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Opening Match: Roadie v 1-2-3 Kid: Kid charges him in the aisle before the bell, but gets clobbered as they head inside. That leads to an amateurish criss cross, with Roadie tripping over Kid, and face planting. Looked horrible, but they did their best to cover it up. That's followed by another awkward spot where Roadie messes up properly taking a headscissors to the outside, and he stalls out there for a bit. Kid gets anxious, and dives with a slingshot sidekick, then takes Roadie back in for more kicks in the corner, followed by a stinger splash. A charge gets him powerslammed, however, as we cut away from the match to watch Jeff Jarrett getting dressed backstage. And for an extended period of time, too! Back to the match, as it looks like we missed Kid bumping out of the ring, as Roadie is diving at him with a flying clothesline off of the apron. He posts Kid before taking things back inside, where Roadie hits a pop-up flapjack to set up a pair of legdrops. Roadie keeps it going with a backdrop, stopping to dance between moves. He grabs a chinlock, as we cut to Jarrett again, this time talking with his backup singers for later. Well, at least they went with a split screen this time. Roadie goes up for a flying splash, but Kid rolls out of the way, and he starts making a comeback. Spinkick gets two, and a corner dropkick leads to a slam. Kid heads up with a flying frogsplash for two, but a rana is countered with a sitout powerbomb for two. Roadie capitalizes with a cross corner whip, but misses a charge, allowing Kid to head up again. Unfortunately for him, Roadie crotches him up there this time, then brings him down with a piledriver off the middle rope at 7:27. Looked awkward, but big points for going for it. Roadie looked pretty terrible here, but Kid was willing to bump around like a maniac to make this at least watchable. ** (Original rating: ½*)
Men on a Mission v Razor Ramon and Savio Vega: Considering how thin the tag field was in this period, it's kind of hard to believe that this is actually Men on a
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, Roadie doing the singing from behind the curtain. The plan was to have that lead to a
Bam Bam Bigelow v Henry Godwinn: Bam Bam grabs a headlock at the bell, but Godwinn quickly escapes with a side suplex. He gloats instead of following up though, and pays for it by eating TWO side suplexes, then getting knocked to the outside. Back in, Bigelow hits a DDT, and a pair of shoulderblocks follow, but a charge ends in Bam Bam taking a spill over the top. Henry follows with a bodyslam on the floor, and he rams Bigelow into the steps before bringing the action back inside. Godwinn with a lariat for two, and he grabs a chinlock. Bigelow escapes and throws a bodypress for two, but Henry smacks him down before he can follow-up, and we get a look inside of the slop bucket, which appears to be made up mostly of salad tonight. Both of these guys look like they could use more salad in their diet instead of using it as a prop. Godwinn tries a corner charge, but gets clotheslined, and Bigelow heads up for the flying headbutt - missing. Henry capitalizes with an elbowdrop, but a 2nd rope flying kneedrop misses, and Bigelow hooks the leg for the pin at 5:33. This was like a textbook Superstars feature match from 1988. * (Original rating: ¾*)
WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Jeff Jarrett v Shawn Michaels: They spend some time measuring each other to start, as Lawler goes on a weird rant about John McEnroe. Jarrett dominates, but Shawn manages to out move him during a criss cross, and a cactus clothesline leaves Double J on the outside. Jeff teases walking out, and stalls on the outside for a while to frustrate his challenger. Shawn finally goes after him on the outside, but runs into a gutpunch while trying a flying axehandle on the way back in, and Jarrett straddling ropechokes him. Dropkick misses, however, so Roadie tries to interfere, but it backfires - Shawn launching Jarrett over the top onto his buddy. Michaels then dives onto both of them with a flying bodypress on the floor, and the crowd is eating all of this up with a spoon. Back in, Shawn tries a 2nd rope flying sunset flip, but Jarrett blocks, and backdrops the challenger clear over the post to the floor! Jarrett follows to ram him into the steps, then brings Shawn inside with a gourdbuster for two. He slaps on an abdominal stretch, using Roadie for illegal leverage, but they get busted, and Michaels escapes. Jarrett keeps out of trouble with a DDT for two, and he ropechokes Shawn to allow Roadie to get in some more abuse. It ends up backfiring when Jarrett hits Roadie with a straddling ropechoke by accident, and Shawn rolls him up for two - only to have a cross corner whip reversed, resulting in HBK taking a wild bump to the outside via a flip in the corner. Roadie capitalizes by diving with a flying clothesline off of the apron, and Jarrett is already confidently declaring himself the winner, but that pesky Michaels beats the count in. It's impressive how seamlessly Shawn was able to switch to working as a top babyface here, after spending his entire singles career as a heel. Jeff punishes him with a flying bodypress, but Shawn rolls through for two. Jeff with a sunset cradle, but Shawn blocks for two - reversed by the champion for two. Jeff lands a dropkick for two, and he grabs a sleeper out of a criss cross, but Shawn escapes with a side suplex for a dramatic two count. They have the crowd eating right out of their hands here. Michaels mounts a comeback, and a flying axehandle connects for two. Bodyslam sets up a flying elbowdrop for two, and he crotches Jarrett on the post to set up another trip to the top - only to have Roadie crotch HIM this time. Jarrett capitalizes with a vertical superplex to set up the Figure Four, but Michaels counters with a cradle for two! Jarrett cuts that off with a kneebreaker, but Michaels blocks another attempt at the Figure Four - the referee getting bumped this time. Shawn stays on track with the Superkick, but Roadie clips his leg to stop him from executing it, and Jarrett comes off the top with a flying bodypress for a dramatic two count! Irish whip, but Shawn reverses, only for Roadie to trip the wrong man when he fails to notice - allowing Michaels the Superkick for the pin at 19:57. Jarrett and Roadie were supposed to do a big breakup angle right then and there after the bell to set up a match for SummerSlam, but both hated the angle, and actually walked out on the promotion as soon as they got backstage. I've always really liked this match since seeing it live back in 1995, but it falls short of the upper echelon matches for me. It was the perfectly booked match for this part of the country though, and could serve as a textbook on how to work a crowd. I find it interesting that I underrated pretty much every match on this show in the first review, except this one, which I now feel I overrated a bit. *** ½ (Original rating: *** ¾)
WWF Tag Team Title Match: Owen Hart and Yokozuna v The Allied Powers: Sad to think that it's just over twenty years later, and from the six participants in this one, only Luger and Jim Cornette are still living. And Lex isn't exactly in good shape, either. Yokozuna starts with Lex Luger, and overpowers him to start, but misses a legdrop, and gets dazed following a long series of turnbuckle smashes. A series of right hands takes the big champion off of his feet, and he lands right on Owen's foot as he falls, in a funny bit. The champions get into a shoving match over that, but Jim Cornette cools their jets, and the dust settles on Owen and Luger. Hart taunts him with a slap before hiding out in the ropes to set up a cheap shot, but a criss cross goes badly when Lex hiptosses him. Tag to Davey Boy Smith for a flying axehandle, and Bulldog grabs a wristlock. That leads to them trading stylish reversals, and Bulldog plants him with a pop-up flapjack, followed by a catapult into the corner. Clothesline connects for two, and Smith grounds the champion in a chinlock. Yokozuna swipes at the Bulldog with a cheap shot to turn the tide, and the big man tags in to wishbone Davey. Yokozuna with a headbutt drop, and he slaps on a nervehold, as the champions cut the ring in half. Owen with a kneedrop for two, and a spinheel kick is worth two. Bulldog fights back with a sunset flip for two, but eats a leg-feed enzuigiri for two. Owen with a cross corner whip, but he misses the charge in after his challenger, and Bulldog makes the tag! Luger comes in hot on Yokozuna, so Owen goes to the top rope, but Lex slams him off - Roseanne Barr the door, we've got a kettle on! Lex then presses Owen into Yokozuna, and the Powers use tandem clotheslines to drop both champions. The Powers hit Yoko with a tandem side suplex, and Luger covers, but Hart dives off the top rope to break up the cover, and Yokozuna capitalizes with a legdrop to retain at 10:54! ** ½ (Original rating: ½*)
Main Event: WWF Title Lumberjack Match: Diesel v Sycho Sid: The announcers noting that this is the first Lumberjack match on pay per view is especially ridiculous considering WCW held one literally the week before at Bash at the Beach. This also marks the WWF pay per view debut of Triple H, as one of the heel lumberjacks. Sid attacks as the champion climbs into the ring, but Diesel fights him off, and Sid ends up on the outside in front of the babyface lumberjacks. They force him in, so Diesel knocks him back to the outside to repeat the process, then executes a bodyslam on his challenger. Sid bails to the heel side to take a break and stall, which officially negates the whole purpose of the lumberjack match. Why not just hire bouncers, or something? Impartial guys, with no skin in the game? I mean, I knew business was down in 1995, but I didn't realize things were that bad, I guess. And, anyway, why aren't the babyface lumberjacks doing anything about it? If Makin' a Difference Fatu and Man Mountain Rock don't strike terror into the hearts of the heels, what will? Sid dumps Diesel out on the heel side to allow them to turn the tide for the challenger, and he works Diesel over as he's rolled back in. The heel lumberjacks take plenty of cheap shots as Sid runs through his pedestrian offense, but Diesel gets sick of them, and dives out at them with a plancha. Back in, he hits Sid with a straddling ropechoke and the snake-eyes, but Mabel trips the champion up as the runs the ropes, and pulls him to the outside for an avalanche against the post. Mabel adds a bodyslam and legdrop on the floor, as finally the babyface lumberjacks start fighting back. Not that they get anywhere, but at least they're trying. Mabel rolls Diesel back in for Sid to go back to work on with his shitty punch-kick stuff, and a big boot gets him two. Powerbomb looks to finish, but Sid wastes time high fiving all the heel lumberjacks before covering, and it only gets two. What a dumb shit, no wonder he didn't get over as a top level heel. That, and, you know, literally RUNNING AWAY from Diesel during the entire build for this. Okay, so back to the Powerbomb, but this time Diesel backdrops his way out of it, so Sid responds as anyone would: attack the babyface lumberjacks on the outside for absolutely no reason. That ends badly for him when Shawn Michaels dives off the top rope with a flying axehandle on the floor, and they roll Sid back in for Diesel to finish. That brings the heel lumberjacks in, but Diesel fights them all off singlehandedly, and the big boot finishes Sid at 10:06. Jackknife or GTFO. And thankfully, that marks the end of the Sid feud. You know, so the Mabel feud can properly start. This managed to be even worse than the one from the first In Your House. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)
BUExperience: Look, I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that this is some all-time classic great show. But, honestly, it's not at all a bad one. Yeah, the main event sucks, but the rest is totally watchable, and highlighted by a very good Jarrett/Michaels Intercontinental title bout in the middle. And, at under two hours in length, it's an easy watch.
**
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