WWF In Your House - Good Friends, Better Enemies (April 1996)

This is one I have never seen – live, or otherwise – but have always heard fantastic things about the main event since the next day at school, when everyone (well, not everyone – but the four or five other kids who were into wrestling) were raving about it. Over sixteen years later, we finally find out if it was truly worth the wait to see!

Formatting note - you’ll notice that there is now a nifty new index on the top of each page, organizing every review by organization, and then breaking them down by year, so that you can locate whatever you are looking for, and read in order if you wish to do so. There is also a search bar in the upper left corner of each page – good for searching a particular show, wrestler, match, or just how many times I’ve used the word ‘fuck.’ This should clear up any future organizational issues, as many of these shows will be posted out of order.

From Omaha, Nebraska, your hosts are Vince McMahon, and Jerry Lawler.


Free for All Match: The 1-2-3 Kid v Marc Mero: Kid was on his way out of the WWF, and Mero had just come in. Martial arts showdown to start, though what would really be impressive is if these two could get down marital arts. Mero with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, and a headscissors puts Kid on the floor, so Mero follows out with a plancha. Slingshot legdrop back in gets two, and a double-underhook reverse cradle for two. He goes up top, but Kid crotches him, and tries a superplex, but Mero dumps him. Senton bomb, but Kid moves, and Mero eats mat. Into the corner for the lightning kicks, as Hunter Hearst Helmsley comes down to stalk Sable, the valet Mero had stolen from him. Meanwhile, Kid with a decapitating spinkick for two, but he misses a blind charge, and Mero goes after Triple H on the floor. Kid stops him with a baseball slide, and inside, Kid with the sliding legdrop, but a frog splash misses. Mero with his Golden Gloves routine, until Triple H puts subtlety aside, and simply runs in with a Pedigree for a DQ at 7:17. Really fun match - introducing the WWF audience to Mero - and his routine, up until bullshit ending. Kid should have jobbed clean – especially considering that he was on his way out, and they were building Mero. ***.

Opening Match: Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith v Jake Roberts and Ahmed Johnson: Jake and Owen start off, and Jake goes immediately into a wristlock. Glad to see you're taking full advantage of that comeback, there, Jake. Tag to Ahmed, but neither guy wants to face him. Owen finally loses that debate, and gets thrown around, leading him to beg Davey for a tag (which he doesn't get – instead offered 'helpful advice’), in a great bit. Jake back with more wristlocks (it's what all the kids are talking about! Wristlocks!), so Owen brings in Davey. He kills Jake, but as soon as Ahmed tags in, the Bulldog is suddenly 'hurt,' and has to tag Owen. Ahmed wins the world's quickest test-of-strength, and Davey jumps him from behind, then tags in, once he's down. Great stuff. Davey unloads, but Ahmed HOMIES UP!! so he bails to Owen. Press slam, and Jake comes in. Owen with a 2nd rope flying dropkick, and the heels cut the ring in half - though they rely on a long resthold period, switching off working chinlocks. Jake comes back with a chincrusher, and gets a hot tag to Johnson, who finally gets Davey the way he wants him - alone in an English garden. With Jake Roberts watching. Spinebuster, and he tags Jake back in, despite the fact that Ahmed is fresh, and Roberts just spend the bulk of the match getting pounded on. He tries for the DDT on Smith, but Hart saves, and a four-way brawl breaks out. Davey grabs manager Jim Cornette's tennis racket in the chaos, and slaps on a leglock for the submission win at 13:47. Hey, they had no one to blame but themselves there - Jake should have never even been the legal man. Match had some neat bits – mostly from Owen and Davey – but was marred by the long resthold sequence during the heat segment on Roberts. Ahmed looked like a star here; Roberts looked old, and worn out. ¾*.

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Goldust v The Ultimate Warrior: Every kid and his mother (well, maybe not their mothers... the moms tended not to be into the wrestlings so much) called this as the end of Goldust's reign back in '96, and understandably. Warrior had just returned at WrestleMania, squashing Hunter Hearst Helmsley in under two minutes, and even had his own comic book out. It seemed like textbook booking for him to go over Goldust here, who had been carrying the belt since January - but hadn't really done anything as champion.  Long stall session to start, as Goldust runs around the ring, and tries to hide. Warrior gets a hold of Marlena's (Goldust's valet/real life wife) cigar, and starts playfully puffing on it - but I see nothing funny about it. HYPOCRITE! I, for one, remember someone yelling 'DON'T SMOKE IT'S A JOKE' at me every week from the TV like he wasn’t a drug abusing lunatic. And that someone was my uncle Lou. He had some goofy parenting methods in the 90s, and my cousins are really fucked up now. Warrior literally sits in a lounge chair, waiting for Goldust to decide to get around to starting the match, and then Warrior shares the cigar with Goldust, in a touching moment. Really, this is actually the match. It turns out to be a trick, however, and Goldust literally gets burned, and runs to the locker rooms, getting counted out at 7:38 to lose the match, but retain the title. This wasn't even really a match (okay, it wasn’t even at all a match), just an eight-minute 'comedy routine,' where a bell sounded at both ends. Shame, too, because the crowd was hot for the match, and this was the equivalent of anally raping their kids while you force them to watch. Well… maybe not quite that bad. But, at least as bad as doing it to their wives. At least. DUD.

Razor Ramon v Vader: Razor was on the way out (this was, in fact, his last televised  appearance), so it was no big mystery who would be going over here - though as a kid I didn't know all of that, but it should have been obvious, as Razor doesn't even bother busting out any of his endless combinations of neon ring gear tonight, instead going with simple black. Vader tosses him clear over the top on a lock-up, and wins a couple more goes, but gets caught in a Razors Edge, so he backdrops him to the floor. Ramon actually no-sells that, and charges back in, unloading on him with rights and lefts. Vader catches him with an avalanche in the corner, but Ramon dodges some forearm shots, and hits a side suplex. Vaderbomb only gets two - which is pretty insane booking considering Ramon was headed to WCW and Vader was being booked as their next big monster title threat. Side suplex from Vader, and he slaps him around in the corner. Ramon reverses a suplex for two, and hits a powerslam for two. Cross corner clothesline, and a bulldog gets two. Razors Edge, but he can't hold him so Vader goes up top. Razor stops that, however, and hits an electric chair, in an impressive spot. Edge again, but Vader backdrops him, and a simple buttsplash finishes at 14:49. Fun match – well paced, and with some really nice spots from both guys, though Scott Hall came off looking like he got the best of Vader (loss notwithstanding), which I’m certain wasn’t their intention. **.

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Bodydonnas v The Godwinns: The Bodydonnas had picked up the titles in a tournament finals at WrestleMania, defeating the Godwinns by literally using their manager’s ass, so this is the rematch. But, like, the manager was Sunny, and this is 1996, so, the storyline actually makes sense. It would also work if the manager was Yokozuna, and the year was any year. Zip and Henry Godwinn start out, and Henry takes both champs out right away. Modified death valley driver on Skip, and an impressive Ocean Cyclone suplex - something you didn't see often in the mid-90s tag division. Phineas gets dumped when he comes in for his turn of the fun, however, and the champs work him over. Slingshot suplex gets two, and Skip works a chinlock, allowing Sunny to bounce her tits on the ring apron. For motivation. I remember going to a house show in the fall of '95, shortly after Skip had debuted as a single, and had floor seats – much like everyone else in the arena, as they were doing terrible business at the time. I forget who he wrestled in the opener, mostly because Sunny stood on 'our side' of the ring, and for the entire match my eyes were transfixed on her ass, bouncing up and down, as she pounded on the mat. Ah, for the days when you're ten, and have an erection in an arena full of people. Memories. Skip with a rana, but Phineas HICKS UP!! and gets the tag to Henry. Backdrops all around, and he hits the Slopdrop (an inverted DDT), so Sunny busts out the big guns. Well, no - not actual guns, and not even her boobies - though that would be the appropriate follow-up after WrestleMania - but she gives Phineas a signed photo of herself to distract him. That allows the champs pull to 'ol switcheroo, and Zip pins Henry with a small package to retain at 7:17. Afterwards, Henry and manager Hillbilly Jim chew poor Phineas out, but come on - Chumlee needs lovin' too! Match was good use of the standard tag formula, and everyone seemed well motivated, but nothing special. ¾*.

Main Event: No Holds Barred WWF Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Diesel: Diesel had just come off of losing to The Undertaker in pretty grand fashion at WrestleMania, but they built a feud for him with Michaels after Diesel turned on his longtime friend. They really should have just made it a career match, considering Diesel was on the way to WCW anyway, and the feud was built on Shawn talking about how he brought Diesel into the WWF, and would be the one to put him out. Diesel doesn't even let Shawn make a proper entrance, and jumps him coming in, but gets dropkicked to the floor. Shawn with a baseball slide, and a moonsault to twisting bodypress to the floor. He grabs a weapon from the announce table, and dives off of the top rope with it for a two count. Inside, Shawn takes the Flair flip, and flies right back out, and into the rail. Inside, Diesel hammers away, all while shooting Vince McMahon looks so dirty his face twists up like he's about to start crying. Not yet, but in a couple of months, Kevin Nash may have indeed made that happen. Snake eyes, sets up a sidewalk slam, and Diesel pulls off his wrist tape, but instead of choking out Michaels... chokes out the referee! With him down, he takes his belt from him, and starts whipping and choking Shawn - possibly forgetting there are a couple thousand other people there. He hangs him in a noose, and grabs a chair, and with the referee desperately struggling to free Michaels, starts wailing on him with it, as the crowd cheers. Backdrop gets two, and he grabs a headvice, in a smart spot, as it gets the crowd behind Shawn again. It was dangerously close to becoming Survivor Series '96 in there. Shawn makes a scrappy comeback, but Diesel just keeps pounding, and knocks him to the floor. Outside, powerbomb through the announce table, back before going through tables was commonplace spot, and Diesel starts celebrating with the title belt. Shawn fights his way out of the rubble, and grabs a fire extinguisher, blinding Diesel with it. Diving forearm, and the crowd is now fully behind Michaels again. He grabs a chair of his own, and gets some revenge, as Vince loses all objectivity, and starts yelling 'COVER 'IM' like a broken record, until Shawn walks into a big boot. Powerbomb, but Shawn fights his way out, and hits his flying elbowdrop. Superkick gets caught, however, and Diesel with a lariat. Another one puts Shawn outside, and Diesel follows. Then, in a spot that would have EVERYONE talking the next day at recess, Diesel grabs old 'Mad Dog' Vachon, watching from the stands, and tosses him over the rail. He pounds the old man down, and RIPS HIS FALSE LEG OFF TO USE AS A WEAPON, leaving Vachon one legged, and crawling helplessly on the floor. Inside, he tries to... use the man's leg... but Shawn steals the stolen leg, and clocks him. It's hilarious to watch the crowd throughout that, as most are cheering rabidly - while you can see some, particularly one middle aged woman, are just disgusted – and look outraged. If Facebook was around in 1996, she would have had a ball Status Updating when she got home. Superkick finishes at 17:53. Yeah, I would have loved this as a kid. Great, innovative brawl that would look tame in a couple of years - but at the time stuff like going through tables, randomly finding weapons around ringside, and crazy brawls in the main event were all new. The bit with Vachon’s leg is still talked about to this day, and Michaels' selling, while always excellent, is peerless here. *** ¾. And so officially begins Shawn Michaels’ Bob Dylan ’66 period – the unbelievable genius, who is one very angry young man.

BUExperience:  Intercontinental title abortion aside, it’s a fun show, with a fun main event – and that makes this an easy winner. Some strange booking choices, as the 1-2-3 Kid, Razor Ramon, and Diesel – all headed to WCW – technically lose their matches, but look like killers in the process, particularly Hall and Nash. Perhaps McMahon was hoping the WCW deal would go bad, or perhaps he just didn’t think they would make such an impact – especially given Nash’s disastrous run on top of the WWF in 1995. I think history has shown it might have been wiser to bury everybody (maybe literally) as much as possible on the way out – but at least it wasn’t our money they lost doing it. ***.