Dark Pegasus Video Review: In Your House IV – The Great White North

IYH 4: The Great White North by J.D. Dunn October 22, 1995 Live from Winnipeg, Man. Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler. WWF President Gorilla Monsoon announces that Shawn Michaels has been stripped of the Intercontinental title due to a severe concussion. Opening Match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Fatu. Actually, I kind of like hip-hop Fatu, but the “makin’ a difference” gimmick is silly. Speaking of silly gimmicks, Triple H was firmly in the deodorant commercial inspired snobby blueblood gimmick. Hunter gets his clock cleaned and begs off. Fatu gets his neck caught in the hangman position, though, allowing Hunter to take over. There was a time when that was a bad thing, a very bad thing. He kills the heat with an extended chinlock. Fatu fights back and hits a thrust kick. A diving headbutt gets two, and Fatu follows up with a running Ace Crusher! Where did that move go?! Hunter avoids a flying splash and finishes with the Pedigree at 7:57. Not bad, considering the limitations of both guys at the time. ** Hunter works in his British accent while being interviewed by Lawler, which is odd because Hunter’s supposed to be from Connecticut. Henry O. Godwinn tries to slop Hunter, but Hunter pulls Lawler in the way and runs up the ramp. The British Bulldog gets psyched for “In Your Hoose.” WWF Tag Team Titles: The Smoking Gunns vs. Razor Ramon & The 1-2-3 Kid. Let’s see, Kid and Ramon had been at each other’s throats coming into this show. They apparently patched things up with a match on Raw just before this, and you know things are really okay between them because Kid is wearing purple and gold now. Both teams are babyfaces, but the Gunns work on their heel act for when they did the real thing the next year. Kid actually gets more heelish because his heel turn was scheduled for “immediately.” He pulls down the ropes, spilling Bart to the floor. He even takes a swipe at Billy who was just minding his own business on the apron. Ross notes both of the Gunns went to college on rodeo scholarships. Ah, yes, in the days before it got “too commercial.” You know, back when it was just you, the horse, and the barrels. Billy and the Kid both get tags. Yes, I know, but I didn’t name them both. Billy misses his Stinger Splash, but the Kid is out cold, so Bart sneaks in behind the ref’s back and pulls Billy on top of the Kid. The ref catches him and admonishes him, so Razor sneaks in and turns them over. ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Razor gets the hot tag and delivers the Razor’s Edge to Billy, but the Kid wants the tag to show how tough he is. Kid comes in and lays down on Billy, but Billy reverses to a crucifix at 9:49. Well, the Kid sure looks like a putz, but it’s partly Razor’s fault for tagging him anyway. After the match, the Kid steals the belts and attacks the Gunns. Razor has to smooth things over. Fun little tag match made much better by the characterizations. **3/4 Goldust vs. Marty Janetty. This is Goldust’s debut after getting the video vignette megapush on “Raw” and “Superstars.” Marty was returning for the fourth or fifth time. Goldie tries a sneak attack, but Janetty sees him coming and tosses him to the floor. Janetty’s outfit tonight looks like the Spaghetti Factory exploded. Goldust stalls, prompting Janetty to call him a chicken. Goldust rolls him up and hits a pair of rights. Janetty comes back with a rana, but it just pisses Goldust off. He starts shoving Marty, prompting Janetty to get fired up. A clothesline allows Janetty to do that somersault sell of his. Goldie grinds the match to a halt with a chinlock. Jim Ross uses his usual coding for “this sucks” by saying Goldust is in no hurry and is using “a very methodical pace.” Back to the chinlock after a trip outside. Janetty misses a corner charge, and Goldust gets two off a DDT. Marty hits the Rocker Dropper, but Goldie avoids the fistdrop. Janetty goes for it again and takes a boot to the jaw. That sets up the Front Suplex for the win at 11:16. Goldust played the character beautifully, but there was no workrate whatsoever, and it killed the crowd. 1/2* Yokozuna (w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) vs. King Mabel (w/Sir Mo). Notice how they were starting to do more face vs. face and heel vs. heel matches? The announcers credit Gorilla Monsoon, who would adopt the same tack at the Survivor Series. These guys teamed up to put the Undertaker out of action, so Monsoon is punishing them by forcing them to fight. This was actually highly anticipated, for obvious reasons, and it’s really not as bad as you might think. I mean, it’s bad, but it’s bad in an entertaining way. They take turns knocking each other to the floor. Yoko stops to rest in the corner, and he’s so tired he won’t even get out of the way of Mabel’s avalanche. It’s just like, “Go ahead and do it. I’m just gonna sit here for a while.” They botch a bulldog spot, and Yoko tumbles to the floor. Yoko gets knocked on top of Corny for some reason, and both guys get counted out at 5:11. After the match, they look like they’re going to come to blows, but Mabel’s all, “Wanna hug it out, bitch?” and Yoko falls into his arms and says, “You had me at ‘cupcakes?'” and Mabel goes, “But I didn’t say cupcakes, unless…Oh my God, you’re reading my mind!” 1/4* Shawn Michaels was supposed to defend the Intercontinental Title against Dean Douglas, but he was beat up outside of a nightclub, so he opts to forfeit rather than putting Dean over. This was the first obvious sign that the Clique was running things behind the scenes (despite what they claim). Of course, that leads directly to… Intercontinental Title: Dean Douglas vs. Razor Ramon. Ramon is rather blasé as he just kicks Douglas’ ass for the first five minutes or so. Razor locks in an armbar and starts slapping Douglas in the back of the head. Douglas begs for mercy. Douglas gets one cheapshot, but Ramon catches him with the Fallaway Slam and clotheslines him to the floor. Razor continues the humiliation by dumping water on him. Finally, Douglas is able to backdrop Razor over the top off a Razor’s Edge attempt. Back in, Ramon catches him with a sloppy chokeslam. Douglas blocks a backdrop superplex and hits a crossbody. Ramon rolls through that and gets two. Douglas misses a swing and gets suplexed (!) with Razor’s arm brushing his chest (!) for the win at 11:01. Douglas had his leg under the rope, but the ref doesn’t care. So, from 1992-1995 the IC Title goes Michaels, Janetty, Michaels, Ramon, Diesel, Ramon, Jarrett, Michaels, and Ramon. Hmmm. I wonder…nah. Douglas got next to nothing, and he’d be gone early the next year due to politics and a bad attitude. 3/4* In defense of the Clique on this one, Douglas had apparently already worn out his welcome in the WWF. In fact, when ECW owner Tod Gordon called the WWF up and asked what he had to do to get Shane back, they responded, “Ask.” WWF Heavyweight Title: Diesel vs. The British Bulldog (w/Jim Cornette) Bret Hart is on commentary, and he gets the winner at Survivor Series. They trade power moves before Bulldog sends Diesel to the floor. Diesel falls against the announce table where Bret puts out a hand to steady him. Diesel takes it the wrong way and piefaces Bret into the railing, setting up their Survivor Series match. Bulldog uses it as an opportunity to clip Diesel’s knee, and that’s where we get the story of the match. Bulldog goes after the Diesel’s bad knees — or “leg area” as Vince calls them. Part of the crowd is clearly behind Davey Boy. The other part is dead because Bulldog just keeps working the “leg area” without doing anything particularly interesting. At one point, Bulldog puts on a sort-of Sharpshooter, prompting Bret to describe it, diplomatically, as “a different way to put it on.” He tries it again later, and it looks even worse. This time Bret and JR are far less kind. Vince, ever the showman, says it’s still probably more powerful because Bulldog is stronger than Bret. Diesel slips out of the powerslam and hits a big boot. Cornette gets yanked into the ring, and Bulldog accidentally knocks him out with a forearm. Diesel takes Bulldog to the floor but gets posted. Bulldog staggers around but stops to slap Bret for no good reason. That draws Bret in for the disqualification at 18:14. Bret and Diesel slug it out after the match until the locker room empties to separate them. *1/2

The 411: Way too much crap here to justify a recommendation. The Michaels/Ramon/Douglas screwjob is an interesting piece of wrestling lore, but really, it's not as interesting as it sounds. The only other happening of note is the 1-2-3 Kid turning heel, which would rejuvenate his career by the time he showed up in WCW as Syxx-Pac. Other than that, there's just nothing to see here. Thumbs down.
Final Score:  4.0   [ Poor ]