WWF In Your House - The Lumberjacks (July 1995)

With the second In Your House, the WWF gave us the re-match exactly no one wanted to see: Diesel/Sid II. So, of course, they did what you always do when you have something no one wants to see – force it on the South! Unfortunately, they did not continue to give away free houses with purchase of the show. 

From Nashville, TN, your hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler.


Opening Match: The 1-2-3 Kid v The Roadie: Both guys would later find greater fame as members of DX during the Attitude era - as X-Pac and the 'Road Dogg' Jesse James, respectively. At this point though, Kid is still just Razor Ramon's goofy buddy, and Roadie is Jeff Jarrett's... um... roadie. Kid jumps him in the aisle to start, but the inexperienced Roadie messes up a simple criss cross sequence, tripping over, and falling flat on his face. Headscissors puts Roadie on the floor, and Kid follows out with a slingshot kick - which again is blown by James. Roadie catches him with a slam, and a clothesline off of the apron follows. He again shows his inexperience, as they're on the aisle side of the ring, and he literally drags him to the far side, where he crotches him on the post, as they're out of position. Inside, Roadie with a backdrop, and he works the crowd with some dance moves. Well, he can dance! Clearly, he should be on pay per view! He misses a flying splash, and Kid throws him is spinkick for two. Dropkick in the corner, and Kid with a frog splash for two. Rana, but Roadie counters with a sitout powerbomb for two. Roadie with a piledriver off of the top rope, and that does it at 7:26. Surprised they had the guts to try that spot, given it's dangerous to begin with, and James was blowing simple transition moves earlier on. Jesse James would go on to be a respectable worker eventually, but he was nowhere near ready for primetime here, and it seemed like Kid wasn't in the mood to carry him. ½*.

Men on a Mission v Razor Ramon and Savio Vega: No update as of yet what the specific mission for the Men is tonight, but I promise to keep you posted. Razor starts with Mo, and Ramon quickly hits the blockbuster. Both guys tag out, and Mabel misses an avalanche, but manages a uranage, because he gets freaky that way. Mabel works him over, as the crowd sits on their hands. Remember, the guy had just won King of the Ring, and they (see: Vince McMahon) were priming him to headline fucking SummerSlam (back when that still really meant something). And Bret Hart was fighting Jerry Lawler's dentist on that show. Just in case you were wondering. Mabel with a Northern Lights suplex, and Mo comes in to do... whatever it is that Mo does. Like, choking, and shit. Moonsault misses, allowing Savio to make the tag. Ramon with a side superplex, but Mabel stops the Razors Edge attempt. He tags in, and goes up, but Ramon slams him off of the top. He gets caught with an avalanche, however, and a Mabel belly to belly suplex finishes at 10:09. Well paced, and Mabel tried hard with this push, really, but nothing to see here. ½*.

Jeff Jarrett makes his singing debut, with a live band, and an original country song, ‘With My Baby Tonight.’ This seems like a pointless waste of airtime, but it’s actually a neat bit of character development. Ever since Jeff’s initial debut back in 1993, he had been going on and on and on about his singing ability, saying that he would be using the WWF as a ‘stepping stone’ to get a country music recording contract in ‘Music City, USA – Nashville, Tennessee.’ He never actually sang, however, which everyone made sure to point out, and it was an easy feud starter for a face to pull the ‘you really can’t sing, can you?’ card on Double J, or an announcer to rip on him for it. It was literally his whole gimmick, which he somehow parlayed into a lengthy Intercontinental title run. However, when the WWF held this pay per view in none other than Music City itself, Jarrett decided it was time for the world to finally hear his vocal chops – and make his singing debut, live at the show. It was a nice pay off to a long bit, and also set up another angle, as we later learned that Jarrett was lip-synching, and it was, in fact, The Roadie doing the singing from behind the curtain. The plan was to have that lead to a Battle of the Double J’s, but both guys ended up leaving the company shortly after this show, and it never materialized. Still, points for effort here, for sure.

Henry Godwinn v Bam Bam Bigelow: Godwinn with a side suplex right away, so Bam Bam, not to be outdone, responds with two of his own. Bigelow with a DDT, but a blind charge misses, and he goes tumbling to the floor. Henry slams him out there, and sends him to the steps. Inside, Godwinn with a lariat for two, and he goes to the chinlock. Slam, and an elbowdrop get two, as I wonder if literally anyone has gotten a pinfall off of an elbowdrop like that. Bam Bam comes back with a series of headbutts, but a flying version misses. Henry misses a 2^nd rope kneedrop, however, and Bigelow rolls him up for the pin at 5:33. Hey, the '3' in that time was the pinfall. This was basically an 80s TV match, right down to the ending. ¾*.

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Jeff Jarrett v Shawn Michaels: Shawn was super hot off of a face turn/injury angle, and it was pretty much a forgone conclusion that he was walking out of here with the title. Jeff wins a simple tie-up to start, which of course leads to him gloating, and strutting, as if he'd just won the match. Reversal sequence won by Shawn, and he dumps Jeff, then does a strut of his own. Jarrett decides to stall, and work the count, getting Shawn (and the crowd) more and more frustrated. Michaels finally follows him out, but it proves to be a good tactic, as Jarrett's ready and waiting. Shawn dumps him again, however, and this time follows immediately with a flying bodypress to the floor, taking out both Jarrett and the Roadie. Inside, Shawn fakes him out with a sunset flip, and tries a blind charge, but gets backdropped over the top to the floor, in a wild bump. Back in, Jeff with a layout suplex for two, and a Roadie-assisted abdominal stretch. DDT gets two, and Shawn Flair flips to the floor, in another impressive spot. Roadie jumps him out there with a clothesline off of the apron (followed by some dance moves!, as we have more DX on DX violence. Shawn beats the count, so Jarrett hits a flying bodypress, but Michaels rolls through for two. Jarrett with a sunset flip for two, and a gorgeous dropkick gets two. Big criss cross lets Jeff grab a sleeper, and the crowd is having a heart attack. See, matches don't end off of sleepers, like, ever - but they're working that crowd so well, they're buying it. That's the mark of a good wrestler. Or stripper. The line gets blurred, as the Mickey Rourke film clearly illustrated. Also, Shawn Michaels' entire career in the 90s. Shawn escapes with a side suplex for two, and a crisp diving forearm. Another, and a flying axehandle gets two. Slam, and Michaels hits his flying elbowdrop. He crotches Jarrett on the post for fun, and heads up, but Roadie crotches him up there to retaliate. Hey, an eye for an eye - a one-eye for a one-eye. Jarrett superplexes him off of there, and tries the figure four, but Shawn rolls him up for two. Jeff with a kneebreaker, and he tries the figure four again, but Shawn shoves him off, this time bumping the referee. Uh-oh, and the crowd knows it. Shawn starts revving up the band, but Roadie runs in and clips the knee, allowing Jarrett a flying bodypress for a delayed two count. Then, in one of the more famous spots of the 90s, Jeff whips Shawn into the ropes for Roadie to trip up, but Shawn reverses, and when Roadie trips Jeff up by accident, Shawn hits the superkick, and we have a new champion at 20:00, while the crowd loses their shit. Literally, as people got so exited, they misplaced many of their items during the celebration. Lost and Found had a field day. You know it’s working, too, when they're in fucking NASHVILLE and he's this over doing the pretty boy stripper routine. The match was terrific, old school (even by 1995 standards) stuff, which may be slow in some spots for a lot of people today, but it's like a wrestling textbook on how to work a crowd, and book a match. I would actually rank this as the highlight of Jarrett’s career, too, despite going on to become a ‘headliner,’ and world champion. *** ¾.

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Owen Hart and Yokozuna v The Allied Powers: I loved the Allied Powers as a kid, and was sure they were headed for tag team gold. Yokozuna and Lex Luger start off, as the crowd chants 'you are gay' at Luger. Wow, guys. I know we're in Tennessee, but, like, tolerance. Just a thought. Oh, wait, turns out they were chanting 'USA.' That was my bad. Fun spot, as Luger pounds Yoko (maybe it was the first chant...) until he loses his balance, falling right onto Owen's foot, causing him to run up the aisle in pain. Owen tags in for revenge (only he pounds Yoko!), but gets slammed around, and Davey Boy Smith tags in. They fight over an armbar, and Davey drops him on his neck viciously out of a backdrop. Slingshot, and he goes off the ropes, but Yoko catches him from the apron, and Owen tags out. That allows Yoko to come in with his nervehold, which I never understood. They stuck the guy in a tag team so that he could rest on the apron for half the match, and even when he gets in, he goes STRAIGHT TO THE RESTHOLD? Just let Owen work the whole damn match if you're not up to the task of professionally wrestling while being a professional wrestler. Owen does tag in, and hits his enzuigiri (sold with a somersault from Davey) for two, but gets crotched on a cross corner charge. Both guys tag out, and Luger is a house of arson. It quickly breaks down into a four way brawl, and the Powers hit Yoko with a double side suplex, but the referee is distracted, allowing Owen to nail Luger from the top, and Yoko to drop the BIG leg for the pin at 10:54, deflating the crowd. This was nothing – just a formula tag match. ½*.

Main Event: WWF Title Lumberjack Match: Diesel v Sid: Diesel charges him right away, dumping out for the face lumberjacks to beat on him some, so Sid bails over to the heels for some comfort. Hey, nothing says 'it's all gonna be alright' like a big hug from a 400-pound black man dressed in purple satin. That leads to a big brawl between everyone, with Diesel getting trampled in the chaos. Inside, Sid takes advantage of that, and BRINGS THE CLOTHESLINES! Slugfest, and Diesel drops a pair of elbows. He looks to finish, but instead of, you know, retaining the WWF World Title, he chooses to leap over the top rope, and onto the heel lumberjacks - which was an impressive spot, sure, but kind of the equivalent of a basketball player making a drive to the hole during the playoffs, only to stop halfway to hit on some cheerleaders. And, indeed, the heel lumberjacks post him, including a Mabel splash, leading to another big brawl between everybody. Inside, Sid goes to the restholds! Powerbomb hits, and just like their first match, he doesn't go for the immediate cover. This time, instead of posing, he high-fives the heel lumberjacks. Right, because three high-fives is as good as the refs hand hitting the mat that many times. Good thinking, there, Sid. It eventually gets two, so he tries another one, but gets backdropped. Sid no sells it, and responds by running out of the ring and attacking the face lumberjacks. I'll tell you, the psychology of this match is more confusing than the last couple of seasons of LOST. I feel like it needs its own Wiki-page. He gets dumped back inside (because, somehow, he couldn’t win a ten-on-one battle), and Diesel hits the big boot to retain at 10:06, which is, at least, a minute and a half shorter than In Your House I. The match flowed better than V1 because of the addition of the lumberjacks, but the psychology was so confusing I felt like I needed a map to keep up with where they were going. Plus, Nash couldn't even be bothered to finish him with the powerbomb in a battle between two guys with the same finisher? Pretty much as phoned in as you can get. ¼*.

BUExperience:  Shawn Michaels’ face turn directly led to both the best and worst matches on this show, but luckily, after three solid months of pay per view main events, this would be the official end of the Diesel/Sid program, and he could get busy battling real contenders – like, Mabel, or Davey Boy Smith. The show itself has a better atmosphere than the first In Your House, as the WWF got the two hour format down, and everything doesn’t seem rushed around. As was very common after Shawn Michaels’ face turn, however, these shows featured either Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart, but never Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, and the show quality certainly suffers for it. *