WWF In Your House V (Version II)

Original Airdate: December 17, 1995

From Hershey, Pennsylvania; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler

Opening Match: Razor Ramon and Marty Jannetty v Sycho Sid and 1-2-3 Kid: Seeing a guy in the crowd holding up a sign asking some girl to 'go steady' with him is a nice reminder of what simpler times the 90s were. Ramon and Jannetty are wearing matching leather biker jackets here, which is a weird look for Razor. And, speaking of weird, Goldust observes Razor from the aisle. Well, what did Razor expect? You walk around with no shirt or pants on, sporting a leather jacket and loads of chest hair popping out, and you're surprised you got hit on by another man? And Ramon's supposed to be from MIAMI! Shouldn't he be a tad more familiar with the community? Marty and Kid start, and Jannetty quickly hits a leg-feed enzuigiri for two. He wants to tag out, but Kid is terrified of Ramon, and runs away. Jannetty stays in, and dominates a criss cross, hitting a short-clothesline for two. Kid kicks and screams to prevent a tag to Ramon, so Jannetty hits an atomic drop, then tags out anyway! Kid tries to run, but Marty forces him back in for Razor to try his own atomic drop, but Kid gets away, and Sid drills Razor with a clothesline! Some dude in the crowd has a 'Bert Heart' sign, which is either because he's an idiot, or some inside joke I'm not privy to. Sid and Kid cut the ring in half on Ramon, but a double knockout spot with Sid results in tags to Jannetty and Kid. Marty hits a powerslam for two, and a 2^nd rope somersault cutter gets two. Marty tries a camel clutch, as Todd Pettengill shows up on split screen with Goldust, so Goldust can make his intentions known about Ramon. Hey, like a said earlier, if you can't handle it, don't send out the signals, Bad Guy. Kid fights off Jannetty with a spinheel kick, and Sid tags in to bash Marty with shots in the corner. Marty fights off a double team, but an attempt to flying bodypress Sid is countered with a powerslam for two. It should be noted that Sid is getting some pretty noticeable pops here. They cut the ring in half on Jannetty, but Kid misses a corner dropkick to allow the tag to Ramon - Roseanne Barr the door! Razor's Edge for Sid, but he manages to backdrop his way out, only to miss a legdrop. That allows Ramon a 2^nd rope flying bulldog for three at 12:23. This was really energetic. Sid and Kid were actually a really fun team that sadly only lasted, like, a month. ** (Original rating: *)

Ahmed Johnson v Buddy Landel: Jeff Jarrett, making his return to the WWF for the first time since losing the Intercontinental title in July, sits in on commentary for this one. Dean Douglas is supposed to be Ahmed's opponent, but he's injured, so he introduces Landel (his 'graduate student') to take his place. And that was it for Douglas in the WWF, as he went back to ECW after this. Apparently they were practically begging him to work the match, but he didn't want to risk making his injury worse, and considering how sloppy Johnson was, who could really blame him? They also nearly blew this whole thing, as the ring announcer accidentally introduced Landel before Douglas even came out, despite the fact that he's supposedly a surprise. Landel tries to attack with chops, but Johnson no-sells everything, and finishes with the Pearl River Plunge at 0:42. Afterwards, Jarrett gets in Johnson's face at ringside, so Jeff bashes him over the head with the commemorative gold record Lawler presented to him. And man, he really drilled him there. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

Arkansas Hog Pen Match: Henry Godwinn v Hunter Hearst Helmsley: Hillbilly Jim acts as the special guest referee for this one. Godwinn chases him around with the bucket of slop, but one of the ringside attendants ends up getting a face full instead. And a bunch of the fans, too. Nice. Godwinn with a backdrop, as some guys in the crowd hold up a five piece 'Hogan' sign. That's perhaps the most offensive sign you could have in 1995. Offensive to the WWF because he's with the competition. Offensive to WCW because they're doing everything short of outright paying people to cheer Hogan on the shows where he's actually performing. And offensive to ECW because, well, Hogan. Godwinn manages to get HHH tied up in the ropes, and he feeds him some slop, but eats a swinging neckbreaker himself. What's the point of even having a referee in the ring for something like this? There are no pinfalls, submissions, countouts, or disqualifications. His only job is to make an official ruling when someone goes into the pen. Nothing more, nothing less. Watching Hillbilly Jim get in there and spot everything like he's scoring this on points is pretty funny. They spill to the outside, when Henry takes a trip into the steps, and they brawl over to the pen, where Hunter whips him into it. Pedigree, so Godwinn counters with a backdrop, but HHH lands on the pen without going in. That allows him to dive off the pen with a flying elbowdrop, as Lawler trips over himself to make Jeff Foxworthy jokes. And I don't mean jokes about Jeff Foxworthy. I mean he's literally reciting his material. They go back into the ring, where Godwinn hits a pretty impressive wheelbarrow facebuster, and Hunter bumps all over the place through a few corner whips, finally ending up on the outside. Henry slugs him over to the pen, but Hunter blocks a Slop Drop in the aisle, as Lawler continues to rip off Foxworthy. Henry manages to whip him into the pen to set up the Slop Drop, and poor HHH is bleeding from the back from his bump into the enclosure. Henry goes for the kill, but a charge backfires when HHH backdrops him right into the pen with the win at 8:58. And then, of course, Godwinn press-slams him into the pen afterwards to get his heat back. Helmsley bumping into pig shit with an open wound may be the most dangerous thing to happen on this show. The match was trash, but was relatively short, and paid off the angle. ¾* (Original rating: ¾*)

Diesel v Owen Hart: Owen gets trapped in the corner to start, and Diesel unloads. Sidewalk slam connects, as Diesel's entrance pyro overwhelms the building's ventilation system, leaving them working in a thick cloud of smoke. Owen tries cornering him for a ten-punch count, but Diesel shoves him clear across the ring, and then knocks him over the top. Hart tries taking a walk, but Diesel drags him back in, and hits a hairpull slam. Big boot, but Owen ducks, and throws a spinheel kick, followed by a missile dropkick. He goes to work on the leg, and throws a leg-feed enzuigiri for two. Spinning-toehold, but Diesel uses his free leg to shove Owen into the corner, and he follows up with the snake-eyes. Straddling ropechoke hits, and he creams Owen with a big boot. Jackknife hits, and Diesel makes a one-foot cover, but then decides to let off at two. He wants to hit another Jackknife, but shoves the referee aside when he protests, and that's a DQ at 4:34. This would have felt really rushed as a TV match, let alone on pay per view. Not just that, but they completely sacrificed Owen here, booking him like a total jobber, which is a shame since he could have had some serious heel heat following the Shawn Michaels situation. ¾* (Original rating: * ¼)

Casket Match: Undertaker v Mabel: Hog Pen match, Casket match - forcing people into containers against their will was all the rage in 1995, apparently. Mabel brings his spray painted casket down for this, which actually has 'BSK' tagged on the side. A distraction from Mo allows Mabel to attack, but Undertaker quickly fights him off, and chokes away in the corner. At least the referee knows his role and stays on the outside for this one. Mabel reverses a cross corner whip and hits a scrapbuster, but Undertaker sits up, so Mabel clotheslines him. Another sit up, so Mabel bodyslams him to set up a 2^nd rope flying splash, but gets a sit up instead! Undertaker throws a series of clotheslines, so Mo trips him up from the floor, allowing Mabel to hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Legdrop follows, and now Undertaker is having trouble sitting up. Mabel adds a splash to be sure, and they dump 'Taker in the casket, but Mabel waits too long to close the lid, and Undertaker escapes. That was lame. Undertaker makes his comeback, hitting the jumping clothesline and the chokeslam, before dumping Mabel (and Mo, for good measure) into the casket for the win at 6:11. Crap, but at least it provided a satisfying end to their feud. This was pretty much it for Mabel too, as he worked another match with Diesel on RAW, popped up to fill a slot in the Royal Rumble, and then disappeared for a few years before returning in the Attitude Era. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Bret Hart v Davey Boy Smith: Lawler notes that Bulldog is wearing the same tights as at SummerSlam '92, but that isn't even remotely accurate. They don't even look alike! The world was a much simpler place before you could just pop out your smartphone and do a quick Google search. Feeling out process to start, with Hart trying to fight off the powerful challenger by keeping things grounded. Bodypress gets Bret two, but Smith kicks out with authority, and the Hitman ends up on the outside. He slides back in right through Davey's legs to hit an inverted atomic drop, and he latches on a hammerlock, taking Bulldog to the mat in it. Davey powers out, and drives a knee to the midsection during a criss cross, then drops Bret with a hairpull slam. He hangs Bret in a tree of woe for some abuse, as pretty Diana Hart-Smith watches from ringside. Chinlock, but Bret escapes and tries a crucifix, so Davey drops him like a Samoan for two. Smith chokes him on the ropes, allowing Jim Cornette to get in a cheap shot with the tennis racket for two, and Smith goes back to the chinlock. Davey with a cross corner whip for two, and a backdrop is worth two. Bret is doing all the work here, and even still, Bulldog has to go back to the chinlock again. Hart tries to escape, so Smith wrenches it into a headlock to keep the champion grounded. Hart manages to escape on the second go around, and he hits a monkeyflip. Inverted atomic drop sets up a headbutt drop to the groin, and Bret bulldogs him for two. Piledriver is worth two, and a Russian legsweep sets up a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop. Bret takes him upstairs for a vertical superplex, but Davey counters by dropping Hart crotch-first across the top rope - with authority! Bret bumps all the way out to the floor on that one, and Bulldog follows - nailing the Hitman from behind to send the champ crashing into the steps. Hart is absolutely pouring blood after hitting the steel, but Davey shows no mercy, ramming him into the post next. This is a gory bladejob too, the mats at ringside stained with pools within seconds. Back in, Bulldog goes to work with another cross corner whip, and he drops Hart with a piledriver for two. Bret is bleeding so damn much that Bulldog's tights are already getting stained red, and it's only been, like, a minute. Davey with a hanging vertical suplex for two, and a press-slam gets two. Bodyslam sets up a flying headbutt for two, but it knocks Smith silly as well. I don't know if that was meant to be a shout-out to Dynamite Kid, or what, but it looked awkward. Bulldog with a Mexican surfboard, but Hart counters to the Sharpshooter, only for Bulldog to block. Nice sequence there. Smith sends him crashing to the outside with a shoulderblock, but an attempt to suplex him back in is countered with a bridging German suplex for two. Bret keeps coming, but a criss cross results in a double knockout spot, and Hart manages to backdrop his challenger over the top as they recover. Bret dives after him with a plancha, and thankfully doesn't nearly snap Bulldog's neck with it like he did at SummerSlam. Bret keeps it going with a springboard dive, but Smith catches him with the Running Powerslam on the floor! He pulls the mats up for a suplex on the floor, but Bret counters by dropping Bulldog crotch-first across the rail, then clotheslining his ass off! Back in, Bret hits a backbreaker for two, and he vertical superplexes his brother-in-law for two. Hart argues the count, allowing Bulldog to try a rollup, but Bret reverses for two. Backdrop follows, and Bret unloads on him in the corner, but a cross corner whip gets reversed. Bulldog charges in after him, but hits boot, and a groggy Hitman ties him up in a magistral cradle to retain at 21:09! I know it's blasphemous to some people, but I actually liked this one better than the overrated SummerSlam match, which I thought went back to the mat too often so Bret could guide an out of shape Smith through the sequences. Mind you, those sequences were insanely good, but Hart having to play nurse to Smith at every turn hurt the flow a lot for me. Davey may have been more in the zone here than at SummerSlam, but even still, this was all Hart. Bulldog seemed keen to do his usual chinlocky main event match before Bret kicked it into high gear with the bladejob. It's almost like a tale of two separate matches - one before the blade, and one after. Before the blood, Davey wasn't really getting over with the fans as any kind of real threat to Hart, but once Bret started pouring buckets all over the place, suddenly everyone was taking Bulldog seriously. Also very shrewd, as the house was packed with ECW fans, and adding in a gory bladejob won over even their most hardcore of believers. Another brilliant performance by Hart, in a series of them. For those keeping score, that's his third pay per view match in a row at four-stars, or better. Sadly, that would not keep into 1996. **** ¼ (Original rating: ****)

BUExperience: A really weak show from a match quality standpoint, but it’s headlined by one of the legit best matches of 1995 (as of this writing, the only North American match I have a higher rating on for the year is the ladder match from SummerSlam), so it’s not like it’s a total waste of time. And even if a lot of the matches weren’t great, stuff at least got paid off here, which is worth something. The short two hour runtime also helps make all the lesser matches much more easily digestible, so it wasn’t really a chore to sit through.  


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