WWF In Your House - D-Generation X (Version II)

Original Airdate: December 7, 1997

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 crown the first champion. And this, along with the introduction of the European title back in February, is when the belts started decreasing in value and prestige, as there started being more of them to go around. Well, that and the terrible booking, but neither helped. Lawler is on fire with the dad jokes, which is especially fitting here. Brian dominates him in the early going, but Taka lands on his feet to block a German suplex, and a pair of dropkicks lead to Michinoku clotheslining him over the top. Taka is on him with a springboard flying bodyblock into the aisle, but an attempt to suplex Brian back in ends in Michinoku getting crotched on the top rope. Brian knocks him to the outside to set up a dive of his own, but Michinoku dodges, and Christopher eats the guardrail. Michinoku tries a flying bodypress on the way back in, but Brian ducks him, and unloads in the corner. A corner charge misses, however, allowing Michinoku a tornado DDT for two. Rana sends Brian to the outside, so Taka dives with a 2nd rope flying moonsault press on the floor, and Lawler rushes over to check on the bloody Brian. Christopher nearly beats the count, so Taka dropkicks him off the apron, leaving Jerry to have to roll his son in. Michinoku with a seated dropkick, but a reversal sequence ends in Christopher delivering a full-nelson facebuster. Sitout powerbomb follows for two, so Taka hooks a sunset cradle for two, but Christopher cuts him off with a snapmare. 2nd rope dropkick finds the mark, as does a rocker dropper. Backbreaker gets two, so Brian ropechokes him, and slaps him around to insult the man. Christopher with a hangman clothesline for two, and a fistdrop connects. German suplex knocks Michinoku silly, and Brian adds a legdrop for two. Powerslam sets up a flying legdrop, but Taka dodges, and the Michinoku driver finishes at 12:00. That ending felt like it was a little bit out of nowhere. This was mostly solid work, but Christopher’s penchant for extreme degrees of stalling hurt the flow significantly. ** (Original rating: ** ¼)

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Chainz, Skull, and 8-Ball v Miguel Perez, Jesus Castillo, and Jose Estrada: Chainz and Perez start, and Chainz basically beats up the whole opposing team. Over to 8-Ball and Jesus, and Castillo manages to win a criss cross, but loses a second, and eats mat with a facebuster. Tag to Jose, but 8-Ball front-powerslams him, and Skull tags in with a kneedrop for two. They manage to triple team Skull to turn the tide, and they go to work, cutting the ring in half. Perez with a bodyslam to set up a standing moonsault, and a flying punch finds the mark, but poor Miguel twists his knee badly on the landing. Looked like that was a legitimate injury. Savio Vega runs out to try and take his place, but the referee is not receptive of his attempts to join the party, and Skull manages to get a tag off to Chainz. He gets control and looks to finish Jose with a powerslam, when suddenly Miguel springs back into action, and clobbers Chainz for the pin at 7:53. I really bought that knee injury, he did a great job there. The crowd was surprisingly engaged with this, and it wasn’t poorly worked, I just can’t stand both factions, and wasn’t into it. ¾* (Original rating: ¼* )

Toughman Match: Marc Mero v Butterbean: They’re presenting this like a boxing match, but have to call it a ‘Toughman match’ because of regulations, and it’s scheduled for 4 two minute rounds.

ROUND ONE: Ross notes that Mero finally has an opportunity to ‘have the spotlight on him’ and ‘be a star.’ As opposed to when he was Intercontinental champion? Mero with some stalling early on, as the crowd chants for Sable. Butterbean gets annoyed with the stalling, and knocks him out of the ring while Marc is trying to hide in the ropes, and we get more stalling on the outside. Back in, Marc manages to avoid letting him string together much offense, running out the clock for the first round. Pretty even round, with Butterbean getting more shots in, but Mero frustrating him. 

ROUND TWO: Mero attacks him from behind between rounds, but it only earns him a warning. Mero attacks again as we get going, and he chokes Butterbean with a tag rope. That allows Marc to take control with some unanswered shots, and Butterbean looks terribly out of shape out there. Mero rakes the eyes to allow him some more abuse, and he control the round.

ROUND THREE: Marc attacks again between rounds, this time dropkicking him from behind, but again no DQ called. Butterbean is good and mad as the round officially starts, and he goes to town on Marc in the corner for the first half of the round. Marc manages to distance himself some in the second half, but Butterbean gets a knockdown just as the round expires. That round was definitely Butterbean’s.

ROUND FOUR: No cheap shots from Mero this time, as he’s flat on his butt. Butterbean with another knockdown as the round starts, so Mero gives him a low blow to draw a DQ at 6:13 (9:59 total). This was really more of an angle than a match, but it actually managed to be somewhat entertaining for what it was. Not good, but watchable in its way. I was certainly too harsh on it in my initial review, it’s inoffensive. DUD (Original rating: -***) 

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Jesse James and Billy Gunn v The Legion of Doom: The champs don’t want to get started, so the LOD force them in, and we get Jesse getting knocked around by Animal to officially start. Over to Hawk for a dropkick, so Jesse bails, and manages to sucker Hawk into a chase. James steals the high ground and pounds him on the way back in, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and eats a neckbreaker. Jesse bails again, so Hawk dives with a clothesline from the apron, and delivers a big boot in the aisle. Hawk keeps pounding on the way back inside, and Animal tags in, winning a criss cross with a powerbomb for two. Pretty energetic criss cross there. Animal dumps him to the outside for Hawk to abuse, so Jesse tries walking out on the match, but Animal drags him back again. Jesse manages to grab a cooler from ringside to bash Hawk with, however, and that’s enough to give the champions control as the action returns to the ring. Billy knocks heads with him coming out of the corner, allowing the tag to Animal, and Roseanne Barr the door! Doomsday Device looks to polish James off, but Henry Godwinn runs in, knocking Animal cold with his slop bucket before they can execute the move. Hawk chases him off, stealing the bucket in the process, but gets busted using it on the champs for the DQ at 10:34. Nyet good. ½* (Original rating: ½*)

Boot Camp Match: Sgt. Slaughter v Triple H: HHH tries to attack before the bell, but Sarge fights him off with his riding crop, as Ross makes him sound ancient by talking about title reigns he had with/from guys who were long retired at this point. Slaughter with a stomachbreaker and a double stomp before dumping Hunter over the top, and he follows to feed Helmsely the steps. Slaughter drops him across the guardrail next, and he unloads with a belt on the way back inside. He chokes HHH down with it, and a cross corner whip rebounds Helmsley into a clothesline for two. Cobra clutch, but HHH blocks so Slaughter nails him with the belt again. Cross corner whip, but Hunter reverses this time, and Slaughter takes his signature bump over the top. Hunter follows to send him into the steps out there, but an attempt to use the ring bell backfires when Slaughter clotheslines it out of his hands. Inside, Hunter gets hold of the belt and returns fire, and he finds a chain to blast Sarge with. HHH with a 2nd rope fistdrop with the chain for two, but Slaughter blocks another punch, and grabs the chain for himself. He charges, but Helmsley hits the deck, and Slaughter goes over the top again. HHH rolls him back in for a dive off the top, but Slaughter lifts his boot to block. Bodyslam, but his back gives out, allowing HHH to recover. He tries a vertical suplex, but Slaughter reverses. He goes to the top for a dive of his own, but Helmsley slams him off, and hooks the leg for two. Sleeper, as Lawler kicks his military pun game into overdrive. Slaughter counters the hold into the cobra clutch, so Chyna runs in to break it up. “Hooray for women in the military,” shouts Lawler. The referee protests her interference, so Chyna beats him up as well, and brings a chair in. She swings at Slaughter, but the Sarge has a handful of powder at the ready to block. That allows Slaughter to grab the chair, but HHH blasts him with his boot to block. Again, but Slaughter ducks, and puts the cobra clutch back on. Helmsley fades, and looks to be finished, but Chyna fights through her blinded state to make another save. That allows Helmsley a Pedigree on the chair, and Slaughter is done at 17:39. This was a little long, and the crowd wasn’t really there for it, but Slaughter was working extremely hard here, and HHH was game to sell for him. It wasn’t a good match, but it was mostly entertaining, and not unlike the ‘cutting edge’ brawls ECW was delivering at the time, if we’re being honest with ourselves. I’m one of the few people who actually like this match, and it’s definitely one that I can appreciate more now than I would have in 1997. ** ¼ (Original rating: ** ¼)

Undertaker v Jeff Jarrett: I thought the setup for this one was especially WCW-ish, with no real issue, and an authority figure just kind of slamming them together. Jeff sticks and moves in the early going, but gets trapped in the corner, and abused. Cross corner whip rebounds Jeff into a clothesline for two, and a turnbuckle smash further rattles him. Ropewalk forearm finds the mark, but a big boot doesn’t, allowing Jarrett to clip the leg. Jeff goes right to work on the part, but Undertaker basically shrugs him off, and delivers a backbreaker. Legdrop follows for two, and another go at the big boot connects. Undertaker takes him into the corner for more abuse, but the lights die, and here comes Kane! Or ‘the one-eyed monster Kane,’ per Ross. Luckily that particular nickname didn’t stick. Kane comes in, but Jarrett gets in his path, and eats a chokeslam - thus getting Jeff a DQ win at 6:52. This felt like a giant waste of time, with Undertaker basically treating him like a jobber, and then Jarrett getting a ‘win’ that makes him look like a complete loser. Afterwards, Kane strikes Undertaker, but Undertaker still refuses to engage his little brother, just standing there and taking it like his name is Chris Rock. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Steve Austin v Rock: Austin drives his pickup truck down to the ring, and runs in to kick start the match, but gets overwhelmed when the entire Nation of Domination responds. D-lo Brown tries a charge, but gets backdropped over the top, and crashes through the windshield of the truck, before eating a Stunner on the roof. Brown was all about vehicle bumps in 1997. Back in to officially start the match, and they do a pinfall reversal sequence. Steve tries a charge, but goes over the top for his trouble, and the Nation attack again on the outside. Kama Mustafa ends up hitting Faarooq with a chair to buy Austin getaway time, but Rock has used the time to take a breather, and he’s ready with stomps as Steve rolls back inside. Rock with a bodyslam to set up an elbowdrop for two, and he works a chinlock. Another bodyslam sets up another elbowdrop, but Steve dodges this time, and stomps a mudhole in the corner to a great reaction. Stunner, but Kama distracts him, and he ends up hitting the referee with it by accident. The bump allows Rock to pull out the knux, but Steve fights him off with the Stunner at 5:30 (6:34 total). Austin was the hottest act in the promotion at this point. He was also being held together with duct tape at this point, and matches like this really highlight what an insane chance they were taking in building the entire promotion around this guy just a few short months later.  ½* (Original rating: ¼*)

Main Event: WWF Title Match: Shawn Michaels v Ken Shamrock: Shawn’s WWF European title is not on the line. It’s weird that Shawn’s entrance video package shows him falling through a table during the first Hell in a Cell match, as if that’s a highlight in kayfabe. Shawn is weirdly super tan, everywhere but his face, which is pale. Shawn criss crosses with him to start, but has a rollup blocked, and Shamrock kicks him out of the ring. Michaels regroups out there, and tries slowing things down as he comes back in, but Shamrock biels him. Backdrop follows, and a cross corner whip sends Michaels flipping - not only over the top, but halfway up the aisle. That was quite the pinball bump there. Triple H tries a distraction to allow Shawn a sneak attack, but Shamrock sees it coming. Shawn tries cornering him for a ten-punch count, but Shamrock fights that off, as Michaels continues to pinball around the ring to carry this thing. Shawn tries a vertical suplex, but Ken reverses, and a big clothesline sends Michaels back over the top. Shawn goes to the eyes on the way back in, allowing him a sunset flip, but Ken blocks the cradle. The challenger unloads in the corner, and a cross corner whip leads to Shawn getting crotched on the top rope. Belly-to-belly suplex, but Michaels holds the referee’s shirt to block, and then uses a mulekick to shake the challenger off. Clothesline sends Shamrock over the top, and HHH is right there to get some shots in. Michaels dives with a flying bodypress on the floor, and it’s an ugly one. They were on different pages on the catch there, and it looked legitimately painful for both guys. Shawn keeps coming with a baseball slide, but a second one misses, allowing Shamrock to make a comeback. Chyna quickly cuts it off by shoving him into the post, however, and HHH puts the boots to the challenger for good measure. Michaels with a splash from the apron before rolling Ken back in, and diving off the middle with an elbowdrop to the lower back. Dropkick gets the champion two, so he bootchokes Ken in the corner, then ropechokes him - HHH right there with some cheap shots. Turnbuckle smash, but Shamrock reverses. Shawn tries fighting back with a 2nd rope bodypress, but Shamrock rolls through for two, so Michaels rakes the eyes to cut him off. That allows Michaels a chinlock, but Ken fights free, and hooks a cradle for two. Michaels throws a clothesline to cut him off again, and he makes another case of the submission via a sleeper, but Ken fights back to a vertical base. He starts making a comeback, and a powerslam gets him two. Rana leads to some mounted punches, so Shawn tries a sunset cradle, but Shamrock reverses for two. Michaels goes to the eyes to shake him off again, and we get a nasty botch as Shawn whips him into the ropes, with Ken hitting them at a weird angle, and snapping his head against them in an awful way. Luckily he seems fine, and Michaels gets him back on track by trying a rana, which Ken counters with a sitout powerbomb for two. HHH interferes again to allow Shawn a bodyslam, and Michaels adds a flying elbowdrop. Superkick looks to finish, but Shamrock grabs him in a belly-to-belly to block. Anklelock, but Triple H and Chyna run in for the DQ at 18:28. Say what you will about Shawn Michaels in 1997, but when that bell sounded, boy was he going to give you everything he had to give, every night. This was a great performance by Michaels, as he worked extremely hard to carry the still green Shamrock to a pay per view main event level match, and he made this work. This was like a classic Ric Flair performance, with Michaels doing all the heavy lifting, and Shamrock basically just needing to be in the right places at the right times to do his bits. Terrible finish, though. Afterwards, DX continue to beat Shamrock down, until Owen Hart runs down to make the save, in his first appearance since Survivor Series. *** ¼ (Original rating: * ¼)

BUExperience: Outside of DX’s efforts, this was a pretty terrible show, with bad booking, little intrigue, and little consequence. I liked aspects of this show better this time than the first time around, but my overall feeling hasn’t changed at all. 

DUD