The Magnificent 7 07.02.13: Best WWF In Your House Main Events

Greetings to all. Welcome to the second edition of “The Magnificent Seven.” This week’s subject is the In Your House PPVs. The best main events of these shows to be more specific. The In Your House PPVs were smaller PPV events in months between the big five WWF PPVs (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, King of the Ring, Summerslam, Survivor Series) and would run at two hours at a cheaper price as opposed to the traditional three hour PPVs. As the WWF began to get hotter and the viewers increased so did the show length and prices. When considering delving into this subject, I felt it would be simple to choose a top seven. Aware of the wonderful matches chosen, I didn’t realize just how many very good main events there were. Reading through the events provided a fun trip down memory lane and it reminded me the great moments and matches provided by the In Your House events. The WWE recently released a “Best of In Your House DVD” with most of these matches. I recommend finding time to watch some of them and taking a time machine back to the mid-late 90’s especially if you were an avid WWF fan. Here we go…

7. Steve Austin (c) vs. Dude Love in a No Disqualification falls count anywhere match for the WWF Championship at Over the Edge 1998
Austin feuded with Dude Love coming off his Wrestlemania 14 title win over Shawn Michaels. It was a very significant time in his career. He finally won the title after being red hot for over a year. If the first feud after the destination of his road bombed, it would have been a huge blow for Stone Cold and the WWF. Mick Foley in his Dude Love persona aligned with Vince McMahon and was the first opponent. At the prior In Your House PPV, Unforgiven, Dude Love defeated Austin by DQ. The feud culminated here with McMahon as the special guest referee and the no DQ stipulation. A very fun match with some violence as per the typical Mick Foley classic using the stage prop cars as part of the fun violence. In addition to McMahon as the referee, Pat Patterson was ring announcer and Gerald Brisco was the time keeper. The Undertaker played an enforcer role but destroyed the “stooges” before Austin hit the Stunner on Vince McMahon and used an unconscious Vince’s hands to count the three for him as he defeated Dude Love. The outside factors stacked against Austin and the brawl aspect added a lot of fun in what I would call the best match of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s first title reign.

6. The Undertaker (c) vs. Steve Austin for the WWF Championship at A Cold Day In Hell
Another very fun Austin title match coming off a big Wrestlemania moment. This time as the challenger, he gets his first WWF title shot vs. The Undertaker. Fresh off winning the title at Wrestlemania, Undertaker had his second big defense. The big story surrounding the match, literally, was the Hart Foundation. Sitting front row, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart and British Bulldog played a large role. Enemies of both Undertaker and Austin, the target was more so towards Austin who had a blood feud with Foundation leader Bret. The match was slow paced with Austin doing everything he could to get the gold that eluded him to this point. Ending of the match came when Brian Pillman jumped the rail finally getting to distact Austin. This allowed Undertaker to hit the Tombstone after a couple of reverses to get the win. I enjoyed the quality of the match before the interference and would say it’s my personal favorite Undertaker vs. Austin singles match. The Hart Foundation involvement didn’t totally ruin the finish as the reversals added a nice exchange to end the match.

5. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Mankind for the WWF Championship at Mind Games
The dynamic of this match was very interesting. Philadelpha was the place of choice for this event and as you may know, Philly is known to be a bit more edgy. At the time, the reputation was starting to take off in wrestling with the popularity of ECW. WWF put on a main event this night that would appease them (and everything else watching) by going all out. Shawn Michaels, the usual goodie two shoes, wrestled with an edge and Mankind was the Mick Foley we all know and love. The action outside of the ring was most memorable as there were some dives and a fair use of weapons, namely a very fun table spot. Similar to another match later on the list, this is another vivid memory of WWE changing the product up by implementing the hardcore style and hitting a home run. The match ended with a DQ as Vader ran in, followed by the Undertaker appearing out of a casket. A huge brawl ensued as the show ended with Michaels standing tall. The only knock on this match would be the lack of a pin fall finish. No rematch ever taking place on a bigger show between these two was also a disappointment. However, it was a classic and one of the most memorable In Your House PPV and WWF 90’s matches in general.

4. Bret Hart (c) vs. The British Bulldog for the WWF Championship at Season’s Beatings
One of my personal favorites. These two had a classic match at Summerslam 1992 and to my recollection, this was the first rematch. Most hold the Summerslam match as an all time great and this one never seems to get much love or respect. For me, this was on par with the Summerslam match. I loved the mix of great in ring skill and it being a brutal fight. Blading and bloodshed in wrestling is not something I enjoy or think is usually effective in getting across what it is intended but it did here. There were two spots in the match I particularly enjoyed. First was the trading of piledrivers. Neither used the move often so it was a bit of a shock seeing them go out of their repertoire to get a win. The other was Bret trying to dive but Davey Boy Smith catching him mid-air and doing a running powerslam on the outside. The ending came when Bret pinned Bulldog with a La Magistral cradle pin. My only knock on the match was the pin but you can argue it was very cool given the way the Bulldog won the prior 1992 match. I highly recommend watching this match especially if you haven’t seen it since the 90’s.

3. Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Diesel in a No Holds Barred match for the WWF Championship at Good Friends, Better Enemies
The Shawn Michaels era of In Your House matches were kind to wrestling fans. In a time where the use of weapons and the hardcore style was not heavy in WWF yet, this match opened that world. As a 7 year old, I watched this in awe and I still feel the same when viewing it today. The steel chair was the most predictable go to weapon in a No Holds Barred match in 1996 WWF but the use of a table and fire extinguisher was groundbreaking in that climate. The ending came with the most insane of all the weapons – the artificial leg of Mad Dog Vachon. Michaels won after hitting Diesel with the fake leg, then with HIS real foot for Sweet Chin Music. The big man vs. smaller man style worked perfectly here as did the hardcore style being used without overshadowing or making Shawn look weak. It turned out to be Diesel’s last WWF on air appearance before he left to form the NWO in WCW.

2. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and Brian Pillman) vs. Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) at Canadian Stampede
Regarded as one of the best US wrestling PPVs, Canadian Stampede had a perfect main event. The ragtag group of American baby faces led by ‘Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. the hometown hero Hart Foundation. One of my favorite things in pro wrestling is when a crowd collectively becomes one and you can feel the entire arena’s passion. This obviously happened here with the USA vs. Canada storyline. The match was riveting from start to finish. The start was Austin and Bret staring down before throwing fists, the way it had to start. Every wrestler got some time as the match topped at nearly twenty five minutes. The end came when Austin got into it with relatives of the Hart family, most noteworthy Stu, in the crowd before coming back in the ring to get rolled up by Owen Hart to a massive roar by the Canadian crowd. A very special match and even more special moment afterwards. The entire family comes in the ring as it turns into a massive celebration. Considering many of the tragedies and negative stories that unfortunately darkened the Hart family story afterwards, it is the moment you look back to most when remembering the legacy of the Harts as a wrestling family.

1. Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker in the first Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood
Writing this list, I looked for reasons to pick another match. I love to think outside of the box and usually have a different opinion in regards to subjective topics such as this but I could not NOT have this as number one. So many fascinating things came into play for this match. First off, it is Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker. Two of the biggest stars in wrestling history and probably the two guys who proverbially bleed the WWE letters more than any other. The Hell In A Cell debuted here. As you can see all these years later, the concept was one that took off and became a selling point in its own. Seeing it for the first time for this match was mind blowing. Add in what happened after, as Shawn Michaels won a title shot in this match where he went on to defeat Bret Hart in the infamous “Montreal Screwjob.” As for the Undertaker, his brother Kane debuted costing him the match and starting likely Taker’s biggest feud. The visual of the arena darkened red and Kane ripping off the door was one of those moments you’ll never forget. The match itself without all these rotating pieces was great as you’d expect between these two. Many view the match as five star perfection and it’s hard to argue with that. The ending image of the PPV was Michaels unable to walk and being carried out of the cage by DX as a survivor. The final image that should be in one’s mind at the end of a brutal wrestling match. It doesn’t sound as great as “Mr. Wrestlemania” but Shawn Michaels can also be considered “Mr. In Your House!”

Thanks everybody for reading! Would like to thank Rudy for the wonderful email with feedback and suggestions on last week’s column. PLEASE send any thoughts or future topic ideas for The Magnificent Seven to my email address: [email protected]

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– Jonas Wakefield