Beware of Dog isn't just an excellent life lesson, it's also the subtitle a one-of-the-kind production by Vince McMahon and the WWF, one that hasn't been seen before or since in company history. With severe thunderstorms taking place in the local area, Vince decided that "the show must go on", flagrantly ignoring the warning signs that the big man upstairs had some issues with his booking plans. The storm knocked out power to both the arena and the WWF production trucks, cutting the pay-per-view feed off after the opening match, and only being restored in time for the main event. Those in attendance witnessed the scheduled matches taking place in semi-darkness, and the WWF then offered an encore presentation on pay-per-view two days later, with replays of the two matches that were televised, and a re-shoot of the three matches that did not. All in all, it's about as generous of a response as you could expect out of Vince, and ends up with an intriguing viewing experience 25 years later, as the two events have been cut together, resulting in the main event taking place less than halfway through the card. Wrestling events taking place across multiple nights is no longer a phenomenon, as both WWE's WrestleMania and New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom have experimented with the concept, but this remains unique, a complete accident that added significant intrigue to what was likely to be a forgettable night otherwise.
- In Your House 8: Beware of Dog comes to you first from the Florence Civic Center in Florence, South Carolina, and then later from the North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina, the only WWE pay-per-view to air from the state. Vince McMahon and Jerry "The King" Lawler are on the call for the first two matches, while Jim Ross and Mr. Perfect will handle the final three.
- Our opening contest is between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Marc Mero, the result of a tussle over Sable, Mero's shoot wife who was harassed by Helmsley after cornering him at WrestleMania 12. Helmsley is a week removed from the infamous "Curtain Call", where he, Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash all shared a hug at a house show in Madison Square Garden, breaking kayfabe to acknowledge Hall and Nash's departures to WCW. There's been plenty of hearsay over the years about how that incident impacted Helmsley's position on the card, with a long-standing rumor that he lost a King of the Ring victory as punishment, and while we may never know the full story, I did find it suspicious that this feud got such a decisive finish so quickly, with Helmsley losing cleanly to Mero via a catapult into the ringpost after jaw-jacking with Sable. It's possible that this was a message being sent, but it wasn't a particularly harsh punishment if that's what it was, Vince has been far more vindictive with others that wronged him. The match beforehand was solid, with a lot of arm and shoulder work by Helmsley, exploiting an injury suffered by Mero when he collided with the ringpost. Everything Helmsley does to take apart the shoulder is effective and crisp, and he bumps his behind off for Mero's comeback, giving the new signing plenty of shine. As mentioned, Helmsley loses after getting distracted by Sable, and looks like an absolute bastard in the process, attempting to force her to watch him hit Mero with the Pedigree, and confiscating her whip. For three prized future stars (at the time, anyway), I think this did everything it needed to to get everyone over in their roles.
- Right before the blackout, Jim Cornette cuts a backstage promo, promising a bombshell for WWF Champion Shawn Michaels, as well as announcing that Owen Hart has gotten a manager's license to be in Bulldog's corner for the main event, which is some terrific kayfabe. After the power is restored, the edit from this segment into Vince and Jerry preparing for the main event is seamless, and kept the running thread of the main event story going, as they throw to a Shawn Michaels promo, responding to Cornette, which would've felt more out of place had it been separated by an hour of wrestling, so this somehow worked to the company's benefit.
- First night main event time, as Shawn Michaels defends the WWF Championship against the British Bulldog. Shawn describes the build-up to this match as befitting of Melrose Place, which is very accurate, as he's randomly been accused of attempting to sleep with Bulldog's wife, Diana Hart-Smith. I can see where Vince is coming from, looking to take advantage of Shawn's womanizing antics to tell a main event drama that blurs the line between fact and fiction, but this never had a chance to go anywhere interesting, primarily because Diana has no training or experience as an on-screen performer. The crowd simply doesn't care about Clarence Mason serving Michaels a subpoena for "attempted alienation of affection", whatever that means, though they do still enjoy watching the champ perform. The folks in Florence go wild for whatever Shawn's willing to give them, which isn't much, as he's obviously thrown in the towel and has little interest in putting on a classic performance. Shawn takes only a select few bumps, works through a lot of rest holds, and rarely engages with the crowd, but they're still enamored by him anyway. Shawn escaping an Argentine backbreaker gets a huge pop, as does his elbow drop and a Sweet Chin Music to Owen, who was sneaking into the ring. In retrospect, it was a huge win for the WWF that this wasn't the final match attributed to this show, not only because Shawn's performance was so lackadaisical, but also because of the bizarre finish, where Shawn appears to win with, of all things, a bridging German suplex, only for both Earl Hebner (who took a bump during the match) and Mike Chioda to count both men's shoulders to the mat, resulting in a messy draw. Of all the way to ensure a rematch between these two, this was certainly the most complicated one, and was a complete departure from the story they had told going in, Diana really should've been involved in some way, because her presence ended up being pointless.
- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's initial few months in the WWF, spent as a mute enforcer for Ted DiBiase, might not be anything close to the best work of his career, but it did generate one excellent slugfest, as he opens the second night of filming in a Caribbean Strap match against Savio Vega. Both men use the vicious leather strap expertly, opening up sizeable welts that emphasize the hatred they share and the brutality of even this simple weapon. There are few wrestlers that could ever challenge Austin's grasp on in-ring psychology, the man just knows how to hook an audience, and the crowd in North Charleston gets into this one easily. I loved how both men sold the wear and tear of Vega's superplex, and while the "touch every corner" rule in strap matches has always been aggravating, Austin and Vega managed to turn it into gripping drama, escalating with Austin's awesome double leg tackle to stop Vega from winning. The finish did have to borrow from the big book of WWE nonsense, this time using the trope of both men touching in succession, with one not realizing that the other is keeping pace. Austin plays the oblivious role, dragging a spluttering Vega, who's throat is tied up in the strap, around the ring, before Vega gets loose for a final showdown. After a tug-of-war over the strap, Austin drops down for some reason, pulling Vega forward to hand his opponent the win. I have no clue what, in kayfabe, Austin was trying to do there, as there didn't seem to be any conceivable way he could win from the mat like that. But the weirdness of the ending is quickly skipped past, as Austin storms out on DiBiase, who offered poor advice throughout the match, and now exits the WWF, have put his contract on the line pending Austin's victory. Vega gives DiBiase a rendition of "Hey Hey Goodbye", and that's that for one of the most iconic heels of the Golden Era, as DiBiase wouldn't return to the WWE until 2004, and his farewell also brings an end to the Million Dollar Corporation, as the heel faction that had dominated the product for most of the past year and a half was no more, giving Austin the chance to go out on his own.
- Vader and Yokozuna finally get their singles match here at Beware of Dog, after being on opposite ends of the six man tag at WrestleMania. Considering the weight both men were steadily putting on, they actually didn't fare that poorly, as the crowd was more than willing to immerse themselves in this titanic battle, and both had enough experience to tell an exciting story that worked around their physical limitations. Just the two men squaring up, Yokozuna in his sumo squat and Vader in a three-point stance, was enough to rocket up the hype, and Yokozuna taking a single leg and dropping an elbow on the knee was a shocking sight to behold. It's also a perfect callback to how Yokozuna was put on the shelf by Vader a month or two prior, and Vader's limp looked authentic, the big man knows how to sell a body part. Yokozuna's Samoan Drop to Vader and headbutt to Jim Cornette each get terrific reactions, before the Japanese Samoan makes a catastrophic mistake, attempting a Banzai Drop on Cornette, crashing and burning after Vader pulls his manager to safety. The Vader Bomb ends it, as yet again, it feels like Vader gave a lot to his opponent, just like with Razor Ramon last month, although at least this time, it makes more sense given Yokozuna's intimidating persona and size.
- North Charleston's main event is a Casket Match, as The Undertaker and Goldust, two paragons of psychological warfare, square off. This wasn't much of an actual match, just a lot of busy work that featured two impressive pieces of visual story-telling. The first was Undertaker's arm, sticking out from under the casket lid to prevent Goldust from closing it, and the second was the appearance of Mankind, who kick-starts his feud with The Undertaker by unexpectedly showing up in the casket. It's a cool surprise, although the crowd doesn't know what to make of Mick Foley's new persona just yet, and his hideous squealing is met with apathy. Goldust winning was a formality, as the Intercontinental Championship was on the line, and there was no chance he would drop it here, especially after just beginning his feud with Ahmed Johnson the previous night (this was the infamous "mouth to mouth" segment on Raw). Still, at least the cheap win meant something, with Undertaker and Mankind set to engage in wild warfare in the months to come. The match prior to the reveal of Mankind was dull, the only highlight was Goldust's Tombstone Piledriver, which got zero reaction because it looked so soft, and the ending bit, where the casket is opened and Undertaker has disappeared, was too hokey for my tastes.
7/10
1996 Average: 6 (Up from 5.86)
I didn't love everything that these two nights delivered, but I have to tip my cap to how cohesive, and surprisingly entertaining, the whole experience ended up being. No match was truly awful, although Undertaker and Goldust would've been without the Mankind surprise, and Shawn sleeping through his title match was a bad look. By far the highlight of either night was the Caribbean Strap match, the WWF is starting to embrace a more violent style in these gimmick matches, and the results have been outstanding, you can see why hardcore wrestling would become such a staple of the product.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: In Your House 9: International Incident, where Vader and Shawn Michaels tangle one month before their SummerSlam main event. See you soon.
- Henry
Comments