As WWE NXT rekindles the In Your House PPV moniker for TakeOver on Sunday night, we are taking one last opportunity to look back at the PPV events of the same name from the past. WWE held In Your House events from 1995 until early 1999, starting off at two hours shows with a bargain $14.95 price tag, and ending as full-on three hour PPV events that were equal in length (and price) to the major PPV events of the era.
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The April 1996 event titled In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies was the first of the events to have an official subtitle. The earlier In Your House events were given subtitles retroactively. However, from the April 1996 event until February 1999’s St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, every show was advertised with a themed title to go along with the In Your House name.
Over the years, In Your House featured some incredibly memorable moments: the first Hell In A Cell match, a rematch of a legendary Wembley Stadium bout that may have topped the original, a “forgotten match” in one of wrestling’s greatest rivalries, Jim Ross hilariously telling Sid “we’re live pal,” the final great stand for the Hart Foundation, perhaps the greatest match of the Attitude Era, and many more.
What we have done here is look back at the previous 27 incarnations of the event and list what we believe to be the top six In Your House PPV events. Come along with us for a trip down memory lane!
In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies (April 1996)
The first PPV of Shawn Michaels’ first world championship reign included HBK taking on his best friend, Diesel (Kevin Nash), in what may be the big man’s greatest match. Seated at ringside in Omaha was Hall of Famer “Mad Dog” Vachon and his prosthetic leg was even used in the match! Yes, truly an incredibly ridiculous moment that must be seen.ย
This wasn’t just Diesel’s final PPV before leaving for rival WCW (and starting the nWo in the process). Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) makes his final WWE PPV appearance prior to his WCW jump as well, wrestling Vader in a pretty good match.ย
The Ultimate Warrior and Goldust wrestle one month after Warrior had made his return to the WWE at WrestleMania 12, and we also see Camp Cornette (Owen Hart and the British Bulldog) take on Jake Roberts and Ahmed Johnson.ย
For a two hour PPV, there’s a lot of star power on this show.ย
In Your House: Buried Alive (October 1996)
This was WWE at its gimmicky best. The Undertaker and Mankind fought in a Buried Alive Match (hence the PPV name) in the main event of the show in Indianapolis. Though not an all time classic match, the theatrics and uniqueness of the bout make it a very memorable affair.
This show is also notorious for the fact that it was the first WWE PPV in history where the World Champion (Shawn Michaels) did not compete on the show. He actually wrestled an untelevised match following the show’s PPV conclusion against Goldust.ย
The opening match of the show features Steve Austin and Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a pretty good singles match and a glimpse into the future of the company.ย
In Your House: Final Four (February 1997)
On this night, Chattanooga saw a new world champion crowned as Bret Hart defeated Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Vader in a four-way elimination (battle royal) match to win the title for a fourth time. When it comes to multi-man matches, this one ranks right up there with the best.
The undercard also features some intriguing matches that are worth a watch. Reigning WWE Tag Team Champions Owen Hart and the British Bulldog defended against Doug Furnas and Philip LaFon in a fun match. Plus, a match we’d get multiple times during the Attitude Era took place here a couple years earlier as Rocky Maivia (The Rock) defends the Intercontinental Championship against Hunter Hearst Helmsley. A year and a half later, these two would tear down the house at MSG during SummerSlam 1998 in a ladder match for the very same title.ย
In Your House: Revenge Of The Taker (April 1997)
One month after arguably the greatest WrestleMania match of all time between Steve Austin and Bret Hart, Rochester, New York saw a rematch at In Your House: Revenge of the Taker. Sometimes called the “Forgotten Match” in the Austin/Hart feud, this is another solid match between the all time greats, though it doesn’t receive the same amount of publicity as the WrestleMania or Survivor Series matches.
Following his title victory at WrestleMania, this show also features The Undertaker defending the belt against one of his main rivals from this period: Mankind. The two had several matches the previous year, including a memorable Boiler Room Brawl at SummerSlam and Buried Alive Match at October’s In Your House. This time, the stakes are raised with the world title on the line.ย
Also worth checking out: the Legion of Doom still fresh off their WWE return taking on the Hart Foundation’s Owen Hart and British Bulldog.ย
In Your House: Canadian Stampede (July 1997)
When it comes to In Your House, there’s Canadian Stampede, and then there’s all the others. This is far and away the best In Your House PPV. A lot of that has to do with the incredibly hot crowd in Calgary that night, in the midst of one of the hottest storylines the company ever did (Hart Foundation vs. USA).
The main event match featuring all five members of the Hart Foundation taking on LOD, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and Steve Austin was incredible. However, this wasn’t just a one match show. Check out Taka Michinoku vs. The Great Sasuke in a very good light heavyweight match, and WWE Champion The Undertaker vs. Vader was a decent big man contest. All in all, the entire PPV is worth a watch.ย
In Your House: Badd Blood (October 1997)
The greatest In Your House match of all took place on this show from St. Louis: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels in the first-ever Hell In A Cell match, a must-see match if there’s every been one.
It’s also quite incredible that the performers were able to get up for this show given the tragic news that befell the company earlier the very same day: the death of Brian Pillman, who was found in a Minneapolis hotel room following a house show there the previous night (Pillman had wrestled Goldust on the show).
The other highlights of Badd Blood include a flag match with Bret Hart and The British Bulldog taking on The Patriot and Vader; Bret’s final PPV match before the infamous Montreal Survivor Series. There’s also two championship victories on the show as Owen Hart defeated Faarooq in the finals of the Intercontinental Championship tournament, and The Godwins defeated The Headbangers for the Tag Team Championships.ย
Conclusion
In the end, this is a tough list to come up with due to the nature of the events themselves. For the first two-plus years of the event, they were limited to two hours in run time and didn’t feature a lot in the way of multiple great matches on a singular show.ย
Some of the shows picked out here were for historical significance, as well as the top tier matches that were on the shows. There’s some other In Your House shows that are worth watching, but they definitely rank a step behind the six presented on this list.ย
Some others worth checking out, usually for one great match, include:ย
- IYH: St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (Feb. 1998)
- IYH: Mind Games (Sep. 1996)
- IYH: Triple Header (Sep. 1995)
- IYH: The Lumberjacks (May 1995)
- IYH: Rage In The Cage (Feb. 1996)
- IYH: Season’s Beatings (Dec. 1995)
- IYH: Over The Edge (May 1998)
Check out my list of the top WWE In Your House matches by clicking here.ย
What are your favorite In Your House shows? Let us know in the comments section below, and don’t forget to give me a follow or shoot me a message on Twitter @ryandroste.ย
