great opening contest. Hakushi was a good hand with a unique look. His tattoo covered body was definitely new and intimidating for a 1995 WWF crowd. He didn't have much of a WWF career after this match, and I wonder if his undefeated streak should have ended here. Let's hope Mr. Rusev does not suffer the same fate. As for the Hitman, what else can be said? Bret was the top in ring worker in the world in 1995, and he really showed it here. Bret was so great at making both himself and his opponent look like stars. Doc Hendrix commented at the end of the match that this one could've gone either, which is so true. Bret just had a knack of storytelling and elevating everyone he worked with. This one is reminiscent of the Mania 10 kickoff match with Owen, which was obviously the vibe they were going. Though not quite as good, Hitman vs Hakushi was still a really fun and great watch.
Winner: Bret Hart – 14:39
Rating: 3 ВЅ Stars

We get an update on the house giveaway. An armored truck is delivering the winning envelope to Syracuse… even though we see 340,000 envelopes in the arena… Man this was a weird gimmick.

Handicap Match
Razor Ramon vs Jeff Jarret and The Roadie
The 1-2-3 Kid calls into the announce desk (I HAVE to get that phone number!!!) to give us a little backstory on this match. It seems this was originally planned as a tag match with Kid partnering with the Bad Guy to take on Double J and his roadie. Kid was out with an injury (at the hands of Double J?) so this was made into a handicapped match. Doc Hendrix lies to us and tells us this is the FIRST EVER handicap match on a WWF ppv… that can't possibly be true. But it sells the match, probably better than Hall's pre match promo about how the entire world is against him, before wishing his mother a happy Mother's Day… "Bad Guy" indeed.
Razor comes out to big pop and an elevator music version of Stone Cold Steve Austin's theme. Vince reminds us that we have not yet seen the Roadie wrestle yet, and we won't for a while into this match. JJ and Razor start it off with their equally gawdy tights. Double J and Razor are both two great ring talents and show it off early in this match. When Roadie finally gets tagged in he hits Razor with a big clothesline and a few nice moves, to the praise of Michael PS Hendrix. Double J and Roadie use the numbers to their advantage and take control of the match with quick and frequent tags. Roadie flies off the top with an axe handle smash onto Razor on the outside. Vince does what Vince does best on commentary- assumes the match is over, this time via count out.

Double J and the future Road Dogg continue to work Razor over. Razor has masking tape on his boots with the word "Kid" written on them. Very strange taken out of context. Roadie gets a hot tag after Double J get laid out by Razor. This leads into the always exciting sleeper hold. Razor fights out of it right into a flurry of explosive offense. Vince claims Ramon is feeding off the home town crowd. Was Razor Ramon from Syracuse? Razor struggles to get Double J up for the Razor's Edge, but eventually hits the move for the victory. The announcers celebrate like Razor Ramon just won a gold medal in the Olympics claiming he did the "impossible!" Post-match we have some double team shenanigans in the form of a Razor beat down by Double J and the Roadie. Aldo Montoya sighting! Aldo tries to make the save for Razor but he is beat down as well. Finally a "fan" runs in fight off Double J and the Roadie…and holy shit its Savio Vega!!!!! Ok that was pretty cool and I kind of marked out. I guess this was his debut and it was a pretty cool debut.
Winner: Razor Ramon – 12:36
Rating: 2.5 Stars (was pretty much a glorified squash except Razor came back in the end… half a star for a pretty cool debut from Savio Vega)

Call 1-800-TITAN-91 to order your brand new Bret Hart t-shirt! It's an "all over" t-shirt…because it has writing and design "all over". Get it? Also it is only available in ONE SIZE FITS ALL. What? Why? I have never heard of anything like that before. So all the little kids who wanted a Bret Hart shirt had to get a gigantic one size fits all shirt? Weird.

King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Mable vs Adam Bomb
The King of the Ring is one of the best lost concepts in WWE. A one night tournament to crown "King of the Ring" and test out a potential main eventer. WWF seemed to be using the 1995 King of the Ring as a launching pad for a future main event heel to feud with Diesel. Prior to 1995, all previous winners were already established guys. Mable, the eventual winner, did indeed go on to feud with Diesel as the monster heel to take on the face champion. Mable wins this match pretty easily. I loved Adam Bomb as a kid, so it was nice to see him again.
Winner: Mable – 1:54
Rating: 1 Star

Backstage by the superstar line (phones were all the rage in 1995) Razor Ramon introduces us to his friend from the Caribbean Savio Vega. He mentions that Savio looks different, which is a strange comment considering this is the first time we have ever met him. Why mention that he looks different to an audience that has never seen him?

Tag Team Title Match
The Smoking Guns vs Owen Hart and Yokozuna
The Smoking Guns are already in the ring as the champs begin to make their entrance. Owen and Yokozuna hd recently won the tag titles from the Smoking Guns at WrestleMania where Yokozuna was a surprise partner for to the King of Harts. Owen and Yoko are a truly underrated tag team. I am not sure if it is because of their unfortunate fates, but history has not been kind to their tag team title reign. Maybe it's my memory deceiving me, but I seem to recall Yoko and Owen as a highly functioning dominant tag team for seemingly years. WWE today could learn a lot from this team. Take two main event level talents and put them in the tag division to work with younger guys, elevate the belts and still be a focus of the show. The heels win in a fun, albeit quick match.
Winners: Yokozuna and Owen Hart – 5:44
Rating: 2 Stars

Diesel cuts a backstage promo about his match with Psycho Side tonight. Petengil makes it awkward bringing up Diesel's recently deceased mother. Diesel dedicates his title match to his mother, all mothers everywhere, and Shawn Michaels.

Jerry Lawler is in the ring with his "mother"… who looks 20 years younger than Lawler himself. Knowing what we've heard about the King, I have to be a little worried for this young lady… Anyway she cuts a lispsy promo about wanting to fight Helen Hart. Did that happen at Mania the next year?

Bret �The Hitman' Hart vs Jerry �The King' Lawler
Man this feud was going on for a long time. Vince lets us know that this feud has been going on since King of the Ring 1993, so about 2 years at this point. I think this was the only real feud Lawler ever had in the WWF, which is a shame. Lawler was a legit main event talent and crazy over babyface in the south prior to joining the WWF, but played a mostly comical role in the north.

This a short, but sweet match with a lot of fun spots. Hendrix accuses Hart of "making a pass at Lawler's mother", which is super funny taken out of content. Lawler hits a few big moves, but Bret mostly dominates the match. Eventually Earl Hebner gets tied up in the ropes upside down, something I have never seen! Pretty neat spot! Hakushi makes his return for payback on Bret Hart. Hakushi with two top rope headbutts, allowing Lawler to roll up Hart for the win. After the build up all night, this match was kind of a letdown. All night Lawler was trying to get Bret in the ring after Bret "faked" a knee injury. The match was quick and I was honestly surprised that Lawler won. I believe this led to the eventual blow off in the kiss my foot match the next month.
Winner: Jerry Lawler – 5:31
Rating: 2 Stars

Todd and some lady I have never seen before named Stephanie (not that one) tell us it's time to announce the winner of the "beautiful Orlando vacation home." We get an in depth look at the house itself. The house, located on a golf course I think, is mostly made of giant triangles. After some slapstick, we make a phone call to the winner… Matt Preskowski (?) in Denver Colorado. I can only hope he still lives there… Matt if you are reading this contact me via Cheap-Heat.com because I am willing to put an offer in on your house… seriously…

WWF Championship Match
Psycho Sid vs Diesel
I am not sure what it is about him, but I have never been a fan of Psycho Sid. Maybe all that 1995 propaganda sunk in with my 9 year old brain. I don't really even enjoy watching him wrestle. I never understood why he was always around the main event scene, as my only memories of him at all were in championship feuds in 1995 and 1997. Hendrix warns us up front- "this will not be a catch as catch can classic. This will be a brawl." Truer words. This match spills to the outside early, with Sid standing toe to toe with the near 7 foot Diesel. I forgot just how big Sid was.

Decent in ring psychology in this match. It was established beforehand that Diesel's back was injured by Henry Godwin, who was hired by Ted Dibiase to take out Diesel. Sid works over Diesel's back for the majority of the match and even comes extremely close to a pinfall after hitting the big power bomb. Diesel makes his comeback and looks in line to win with a power bomb of his own before Tatanka hits the ring to cause the DQ. Strange ending and booking. All match long we were told that DiBiase wanted to take the title off of Diesel. What sense does it make to have one of DiBiase's own men cost Sid the match? To send a message to Big Daddy Cool? Bam Bam Bigelow makes the save during the postmatch beat down. Was Bam Bam a face at the time? Maybe his loss to LT at Mania 11 caused DiBiase to let him go, in turn making him a face? Overall a pretty one sided match that made Sid look like a monster, but made the champion look rather weak.
Winner: Diesel – 11:31
Rating: 2 Stars

So there it is. The very first In Your House PPV is in the books. From the in ring perspective this was a lackluster affair. Nothing, aside from the near classic opening contest between Bret and Hakushi, is worth a watch. It was obvious that the WWF was low on star power and still hung over from their late 80s/early 90s heyday. They were in a serious transitional period. In retrospect the company was probably relying way too heavily on the Hitman. Bret was the unquestioned number 1 star of the company in 1995. He was working multiple matches per night and getting bigger reactions than any other star. But Vince was keen on pushing bigger guys with better looks over his loyal workhorse (sound familiar????)

No matter what the in ring product displayed, the In Your House PPV worked well. The cheaper monthly PPV was able to still draw decent buy rates (340,000 for this particular one) and get fans excited for the big 5 PPVs. In Your House wasn't used for big blow off matches, but to continue storylines and offer fans a chance to see a "special event." I remember each In Your House PPV fondly. The fact that this was the first time WWF started to offer monthly PPVs is historic in retrospect. The Wrestling War had begun.

CLICK HERE FOR PART TWO AND MARK'S REVIEW OF WCW'S RIVAL PPV "SLAMBOREE"