In Your House 1: Premiere Review

Sunday, May 14th, 1995
Onondoga County War Memorial
Syracuse, New York

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I started this journey many years ago with WrestleMania VIII. I have covered a lot of squash matches and a lot of shows in this timeline (it should have been more, but the whole Peacock transition ruined me covering some Superstars). It's finally time to take the next step and head into the monthly pay-per-view era that still exists to this day. This is the premiere of the 2 hour concept, which I don't think was a bad idea, they just didn't have the roster depth to pull it off. Vince McMahon and Dok Hendrix are your announcers for this show.

Hakushi vs. Bret Hart

This is the first of two matches for Bret tonight. As Hakushi is entering, Todd Pettengill is back with Bret. Bret says that Hakushi has never faced someone like him. Bret dedicates this match to his mother and wishes her a happy Mother's Day. Near the iconic house entrance, there is a huge bin full of letters of people trying to win that free house. On a side note, I watched the Vladimir documentary on Peacock and I think that any longtime WWF/WWE fan should definitely check it out. As someone who has watched WrestleMania VII about 100 times, he was a big part of my fandom at a young age and it was cool to see him get his due. Bret and Hakushi seem to have a couple of small miscommunications early on. Hakushi rolls out of the ring and he tries to sneak attack Bret, but he sees him before that can happen. 1995 Bret really isn't that far off from peak Hogan, as much as I do like him. Hakushi sends Bret sternum first into the turnbuckle before hitting the second rope splash for a 2 count. They show Jerry Lawler watching the match backstage. Hakushi hits a bronco buster in the corner ande then is able to dump Bret outside the ring, allowing for some Shinja interference. Shinja is able to distract the referee to allow Hakushi to choke Bret out in the corner. Hakushi hits the cartwheel handspring elbow in the corner and then rakes the eyes of Bret before he can come back. Hakushi hits a top rope headbutt and gets a 2 count. Hakushi misses with a springboard splash and Bret hits a side Russian leg sweep. Bret hits the bulldog and a backbreaker before hitting the patented second rope elbow. Bret goes for the Sharpshooter, but Shinja gets up on the apron and Bret stops. Bret hits Hakushi with a big clothesline, but then is tripped up by Shinja. Bret then hits a dive on Shinja and a series of right hands. Back in the ring, Hakushi goes for a suplex, but Bret blocks it and he suplexes both of them over the top rope to the floor. Bret turns his attention to Shinja and then gets hit by a springboard moonsault to the floor from Hakushi. You weren't seeing many of those in 1995 WWF. Bret beats the count back into the ring and Hakushi goes for a suplex. Bret blocks it and rolls him up for the victory. I guess it's only fitting that Mr. In Your House has the first win in the show's history. I've never liked this match quite as much as the consensus, which is strange because I am a big fan of both of these two. It's still a good match, just not quite the classic some make it out to be. They then show Bret hopping out of the ring and he appears to have injured his knee. He hobbles to the back.

Match Rating: ***1/4

They go back to the WWF Hotline area and Lawler is begging to fight Bret right now. 

We go to Stephanie Wiand hyping up the 340,000 entries for the contest. 

Jeff Jarrett & Roadie vs. Razor Ramon

As Jarrett and Roadie are entering the ring, they get on the phone with 1-2-3 Kid. He says that he's keeping a close eye on Roadie and that he'll get back with him when he returns. Razor says that this is his first advertised handicap match, but all along it's been 2 on 1 when he faces Jarrett. This time he's not concerned about the gold because this is personal and then wishes mama Ramon a happy Mother's Day. Jarrett misses with a dropkick and gets clotheslined over the top rope. Razor goes after him and this allows for Roadie to attack him from behind. We get our first glimpse of Roadie as an in ring performer here. They use the handicap to their advantage, making quick tags and illegally interfering. Jarrett gets hit in the midsection on his way down from the second rope. He goes for a Razor's Edge, but he's dumped over the top rope. Roadie then hits a clothesline from the second rope to the floor. Jarrett hits a crossbody off the top rope, but Razor rolls over and almost gets a 3 count. Jarrett comes back with a swinging neckbreaker. Razor and Jarrett collide off the ropes and both men are down. Razor is able to hit a back suplex and both men are down again. Jarrett finally tags in Roadie and he hits a knee off the second rope. You would never think that Roadie was a second generation wrestler, as he is all sizzle and no steak. Razor makes his comeback and hits a back superplex on Roadie. Razor goes for the Razor's Edge, but Jarrett hits him from behind. Jarrett goes for the Figure Four, but Razor kicks Jarrett right into Roadie. Razor struggles, but gets Jarrett up for the Razor's Edge and earns the victory here to a nice pop. After the match, he gives Roadie a Razor's Edge, but Jarrett takes out his knee before he can hit it. Jarrett then puts on the Figure Four until Aldo Montoya comes out to make the save. Yes, Aldo Montoya. They dump him out of the ring and then Jarrett puts on the Figure Four again. Then another man comes into the ring and we don't know who he is. Dok says he looks familiar, but Vince says that he has no business being in the ring. The police come out and he surrenders to the back. This was a smartly worked match and they had the crowd the whole way. I liked this maybe even slightly more than the opener.

Match Rating: ***1/4

Oh boy, it's almost time for King Of The Ring.

We go back to Jerry Lawler arguing with Jack Tunney. This leads us into a Sid vignette. 

It's time for you to buy a new Bret Hart t-shirt and it costs more than it did to order this show. 

King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Adam Bomb vs. Mabel

Mabel attacks Bomb before the match. The referee isn't happy, but starts the match. Bomb comes back and hits some right hands. He hits a shoulder tackle to the back of Mabel to knock him out of the ring. Bomb hits a slingshot dive over the top rope before throwing him back in the ring. He hits a slingshot clothesline, but Mabel easily kicks out at 1. Bomb goes up to the top rope and hits a clothesline and again only gets a 1 count. Mabel comes back with a spin kick and then catches Bomb for a powerslam and the victory. Bomb put in a good effort here, but we were all aboard the Mabel train here. In that respect, they really didn't make him look that great. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go back to Razor Ramon and he introduces us to one of the biggest stars of the Caribbean, Savio Vega. He also references that he looks a little different. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Smoking Gunns vs. Owen Hart & Yokozuna

Bart gets a big press slam on Owen Hart and tags in Billy to hit the dropkick/suplex combo. Owen is able to hit an enzuigiri after a distraction from Mr. Fuji. Billy then gets clocked by a Yokozuna clothesline. After a sunset flip attempt from Billy, Owen hits him with a dropkick. Yoko tries to charge at Billy, but he moves and Yoko runs into the ring post. Billy then avoids Owen back in the ring and tags in Bart. Bart hits a back suplex and they team up for the super neckbreaker for a 2 count. Bart misses with a crossbody and he rolls through the ropes to the floor. Yoko hits him with a leg drop before throwing him back in the ring. Owen runs over and that's enough for the victory. The finish was weak, but this was otherwise bell to bell action. I'm surprised they only gave them about 5 minutes here because this could have been very good.

Match Rating: **1/2

We go back to Diesel and he talks about this being the first Mother's Day since losing his mom. Todd asks about the lower back after his match with Henry Godwinn. They come out and say that he was hired by the Corporation for the night, but it didn't work because he's here in living color. They talk about Shawn Michaels watching at home and that he has to stop Sid. They say they're about an hour away from the match. There is 35 minutes left in the show. 

Jerry Lawler vs. Bret Hart

Jerry Lawler is in the ring with his "mother", who is younger than he is. She wants Jerry to beat Bret tonight and then she wants to challenge Helen Hart after. She gives him a kiss for good luck. Bret goes right after Lawler as soon as he enters and we're underway. The knee looks to be fine so far and he hits a back body drop. Lawler comes back and hits a piledriver as his mom cheers him on. Bret is right back up though and he hits a bulldog. Bret hits a piledriver of his own, causing Lawler to reach out for his mom. Lawler goes up top, but he's hit in the midsection with a right hand. Out comes Shinja to distract the ref. They do a cool spot where Bret sends Lawler off the ropes and it causes the referee's leg to get trapped in the ropes. Out comes Hakushi and he attacks Bret. He hits a diving headbutt with Lawler holding him. The ref is back up and Lawler is able to pin him and pick up the surprising win. I absolutely love that ref spot even though they probably don't do it because it seems like an easy way to get injured. After the match, Hakushi accidentally hits Lawler after Bret ducks and Bret clears the ring out of frustration. 

Match Rating: **

We go backstage to Sid telling Diesel that time has run out for him. It's time to meet the master and the ruler of the world. 

It's time to go to Todd and Stephanie to give away the vacation home in Florida. The best part of this is the two nerds there to verify the legitimacy of the contest. They pull out an envelope and call the winner. We get some live TV shenanigans. I will say when they do talk to him, the reaction is exactly what WWF would have wanted. It's won by an 11 year old kid who then went on to flip the house for $175,000. That's equal to over $353,000 in 2023. Not bad. 

WWF Championship Match
Sid vs. Diesel

They stand face to face until Diesel shoves Sid to the ground and Diesel throws him from corner to corner with some splashes thrown in for good measure. Sid is out of the ring, while Ted DiBiase tries to help him regroup. Diesel is there to throw him back in teh ring and hits him with a trio of clotheslines to knock him on the mat. A DiBiase distraction allows for Sid to hit Diesel with a running knee to the back and it knocks him to the floor. Sid then drives Diesel's back into the ring post as the announcers give Henry Godwinn credit for softening that up for Sid. Sid slows things down and continues working on the back. He slaps on the Camel Clutch for a little too long and they start to lose the crowd. Sid signals for the Powerbomb and he hits it. Instead of going for the pin, he goes to one knee for the signature Sid celebration. He finally goes for the pin and of course Diesel kicks out. We have full blown yelling Vince announcing at this point. Diesel ducks Sid and hits the big boot. Diesel then hits the Jackknife but in comes Tatanka to attack Diesel during the pin attempt. DiBiase joins him until Bam Bam Bigelow is out to make the save. You knew this was going to have a lame finish and in that regard, they didn't disappoint. The first portion of this match was good stuff, but the Camel Clutch felt like forever. 

Match Rating: *

This show was a lot easier to digest than I remembered. That seems to be the theme for 1995 WWF. I know that changes at the next big show, but even a lot of the mediocre stuff from this time period is easy to watch. There is nothing on this show that is must watch, or really even close to that, but I think you can do a lot worse, which is a lot better than I remembered it being.

Overall Rating: 48%