In Your House 13: Final Four - UTC Arena, Chattanooga Tennessee, February 16th 1997
It’s rare that you get a show where a new WWF champion is guaranteed but here we are. Shawn Michaels lost his smile and hurt his knee so that’s where we find ourselves. This is the first PPV, as far as I’m aware, to be called by the legendary Attitude era duo of Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross. JR even has his cowboy hat now!
Marc Mero (w/Sable) vs. Leif Cassidy
This match wasn’t announced ahead of time but then nothing on this show, other than the main event, was. Sable has ditched the ball gown and smile for a black leather catsuit that shows a lot of cleavage, sunglasses and a serious, sexy expression. Basically this is her final form and she looks pretty gorgeous.
These two lock up and chain wrestle to start as JR talks about Mero’s recent change in attitude, getting more serious and a little more aggressive. He pulls Cassidy’s hair and slams him around and, on the outside, Sable distracts him so Mero can jump him from behind and get the first proper near fall with a slingshot leg drop.
Leif didn’t even get an entrance on this show and was already in the ring when it begun so probably isn’t winning this? He smartly goes after Mero’s knee with a pair of low dropkicks and works over his legs to stop the Wildman’s high flying offence.
He works on Mero’s knee as Sable cheers him on from ringside.
The fans weren’t very into this to begin with but rally behind the Wildman as he fights from underneath. He fights back with punches and an enziguri to get back into the match but is quickly taken back down and locked in the figure four. JR on commentary analyses the move and talks about the 7 different points this hold applies pressure to which is something you’d never hear Vince McMahon say. I wonder why he’s not on commentary for this show.
Leif makes the mistake of getting out of the ring to confront Sable and so she slaps him in the face! He is about to hit her back but Mero comes flying through the ropes onto him and gets really aggressive in the ring, slamming Cassidy’s head into the mat, the ring post and finally putting him down with a Samoan drop to set up the Wildthing. An awesome looking shooting star press later, Marc Mero wins thanks to Sable. This wasn’t bad; a decent midcard match that would have been better suited to an episode of Raw than as a PPV opener. JR continues to hammer home the main story here which is Sable’s new look and attitude as well as Mero’s increased aggression and intensity. I wonder if they’re planning a heel turn?
After a long recap of Shawn Michaels’ emotionally vacating the WWF Championship on Thursday Raw Thursday, Kevin Kelly interviews Sycho Sid who will face the winner of tonight’s main event for the title tomorrow night on Raw. Sid says that he’s sad for Shawn Michaels but more sad for himself who never got his rematch! He doesn’t care who it is, he will prove he is the ruler and the master of the world and regain the WWF Championship.
The Nation of Domination (Faarooq, Crush and Savio Vega w/Nation members) vs. Goldust (w/Marlena), Bart Gunn and Flash Funk
Where did this match come from? They give us a little bit of a recap of some of the interactions, specifically Faarooq beating Bart Gunn (with a super dangerous looking Dominator) thanks to interference from The Nation four weeks ago and Crush cheating to beat Goldust two weeks ago. That’s fine I guess; a bunch of babyfaces who can’t win the numbers game against the Nation uniting to take them on together. Flash Funk is just there for the vibes I guess?
The Nation of Domination makes their entrance through the crowd which is pretty cool. PG-13’s rap for the theme music has grown on me too. The Nation’s members now include three actual wrestlers (the ones in this match) and a bunch of unnamed extras in tuxedos. I think it’s cool.
The match begins in chaos with Goldust, Flash and Bart jumping the Nation from behind and the brawl settles down with the babyfaces coming out on top and sending them outside to regroup. Their tete-a-tete-a-tete is broken up by Flash Funk diving off the top onto all three of them. JR keeps calling The Nation “rabid dogs” and “a pack of wild animals” and that feels like a branding thing where Vince has told him to say it over and over so it sticks in fan’s minds. They’re a gang, basically.
The match settles down with Faarooq countering Flash into a spinebuster and the Nation try to isolate him but he hits Savio with a hurricanrana off the top which despite needing some setup, felt like it came out of nowhere! This match is hard to call. Bart throws Flash up and over the top rope to land on all three Nation members but they catch him and beat him up three on one to finally slow this down.
Crush does lots of basic big man moves like a belly to belly and a bearhug while JR and King call him a jail bird and make jokes about paying for things with cigarettes. He did actually go to jail, but not for very long. Given that he was arrested for having an unregistered gun and illegal distribution of steroids they probably shouldn’t be making jokes about it right?
Flash counters out of an attempted double team by Faarooq and Savio with a cartwheel which was cool and makes the hot tag to Bart Gunn who runs through the entire nation. A big scoop slam on Faarooq might end it but Crush breaks up the pin and the match breaks down into a wild six man brawl. Bart hits a diving bulldog off the top rope to Faarooq but Crush drops a leg across the back of his head and reverses the pin to give the Nation the victory. This wasn’t bad! Six man tag team matches are usually pretty good because there’s enough people to just keep the action moving at all times.
Dok Hendrix interviews Stone Cold Steve Austin backstage about tonight’s main event. Austin reminds us that he won the Royal Rumble last month and eliminated all three of his opponents tonight to do it. He says there is a conspiracy against him and he’s been held down for 7 years by “the bureaucratic B.S”. He’s already such a good promo that the fans are starting to cheer him. It won’t be long Steve.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Rocky Maivia © vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Rocky won his first (of many) championship only three days ago on Thursday Raw Thursday. JR says that he believes Helmsley took Rocky for granted so this might be a very short title reign for the rookie.
It’s a trip seeing these two have their first singles PPV match; there’s a lot more of these in their future over the next 3.5 years. Hunter takes Maivia down and slaps him on the head, showing off how much better of a wrestler he is but Rocky is big, strong and has some counters of his own. It’s very basic stuff; headlocks, arm drags, armbars and dropkicks. Rocky does show a little bit of personally slapping Helmsley and not taking the insult laying down.
HHH sends Rocky crashing to the outside through the ropes after reversing the charge and then controls it from there, picking him apart with elbows, knees and a long sleeper hold. The story is that HHH is a veteran and more experienced but Maivia is a plucky rookie. It’s funny to see this 6”5 almost 300lbs super athlete portrayed as “the plucky underdog” which I think most fans agreed with. I’ll get into that over the next couple of months no doubt.
A big knee to the jaw gives Helmsley a near fall and then he goes right back to grinding him down on the mat. Rocky does pull him into a small package - the same way he beat him for the title on Raw - but Hunter kicks out and gets right back on top with a backbreaker. It’s not a bad match but it’s not very exciting. The crowd are into it thankfully which always helps, chanting “Rocky” when the challenger goes back to his endless chinlock on the mat.
Rocky fights up off the mat with elbows and big punches and speeds things up with a string of moves rebounding off the ropes like a back elbow and a drop kick before getting a really close near fall with a big diving crossbody off the top. That’s a rookie move but Rocky is way too big to be doing moves like that. HHH gets some reprieve with a roll up and puts his feet on the ropes for leverage but Rocky kicks out of that too and retaliates with his around-the-world DDT, flipping up and over to hit it. Good stuff. A face buster and then a neckbreaker puts HHH back in control and it seems like he’s abound to regain his title but Goldust comes to ringside and taunts him, distracting the blue blood enough for Rocky to hit a back suplex and that somehow gets the three count. Rocky retains the title in a strong performance but a dull match, and Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Goldust’s feud continues which is the main story.
Rocky quickly leaves with his title belt and Goldust and HHH circle each other, teasing a fight. Before they come to blows a huge, muscular woman grabs Marlena from behind, clamping her in a sleeper until security drags her away. Goldust is now far more concerned with checking on Marlena. “Is that a woman?” says JR, and he and King discuss the incident as if a fan got over excited but then they show a replay so you know it was planned.
Kevin Kelly interviews Paul Bearer and Vader about tonight’s main event. Vader keeps pulling funny looks to the camera and does most of the speaking for a change; he just throws all three of his opponents’ catchphrases back in their faces. Paul Bearer squeals that his Vader has already beaten all three other men (which is technically accurate) and will be the new WWF Champion.
WWF Tag Team Championships
The British Bulldog and Owen Hart © (w/Clarence Mason) vs. Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon
Furnas and Lafon didn’t even get an entrance here so despite their winning streak and non-title victory over the champions, plus the fact that Bulldog and Owen are teasing a breakup, the challengers don’t seem like likely winners.
Owen is hilarious during his entrance, continually stepping in front of Bulldog to steal his spotlight and pantomiming that he’ll hit Lafon with his Slammy trophy.
Owen and Lafon start off and chain wrestle which the Frenchman wins. Owen tags out to Bulldog who doesn’t fare any better but a well timed kick to the back from Owen on the apron allows the champions to isolate and double team their challenger. Lafon actually almost wins the title with a roll up on Bulldog but Owen distracts the referee so he can’t count. Owen and Bulldog isolate Lafon in their half of the ring and pour the offence onto his left leg and work towards Owen’s Sharpshooter. Bulldog holds him up for a suplex which Owen brings down with a crossbody - a great double team move - but Lafon kicks out! I was sure Furnas would have to save his partner on that one.
Bulldog and Owen continue to illegally double team Lafon every chance they get until Owen’s spinning heel kick misses Lafon and hits Bulldog! The tag team champions get into a shoving match and Owen slaps Bulldog! He gets rolled up by Lafon and that almost costs them the Tag Team titles! Furnas finally tags in - Lafone has done 90% of the work in this match - and hits a couple of moves before tagging back out! Is he lazy or injured? He doesn’t seem to be as Furnas hits a nice dropkick, hurricanana and a snap leg drop. The pace picks up massively towards the end and Owen has to kick out of several big moves before putting Furnas down with a stiff kick to the head. Despite their argument and coming to blows just moments ago Bulldog and Owen have settled back down and are working as a team again. That doesn’t last long and they run into each other, banging heads! Bulldog recovers and hits the running powerslam on Furnas but Owen Hart hits him with his Slammy…right in front of the referee. That’s the third time recently that Bulldog felt like they had a match won legitimately but cowardly heel Owen got them intentionally disqualified or counted out to save the belts.
Post match Owen and Clarence Mason try to console Bulldog - they’re still champions so who cares? Bulldog isn’t happy and wanted to actually win, throwing down his Tag Team title belt and doing the same to Owen’s Slammy! Hilariously it snaps in half and Owen FLIPS out! “You broke my Slammy you jerk!” There is very much trouble in paradise but they’re still tag team champions. Furnas and Lafon should be owed another title match down the line as in all this confusion the point was lost; they did officially win this match!
Dok Hendrix speaks to The Undertaker. The Deadman has rediscovered his edge and that spells doom for his three opponents tonight. He says that the WWF title will be his tonight by hook or by crook. He actually uses his spooky powers to lower the lights backstage just like he does in the arena. Pretty cool to see him evolve without Paul Bearer to do the speaking for him. This is The Undertaker as he was for the bulk of his career, moving out of his first few years as a silent, slow moving monster.
Four Corners Elimination match for the vacant WWF Championship
Bret Hart vs. Vader (w/Paul Bearer) vs. The Undertaker vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Gorilla Monsoon is in the ring with the WWF title belt to present to the winner of this match. There’s no video package for this one as JR just recaps the finish of last month’s Royal Rumble. These kinds of matches are common now but in 1997, four ways and triple threats happened in other companies but not in the WWF. Here’s the rules, and it's remarkably simple to follow. I do find it weird that they can be eliminated by going over the top rope.
Vader enters first and kicks over the ring steps and causes a bit of ruckus at ringside before the match has even started. Stone Cold is next and the two heels get right in each other’s faces as Undertaker’s gong sounds and the arena plunges into darkness. With the three of them in the ring, Kevin Kelly interviews Bret Hart and asks if anything can stop him from winning the title tonight. Bret says no and that as tough as the other three guys are, he’s the best man. The camera follows him through the back and out onto the entrance ramp which was very cool. Bret feels like the biggest star in this match and rightfully so.
The four of them pair off with Austin and Bret in the ring and Undertaker and Vader brawling on the outside. Vader tries to use a steel chair and has it kicked right back in his face which busts his head wipe open! Undertaker is like a man possessed and hammers Vader on the floor, throwing him into the ring steps and pounding him with right hands all around the ringside area.
Bret and Austin’s fight in the ring is broken up by Undertaker and Vader and there’s action everywhere. Undertaker plants Vader with a massive chokeslam but he doesn’t have time to cover before Stone Cold hits him with a Stunner which looked more like a neckbreaker. Bret and Vader fight to the outside now and the big man uses a steel chair on the Hitman. Stone Cold tries to piledrive Undertaker on the entrance ramp but it's turned into a backdrop on the bare concrete. Undertaker goes after Bret so Stone Cold and Vader go at it and Austin uses the ringsteps as a weapon, slamming them across Vader’s back and driving them into his head. Stone Cold is a maniac and grabs the WWF title belt, hammering Vader with it over and over while Undertaker dissects Bret in the ring. It’s chaos, there’s constant never ending action. Bret and a bloody Vader fight into the crowd trading right hands as Undertaker brings Austin into the ring with a superplex. This is awesome stuff.
With all four men in the ring, Bret gets a near fall on Austin with a nice piledriver. Vader attempts his 450lbs moonsault on Undertaker but the Deadman rolls out of the way to save himself. The four men brawl in the ring for a long stretch and Vader has lost a LOT of blood with it all gathering in the eye of his mask and looking really nasty.
Bret focuses on Austin and manages to lift him up, dumping him over the top rope to the floor! Stone Cold is the first man eliminated and unlike last month the referees saw it this time and marched him to the back. Vader finally removes his mask so he can see what he’s doing and continues to wail on Bret as on the outside Paul Bearer hits Undertaker in the head with the urn, apparently knocking him out cold.
Bret hits an amazing looking superplex on Vader and locks him in the Sharpshooter but Undertaker breaks up that hold for some reason. Bret spills to the outside so sore loser Austin runs back down and attacks the Hitman, driving him face first into the ring post. Vader sets up the Vader bomb on Undertaker but the Deadman hits him with a low blow and shoves up over the top rope, eliminating Vader. That leaves us with Undertaker vs. Bret Hart one on one and with Bret badly beaten by Austin the Undertaker is able to plant him with a chokeslam before signalling for the Tombstone. Stone Cold is so obsessed with Bret Hart he continues to grab at him and actually pulls him out of the Tombstone to save him. Unintentionally of course. Undertaker gets focused on getting rid of Stone Cold and Bret Hart capitalises, clotheslining Undertaker out of the ring to win this match and the WWF Championship!
Undertaker is furious and chases Austin away from the ring before looking back at Bret while he celebrates his fourth WWF Championship victory. This was a great main event, totally fresh in this era with the blood, violence and intensity. The PPV ends with a commercial for Wrestlemania 13 (they hadn’t decided on the official logo for the event yet, it’s just the Wrestlemania 12 one) and we’re out. Or are we?
After that commercial we cut back to the arena to close the PPV for real with Sycho Sid coming out to confront the Hitman. Bret’s first title defence is in only 24 hours against the big man on Raw. Good stuff.
