WWF In Your House - Degeneration X (December 1997)

This show marks – aside from when I gave up on following the product regularly altogether in 2001 – my absolute low point as a fan. The WWF had just given Bret Hart the boot with the infamous ‘Montreal Screwjob’ at Survivor Series the month before, and though I only had a very limited knowledge of what went on backstage (AOL chatrooms and an e-mail subscription to a dirtsheet. Good times) even the WWF wasn’t hiding that they had screwed my favorite wrestler out of the world title, and rewarded his nemesis with his own, themed pay per view.

At this point, I was only watching RAW during Nitro’s commercial breaks, and it would take them a while to win me back over. Much can – an has – been said about the Montreal Screwjob, but from a personal standpoint I’d add that to a twelve year old wrestling fan, it didn’t seem like ‘Attitude’ or make me want to watch the next show – it seemed like stabbing the back of one of the only guys who always stuck with their promotion while everyone else was busy jumping ship, and only made me want to tune in to WCW to see what Bret would do there. I might have stuck with them, too, had they not botched his run so badly, and the WWF not shot into the stratosphere during 1998.

From Springfield, Massachusetts – Your hosts are Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler.


Opening WWF Light Heavyweight Title Match: Taka Michinoku v Brian Christopher: This is a tournament final to declare the 'first' Light Heavyweight champion, although, in reality, there had been recognized 'WWF' Light Heavyweight champions since the early 1980s, through various cross-promotional arraignments in Mexico and Japan. Christopher is Jerry Lawler's son, and not really a great choice to head up the division, but any decent Light Heavyweight working in North America was working in WCW, so I guess they went with what they had. Christopher starts working Memphis heat tactics before the bell can even ring, and doesn't stop after it does. They fight over an armbar, and Taka counters a German suplex with a series of dropkicks, putting Christopher on the floor. Impressive springboard press follows, and he tries a suplex back in, but gets crotched. Christopher dives out after him, but hits the rail, so Taka tries a flying bodypress back inside, but that misses. Michinoku with a tornado DDT for two, and a crisp rana puts tem back on the floor. Taka with a gorgeous springboard moonsault, and Jerry Lawler leaves the commentary position to go check on Brian, only to have him dropkicked at him. Inside, Taka tries a monkey flip, so Brian counters with an Ocean Cyclone suplex, which Taka blocks, only to be forced into forward Russian legsweep. Sitout powerbomb gets two. 2^nd rope flying dropkick nearly takes Michinoku's head off, and Brian goes for the kill with a fameasser. Backbreaker looks to finish, but only gets two, leaving Christopher frustrated, and slapping Taka around. German suplex for two. Powerslam, but a flying legdrop misses, and Taka catches him with the Michinoku Driver to win the title at 12:00. Started off slowly, but built into a nice match - making good use of the fact that Christopher is substantially larger than Taka. Good choice for an opener. ** ¼.

Six-Man Tag Team Match: The Disciples of Apocalypse v Los Boricuas: Yep, the Gang Warz were still going on at this point, and still with the same tired gangz, though there would be less focus on it going into 1998. Which I consider enduring proof that there is a God. The Disciples are represented by Chainz, Skull, and 8-Ball, and the Boricuas have sent Miguel Perez, Jr, Jesus Castillo, Jr, and Jose Estrada, Jr. Wow, I guess Crush and Savio were busy, 'cause this is really the B-Team. Chainz (Brian Lee) and Perez start, and Chainz takes out the whole team. Skull and 8-Ball (The Harris Brothers) take turns trading off with Castillo and Estrada, and a sidewalk slam gets them two. Swinging neckbreaker, but Perez interferes from the outside, and they triple team Skull in the corner to turn the ride. See, 'ride,' because they're a motorcycle gang. I thought of that myself. Perez with an impressive standing moonsault, but he bangs his knee up, and Savio Vega runs in to take his place. The racist referee won't allow it, however, and the bikers ALTAMONT UP!! Death Valley Driver from Chainz looks to finish, but Perez sneaks in and hits a somersault legdrop, allowing the Boricuas to get the victory at 7:58, filling Miguel Perez, Sr, Jesus Castillo, Sr, and Jose Estrada, Sr’s evening pudding cups with a hearty portion of cum. Proud, fatherly cum. This was the same as every other match these two factions had - which is to say it was badly timed, and mostly filled with kicks and punches. ¼*.

Toughman Match: Marc Mero v Butterbean: This was an interesting concept from the WWF, as they started putting on 'Toughman' matches (basically fixed boxing-style fights, though the later ones would actually involve legit competition), and even brought in legit Toughman contest king Butterbean to hype the division. Mero, at this point, is no longer the high flying next big thing he was a year before, but is playing a boxer/abusive spouse gimmick (with real life wife Sable, and based on his actual boxing background), after an injury ended what was shaping up to be a fine career in the WWF. For this match, both guys have boxing gloves, and the WWF is selling it as 'real,' although that kind of salesmanship doesn't exactly shine a golden light on the rest of the product. So, what, if everything else is fake, and the winner of this is the only 'real' though man, should he automatically be WWF Champion, then?
ROUND 1: Two minute rounds for this. The first is mostly spent with Mero - who spent weeks, and the entire pre-match trash talking Butterbean - stalling, and dodging his punches. They finally get going a bit, but time expires.
ROUND 2: Mero jumps him, and chokes him out with wrist tape, and throws some incredibly fake looking punches. Butterbean starts to mount a comeback, but time expires.
ROUND 3: Butterbean comes hard (make your own Johnny B. Badd jokes here, I'm too busy recapping an epic), and finally knocks Mero down towards the end of the round, but time expires.
ROUND 4: Butterbean with a big right to knock Mero down right away, so Mero blows him low, and whacks him with a stool to draw a fourth round disqualification at 10:20. Holy God this was horrible. And the ‘division’ would last until well into 1999, too. The main problem with it was that, while both this and wrestling are ‘fake,’ the wrestling appears authentic. With this, a four year old could have told you that it was worked. Stuff like this not only insults our intelligence as the audience, but insults the morale of the other wrestlers. It’s like going to a movie – sure, you know they’re not really shooting at each other – but when Daniel Day-Lewis is playing a gangster, it’s a lot different than Rob Schneider making a finger gun. -***. 1997 Sable’s presence keeps this from going lower.

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The New Age Outlaws v The Legion of Doom: The Outlaws, while not a great team from a workrate perspective, were such a fresh and welcome change to tag division that they not only won the titles almost immediately after getting together, but are now associated with the late 90s tag division the way Led Zeppelin are associated with live music in the 1970s. They had just snagged the titles from the LOD on RAW a couple of weeks prior, and this is the rematch. The LOD refuse to even let them into the ring to start the match, which is pretty questionable strategy for two guys who want to win the titles. They finally do get a hold of them, and destroy Jesse James. Hawk with a dropkick and a neckbreaker, so James bails to the floor, but Hawk follows out with a clothesline off of the apron. He beats up both of the champs out there, and inside Animal powerbombs him. They spill outside, and all four brawl around the ring, and in the chaos the Outlaws nail Hawk in the back of the head with a cooler. Well, you don't see that one every day. It only gets two, so James follows it up by literally doing 'the Worm' and trying to cover again - as if witnessing the dance move would have scarred Hawk so badly he would just give up and stay down. Hey, I’m a horrible dancer myself, but seeing a dude bust out break dancing moves has literally never cost me the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Titles. Though, to be fair, I once lost a lucrative position at Merrill Lynch because of it. Shockingly, it doesn't work, so Billy Gunn comes in to work a chinlock. Double knockout spot allows Animal to get the tag, and it's powerslams for everyone! Doomsday Device for James, but the Godwinns run in behind the referees back and break it up. The LOD manage to fend off the two disgruntled pig farmers (somehow!), but end up getting disqualified in the confusion, giving the Outlaws the victory at 10:32. Strange ending to a strange match. They didn't even stand in the 'standard tag team corners' for this one - which for guys as experienced as The Legion of Doom, Billy Gunn, and member of the Armstrong family is pretty bad form. Match wasn't horrible, but the Outlaws were still getting their act together at this point, and it had some shaky transitions. They needed a strong win here (or, at least, a cheap win - something with a pinfall, one way or another), as this ending made them look weak in the wrong way. ½*.

Boot Camp Match: Sgt. Slaughter v Triple H: Slaughter was well into retirement by this point, and doing a WWF Commissioner gimmick, but multiple run-ins with the original, non water downed version of DX led to this match – which is basically a military themed Street Fight. Slugfest to start, won by Slaughter, and he craps on HHH with a military crop (see, military themed violence!). Stomachbreaker, and Sarge busts out a double stomp. He actually continues to work the abdomen, showing that ring psychology doesn't fade with age. To the floor, Slaughter slams him around, and tries to pin, but the referee informs him that pinfalls on the outside do not count. Gee, for the Commissioner of the WWF, Slaughter's not really up on the whole 'rules' thing. Not to mention this is his specialty match - who gets lost in their own museum, honestly?! Inside, he takes his belt to HHH, choking him out with it. He tries for the Cobra Clutch, but he gets blocked, and sent to the floor, in his patented over the post bump. Triple H goes to town out there, getting revenge for everything Slaughter did to him (rail! Steps!), and back inside gets his own licks in with the belt. He one-ups Slaughter - nailing him with a chain - but it only gets two. Slaughter with a blind charge, but HHH backdrops him to the floor, in another impressive bump. Inside, HHH off the top rope, but he eats boot (in a Boot Camp Match? What irony!), and Slaughter goes upstairs for himself. He gets slammed off for two, and Hunter grabs a sleeper, but Sarge GEEZERS UP!! and counters into the Cobra Clutch. Chyna (Triple H's manager/world's worst porn 'star') quickly runs in to break that up, and tries to blast Slaughter with a chair to finish, but gets a handful of powder in the eyes. Well, that's probably the closest she's ever come to wearing makeup, so, maybe that was less abuse, more makeover. Trip's likes her au naturel, though, damn it, and charges Slaughter with... his boot... but gets dodged and locked into the Cobra Clutch again! Triple H is done, but Chyna makes one last push with a well placed ball shot to break it up again. Pedigree on a chair gives Triple H the victory at 12:39. This was fun. Well booked, with Slaughter more than holding up his end, and bumping like he was in his prime. The pace and storyline of the match worked well and made sense, with both guys putting in a solid effort. ** ¼.

The Undertaker v Jeff Jarrett: Jarrett had just returned to the WWF after doing a year in county - or as the wrestling fans used to call it, WCW. He showed up on RAW on night and unloaded with a venomous rant aimed at both WCW and the WWF, and then started working dressed as an Aztec warrior. Still regular Jeff Jarrett - but dressed as an Aztec warrior. It was weird, but I was in middle school, and we were studying the Aztecs, so I found it at least moderately interesting. 'Moderately' was the key word there, for those not clear. Jarrett tries to go right at him to start, but this is the Undertaker, and he doesn't fear any type of Mexican. Except, maybe, some of the sketchier takeout places in the Ozarks. Big boot, but Jarrett dodges him, and clips the knee, which he goes to work on, until he walks into a sidewalk slam. Big boot gets two, and, showing his range, 'Taker throws him another. The lights suddenly die, however, and that eerie, yet familiar red glow comes on - and there's Kane. He stalks his way down, but instead of taking out the Undertaker, he just stares him down, and chokeslams Jarrett - which gives him the DQ win at 8:40. The Undertaker/Kane angle was hot stuff at the time, but Jarrett looked like a chump - not only during the finish - but throughout the match. For his reintroduction to the WWF, this came off horribly, and was likely (along with that ring gear) his punishment for bailing on them so many times, and going to WCW when Vince McMahon needed all the help he could get. DUD.

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Steve Austin v Rocky Maivia: This was a great feud that included Rocky stealing Austin's title belt (he's carrying it with him here, already declaring himself the champion), and would lead to Austin throwing the title belt in the New Hampshire river in a particularly memorable bit on RAW, which I did happen to catch, as he become more and more defiant of the increasingly screen-present authority figure of 'Mr. McMahon.' This match is also notable for being the first Austin/Rock match, a series that would go on to highlight three WrestleMania’s, including main eventing two. Austin may have lost possession of his title belt, but he compensates by bringing an actual truck with him instead, and jumps both Rocky, and his gang, The Nation of Domination to start – throwing D-lo Brown through the windshield, and hitting a Stunner on the roof. Inside, Austin with the Thesz Press on Rocky, but he gets quickly dumped, and the Nation jumps him. He fends them off, but back inside, he doesn't have much luck with Rocky. Primitive version of what would become the People's Elbow gets two, so Rocky does it again, but this time it misses. Hey, practice makes perfect, and that move was still a long ways out from getting anywhere near ‘electrifying.’ Stunner, and Austin retains at 5:28. Austin gets a scary ovation during the post match celebration, and half the crowd is covered in his merchandise – though as I noted before, at the time, I was not into this act, at all. It couldn't be clearer watching this, though, that Austin was headed straight for WrestleMania, and the WWF Title. These two would have some very memorable matches later on, but this was barely a match - which is a shame, considering this feud was interesting. ¼*.

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Ken Shamrock: Shawn dodges a lockup to start, instead maneuvering him into a criss cross, only to get caught with a boot, putting him on the floor. He begs off after that, but gets sent to the heavens with a backdrop, and put halfway up the aisle off of a Flair flip. Shawn tries Asian mist (seriously? That must have been a bitch getting through customs for a white guy around the holidays), but a well placed shot to the jaw prevents that, sending the precious mist flying into the Springfield air, never fulfilling its blinding purpose. Some poor Asian mist-maker’s sole purpose in life has just been literally spit out of Shawn Michaels' mouth like the mouthwash he likely desperately needed. I hope you're happy, Vincent K. McMahon. Shamrock with a suplex, and a clothesline puts Shawn on the floor. Again. Inside, Shamrock beats him from corner to corner, and crotches him on the top rope. Belly to belly suplex, but Shawn blocks by holding on to the referee in a nice bit. Cactus clothesline puts Shamrock out, where Triple H abuses him, and Shawn dives after with a flying clothesline. Shawn with a splash off of the apron, and inside he works the back. Shawn mistimes a springboard bodypress, and goes to a chinlock. Shamrock powers out, and starts his comeback. Many clotheslines follow. Back elbow and a powerslam get two. Rana, and Shawn tries a sunset flip, but Shamrock counters into a pinfall for two. Sitout powerbomb for two. Shawn looks to finish with his flying elbowdrop and the Superkick, but he gets countered into the Anklelock. That's enough for DX to run in, and Shamrock wins by disqualification at 18:27. That was a horrible, bullshit finish, to a pretty boring match - and the crowd let them know it, pelting them with garbage. Afterwards, Shawn, Triple H, and Chyna continue the assault until Owen Hart runs in, putting Michaels through a table, and laying in some stiff looking shots. This was just a place holder until Michaels could wrestle The Undertaker again on a show that mattered (next month, at the Royal Rumble), and drop the title to Austin at WrestleMania, as not even the biggest of marks bought Shamrock as a legitimate title contender, and they wanted to save Owen for later, although fate stuck it's hand in before that could happen. The match was slow, sloppy, and not the usual Shawn Michaels show saving effort you’d expect – with a really crappy ending, to boot. * ¼.

BUExperience: This could have been an episode of RAW. No one bought Ken Shamrock as a challenger to the WWF Title at that point, but as noted above, he was the best choice they had – though he would have been the best choice for a challenger on RAW – not pay per view. The rest of the card comes off entirely like an episode of RAW – Austin wreaking havoc on The Nation, and retaining the Intercontinental title in five minutes; Jarrett and the Undertaker running an angle dressed up as a match; the same for the tag title bout; the Toughman RAW filler with a non-ending; a DOA/Boricuas match that we’d seen so many times, both on pay per view on TV. The only real ‘pay per view worthy’ matches are the Light Heavyweight Title opener, the Bootcamp blowoff, and the main event, though even that – especially with the finish they ran – plays like an extended edition of a TV main event. DUD.