Welcome everybody to the fourth In Your House Review, this one “Great White North” because it’s based in Canada. Winnipeg, which must be cold. Anyway we’ve got six big matches planned for this one. In the main event Big Daddy Cool Diesel will defend his WWF title once again, this time against the man that turned on his a few weeks ago, The British Bulldog. Bulldog has never received a WWF title match on pay per view so this is a big deal for him. Last week on Raw he pinned Diesel in 6 man tag action and attacked him after the bell. On top of that the winner of this match will go on to defend the title against Bret Hart at Survivor Series, one year after The Hitman lost the gold to Bob Backlund.

Shawn Michaels is still Intercontinental champion in his third reign and tonight he defends against Dean Douglas. Douglas defeated Razor Ramon at the last In Your House PPV which cemented his position as number one contender. The two have been in various brawls since the match was announced three weeks ago. However it’s rumoured that Michaels was attacked outside a nightclub one week ago and it’s a question of whether or not this match will even go ahead.

We have new tag team champions in The Smoking Gunns. Yokozuna and Owen Hart were given the tag team titles back after the last pay per view as it was deemed that Owen Hart was not a legal party in the match. However, Owen and Yokozuna had to defend the titles that night on Raw against The Smoking Gunns and Billy and Bart took the gold. Tonight the Gunns defend the belts against two friends who are struggling to get on as of late in Razor Ramon and The 123 Kid. Will they be able to get on? Only time will tell. Tonight we’ll also see the debut of Goldust. The bizarre superstar takes on a man that returns to pay per view in Marty Jannetty.

On an infamous night on Raw Yokozuna and Mabel took it in turns to squash The Undertaker, Mabels scheduled opponent for this show. They did so much damage that they crushed his face and as a result Undertaker won’t make it tonight. Instead, Gorilla Monsoon deemed that King Mabel must go one on one with Yokozuna. A technical high-flying spotfest it won’t be. Also tonight is a match between two men looking to rise up the ladder in the WWF, undefeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley and repackaged Fatu. So let’s go.

Well we start with a National Anthem which is very rare for any PPV outside of Wrestlemania. Up and coming pop sensation Joanie Wilson gives us the Canadian anthem.

We then get the WWF logo, for over 50 years etc. Then to Gorilla Monsoon who announces that Shawn Michaels will be forfeiting the Intercontinental title due to injuries to Dean Douglas who must defend the title against Razor Ramon. Cue a montage of fans, some chanting “In Your House”, that looked stage. We then open up with Vince McMahon saying Welcome everyone….” then his sound goes. And now he’s back with Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross. Nice waistcoat and bowtie Ross. Now to the action.

Fatu vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley 

We see some footage from last week on Superstars where Hunter sprayed some perfume at Fatu. Fatu didn’t take to that too well. This is Fatu’s first singles match on WWE PPV. Unless you count his win at UK Rampage 93 over Brian Knobbs. Fatu is a new man these days, he’s making a difference. And he goes after Helmsley before the bell! He hammers away at the Blueblood before his jacket is even removed. This is Fatu’s first PPV match since Royal Rumble 95. It’s all Fatu in the early going hitting right hands and a headbutt. Helmsley sidesteps the big man and Fatu gets his head stuck in the ropes! Hunter then hits a piledriver on Fatu and was probably a bit too safe as Fatu’s head was nowhere near the canvas on that one. Both of these men are trying to find their way at the moment and are getting decent enough pushes. Hunter beat Bob Holly at Summerslam but didn’t feature at the last PPV. He hits a swinging neckbreaker on Fatu and gets a 2 count. Hunter goes to the headlock now. I think Helmsley benefits the most from a win in this one. Fatu has been around for a while but this is his first go at a singles run. Hunter hits a big clothesline and gets a two count.

Helmsley goes for a Pedigree out of nowhere but Fatu back body drops him out of it. Fatu with a lot of momentum now as he hits a clothesline and a back body drop. He then goes up to the middle rope and flies off with a headbutt for a two count. Fatu then hits a modified bulldog. Fatu looking for his first PPV win since King Of The Ring 94 but Hunter hits a Pedigree and it’s enough for a three count! Hunter Hearst Helmsley makes it two pay per view wins from two.  Lawler then gets on the mic and says it’s the most impressive victory he’s ever seen. Hunter says that he didn’t even want to touch Fatu. Then comes Henry Godwinn who chases Helmsley to the back with his slop bucket!

Rating: 4.75/10

Backstage now to The British Bulldog and Jim Cornette. We see some footage of Bulldog turning on Diesel a couple of months ago then pinning him in tag team action a couple of weeks ago. Cornette is convinced that Bulldog will take the title tonight and Bulldog chimes in too, he’s confident!

The Smoking Gunns (Billy & Bart Gunn) (c) vs. Razor Ramon & The 123 Kid – WWF Tag Team Title Match

Interesting tag team title match here between two babyface teams. Razor and Kid have had their problems recently so can they get back on track tonight? They’re both dressed in purple attire. Razor gets two title matches tonight as he’ll be facing Dean Douglas later for the Intercontinental title. The Gunns seem to have trimmed off their mullets since beasting Yokozuna and Owen Hart for the tag team titles. 123 Kid starts the match with Billy Gunn. Kid hits an arm drag but Billy gets up and pushes Kid over. Billy hits an arm drag and tags in Bart. A chant breaks out for Razor and Kid tags him in. Ramon is very popular tonight and he seems like the big star in this match. Bart shoves him to the mat and hits a firemans takedown. Bart definitely has the better of Razor Ramon surprisingly. 123 Kid is a two time tag team champion already and he pulls down the top rope sending Bart Gunn flying over the top rope before rolling him back into the ring.

Another Razor chant breaks out but the Bad Guy tags in the Kid who hits some big kicks on Bart in the corner. Kid then takes a shot at Billy Gunn and he’s really playing this one like a heel. Kid tags Razor who comes in and hits his trademark fallaway slam before tagging back out. He then fallaway slams Kid into Bart Gunn which earns them a two count. Kid tags back out  and Razor hits some big chops before tagging 123 back in. Kid hits some offence then tags back in Razor who looked like he didn’t want to be tagged back in. Bart manages to take Razor down and both men need to make the tag and both do. Billy Gunn goes wild taking down everyone. The Smoking Gunns are definitely playing the face role in this one, Billy tags Bart who hits a backbreaker. Razor is the only man in this one not to have held the tag titles. The other three guys are two time champions. Bart tags Billy and the Gunns hits a suplex/dropkick combo. Billy then goes for a splash in the corner but Kid gets out of the way!

Both men are down and there’s some sly tactics behind the referees back from both Razor Ramon and Bart Gunn. Kid then tags Razor who slams both Smoking Gunns around. Billy goes for a back body drop but Razor grabs him and hits The Razors Edge! But The Kid wants the tag. Razor tags him in and Kid pins Billy Gunn but gets a two and then Gunn reverses the pin and gets the three! The Smoking Gunns retain their titles out of nowhere! Kid throes a tantram after the bell then attacks both Smoking Gunns, knocking them out of the ring. Kid then grabs the belts but Razor takes them out of his hands and hands them over to the champions. Decent enough tag team match between these two face teams. It’s clearly part of a much bigger story for Razor and Kid whilst it gives The Gunns a decent enough title defence.

Rating: 5.75/10

Back to Dok Hendrix who is backstage selling cardboard cut outs of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, they would make a decent Wrestlemania main event. What.

Marty Jannetty vs. Goldust

Here we go with a debut for Goldust and a first PPV match since Royal Rumble 94 for Marty Jannetty. Goldust is the former Dustin Rhodes who teamed with his dad in a losing effort at Royal Rumble 1991. Brilliant entrance from Goldust which includes gold lighting and gold dust pouring from the ceiling. Jannetty attacks him before the bell, clotheslining him to the outside. Jannetty is looking for his first pay per view win since Survivor Series 93. Goldust has a huge height advantage over Jannetty. Goldust has the most horrendous catsuit I’ve ever seen. He hits a big right hand on Jannetty and an uppercut. Jannetty hits a hurricanrana but gets a shove for his troubles. Jannetty leapgfros Goldust but the newcomer hits a huge clothesline spinning Jannetty 270 degress. The gold man follows it up with a snapmare and an elbow which gets him a two count then goes to the sleeper. This match is going a bit slowly for my liking. I don’t think the crowd are into it either. Both men go to the outside and Goldust slams Marty’s head off the ringsteps.

Goldust gets back into the ring but Jannetty snapmares him back out and smashes the bizarre ones head off the steps! Goldust reverses an Irish whip though and throws the former tag team champion into the ringpost. This match has been different to the other matches so far but that isn’t necessarily a good thing. Goldust suplex’s Jannetty back into the ring and gets a two count. Jannetty then bodges some sort of neckbreaker looking move. Goldust hits a DDT, Jannetty hits a Rocker Dropper then goes up top and lands on his feet as Goldust rolls out of the way. Marty hits an elbow for good measure and gets a two count. Marty once again goes up top but this time gets a face full of Goldusts boot. Goldust then gets up and hits a face first suplex which is enough for a three count! Goldust wins on his pay per view debut in what was a pretty bad match. Something just did not click. A good win for Goldust none the less.

Rating: 3.25/10

We now see a shot of The Smoking Gunns and The 123 Kid on the Superstar line.

Then to a video package showing Mabel and Yokozuna taking it in turns to crush The Undertaker. Undertaker will return to action at Survivor Series.

King Mabel vs. Yokozuna

This is a first time match between these two heavyweights. This was supposed to be a match between Mabel and Undertaker but the dead man is out due to injury so Monsoon replaced Undertaker with Yokozuna. It’s a battle between a former two time WWF champion and a King Of The Ring. The two men get into a slugfest as the bell rings with Yokozuna getting the advantage and clotheslining the King out of the ring. Mabel gets back in and hits some right hands before taking down the former tag team champion with a clothesline. Mabel then knocks Yoko out of the ring. We’ve had an all babyface match and now we have an all heel match. Back in the ring and Yokozuna seems distracted by his management team which allows Mabel to avalanche him in the corner. The crowd seem to be behind Yokozuna in this one as he hits a big clothesline but misses with the legdrop. Mabel then misses with an elbow giving the advantage back to Yokozuna. The two exchange headbutts then Mabel goes for a bulldog but misses but Yokozuna falls out of the ring. Botch.

On the outside and Yokozuna throws Mabel into the ringpost. Mo then shoves Jim Cornette and Yokozuna falls over his own manager! Yoko squashes Cornette then the referee counts out both men! It’s a double countout which is met with boos. After the match both men stand face to face as Mo and Cornette try to calm them down. The two big men then hug and raise each others arm into the air. Jesus, that was awful. Really really awful.

Rating: 2.25/10

Now to a promo for Survivor Series which features the return of The Undertaker and Bret Hart getting a WWF title match against either British Bulldog or Diesel. That should be a big one. Jim Ross and Vince McMahon then tells us we’ll also see some traditional 8 men tag matches and a wildcard match featuring a mix up of superstars.

Dok Hendrix and Gorilla Monsoon are in the ring and Dok introduces Dean Douglas. Douglas looks very happy as he knows he’s about to be presented with the Intercontinental title. Hendrix then introduces the champion. Michaels comes out looking very sad. He’s got a bit of a shiner too. He gets in the ring staring at his Intercontinental title and goes to hand it to Gorilla Monsoon but Douglas grabs it out of his hands. Dean then puts the title around his waist as Michaels looks on. Dean Douglas is then announced as the new Intercontinental champion.

Dean Douglas (c) vs. Razor Ramon – Intercontinental Title Match

We’re not wasting any time here as Douglas now has to defend his newly won title against the man he defeated at the last pay per view. Razor starts quickly, slapping Douglas to the outside. The Dean gets back into the ring but Razor picks up where he left off, taking Douglas down with an arm bar. Ramon sticks with the arm bar and Douglas sells it well. Razor keeps the arm bar are for a good five minutes, probably longer. Razor slaps him upside the head just to rub it in even more. Douglas gets back into the match with a cheap shot but Razor grabs him and hits the fallaway slam before clotheslining the champion outside the ring. Ramon suplex’s Dean back in and stomps on his head. The two men then brawl to the outside and Razor grabs a bottle of water and purs it on Deans head. Douglas will probably appreciate that. Both men get back in the ring and Razor hits an atomic drop then goes for the Razors Edge but he’s obviously too close to the ropes and Douglas back body drops him out of the ring.

Dean rolls Razor back into the ring then goes up top but Razor sees him coming and chokeslams him into the mat. Both men get up and Razor hits some right hands dropping Douglas to the mat. Dean gets back into the mat with a dropkick which gets him a two count. I’m pretty impressed with Douglas, I think he’s a great hand. Razor then hits a side suplex then drapes his arm over Dean and gets a three count! But Douglas’s leg was clearly under the rope. The announcement is then made and Razor Ramon has won! Razor is a four time Intercontinental champion! We see replays that back up this point but fireworks go off in the arena because Razor Ramon is the new Intercontinental champion! Unexpected.

Rating: 5/10

Diesel (c) vs. The British Bulldog – WWF Championship Match

Before the match begins Bret Hart comes in to do commentary. He’ll be facing the winner at Survivor Series. Hart chases Jerry Lawler to the back getting a few shots in as he does. This is the first time British Bulldog has had a one on one WWF championship match. Huge deal for him. Dok Hendrix gets a word with Diesel before he goes out and Diesel tells us he’s feeling awfully funky. This is Diesels 11th PPV in a row, more than anyone else on the roster. He’s also one of three men, along with Yokozuna and Razor Ramon to feature on every In Your House pay per view so far. The WWF title has never changed hands at an In Your House as Diesel has been the champion since the inception of the pay per view. He hits a big forearm in the early going to take Bulldog off his feet. Both of these men are former Intercontinental champions, both very quick reigns. Diesel slams Bulldog and the veteran rolls to the outside. Back in the ring and diesel keeps the advantage hitting some clotheslines. Diesel has held the WWF for nearly a year now.

British Bulldog dropkicks Diesel out of the ring and Hart tries to steady the champion but Diesel turns around and shoves Hart. Bulldog uses that distraction to chop block Big Daddy Cool to the mat then rolls him back into the ring. Bulldog has the advantage now and works on the leg. He locks on some sort of horrendous leg lock but Diesel gets out of it and rolls to the outside where Jim Cornette drops an elbow on the champ! Brilliant. Bulldog distracts the referee a couple of times and Cornette continues to work Diesels knee! Diesel gets back into the ring where Bulldog goes right back to the knee, locking on a Boston crab. Diesel finally gets out of it but Bulldog grounds the big man and goes back to a leg lock. Both men get up to their feet and Bulldog goes for his trademark suplex but Diesel reverses it and takes the challenger up and over! Bulldog gets back into the match and points towards Hart before locking the Sharpshooter on Diesel but he makes a complete mess of it and Diesel gets out of it.

Bulldog scoops Diesel up and goes for the running powerslam but Diesel gets out of it and hits a big boot. The champ then motions for the Jacknife but here comes Jim Cornette. Bulldog attempts to clobber Diesel but he gets out of the way and Bulldog smashes his own manager! Diesel sends Bulldog to the outside and tries to shove him into the ringpost but Bulldog reverses it and throws Diesel into the post! Bulldog then slaps Bret Hart and Hart goes mad taking down Bulldog. The referee then calls for the bell and British Bulldog is announced as the winner by disqualification. Diesel and Hart then go at one another in the ring and have to be broken up by referees! Those two men will meet at Survivor Series for the title! The referees don’t do much and it takes the likes of The Smoking Gunns, Henry Godwinn and Bam Bam Bigelow to break it up!

Rating: 5/10

And that folks was the fourth In Your House pay per view. Another 2 hour spectacular featuring about half of the roster. It missed guys like Bret Hart, Isaac Yankem, Sid, Hakushi and Owen Hart but most of the top guys were on this card. The lower card had a decent showing. Hunter Hearst Helmsley who is undefeated thus far in the WWF got a decent victory over Fatu. Fatu will be looking to get back on track and pave some sort of singles career after a semi-successful tag team run. It’ll be interesting to see where Hunter goes and if he can start to aim towards the Intercontinental title. The Smoking Gunns then retained their tag team titles against Razor Ramon and 123 Kid. This match served a couple of purposes, it continued the storyline between Razor and Kid and gave The Gunns a decent title defence.

Next up was the debut of Goldust who truly is a bizarre individual. He defeated Marty Jannetty in what was his return to PPV. A pretty disappointing match really, it just didn’t seem to click. It’ll be interesting to see where both men go from here. This match wad followed by another bad one in the battle of the big men. Two gigantic heels just couldn’t put together a decent story. It was back and forth then they both got counted out. And then they hugged. Very strange. A pointless contest really, I would rather have seen Mabel vs. Bam Bam Bigelow or someone like that.

Then we had two matches that felt pretty important. Shawn Michaels gave up the Intercontinental title after getting beaten up outside a club. Which he actually did although the story goes that he would have still been fit to wrestle but he and Douglas had an altercation backstage a few days before and Michaels decided he didn’t want to drop the belt to him anymore so told McMahon he wasn’t ready to fight. Douglas would still win the belt and hold it for about 10 minutes before dropping it to Razor Ramon. Which was a bit of a shock actually, I fully expected Douglas to leave with the gold. Michaels being replaced by Ramon meant that every pay per view Intercontinental title match since Summerslam 92 has featured either Michaels or Ramon.

To the main event between Diesel and British Bulldog. This was nothing spectacular but with Bret Harts involvement it set up the Survivor Series main event very well. Plus it created a side feud of Bret Hart/Bulldog. The ending to the match made Bulldog look pretty stupid though by going after Hart. Diesel retains though and is very close to holding the gold for a year.

Overall a fairly weak pay per view, mainly because of the Goldust/Jannetty and Yokozuna/Mabel matches. The rest was pretty average and won’t be etched into the minds of wrestling fans.

Overall Rating: 43/100 (Ranked #43 out of 49)

Best Match Of The Night: The Smoking Gunns vs. Razor Ramon & The 123 Kid
Worst Match Of The Night: Yokozuna vs. King Mabel
Surprise Of The Night: Razor Ramon wins the Intercontinental Title
Worst Booking Of The Night: Mabel vs. Yokozuna
Wrestler Of The Night: Razor Ramon
IYH4 Will Be Remembered For: Shawn Michaels giving up the IC title