The first In Your House was a surprise hit, almost equaling WrestleMania 11 with it's 332,000 pay-per-view buys, and that made this series an automatic go. Following the momentum of the first incarnation would be difficult, as the second In Your House was not just further away from the grandeur of WrestleMania, but also had to follow up one of the weakest WWF pay-per-views ever produced, King of the Ring 1995. The WWF were now in the full swing of a Mabel main event push that would go down as one of the worst Vince McMahon concoctions ever, but even if what lay ahead at SummerSlam wasn't promising, the card for In Your House 2 was actually solid. Yes, Diesel and Sycho Sid were still in the main event, but this time, there was extra intrigue, as they were booked for a lumberjack match. Shawn Michaels was beginning to catch fire as a face, and pitting him against Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Championship would surely lead to an entertaining clash. Plus, there was the prospect of finally seeing hated heels Owen Hart and Yokozuna be toppled, as Lex Luger and the British Bulldog were a duo that seemed destined for tag team gold. I'd say that this is probably the best card Vince could assemble in 1995 that didn't involved Bret Hart in any way, and this was about as high as my excitement level has been for reviewing a show from this dismal year, although that was, admittedly, a low bar to clear.
- In Your House comes to you from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, a choice of venue that could be seen as a bit of a shot across the bow by Vince, as it was a WCW staple, having held Starrcade 1994 here late the previous year. It's probably not anything more than a tie-in for Jarrett, the kayfabe country singer, as the Municipal Auditorium is a well known concert venue in "Music City", but it's still an interesting coincidence. Speaking of Vince, he's on the call with Jerry "The King" Lawler, as Dok Hendrix has been thankfully relegated to backstage interview duty.
- Our opening contest is between The 1-2-3 Kid and The Roadie, a spin-off of Razor Ramon's feud with Jarrett. The Kid was seeking revenge after an injury at the hands of Roadie, and that adds extra fire to his energetic assault. Kid is the perfect opening match performer, as his exciting offense and bumping skills easily get the crowd rocking. I loved Kid's headscissors takeover that sends Roadie to the floor, and his slick spinning back kick gets a solid pop. Kid makes Roadie look like a million bucks, launching himself into big power moves, getting serious air on a backdrop, and taking a stiff powerbomb. Roadie puts Kid away with a potentially dangerous finishing move, a piledriver off the middle rope, which Roadie makes much safer by taking a lot of the impact on Kid's neck away, landing feet first before fully delivering the move. That extra safety did make the move look significantly worse, they really shouldn't have tried it all, the risk was simply too great.
- Razor Ramon and Savio Vega were the victims of Mabel's ascent to the throne at King of the Ring, as Vega's impressive night ended in defeat to the new king, who also delivered a beating to Ramon with help from the newly christened Sir Mo. King Mabel is destined for big things, because Vince was just that desperate, and adds onto his resume on this night, pinning Razor in a tag match. It's really unfortunate that Razor is treated as a stepping stone here, because he's the only performer that makes this match interesting, with the crowd going wild for his toothpick throw and continued trash talk while Vega gets worked over. There were a few impressive moves, as Vega put over Mabel's power by taking a huge release exploder suplex that sadly got no reaction from the crowd, and Ramon still looked competent, nearly pinning Mabel after a big Biel toss. Razor does at least have an out for taking a clean loss, as Mabel attacks his injured ribs with a corner splash and a belly-to-belly suplex, but it's still a disappointing development for his character.
- Jeff Jarrett is in "action" twice on this night, making his first appearance to perform his only song, "With My Baby Tonight". Musical performances in wrestling are rarely interesting, and this was no exception, as the crowd quickly grew listless after realizing that there would be no shenanigans during this performance, just some admittedly decent signing and a few guitar solos.
- Back to wrestling, unfortunately, as we now have to witness Bam Bam Bigelow attempt to get a passable singles match out of Henry O. Godwinn. Bigelow was unsuccessful in that venture, but I'll give him credit for the effort, as he briefly got the crowd interested with a big diving crossbody and a missed falling headbutt. Godwinn is so dull, especially as a heel, and I have absolutely no idea what Vince saw in the guy other than his size. The finish was about as lame as it could be, with Godwinn missing a knee drop and Bam Bam just pins him. Great.
- Finally, something good, as Shawn Michaels challenges Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Championship, in what could be considered an underrated classic. This two men are absolutely brilliant in their chain wrestling sequences, fluidly countering back and forth, with Jarrett employing his terrific punches and Michaels taking to the skies. Shawn's diving crossbody onto both Jarrett and Roadie got a great pop, and he displayed why his back ended up in such a sorry state by taking a ridiculous bump, getting backdropped over the corner onto the floor. Roadie's interference and Jarrett's period of control did dim my enthusiasm a little bit, but Shawn's comeback easily got me back into it, I loved the agility he displayed on a quick kip-up immediately following a leaping clothesline. Shawn's spinning double axehandle was crisp, as was Jarrett's superplex, and it all builds towards an electric finish. The booking cleverly toys with the audience's emotions, as the match centers on Jarrett's Figure Four. It looks Jeff is going to get the hold applied, but Shawn gets a roll up, only for Jarrett to re-assert control with a shinbreaker. A second Figure Four is countered again by Shawn, shoving the champion into referee Earl Hebner, and that allows Roadie to interfere one more time, nailing Shawn with a chop block while he's tuning up the band, looking for the Sweet Chin Music. That surely has to do it, but Shawn kicks out of a crunching crossbody by Jarrett, keeping hope alive, and the two heels have their dastardly plans implode when Roadie accidentally trips Jarrett, and Shawn turns out the lights with a decisive Sweet Chin Music. That was a truly brilliant final sequence, and one that would seemingly lead to a feud between Jarrett and Roadie, though those booking plans were dashed, as both men walked out of the WWF following this show. The call to put the belt on Shawn was to build towards a second ladder match between he and Razor Ramon at SummerSlam, and considering how great that match would be, this was a very welcome title change.
- Another title switch may be on the cards up next, as Owen Hart and Yokozuna defend the WWF tag gold against the Allied Powers, Lex Luger and the British Bulldog. I liked the references these four men (and Vince and Lawler on commentary) added to this match, which started with Lex Luger squaring off against Yokozuna, a throwback to their SummerSlam main event almost two years prior. There was also a later sequence involving Bulldog and Owen, both foreshadowing their future alliance, and providing some stakes after the large-scale Hart Family feud of the previous year. Owen and Bulldog offer the much better wrestling of the two pairings, of course, highlighted by Owen's nasty enziguri, payback for a big backdrop from Bulldog earlier in the match. Luger, approaching the end of his WWF tenure, bring the crowd to their feet with a thrilling hot tag, tossing Owen into Yokozuna, and combing with Bulldog to deliver a double back suplex to Yokozuna, insane stuff. As always, though, Yokozuna got the better of Luger in the end, as a leaping Owen broke up the pinfall following the big back suplex, allowing Yokozuna to bring America's hopes crashing down with a legdrop. Man, the Owen/Yokozuna partnership continues to pay off, this was another wildly entertaining tag match that really built up the reputation of their opponents.
- Main event time, as Diesel and Sycho Sid collide once more for the WWF Championship, this time with an array of lumberjacks surrounding the ring. Smartly, this match is booked to avoid having Diesel and Sid wrestle each other as much as possible, instead relying on the men outside the ring to get the crowd into it by inciting wild brawls and hindering the two participants. Even though Diesel and Sid are still terrible at putting on a convincing main event (especially Sid, his clubbing blows and kicks are woeful), there's just enough moving parts to save this from being a trainwreck. Mabel and Mo pop up for a spot to attack Diesel, setting the stage for the SummerSlam main event, but Diesel still looks good before being victimized, making an impressive leap over the top rope to take out the contingent of heel lumberjacks, who have interfered frequently on Sid's behalf. Shawn Michaels continues to be presented as a breakout star, playing the difference maker for the face lumberjacks by nailing Sid with a double axehandle, setting the stage for Diesel to capitalize on their rekindled friendship. But the WWF Champion still faces some adversity near the finish, fighting off Irwin R. Schyster, Henry O. Godwinn, and Tatanka, all of whom have been aligned or are part of the Million Dollar Corporation. Diesel takes no chances with attempting a Jackknife on Sid, instead nailing a big boot for the win.
6/10
1995 Average: 4 (Up from 3.67)
In Your House 2 really delivered in the final hour, with three straight entertaining matches, the best clash obviously coming from Michaels and Jarrett. The midcard of the WWF might still be a mess, but the talent is still there. Gambling on a literal interpretation of Jeff Jarrett's gimmick was a clear mistake, and the heel side of the roster definitely needs work, but I ended this show with a smile, which is the most you can ask for from a WWF show in '95.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: I've already covered SummerSlam, so I'll move ahead to In Your House 3, which features a main event draped in gold. See you soon.
- Henry
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