In Your House 9: International Incident - General Motors Place, Vancouver British Columbia Canada, July 21st 1996

The show opens, not with a video package, but with a recap of the events of earlier tonight on the Free for All! Jose Lothario and Jim Cornette were having an in-ring debate about the PPV’s main event and it came to blows. Shawn Michaels was fortunately there to stop Vader from assaulting Jose. More fuel for the fire in tonight’s main event.

Just for fun, this show also had two dark matches, one at the start of the show and one after the main event; Justin Hawk Bradshaw beat Savio Vega and, in a match which is historically FAR more interesting, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hunter Hearst Helmsley battled to a double count out.

WWF Tag Team Champions The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn, w/Sunny) vs. The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip)

The opening match is a last minute addition and yes, it’s a non-title match. The big news? Cloudy is gone already. Before the match Skip and Zip say that Cloudy showed them that they don’t need a manager at all - ha! What a rinse! Sunny refused to put the titles on the line so this is more of a number one contender’s match for the Bodydonnas. I might as well get this out of the way; Sunny looks absolutely incredible on this show. 

The fans aren’t really paying attention to this match and chant things at Sunny instead. I can’t tell what they were saying but the commentators didn’t acknowledge it so I suspect it was deeply inappropriate. 

The match goes back and forth with Skip and Zip trying to work on Bart Gunn’s left arm but he’s bigger and stronger and fights them off to tag Billy. He doesn’t do much better so the champions resort to some dirty tactics with Sunny pretending to faint or have a heart attack or something. Her acting is ropey but like a dumb babyface, Skip goes out to check on her and gets taken out with a double clothesline from Billy and Bart. It was a setup. That allows the Gunns to isolate and dominate the smaller Skip. Jerry Lawler asks sarcastically if a woman like Sunny would EVER date someone like the Bodydonnas? That’s a pretty obviously joke; she was married to Skip in real life. Sunny steals all the focus and continues to show tons of character and charisma, constantly throwing little quips and snide comments about how great she is to the camera and celebrating like a cheerleader when her men hit anything. There’s a hilarious botch as Billy tries to jump up and over Bart’s shoulders to land on Skip but Bart doesn’t duck down and Billy is unable to jump anywhere near high enough to complete the move. He yells at Bart which seemed legit because he caught himself and turned it into yelling at and blaming the fans for distracting him instead. Nice try though guys. 

Skip is worked over for a while but finally dodges a corner charge and tags out to Zip. He is also beaten up by the Tag Team Champions but when Bart lifts him for a sidewalk slam, Skip missile dropkicks him and that’s enough to give the Bodydonnas the victory! That seems like a lame finish but Jim Ross does good and explains the deeper story - Bart was trying to set up the sidewinder but Billy was too busy chatting and flirting with Sunny to complete the move and it cost them. Maybe that botched double team and argument wasn’t a real botch afterall? 

Mr. Perfect interviews Camp Cornette so that Jim can narrate the same footage we saw in that opening video. Hilariously Vader is off camera roaring and throwing things around, sending stuff flying past the camera while his manager speaks. Cornette promises the people that he’s SO confident his team will win the main event; he will personally refund every fan in the crowd if they don’t. Bulldog and Owen chime in at the end and cut shouty 1980s style promos about how they’re going to show everyone who’s boss but the key point is that Bulldog’s wife Diana will be staying in the back for safety. 

Mankind vs. Henry O. Godwin (w/Hillbilly Jim)

Yes this match was supposed to be Mankind vs. Jake Roberts however Jake is apparently injured and unable to be here tonight. That’s pure storyline and exists so that Jerry Lawler can mock Roberts’ sobriety and suggest the REAL reason he’s not here is because he’s drunk.

It’s been true since Hillbilly Jim became their manager but The Godwins’ theme song is HEAVILY dubbed on all of these shows and this is the most obvious it’s been so far. Why? It’s because they did enter to Hillbilly Jim’s “Don’t go messing with a country boy” theme BUT, that’s copyrighted by Jimmy Hart so instead it’s covered up by a generic banjo track. 

Mankind attacks Henry quickly and hammers him down in the corner while JR puts over Mankind; he’s put the Mandible Claw on the Undertaker four times and beat him at the King of the Ring. No one else has ever had such a dominant record against the normally unstoppable Undertaker. 

Henry does fight back but Mankind shrugs it all off and no-sells the blows to batter the pig farmer. He shows off some more of his move set with a running bulldog, elbow drop and running knee in the corner that became one of his trademarks all while squealing like a maniac and tearing out his own hair. 

Mankind exposes the concrete floor at ringside and hits a swinging neckbreaker on it; Henry actually fell too slowly and kind of landed on Mick’s head as he fell but it plays into the story the commentators were telling; Mankind isn’t bothered by pain and will happily hurt himself to hurt his opponents. 

The exposed concrete comes back to hurt Mankind as when it spills back to the outside, Henry slams him from the apron hard onto the floor! It gets a big gasp from the crowd and commentary trio but Mankind is back up quickly and in the ring, blocks the Slop Drop to lock in the Mandible Claw! It was too much for The Undertaker and Henry doesn’t do any better - Mankind wins by submission. 

On the Superstar Line they have the still injured Brian Pillman on the case. He’s interviewing the participants in the opening match. He mocks the Bodydonnas and calls Sunny nothing but T+A, saying they want to “double team Sunny”. Hilariously Sunny just sticks to her lines about how the Bodydonnas cheated and ignores what he’s saying. It all gets a little too adult for Vince so he cuts off Pillman to get back to the arena. 

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Marc Mero (w/Sable)

The new King of the Ring has added a logo to the back of his trunks; it’s one of those logos you’d see on old sticker albums (remember those?) or video games but didn’t catch on when compared to his other vastly more popular catchphrases, logos and merchandise. 

Just like Sunny, Sable has started to totally eclipse the act which she manages and honestly? Rightfully so. Mero is fine but I can’t say I’m a fan and this is definitely the best Sable ever looked (in my oh so humble opinion).

Stone Cold gave Mero his first loss in the WWF and Mero accidentally bust open Austin’s mouth at the King of the Ring so both of these guys have a score to settle. Stone Cold starts off super aggressively hammering away with punches and clubs. This is just a fight rather than a match. Mero picks the pace up with some deep arm drags and works on Austin’s arm and shoulder; not the first time tonight we’ve seen that. Jim Ross keeps telling us what a gifted mat wrestler Austin is but he is already starting to brawl more in his matches. He’s a bruiser who beats people up.

Marlena is shown watching this match from backstage; they’re teasing that she has an unhealthy interest in Sable which I’m sure will lead to a feud somewhere down the line. Mero hits the same roll up on Austin that he did at King of the Ring where an errant kick caught him in the mouth. Stone Cold acts like he got caught in the mouth again but it was a ruse and he thumbs Marc in the eye followed by driving his head into the ring post on the outside. Stone Cold gets a mixed reaction from the fans; some of the audience is starting to like his trash talking, take no prisoners attitude and there’s another cheer when he sends Mero flying off the apron into the security  barrier. 

I haven’t mentioned it for a bit but the loss of Ted Dibiase has really benefited Stone Cold, letting him speak for himself. He has in the weeks and months since suggested that he lost to Savio at Beware of Dog on purpose, just to get rid of Dibiase. Austin gets more cheers when he taunts Mero, messing up his hair and then gives some verbal abuse to the referee. He’s already awesome, but you all know how highly I think of Stone Cold Steve Austin. 

Mero counters a powerbomb or a hangman onto the ropes into a hurricanrana sending Stone Cold up and over the top rope to the outside. Goldust’s usher comes down to the ring and you’d assume it’s related to Sable but instead he hands a note to Jerry Lawler. King finds whatever it says amusing. Mero gets back into the match from that counter, diving from the inside all the way to the outside and actually gets some boos from the now strangely pro-Austin crowd. Mero picks up the pace and you can feel this match building towards the finish. Austin counters Mero off the top sending him crotch first onto the ropes but when he tries for the Stunner, Mero grabs the ropes to block that. Mero gets a near fall from a splash over the ropes but Austin clips his knee and, with Mero stumbling, gets caught with a Stone Cold Stunner to give Austin the victory in what I thought was another great match. These two really clicked at the King of the Ring and this was shorter but just as good.

Austin leaves quickly and wastes no time celebrating leaving the Wildman to be consoled by Sable. Are they going to tell us what that note from Marlena says?

The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) vs. Goldust (w/Marlena)

Goldust enters first and JR asks why Marlena came out here during the previous match. It’s a sensible question but we don’t get an answer. The commentators remind us that the last time these two men wrestled (in a casket match) Mankind appeared from nowhere and launched a vicious sneak attack on The Undertaker to cost him. Remember that for later.

It’s been fun watching this era of wrestling and seeing them slowly figure out how to make The Undertaker special. He was just another scary big man with a gimmick before but in 1994, figuring out the arena lights and the spooky entrance and combining it with supernatural powers and an aura he’s moved beyond all of that to become a legend in his own time. 

Goldust keeps his distance for a long, long time. Undertaker rocks him with an uppercut and Goldust bails out of the ring and takes more of a breather again. It’s a lot of stalling. Undertaker finally has had enough and chases him outside the ring, chokeslamming Goldust onto the ringsteps butt-first which JR says will compress his spine. He beats up Goldust against the ring post and lifts the ring steps to crush him but Marlena puts herself across her man like a human shield and even The Undertaker won’t hit a woman with ring steps so he takes the fight back into the ring instead. Goldust absorbs a beating and tries to remove one of the protective turnbuckle covers to use as a weapon. By the time we’re about 8 minutes into a 12 minute match Goldust has yet to hit so much as a single punch of his own. Undertaker gives him a leg drop, the old school arm wringer off the ropes and a body slam. Goldust’s only offense is avoiding an elbow drop and a clothesline over the ropes but Undertaker lands on his feet and immediately recovers. Goldust does finally get into the match a little with big body blows and clubs on the outside and then slamming the ringsteps across Undertaker’s back while Paul Bearer mistakenly has the referee distracted.

In the ring Goldust’s domination doesn’t last long until Undertaker fights him off and hits the Tombstone. He has the three count for sure until Mankind bursts through the ring mat! That’s a trick we’ve seen Undertaker himself use before. Mankind locks the Mandible Claw on Undertaker and drags him through the hole in the mat and under the ring. Mankind crawls out shortly after and smoke billows from the hole as the arena lights flicker and Undertaker’s theme song plays in stops and starts, almost like he’s trying his best to recover but doesn’t have the strength to do it. Mankind sticks his head back in the hole to check on his prey but it seems that The Undertaker has disappeared. Or has he? The Deadman bursts through the mat himself on the otherside, behind Mankind and goes on the attack.with big right hands. The pair trade big right hands and brawl up the entrance ramp and disappear backstage. The Undertaker wins by disqualification in a match which wasn’t great but I did really enjoy the shenanigans after the match!

Here’s a funny commercial for Summerslam 1996 featuring a whole bunch of wrestlers from the era. I can’t think of too many times in history we saw Stone Cold in particular participate in this kind of scripted nonsense for the company

At ringside as the commentators kill some time talking about the main event so that the ring can be rebuilt a fan in the front row puts a paper Burger King crown on Jerry Lawler’s head and it takes him a moment to notice which is pretty funny. Lawler calls for security which is both real and good character work - security does actually come over to subdue all the rowdy fans in the front row behind Jerry, Vince and JR.

Meanwhile backstage as Paul Bearer screams for help, Mankind and Undertaker furiously brawl in what looks like a maintenance area or, dare I say, a boiler room. The camera man is bowled over and we can hear Mankind screaming for help until the footage ends. 

The British Bulldog, Owen Hart and Vader (w/Jim Cornette) vs. WWF Champion Shawn Michaels (w/Jose Lothario), WWF Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson and Sycho Sid

I wonder if this six man tag team match PPV main event was in response to WCW booking a six man tag team match in the main event of their July 7th PPV where Hulk Hogan dramatically turned heel and formed the nWo? It’s hard to say this one will be as impactful. The removal of the Ultimate Warrior is unfortunate but given his history with the WWF i think everyone know this run wasn’t going to last long. I wonder why, given that they’d already filmed Camp Cornette beating down the Warrior, they announced his suspension and didn’t just give Vader the credit for injuring and ending his career? The short answer is that Vince wanted to bury Warrior on TV and let fans know he kept no-showing events. It suits me anyway; I’m happy to see Sid back! 

Before the match, Dok Hendrix interviews the babyface team. Sid is all smiles as HBK calls them three gentleman and talks about the match as a gang fight. He has two very impressive pieces of back up for a gang fight. Sid as a babyface is a weird sight; he calls Shawn and Ahmed his friends and promises they’ll stand tall when the smoke clears. Michaels ends telling them to watch out for Sweet Chin Music and Sid actually hams it up and looks around, pantomiming being afraid of it. Great stuff.

As Michaels makes his entrance the fans in the front row are so excited to get near him that they cause a section of the security wall to collapse! Everyone laughed it off and no one was hurt, thankfully. I really like Ahmed calling the Intercontinental title the People’s Championship and he’s really connected with the audience. This match might have set some kind of record for the number of genuinely excellent theme songs in a row (Owen and Bulldog both enter with Vader to his theme which was the right call because Jesus that’s a good song). I’m impressed, even with having watched all of the build up to this event, that the company has forced so much “big fight feel” into this main event and after all the entrances and with all six men in the ring I was hyped watching this! 

Vader insists on Michaels starting the match for his team and he has no problem over powering and bullying HBK around the ring. Shawn is faster and keeps Vader on his toes, hitting one dive to the outside of the ring but missing the second and landing on the security railing. Vader beats up HBK in the corner as the fans chant for Sid. I guess I’m not alone in being a big fan of the Ruler and Master of the World and there’s a huge cheer when Michaels tags out. He wrestles a lot faster than I’m used to seeing from him as a babyface, running around the ring and clotheslining all three members of Camp Cornette out of the ring and posing to massive cheers! He and Michaels hug, high five and chest bump and I’m really enjoying this dynamic!

Ahmed tags in and puts down Owen with three messy German suplexes in a row bringing the King of Harts down on his shoulder every time. Owen was selling shoulder for the rest of the match so I don’t think I’m imagining his clumsyness. He misses a big elbow drop and that allows the heels to isolate and tag in and out quickly to work over the Intercontinental Champion for a while. 

Ahmed finally reverses an attempted piledriver and tags out to Sid who doesn’t do much better, running into a double team and then Bulldog really impressively puts Sid down with a delayed vertical suplex.

Vader tags in and it’s Sycho Sid’s turn to be worked over by Camp Cornette with quick tags. He repeats the Ahmed spot of fighting free long enough to tag out to Michaels and he runs through Bulldog and fights off interference from Owen Hart to get his team back into the match. Shawn and Owen roll around the ring with a long and impressive battle of reversed roll ups Owen comes out on top and tags out to Vader who grinds down Michaels with a long, long rest hold in the middle of the ring. The crowd are really into this match which helps it a lot and they rally behind HBK to break the hold. He does his best to fight out but Ahmed Johnson rocks him with a clothesline to help out his partner. Shawn crawls to tag out but doesn’t quite make it and Bulldog drags him back to their corner. Michaels guts it out and finally after a long period of being worked over, tags in Sid who runs through all three men. He puts down Bulldog and Owen with a pair of chokeslams and the match descents into chaos! There’s fighting everywhere and Michaels sets up for Sweet Chin Music on Vader. Jim Cornette grabs his ankle to stop it and the distraction allows the big man to squash him in the corner and then flatten him with the Vader Bomb to win the match. Vader has pinned the WWF Champion! 

The heels get seconds to celebrate before Ahmed and Sid attack them agian. Sid puts down Bulldog and Owen with powerbombs but Vader escapes so Michaels dives out of the ring after him and they send Camp Cornette scurrying to the back. The important thing however, as the babyfaces celebrate is that they lost and Vader pinned Shawn Michaels. I thought this was a really good main event! There was so much happening at the finish and the fans were really into the whole thing, especially Sid! Backstage before the PPV ends, Dok Hendrix interviews President Gorilla Monsoon and he makes a big match for Summerslam; a battle between Mankind and The Undertaker but the match will START in the boiler room, since no ring can contain their war. He’s interrupted by Jim Cornette and Vader and after some ranting about Vader’s win, Gorilla makes another match official for Summerslam; Shawn Michaels vs. Vader for the WWF Championship.

This was a strong PPV! I do wonder why the opener was a non-title match but it was fine. I enjoyed the stuff between Mankind and The Undertaker, I thought Stone Cold vs. Marc Mero was really good and I really enjoyed the main event! Here’s a recap of the whole show