Sunday, April 28th, 1996
Omaha Civic Auditorium
Omaha, Nebraska
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We get the usual good hype video for the show featuring that music that always gets me pumped up playing in the background. We then go to the In Your House CGI and it's a plane dropping bombs on Omaha. Hopefully they can still run the show there. We get some pyro as Vince McMahon screams us into the arena along with Jerry Lawler.
British Bulldog vs. Jake Roberts Owen Hart & British Bulldog vs. Jake Roberts & Ahmed Johnson
They show some footage of a house show with Bulldog attacking Jake Roberts and then Jake brings out the snake and in a shocking turn of events, Bulldog is scared of snakes. They interview Jake backstage and Vince cuts him off in the middle of the promo like they are in some big rush. Jake comes out while Cornette and Mason are telling him that the contract shows the snake has to go to the back. Jake rips it up and brings out the snake. Everyone scrambles out except Cornette, who faints. Jake then carries the snake around his neck to the back. Now Jake brings out Ahmed. I guess we have a tag team match? What a weird way to start a pay per view. This feels very house show. Jake and Owen just start going at it and the bell rings. They show Diana in the crowd again. I wonder if she'll be more involved soon? Wink, wink. The match has been solid so far and the crowd is off to a hot start. Ahmed hits the big press slam on Owen and tags Jake back in. Jake runs into a boot and then Owen hits a dropkick. We are deep into the heat segment here and I really have to give the crowd credit; they are following along to all the cues. Owen gets on a sleeper hold but Jake counters out with a jawbreaker. The crowd is trying to get Jake over to Ahmed and he does. Bulldog is also in and he eats a spinebuster from Ahmed. Ahmed tags Jake back in for the DDT. He sets him up but in comes Owen. He lets go of Bulldog and hits a back body drop on Owen. They hit a double clothesline on him and Bulldog grabs Cornette's tennis racket. Owen grabs Ahmed out of the ring and Bulldog attacks Jake with the tennis racket to the knee. He puts on a leg submission hold and Jake gives up. That was kind of a weird ending but I have to say, I liked this way more than I remembered. This was nothing great, but it was a fun opening contest.
Match Rating: **3/4
Marc Mero and 1-2-3 Kid are on the Superstar Line. They wrestled in the Free For All Match.
Goldust vs. Ultimate Warrior
Oh boy, here we go. They show Goldust blowing gold sparkles into his face. Goldust is sporting a wrap on his knee. This is the debut of Goldust's bodyguard. Too bad it's Mantaur. Goldust and Marlena book it back to the locker room and Warrior starts smoking a cigar. The bodyguard is still out there and slowly walks to the back. Goldust and Marlena are in front of the prop house and Warrior pulls out Goldust's c hair and apparently that's enough to make them all really upset. Words can't describe how boring all of this is and I thought that at the time as a huge Warrior mark. The crowd then starts chanting a word that has not aged well and thankfully the announcers don't acknowledge it. Goldust grabs the mic and says that if the crowd doesn't keep quiet, he is going to go out there and kiss every single one of them. They of course keep chanting to make this all worse. Warrior gets Goldust in the ring by holding up his jacket and then even puts it on him. In all seriousness, I know there was an injury here or something like that but who in the world approved this? Warrior is smoking the cigar again and now Goldust wants Warrior to kiss his hand. Warrior burns it with the cigar instead and clotheslines him with him in the chair. Goldust limps to the back again and Warrior throws his chair out of the ring. They ring for the bell and we have a countout. Warrior then goes after Goldust's bodyguard and he reminds us how terrible of a wrestler he was. Warrior hits him with some clotheslines and then the leaping shoulder tackle. He rips of his shirt and jacket and hits a body slam and Warrior's music plays. This is 100% one of the worst things that WWF ever put on a pay-per-view up to this point and probably still is to this day. Horrendous and embarrassing.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
We go backstage to Dok and we see British Bulldog in the back all upset and Dok lets us know that it has something to do with Diana.
Vader vs. Razor Ramon
I knew that Razor was leaving after this and was shocked that they put him on this card after not having him on WrestleMania. I will miss him on this timeline though. He's been one of the most entertaining performers by far of the last few years on here. Vader dominates the early going as you would expect here. After that last "match", it would have been nice to get this one off to a quicker start. Razor fights back and clotheslines Vader over the top to the floor. Vader tries to sneak up on Razor while Cornette is on the apron but it doesn't work. Vader does shift the momentum quickly though and hits a big splash for a 2 count. Vader hits a Vader Bomb but Razor kicks out, which is surprising. Vader goes for a suplex but it's blocked and Razor hits him with one for a 2 count. Vader runs into a boot in the corner and Razor hits a leaping bulldog from the second rope for a nearfall. Vader is on the second rope and Razor uses that as an opportunity to put Vader up for the Razor's Edge. He can't get him up and Vader just kind of falls on his back. Vader now goes all the way up top but Razor puts him on his shoulders and hits an electric chair. He goes for a Razor's Edge but Vader hits a back body drop and then sits on him and that's enough for the win. I really like these two guys and while this wasn't bad, this was disappointing. That ending left a lot to be desired as well. Dok walks up to Cornette and Vader to tell them that Vader will face Yokozuna at the next In Your House. Cornette says there is no way Yoko will be there because he's hurt.
Match Rating: **1/4
We see Undertaker and Paul Bearer in the AOL chat room. Make sure you buy your collared shirt and hat package. Take your pick with Shawn Michaels, Undertaker or Ultimate Warrior. This features 100% embroidery. Only $39.95!
WWF Tag Team Championship
Body Donnas vs. Godwinns
After all of the stalling that has taken place tonight, they didn't even have time to show the Godwinn's entrance? The Body Donnas are quick with the illegal double team, so Hank hits a double clothesline. The Godwinns get in most of the offense until Skip lowers the top rope and Phineas falls hard on the mat and to the floor. The match breaks down so it's time for some shenanigans. We get some mule kicks from Phineas and then Henry starts to clean house. Sunny comes running out with a picture of herself to Phineas. Hillbilly Jim threatens to pour the slop bucket on her. The distraction allows for Zip to roll in the ring for the injured Skip. When Henry turns around, he hits a small package and picks up the victory to retain their titles. This was very much a TV match and much shorter than I expected. After the match, Henry puts the picture in the slop bucket and tries to cheer Phineas back up.
Match Rating: **
We get a commercial for the next In Your House during Memorial Day weekend. Vader vs. Yokozuna, Marc Mero vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Savio Vega vs. Steve Austin and the WWF Championship will be defended. I bet that show goes well. Dok is now in the locker room with wood paneling to interview Mero and Sable. He says that Helmsley has entered the jungle. They show the ending of the Free For All match with Helmsley hitting the Pedigree on Mero. The first 2,500 people who send in their proof of purchase for the show tonight get 5 free minutes of long distance time!!!!
We get a lengthy hype video for this match before showing interviews from both competitors that aired during the Free For All. Diesel promises that he has something special for him tonight.
No Holds Barred Match For The WWF Championship
Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels
They show Jose Lothario getting Shawn ready backstage during Diesel's entrance. They show Mad Dog Vachon in the crowd. They mention that his career was cut short due to an accident. It seems like that information could play a role later on. Shawn is very serious on his way down to the ring and goes right into the ring to get things going. Diesel is outside the ring and Shawn greets him with a baseball slide kick and then a top rope moonsault-ish. Shawn grabs Hugo's boot off his foot and hits Diesel with it off the top rope. Diesel sends Shawn into the corner and he does his usual bump and then uses a double ax handle to knock him off the apron and into the guardrail. Diesel slows things down and hits a leaping side suplex. Diesel starts taking the tape off his wrists and starts choking...Earl Hebner? He then steals his belt and starts whipping Shawn with it. He then wraps it around Shawn's neck. He then throws him over the top rope with the belt still wrapped around his neck. He then ties it to the second rope. He goes outside and throws Fink to the ground and steals the chair he is sitting on and hits Shawn in the back with it. Shawn is out of the belt but then gets hit again with the chair to the back. They do the spot where Diesel misses with the chair and hits himself in the head after it bounces off the rope. Shawn has the chair now but Diesel hits him with a low blow before he can use it. Diesel hits a huge back body drop but Shawn kicks out of the pin attempt. We're back outside the ring and Diesel hits a Jackknife on Shawn through the announce table. It should be noted that he did not move any of the monitors and he did not use the Spanish announce table. The table looks like it was made during the Lincoln administration. Shawn goes under the ring and grabs a fire extinguisher and surprises Diesel with it. Shawn takes advantage of him being blinded and hits him with a flying forearm. He grabs a chair and nails him with it. A funny note is that the chair has some of the audio equipment on it and it gets pulled into the ring even when he's swinging it. Diesel comes back and hits a big boot. He signals for the Jackknife and points out to someone in the crowd. He gets Shawn up, but he nails him with a flurry of right hands when he's up in the air. Shawn hits a top rope elbow drop and starts tuning up the band. Diesel catches the leg and hits a clothesline. Both men are back up on their feet and Diesel clotheslines Shawn over the top. He drops Shawn on the guardrail and then grabs Mad Dog Vachon by the throat. He throws him on the ground and rips off his artificial leg. Vince says it's the lowest thing he's ever seen in his life. Before he can use it, Shawn hits him with a low blow and then nails Diesel with the leg to the head. He tunes up the band and gets Sweet Chin Music for the victory to retain his title in a wild match. My friend let me borrow his recording of this the week after the show and I think I watched this match about 5 times before giving it back to him. This was something very different for the time by WWF standards and it was also non-stop action. Great main event.
Match Rating: ****1/2
This one is a really tough show to rate. On one hand, you have one of the best main event matches up to this point in WWF history. On the other hand, you have the offensively terrible Warrior/Goldust "match", which is one of the worst things they have put on to this point. The rest of the show is very much an episode of Monday Night Raw. I guess the best way to slice it is to just put it right in the middle.
Overall Rating: 50%
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