It should go without saying that Vader's push upon entering the WWF at the start of 1996 didn't go as planned. The former WCW and NJPW behemoth was intended to go straight to the top of the roster, bulldozing Jake Roberts and Yokozuna, before signaling his intentions at the gold by pinning Shawn Michaels in advance of a main event match between the two at SummerSlam. From there, Vader was supposed to lose that title match in controversial fashion, as Vader would get a count-out and disqualification victories, giving him the impetus to seek a rematch, with the company beginning to establish Camp Cornette's legal qualifiers by debuting the new character of attorney Clarence Mason. Vader would earn another title shot at Survivor Series by defeating Sycho Sid, and this time, he'd get redemption, conquering Shawn, leaving his first title defense to take place at the final In Your House event of the year, which was subtitled "It's Time" after his famous catchphrase. Well, here we are at that event, and Vader isn't even on the card, which shows you how well those booking ideas panned out. This complete reversal of fortune is all due to Shawn's scum-baggery, as the champion felt Vader worked too stiff and was unwilling to wrestle him again, and Vince, as he often would, kowtowed to the ego of his champion, instead allowing Sid to win the number one contender's match, replacing Vader at Survivor Series and picking up the ultimate triumph in Madison Square Garden. It's baffling to see just how much leeway Vince gave Shawn, as we've now ended up in a bizarre situation with a show that makes no sense to even exist. Why Vince didn't just re-brand it is beyond me, but it's an interesting artifact from the WWF's most tumultuous era.
- In Your House 12: It's Time comes to you from the West Palm Beach Auditorium in West Palm Beach, Florida, a venue with its own unique history, as just a couple years after this night, it was sold to the main legal subsidiary of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and is now exclusively used for their gatherings, re-named the West Palm Beach Christian Convention Center. It might be one of the smallest venues the WWF has ever booked for a televised event, seating under 6,000, a huge drop-off from MSG a month prior. Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Jerry "The King" Lawler are on the call.
- Our opening contest features two forgotten characters of this era, as Flash Funk (2 Cold Scorpio) takes on Leif Cassidy (Al Snow), the latter of whom is representing the ill-fated New Rockers. Vince busts a groove with Funk during his entrance, because we've truly entered the Upside Down on this night, and the two future ECW standouts then put on an entertaining show. Funk does botch a springboard move early on in ugly fashion but recovers well to run through to deliver a few graceful kicks, including an impressive handspring enzuigiri, and a cool-looking leg sweep, before taking to the skies with a moonsault and a 450 Splash, the latter getting the victory. Cassidy's repertoire of interesting power moves added to the proceedings, as the crowd popped big for his belly-to-belly to the floor and high angle Spinebuster, as Funk had his bumping shoes on. Check this match out for all the impressive spots, both men were years ahead of their time, this could easily slot into a card today.
- The saga of the imposter versions of Diesel and Razor Ramon has been well-documented in the internet age of wrestling as one of the WWE's most embarrassing stunts, but the company takes it to the next level on this night, actually booking the two cosplayers in a tag title match, as they challenge Owen Hart and the British Bulldog for the gold. It's not a squash, either, as "Razor" and "Diesel" get a decent amount of offense in and are set-up to potentially win it late on. "Razor" has Bulldog in prime position to deliver the Razor's Edge after countering Bulldog's running powerslam, but Owen runs in to deliver a high impact spinning back heel kick, much to the crowd's delight, which allows Bulldog to make the jackknife cover for the win. Prior to the finish, most of the crowd interest had been in the appearance of Steve Austin, targeting Bulldog and Owen as part of his feud with Bret, and "Diesel" did pick up some heat for working over Owen, who was the de facto babyface of this whole affair in the eyes of the fans. Austin nails Bulldog with a chop block after the match, continuing to stick his nose in their business, which I did enjoy, as it plays an interesting role in the story of Bret's growing frustration with his lot in the company, which we'll hear more about later.
- Ahmed Johnson and Faarooq's feud continues in the former's interview segment, as the two men angrily yell at each other for several incomprehensible minutes. I'm sorry, but neither of these men should be cutting promos, they both sound like they have cotton swabs stuffed in their cheeks. I did love Ahmed randomly blaming his kidney troubles for his girlfriend leaving him, that was oddly melodramatic, and no one can deny that he's over, as he gets a "you're going down" chant going, ending the interview strong.
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley has properly rebounded after the Curtain Call incident earlier in the year, taking the Intercontinental Championship from Marc Mero in October, re-starting the feud between the two that began at WrestleMania over Hunter's mistreatment of Sable. Helmsley utilized help from Mr. Perfect to gain the strap, but has quickly moved on from that alliance, heading into a title defense against Mero solo. The two get off to a rocky start, struggling their way through an early lock-up, before they almost lulled me to sleep with a long period of Helmsley in control. The match picks up after Helmsley gets into it with his eternal nemesis, Earl Hebner, and Hunter puts Mero over strong, bumping all over the place for the challenger's comeback. Mero almost wins it with a gorgeous double jump moonsault, before delivering another scary Tope con Hilo to the outside, that move should never have been in his repertoire. Goldust, upset at Helmsley for making advances on Marlena, heads down to ringside, turning the match into a complete mess as he accidentally nails Mero with a right hand, before laying out Helmsley with an uppercut. Mero is able to beat the ten count back in, but Helmsley can't, giving Mero the lame count-out win, protecting either man from having to take the clean finish.
- The Executioner (Terry Gordy) has proved to be a highly effective thorn in The Undertaker's backside in recent months, whacking Undertaker with a shovel to prevent Mankind from taking the dirt nap at Buried Alive, and saving Paul Bearer from Undertaker's wrath at Survivor Series. Undertaker needs to take care of The Executioner, so the two are booked in an "Armageddon Rules" match, which is the WWF's fancy name for a Texas Death match, where one man must gain a fall, then the other has to be counted out by the ref. The WWF quickly abandons any attempt at a singles contest, a wise decision as it didn't seem like Undertaker and Gordy were going to be able to do much together, as Mankind interferes, turning it into a handicap affair. Some of the chaos that follows was entertaining, as Mankind gets tossed through the In Your House set, before being maced by security and placed in a straightjacket, which was a wild visual, but the majority of it was a dull "walk and brawl", as Undertaker tossed Executioner into a body of water outside the building, before finishing him off with a Tombstone in the ring.
- Main event time, as Sycho Sid defends his WWF Championship against Bret Hart, in a match that is quickly overshadowed the increasing tensions between Bret and Shawn Michaels. Shawn makes an appearance on commentary to lay into Bret for being bitter, while Bret is visibly annoyed when Shawn's entrance interrupts his backstage promo, as it's clear that he's approaching the end of his rope. Bret and Sid have a perfectly acceptable world title match, with Bret picking apart Sid's back in trademark fashion, before Bret's other main rival, Steve Austin, messes up his gameplan, as Austin takes down Bret with another chop block. That injustice wakes the crowd up from their slumber, as they begin to rally behind Bret, and pop big for his kick-out of a Sid chokeslam. Bret, willing to win at all costs now, demands that Shawn give up his chair so Bret can use it as a weapon, but Sid puts a stop to that, before shoving Michaels. HBK won't be taking that, especially after Sid nearly gave Jose Lothario a heart attack at Survivor Series, but as Shawn gets on the apron, Sid reveals his masterplan, whipping Bret into Shawn, distracting Bret long enough for Sid to retain with his mighty powerbomb. Bret continues to lose all sense of dignity by attacking Shawn after the match, continuing to lay the groundwork for his heel turn, a character dynamic that was far more interesting than this match.
5/10
It's Time featured a decent amount of passable wrestling, but it's the intrigue of the main event scene that carried it through to average in my book, as the booking of Bret, Shawn, Austin, and Sid is all carefully plotted and holds up extremely well. This show was more fun to write about than to watch, but it's not the worst way to end the year.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: In Your House 13: Final Four, as the WWF Championship is on the line in a high-stakes elimination match between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Vader, Bret Hart, and The Undertaker. See you soon.
- Henry
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