In Your House - Onogaga County War Memorial, Syracuse New York, May 14th 1995

Back on PPV already, it’s In Your House! The show had three main selling points in the build up - it’s only $14.95 which was a lot cheaper than the other PPVs at the time, the WWF is giving away a (very nice) house in Florida, and the main event is Diesel defending the WWF Championship against Sid. In that order.

Here’s my boy Todd Pettingill running down the card at the start of the show

Commentary duties tonight are handled by Vince McMahon and Dok Hendrix. That’s Michael P.S Hayes with a rename, for some reason.

Wrestlemania was the WWF’s only PPV for a few years. In 1987 after Wrestlemania III did huge business, the company and PPV providers were keen to get Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant in the ring against ASAP. That birthed the first Survivor Series. Summerslam was added in 1988 and then the Royal Rumble in 1989 (the first Rumble in 88 was on TV, not PPV). Those big four were joined by King of the Ring in 1993, which itself died off in 2003 but as the WWF’s war with WCW escalated following the appointment of Eric Bischoff as their president and the signing of Hulk Hogan and Macho Man, adding more PPVs was the next tit-for-tat move. In Your House started what became the wrestling industry's norm - monthly PPV events. 

The In Your House branding changed a few times over the years before being dropped in 1999 and we’ll see that unfold as I continue through the New Generation but this was a dramatic shift. For many years - decades really - the WWF’s live event ticket sales were their number one money earning metric. By 1995, PPV buy rates were creeping up on that and monthly shows helped move it into the number one spot. By the late 90s, ticket sales were 4th behind PPV buys, TV rights deals and merchandise sales. As I write this in 2026 with the PPV model having changed so much because of streaming, the number one money spinning metric for the WWE is its multi-year TV deals with major networks. But back to 1995 where PPV was becoming King - something it stayed right through the early 2010s. 

Bret Hart vs. Hakushi (w/Shinja)

During Hakushi’s entrance, Vince tells us about and shows us footage of an altercation back in March where Hakushi did a moonsault off a stage onto Bret. That’s cool but having watched every Raw since, that is the first I’ve ever heard or seen of that incident. Hakushi is pretty awesome but the build to this match was not - Jerry Lawler kept calling Bret a racist and goaded Hakushi into attacking him. They’ve not mentioned that aspect for a few weeks now so I think they maybe realised how dumb and damaging that storyline was.

Bret has some words for Hakushi and Jerry Lawler backstage before the match - he’s going to beat them both and wishes his maw a happy mother’s day. That’s nice of him. Hakushi is undefeated and Bret has never actually defeated Jerry Lawler in their previous two televised matches so he has his work cut out for him.

The two start out with a slow feeling-out process, keeping their distance and locking up, backing off when someone takes advantage. Bret controls the tempo with some armdrags and an arm wringer. 

The fans chant “USA” in support of Bret, who is Canadian so I guess its more of an anti-Hakushi chant than a pro-Bret chant. 

When Hakushi reverses Bret’s momentum and takes control of the match, Jerry Lawler is shown watching from backstage and cheering him on. He’s obviously hoping that Hakushi will soften him up for King’s match later.

Hakushi does show off some innovative moves from 1995 with a springboard into a splash, a twisting crossbody and even a bronco buster in the corner. Shinja gets in some kicks on the outside too to help out his man, which Dok on commentary calls “great teamwork”. 

Hakushi keeps up the pressure with the handspring back elbow into the corner and a diving headbutt off the top but he misses his springboard splash. Bret goes into his familiar finishing sequence and picks up nearfalls after the side Russian legsweep, running bulldog and pinpoint elbow off the middle rope. Shinja distracts him from locking in the sharpshooter and then after tripping Bret, the Hitman actually dives through the ropes onto him and hammers him with punches! Bret has shown a lot more aggression since returning at the Royal Rumble and that story has been mentioned less and less by commentators but you can see it in Bret’s work.

Back in the ring, Bret and Hakushi battle over a suplex and take a big tumble up and over the ropes to the floor. That was cool. 

They fight to get back in the ring and Hakushi actually springboards off the middle rope with a moonsault to the floor, wiping out Bret. That looked fantastic too. Hakushi is a bit awesome. Bret battles back into the ring to avoid a count out and reverses an attempted German suplex into a victory roll to get the three count and to end Hakushi’s undefeated streak. This was great.

Bret doesn’t seem to be too banged up despite the intense match but then as he’s leaving the ring he hops down off the apron and apparently twists his knee or his ankle. He sells it heavily and starts to limp, looking frustrated as he makes his way up the ramp. Backstage, Jerry Lawler is keen for his match with Bret to start right now but Todd tells him it's not until later. Shout out to Stan Lane and Alundra Blayze on the Superstar Line who have the exact same haircut. 

Elsewhere, Stephanie Wyland is at the top of the ramp to hype up the giving away of a house - there’s a huge tank full of all the entry cards that fans have sent in. More on that later.

Handicap match

Razor Ramon vs. WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett and The Roadie

This is The Roadie’s in-ring debut. It was supposed to be a tag team match but the 1-2-3 Kid has a neck injury. He calls in during the entrance to talk about how much he wants to be there with Vince but he appears to have called in using a toaster because the audio quality is shocking. Maybe he had a sock wrapped around the handset to disguise his voice?

Before the match, Razor Ramon has some words from backstage himself. He says that his issues with Jarrett have been two on one since day one so tonight is no different. Tonight isn’t about the gold, it’s about making them pay for what they’ve done to him and The Kid, who he wishes well.

The story of this match is pretty straight forward - when its one on one, Razor dominates but then a well-timed distraction from the illegal man lets Jarrett take over. Roadie stays out of the ring and out of the match legally for as long as possible but when he is in the ring he keeps it simple with clotheslines and elbow drops. The Roadie obviously went on to have a long, successful career as Roaddogg and, as I write this in 2026, he is currently the head creative writer for WWE Smackdown. Humble beginnings here in 1995. 

With a two on one advantage, Jeff and Roadie slow the match down and tag in and out regularly to work over the Bad Guy. After a headbutt gone awry, Jeff tags out to Roadie who does his best but Razor fights up out of his sleeper hold and puts him down with the big back suplex off the top rope. He didn’t see the tag to Double J though and he’s clipped from behind. He kicks Jarrett off the Figure Four attempt sending him crashing into Roadie and then he follows up with the Razor’s Edge on Double J to pick up the victory.

He’s about to give Roadie a Razor’s Edge too for good measure but Jarrett chop blocks him from behind to save his buddy and locks the Bad Guy in the Figure Four. Jarrett and Roadie hammer on Ramon’s leg until Alto Montoya runs down to make the save. It’s a nice thought but he’s also quickly beaten up and thrown out of the ring. It’s not looking good for Razor until an unknown man - he looks like a fan - rushes the ring and beats them both up and sends them packing. The ring fills with referees and officials who finally manage to restrain him and he’s escorted from the ring by security. This was the debut of Savio Vega, but I’ll let him be introduced in due course.

Backstage, Jerry Lawler argues with President Jack Tunney trying desperately to get his match with Bret moved to earlier in the show so that the Hitman has less time to recover. Got to admire his effort.

There’s a fun commercial for the King of the Ring, which is the next time the WWF will be on PPV. That leads neatly into the next match.

King of the Ring tournament Qualifying match

Adam Bomb vs. Mabel (w/Mo)

Dok Hendrix actually picks Adam Bomb to win this because of the speed advantage, and because he’s more used to singles matches than tag team wrestler Mabel. That’s fair logic. Mo and Mabel attack Bomb before the bell but the referee, who is apparently terrible, just lets the match start anyway. Adam does use his speed to his advantage and picks up the pace with clotheslines and with a dive up and over the top rope to the outside but his attempted crossbody is caught, he’s slammed and in less than two minutes, Mabel advances into the King of the Ring quarter finals. 

Before the next match, there’s a lot happening. I do quite like the editing of this PPV as it has a real “everything happening at once” vibe. Razor Ramon formally introduces us to his friend Savio Vega who he calls one of the biggest stars from the Caribbean. Savio is in fact Kwang without his mask - no one will miss Kwang. Savio speaks Spanish and says no one will mess with him or with Razor.

Jerry Lawler continues to try and get his match with Bret to start, coming to ringside and being escorted to the back. He’s right to want to capitalise as Vince shows us that backstage, a dejected Hitman is icing his injured knee. I thought it looked more like his ankle was hurt?

WWF Tag Team Championships

Owen Hart and Yokozuna ©(w/Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette) vs. The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn)

Bart and Owen kick things off, picking up from their singles match on Raw (which Bart won) but a blind tag to Yokozuna and a massive clothesline to Billy gives the champions control. Yoko has been in the ring less than 30 seconds and already needs a break, locking Billy in a nerve hold on the mat before tagging back out to Owen. He has gotten bigger and by this point was probably a legitimate 650lbs. 

Owen throws Billy to the outside and Yoko tries to get in a cheap shot but misses his charge and crashes into the ring post. That gives Billy and Bart their best chance to win and they pick up the pace on Owen with a two on one advantage.

They hit a cool big double team neckbreaker but stupidly take too long to cover giving Owen time to kick out. Bart misses a charge and falls to the outside, Yoko crushes him with a massive leg drop and rolls him back into the ring so Owen can pin the limp Bart, retaining the Tag Team titles in less than six minutes. Far too short to be good or bad quite frankly. 

Todd Pettengill interviews WWF Champion Diesel. Remember when he was cool and cocky and talked trash? Here, he talks about how sad he is about having lost his mother before Christmas and quietly and sadly talks about how Henry Godwin attacked him and worked on his back, no doubt paid off by the Million Dollar Man and Sid. He also mentions Shawn Michaels and talks about their rekindled friendship, but not in the terms of it being rekindled. You’d think they’d been friends the whole time. 

Out in the ring, Jerry “The King” Lawler introduces us to his mother on mother’s day - it’s a beautiful supermodel about half his age. She tells him to make his mommy proud by beating Bret Hart tonight, and then she challenges Bret’s mum Helen to a match of her own. This is silly, but it's supposed to be silly. But what about Bret’s sore leg? Todd Pettengill asks him about it backstage - he does a little dance and mentions April Fool’s Day. There’s nothing wrong with his leg and there never was! He tricked Lawler. 

Bret Hart vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler

Bret chases King around the ring and hammers him in the tummy with right hands. These lower card borderline comedy feuds are such a waste of Bret - he is by far the most popular man in the company and the fans are loud for him even against part time commentator Lawler. He gives King a pasting around the ring and looks like he’s enjoying getting his hands on him. 

After a few minutes of beating Lawler up inside and outside the ring, Shinja comes down and distracts the referee. There’s some miscommunication and he’s knocked out of the ring getting his leg tied up in the ropes. With no referee, Hakushi runs down and comes down onto Bret with a dive off the top rope. Lawler holds Bret in position so Hakushi can hit a pair of diving headbutts off the top rope. Lawler hilariously rolls through Bret’s legs with a high effort rollup rather than just pinning him and it's enough for the victory. Lawler’s undefeated streak against the Hitman continues. The heels aren’t done and try to beat up Bret some more but he ducks Hakushi’s clothesline. Lawler leaves being consoled by his “mother” and a furious Bret beats up both Hakushi and Shinja as Vince talks about how this is the angriest he’s ever seen Bret.

Backstage, Sycho Sid cuts a promo with his face very close to the camera. He breathes heavily and tells Diesel that his time has run out as the camera zooms in closer and closer on his eyes. He calls himself the master and ruler of the World, which is still a cool nickname. Earlier in the show there was an ominous music video spotlighting Sid’s path of destruction so far

My boy Todd Pettengill and Stephanie Wyland, who I am less attached to, give away the beautiful home in Orlando Florida. Todd dicks a couple of rakes out of the garage (which gives Vince a big laugh) and recreate the famous American Gothic painting. They dig around for the winning entry and call them live, which is pretty cool. Todd messes up and misdials so Vince has to laugh that off too. The winner is Tom I’m-not-trying-to-spell-his-surname and he is extremely excited to have won. This was fun, saved by Vince laughing along, the winners sounding so happy about it and of course, Todd Pettengill being worth his weight in gold. 

As these early In Your House shows were only two hours long, the fans in attendance got dark matches to fill up the time and make their tickets worth buying too. On this particular show AFTER the WWF Championship main event, fans got Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (won by Bam Bam), Undertaker vs. Kama (won by Undertaker) and a second King of the Ring qualifying match between British Bulldog and Owen Hart (double count out, neither man advanced). On the home video release, these matches were included but they’re missing from my version of the show which is very much “as live” and includes Vince giving the merch guy Barry a chance to try and flog us some Bret Hart t-shirts in the middle of the PPV. 

WWF Championship

Diesel © vs. Sid (w/Ted Dibiase)

Sid looks like a million bucks, but was never known as a great performer. I do like his Sycho gimmick and promos. Vince and Dok talk strategy for Diesel before the match and Vince bravely calls him Sycho more than once - he doesn’t like being called a Sycho! I know I keep spelling Psycho wrong by the way, it's a stylistic thing. Sid berates and screams at Vince at ringside while Big Daddy Cool makes his entrance.

They get face to face and Diesel immediately beats up Sid, shoving him around and throwing punches. Sid manages to make all of this look very fake, keeping his arms by his sides and just leaning into Diesel’s forearms and punches. Come on, man.

Sid goes to the outside to get a breather but Diesel follows and continues to throw punches and forearms, getting his first near fall back on the inside with a clothesline. This is just a brawl so far, which is all we should expect from these two.

Sid manages to get control with a trip from the outside and then focuses his attack on the champion’s lower back, running him spine-first into the ring post and then hammering on him back in the ring with clubs and forearms. 

After a long, slow period of hammering on Diesel’s back and locking in a long camel clutch, Sid plants Diesel with his big powerbomb and then instead of going for the pin takes ages to pose and celebrate. He waits so long Diesel has no problem kicking out at two. So not only does Sid look like a psycho now, he looks stupid! 

Diesel quickly mounts a comeback and after a powerslam, hits the Jackknife. He DOES go for the cover but its broken up by Tatanka. The match, which wasn’t very good anyway, ends via disqualification. 

Tatanka and Dibiase stomp on Diesel and as Sid prepares to give Big Daddy Cool another powerbomb, Bam Bam Bigelow rushes to the ring to chase off the Million Dollar Corporation and save his new buddy Diesel. The fans do at least pop for the announcement that Diesel is still the champion.