PPV REVIEW: WWF In Your House 18: Badd Blood

October 5, 1997,
Kiel Center, St. Louis, Missouri.

By October 1997, the In Your House events had become a staple of the World Wrestling Federation calendar, cropping up every month to bridge the gaps between the big five.

Yet up to this point, that's basically all they'd been - filler events designed to move the story along and get us to Wrestlemania, King of the Ring, Summerslam, Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble, where the really big stuff - the dramatic title changes and huge, game-changing moments would occur.

If there's any event that changed that, it was this one - Badd Blood: In Your House 18

For the first time ever, we would see two of the company's biggest stars - Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker go head to head in a brand new concept known as Hell in a Cell, but as we were about to find out - the cage itself wasn't the only thing making its first appearance in the World Wrestling Federation.

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And yes, I'm deliberately avoiding talking about the one thing I really don't want to talk about on this show - I'll be sad enough when we get to it.

Tonight, it's Hell in a Cell

Our show tonight opened with one of the WWF's always-impressive video packages, this one telling us what an asshole Shawn Michaels had become since transforming into a fully-fledged heel, and how much a thorn in the Undertaker's side he'd been since Summerslam 1997.

Tonight, said our narrator, Michaels new allies, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Chyna, and Rick Rude were unable to help him, because he and The Undertaker would be locked inside the demonic structure known as Hell in a Cell.

Not only was tonight the first Hell in a Cell match ever, but it was also the first In Your House event to use a regular entrance way instead of the special house set.

That became evident as we went into the arena for the usual pan of the crowd and the trademark growl of Vince McMahon, who was commentating on his last ever WWF PPV.

McMahon welcomed us to the show and introduced us to Jim Ross and Jerry 'The King' Lawler as The Nation began making their way to ringside for our opening match.

3 vs. 2 Handicap Match The Nation (Rocky Maivia, D'Lo Brown, and Kama Mustafa) vs. The Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal)

Here, we had D'Lo Brown competing in his first WWF PPV match ever, Rocky Maivia competing in his first since Wrestlemania 13, and Kama Mustfa competing in his first actual PPV match (excluding the 1996 Royal Rumble) since Summerslam 1995, when he lost to Undertaker in a casket match.

Tonight, the three had been set to take on The Legion of Doom and Ken Shamrock, but apparently, they had injured Shamrock on Raw, leaving Hawk & Animal to fight The Nation alone.

Apart from a hot finish which saw Farooq arrive to stop the LOD from getting the upset, the match was fairly tedious and by far one of the most boring PPV opening matches of 1997.

The only notable thing to happen was McMahon informing us early on that Brian Pillman had passed away.

You know, to this day I've never forgotten October 5th, 1997 as the day that Brian Pillman died, and I kind of wish Vince had picked a more opportune and sombre moment to inform us of the sad news rather than dropping it in at the start of a pro wrestling match.

Speaking of the match, Rocky Maivia won with a move that hadn't yet been called The Rock Bottom.
Your Winners: The Nation

Afterwards, The Nation celebrated whilst LOD looked on, frustrated and exhausted.

Sunny and Doc Shill the Superstar Line

As the Bad Blood theme music played (the same theme music that would later be used by The Lethal Weapon Steve Blackman), Sunny and Doc Hendrix urged us to call the Superstar Line.

I must admit, I'd rather have Sunny try to sell me an overpriced phone call than Mean Gene Okerlund.

Brian Pillman Has Passed Away

Finally, Vince took the time to give us the proper, to-camera announcement about The Loose Cannon's passing, passing his condolences on to the family before telling us that in place of the match Pillman had been advertised for, we'd get a special attraction:

A minis match.

Tarantula & Mosaic vs. Max Mini & Nova

Nova was, of course, another mini wrestler, and not Simon Dean.

In a way, I suppose the light relief provided by this lucha libre rules match was just what was needed after hearing the tragic news about Pillman.

Though not quite as fun as Max Mini's In Your House: Ground Zero outing against El Torito, this was still entertaining in its own way.

A fun little throw-away match which was just what the doctor ordered at this point.

Max Mini and Nova won, which was nice for them.
Your Winners: Max Mini & Nova

After the match, we got Michael Cole (though at first, I thought it was Todd Pettengill) voicing a commercial for Stone Cold Steve Austin's best-selling Austin 3:16 t-shirt, following which Vince McMahon told us that the crowd of 21,151 was likely to be a new arena record.

Sunny is Your Guest Ring Announcer

Playing off her history as the manager of tag Team Champions, Sunny made her way to ringside to provide guest ring announcing duties for our next match.

World Wrestling Federation World Tag Team Championship
WWF Tag Team Champions The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher) vs. The Godwins ( Henry O. & Phineas I. Godwin w/ Uncle Cletus)

For those wondering, Uncle Cletus was Dirty White Boy Tony Anthony, also briefly known as T.L Hopper.

The fact that they played up Henry and Phineas Godwin's past history with Sunny as the challengers entered the ring was a nice touch.

On another note, Mosh wore a Type O Negative T-shirt, which I just have to point out because Type O are one of my favourite bands.

Both of these facts are more interesting than anything that happened in the ring.

This was dull, and occasionally very sloppy, culminating in a win for The Godwins when Phineas caught Mosh coming off the top and caught in him in a horrible looking sit down powerbomb.

A three count later, and we had new Tag Team Champions.

The crowd, all 21+ thousand of them, went mild.
Your Winners and New Tag Team Champions: The Godwins

Afterwards, The Godwins continued to attack their fallen opponents, then ranted and raved at ringside when it was announced that they'd be stripped of the titles if they didn't leave the ring.

Austin vs. McMahon - It Begins

Tonight, Vince McMahon was commentating on his final PPV. After this, we would see the transformation of Vince McMahon - Lead Announcer into Mr. McMahon - Evil Billionaire.

That same Mr. McMahon character would go on to have a legendary feud with Steve Austin, but the seeds of that feud had already been sewn.

After injuring his neck at Summerslam 1997, Stone Cold had been out of action, having to give up his half of the tag titles at Ground Zero: In Your House.

Now he was being urged to give up the Intercontinental Championship he won from Owen Hart in that ill-fated Summerslam bout but, Austin being Austin, he preferred to compete instead.

McMahon had originally told him he wasn't allowed and received a Stone Cold Stunner for his troubles.

The following week, McMahon had given Austin three options:

1: Get medically cleared to return to the ring

2: Return to the ring but absolve the WWF of any responsibility

3: Get fired.

This was all retold to us in one of the company's always-awesome video packages, after which we cut to a scrawny, nerdy little dweeb called Michael Cole.

Cole was interrupted by Owen Hart, who demanded that Austin both come out and give him his belt back but at the same time stay far away from the ring. I love Owen, but I'm not sure he thought that one through.

Honouring St. Louis Wrestling Legends

In a ceremony akin to a mini Hall of Fame event, Gene Kiniski, Jack Briscoe, Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race, Terry Funk, Lou Thesz, and Sam Muchnick were each called out by Jim Ross, had a brief video package shown, and were then handed a commemorative plaque by Sunny.

In a way, it was oddly fitting - one last farewell to the oldest of the old guard before taking pro wrestling boldly into new territory with the advent of the Attitude Era.

Farooq is Mad

Backstage, Doc Hendrix pissed off Farooq by suggesting that Steve Austin might help him beat Owen Hart for the vacant Intercontinental title.

Farooq, flanked by Nation members Rocky Maivia, D'Lo Brown, and Kama Mustafa, was irate at such a suggestion, and mumbled his way through a garbage promo in which he let Doc -and all of us- know just how irate he really was.

An Update on Brian Pillman

Prior to our next match, Next, a very nervous-looking Vince McMahon informed us that Pillman may have died of an overdose. It was hard to tell if Vince was more upset about Pillman than he was about the potential damage to his company an overdosing employee could do. Vince told us that drugs were a problem in all sports, in other words - not his fault.

World Wrestling Federation Intercontinental Championship
Farooq vs. Owen Hart

I'd never realised this, but Owen Hart already had the new theme music that he had post-Montreal. I'd always assumed he had the classic Rocket theme until then.

Prior to he and Farooq tying up, Austin stormed to ringside with the Intercontinental title, took a seat next to Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter and rang the bell, then stole McMahon's headset to basically go on an epic Stone Cold rant for a few minutes.

Austin then moved around ringside, talking first to the Spanish and then the French announcers.

Why am I telling you about this and not about what happened in the ring? Because the WWF decided that Austin's outside shenanigans were more interesting than anything going on between the ropes.

Owen and Farooq must have known this, and thus didn't put a great deal of effort into their short and forgettable encounter.

In the end, Austin drilled Farooq with the title belt, allowing Owen to get the win and his second IC title.
Your Winner and New WWF Intercontinental Champion: Owen Hart

Afterwards, everyone seemed confused about why Austin would help Owen even though it seemed blatantly obvious that Stone Cold was setting himself up for a rematch with the King of Harts for the title.

Flag Match Update

Next, we were shown footage of the Hart Foundation attacking Vader and The Patriot, following which, Vince and JR told us that the rules for the upcoming flag match had been altered so that the match could be won by pinfall and submission as well as capturing the flag.

Confusingly, we then went on to a different match entirely.

Los Boricuas (Savio Vega, Miguel Perez,  Jose Estrada Jr., Jesus Castillo) vs. D.O.A (Crush, Chainz, Skull, 8-Ball)

Ah, the feud that would never end.

At one point, it became clear that the announcers weren't really sure which Boricua was which, and that's a shame because -though it was never destined to win any awards- this was a perfectly acceptable multi-man tag match.

After a few minutes of fairly inoffensive action, Crush picked up the win with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker in what would prove to be his final WWF PPV appearance of the 1990s.
Your Winners: The Disciples of the Apocalypse

Whilst I'm on the subject of Los Boricuas,  if you have the WWE Network, go track down a match between Miguel Perez and Psicosis from WCW Nitro (I believe it was either late 96 or early 97), it was actually one of the best random TV matches I've ever seen

Bret and Bulldog are Here in St. Louis, Right Here

Backstage, WWF Champion Bret 'The Hitman' Hart promised that he and Davey Boy Smith were going to prove that they were better than any two American wrestlers in the WWF.

The Englishman known as The British Bulldog then promised to defend the honour of the Canadian flag tonight, here in St. Louis....right here.

Seriously, there was a pause after Bulldog said 'here in St. Louis,' then he said 'right here,' and looked incredibly proud of himself for realising that he was indeed right there.

OK, so it wasn't on a level with his Royal Rumble 1996 gem, but it was still pretty funny.

Vader Drops a Bomb

And it wasn't a Vader Bomb.

Continuing the botched promo theme, The Patriot told Vader and Doc Hendrix that he was going to go all out to win tonight, after which Vader yelled out that Bret Hart's claim to be the best there is, was, and ever will be was -and I quote- 'a bunch of bullshit.'

That time @itsvadertime cursed live on a #WWE PPV - oops. 😂 pic.twitter.com/teKnNlzXij

— Retro Pro Wrestling (@retropwrestling) October 28, 2017

Naturally, a flustered Vince McMahon apologised for the profanity and tries to dismiss it as a consequence of live TV.

Flag Match
WWF Champion Bret 'The Hitman' Hart & The British Bulldog vs. Vader & The Patriot

It's a shame that after such a legendary career full of awesome matches, Bret Hart's final WWF PPV victory would come in a long and lacklustre effort.

Given the news about Pillman, you can understand nobody bringing their A-Game, but with nobody able to turn until a notch, you'd think they'd keep things short.

Instead, this one seemed to drag on forever, with pretty much the only truly exciting moment coming when a fan bust in the ring and got his ass kicked by Bulldog and referee Mike Chioda.

After a long time of nothing much, Bret got the win over The Patriot with a roll-up. Why they even bothered with a flag match stipulation if this is how things were going to end is beyond me.
Your Winners: Bret Hart & British Bulldog

Afterwards, we got a quick commercial for Survivor Series 1997, then cut to Sgt. Slaughter checking under the ring with a flash light to make sure there was no way the wrestlers could get out under the ring or that anyone could get in.

With that, we went on to our history-making main event.

Hell in a Cell (non-title match)
WWF European Champion Shawn Michaels (w/ Triple H, Chyna, and Rick Rude) vs. The Undertaker

Certainly, one of the best matches of the year, most likely one of the best matches of the 90s, and easily the greatest match of its type, this groundbreaking first Hell in a Cell match was gloriously violent and brilliantly entertaining from beginning to end.

Apart from a brief few moments of offence from Michaels, this whole match was basically The Undertaker brutally murdering The Heartbreak Kid.

He destroyed him in the ring, he destroyed him out of the ring, he destroyed him against the cage walls, outside the cage, and even on top of the cage in what was by far the most violent WWF PPV match up to that time.

Just when The Phenom looked to have the match won, however, the lights went dark and the sound of an organ which would become so familiar to fans over the course of the next 20 years struck up.

Kane had arrived, and neither The Undertaker, nor the World Wrestling Federation, would ever be the same again.

Ripping the Cell door off its hinges, the debuting monster stared down his brother then distracted him

by making the turnbuckles explode. A kick to the stomach later, and The Dead Man was being lifted up and driven down in a tombstone piledriver courtesy of Kane.

Michaels, who had been laid out almost unconscious in a battered, bloody mess whilst all this had been going on, crawled over, draped the arm, and got the win.
Your Winner: Shawn Michaels 

Looking like anything but a winner, Michaels' battered corpse was dragged out of the ring by the rest of D-Generation-X, as Jim Ross informed us that he would now go on to face the WWF Champion on November 9th at Survivor Series...

...And we all know how that ended, don't we?

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The very definition of a one-match show, that main event was really the only thing worth watching at Badd Blood: In Your House.

Everything else was either underwhelming, overlong, or both, but I won't hold that against anyone who performed on this card.

The death of Brian Pillman, though cautiously underplayed by McMahon, hung over the entire event like the terrible tragedy that it was, and -quite rightly I say- took the enjoyment out of watching it.

And that's me -a guy who never knew Pillman personally- saying that 20 years later.

Imagine how the wrestlers who knew, loved, and worked with him felt.

So yeah, most of this show isn't worth watching but the debut of Hell in a Cell as a match is -and I don't say this often- absolutely essential viewing.

Thanks for reading.

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1997 events reviewed so far:

1. WWF - Royal Rumble 1997
2. WCW - Souled Out 1997
3. WWF - In Your House 13: Final Four 
4. WCW - Superbrawl VII 
5. WCW - Uncensored 1997 
6. WWF - Wrestlemania 13
7. WCW Spring Stampede 1997
8. WWF - In Your House 14: Revenge of The Taker
9. WWF - In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell
10. WCW - Slamboree 1997
11. WWF - King of the Ring 1997
12. WCW - Great American Bash 1997 
13. WWF - In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede 
14. WCW - Bash at the Beach 1997 
15. WWF - Summerslam 1997
16. WCW - Road Wild 1997
17. WWF - In Your House 17: Ground Zero
18. WCW - Fall Brawl 1997
19. WWF - One Night Only 1997

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PPV REVIEW: WWF One Night Only 1997

September 20th, 1997
N.E.C Arena, Birmingham, England 

I'll be honest with you, I've been looking forward to, and dreading this review in equal measure. 

Looking forward to it because, for the first time since I started Retro Pro Wrestling five years ago, I get to write about a WWF PPV I was actually live in attendance for.

You see, apart from Summerslam 1992, those of us here in the UK were largely deprived of any opportunity to attend a PPV event (or even TV in those days) unless hopped on a plane and flew stateside.

Then, in 1997, the company decided that the best way to improve profits in the face of increasingly dominant competition from WCW was to capitalise on the one market Eric Bischoff and Ted Turner hadn't been able to beat Titan Sports at:

The UK.

So, on September 20th, 1997, we got our first PPV in the UK since Summerslam 92, headlined once again by Britain's most successful pro wrestling export ever, Wigan lad Davey Boy Smith, The British Bulldog.

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And that, my friends, is the exact reason why I'm dreading tonight's show.

In September 97, I was 13 years old, young enough to be swept up in kayfabe yet old enough to know the truth about how wrestling really worked.

So when Davey Boy met his fate on tonight's show, I was royally pissed and legitimately heartbroken, because I knew that what we were watching in the ring was only half the story - the other half was that foul, backstage shenanigans were at play and I -and most of the crowd- knew it.

Not only did we know it - we were livid about it.

To be perfectly truthful with you, I'm not entirely happy about reliving that memory again.

But hey, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let's head down to the Birmingham NEC for One Night Only, the UK's first WWE PPV in five years.

Davey Boy Defends His Dream 

After a rather chipper British chappy welcomed us to

Sky Box Office's presentation of a 'World Wrestling Federation Extravaganza,' we got the New WWF intro that told us how many countries the company was popular in.

That took us to a sentimental video package in which Jim Ross told us that Davey Boy Smith had grown from humble beginnings in Manchester (technically Wigan, technically Golborne, but hey) to one of the most popular superstars on the planet.

Tonight, he was coming home to defend the WWF European title (against who, Ross didn't say), and despite being a heel in America, was very much expected to be the hometown hero tonight.

With that, Vince McMahon growled his usual welcome to the show before we got down to our first match.

Jolly Good Bun

Despite being there, the fact that 20 years has passed from an event that rarely ever gets talked about means that I only remember exactly four things from One Night Only:

1: The main event

2: The Undertaker vs. Bret Hart Match

3: Tiger Ali Singh was there

4: This Dude Love promo.

I remember it mostly because of the awful joke he made about missing two teeth (well, they're gone but I don't miss them! Ho ho ho!) , and also because, on two occasions, Foley said 'Jolly good fun' but it sounded like he said 'Jolly good bun.'

I remember this because -despite this entire promo being cringe-worthily awful, myself and the friend I went to see this show with would often randomly quip 'jolly good bun!' at each other.

Look, I know that's not very interesting, but then neither is this promo.

I'm doing my best, OK?

Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/ Chyna) vs. Dude Love

From their initial meeting at King of the Ring 1997 to their steel cage match at Summerslam 97, via their tremendous, show-long brawl at In Your House: Canadian Stampede, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and the various alter-egos of Mick Foley had spent much of the year at war with one another.

Tonight, they squared off again in a match with an entirely different vibe.

Rather than a heated battle between two sworn enemies, this came off as a basic, by-the-numbers warm-up act between two masters of their craft.

And you know what?

It worked.

Helmsley and Foley worked well together in producing a solid outing that really got the crowd into the show.

Ok, so it was far from the best match these two would ever have together, but it certainly served its purpose well, and was very enjoyable as a result.

At random points, Jerry 'The King' Lawler (who joined McMahon and Jim Ross on commentary) tried to show off his knowledge of British vocabulary, first calling his colleagues 'pillocks' and then suggesting that Dude Love was 'as bent as a nine bob note.'

I don't think anyone had explained to Lawler what that actually means. It was as bad as the time he straight out asked Goldust if he was 'you know, queer.'

Anyway, back to the match, and despite being on the receiving end of a serious Dude Love beating, Hunter landed the Pedigree to pick up the first win of the evening.
Your Winner: Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Prior to our next match, we got vox pops from the Birmingham faithful, giving us their picks on who was going to win between Shawn Michaels and The British Bulldog.

Despite a few fans being all for HBK, the majority were, obviously, rooting for the hometown hero.

I'm only sad that they didn't go back and reinterview the kid from Summerslam 92 who said that Bulldog was going to win 'whether he wants to or not.'

Sunny is Here

OK, here's something else I remember - being 13 and swooning like a modern day Justin Bieber fan when the absolute love of my life, Sunny came to ringside to introduce our next match.

Honestly, was there anyone in the world hotter than Sunny at that time?

Leif Cassidy vs. Tiger Ali Singh (w/ Tiger Jeet Singh)

Tiger Ali Singh (remember him?) came to the ring as a good guy, hi-fiving the Birmingham crowd and generally being all smiley-babyfacey nicey-nice.

Then he immediately became a heel -not entirely on purpose- by getting on the mic to talk about how proud he was to be an Asian Canadian (the crowd hated that!), how we should all stay drug free (hilarious that the crowd booed that!), how he was the new, true Messiah, and how with the support of his Canadian fans, he was going to 'set the wrestling world on fire.'

This was like one of those promos when the bad guy pretends that he's really a good guy to get heat, except you got the idea he wasn't pretending, and either didn't know that the UK wasn't in Canada, or had been told to cut this god awfully cheesy promo as a rib.

Al Snow Leif Cassidy put us out of our misery by attacking the confused Canadian from behind, though not even he could stop Tiger from picking up the win after a thankfully short and completely unforgettable contest.
Your Winner: Tiger Ali Singh

Let's keep this party going...

World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship
WWF Tag Team Champions The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher) vs. Los Boricuas (Savio Vega & Miguel Perez)

Having upset Owen Hart and The British Bulldog just days earlier at In Your House: Ground Zero, Mosh and Thrasher put their new titles on the line against Savio Vega and Miguel Perez in a match that was fun, if not a little too long.

Suffering the same fate as many a match before it, this one exploded to life in the early going with a flurry of excitement and finished with a hot ending, but basically dragged on in the middle.

The Headbangers retained after the better part of 20 minutes (seriously), though they could have produced the same result with as much fun in half that time.
Your Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: The Headbangers

'The Headbangers have pulled one off!' exclaimed McMahon. You can pretty much write your own joke there, can't you?

Davey Boy is Ready

Up next, we were taken to a pre-recorded interview in which Jim Ross asked a calm and collected Davey Boy Smith about tonight's match.

The Bulldog dedicated the match to his sister, who had recently undergone a battle with cancer, and claimed that in order to match Shawn Michaels on quickness, he had dropped about two stone, or 28lbs.

The interview was unlike Davey Boy's traditional snarling, 'you're going down!' promo style, and this worked well to help establish the champion as a likeable favourite we could all get behind later on in the show.

Flash Funk vs. The Patriot

I had honestly blocked this match, which saw the pro-USA Patriot heavily booed by the UK crowd, far from my mind.

Trying to save face (in some ways quite literally), Vince told us that The Patriot received a 'mixed reaction.'

The match itself was fine, though hardly designed to set the world on fire.

The weirdest part, for me, is watching it back as though seeing the match for the first time, despite the fact that I was there in person when it happened.

Anyway, The Patriot won with the Uncle Slam, and the crowd -who hadn't given a damn about anything in the entire match- booed him right out of the building.
Your Winner: The Patriot

What a Rush

Five years after their long ride to the ring on Harley Davidsons, The Legion of Doom were back in the United Kingdom, this time to take on The Godwins.

In an uninspired backstage promo, Hawk and Animal went through their usual schtick of vowing to maim and decapitate their opponents.

Ohhh, what a rush.

The Godwins (Henry O. & Phineas I. Godwin) vs. The Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal)

This one was the perfect example of how some matches can fun to watch in person yet don't necessarily strike the same chord when you watch them back on TV.

You see, LOD vs. The Godwins was as dull as the proverbial dishwater and basically felt like one really long chinlock followed by a Doomsday Device.

The Birmingham crowd however, were stupidly into it, though that had more to do with Hawk & Animal being insanely over than the match being very good.

After several minutes of nothing happening besides the crowd raising the roof for the LOD, it was Phineas who ate the pin to create one of the biggest pops of the night.
Your Winners: The Legion of Doom

The most interesting part of the match was Jerry Lawler just about exhausting his knowledge of British colloquialisms and apparently just making stuff up.

At one point, The King dropped the word 'niffy' as an insult but refused to explain what it meant.

That could be because it doesn't mean anything, unless Lawler meant 'nifty,' which is generally a positive thing.

Anyway, I digress.

On with the show.

Jim Ross Interviews Ken Shamrock

As The World's Most Dangerous Man made his way ringside, McMahon reminded us that Ken Shamrock had recently been injured at the hands of Nation leader, Farooq.

Live in the ring, Jim Ross told us that those injuries had ruled Shamrock out of action tonight, meaning we wouldn't see him take on Owen Hart as scheduled.

Instead, Vader would lock up with Hart, and Shamrock would talk to us all about how disappointed he was at being unable to compete.

Before Ken had a chance to leave, however, Billy Gunn (of all people) made it to the ring.

Truthfully, it was only at this point that your writer finally remembered watching this segment live, and that's only because I remember my friend pointing out a couple of moles on Gunn's back (yes, we were that close) that we decided looked like Bisto Gravy Granules.

Anyway, Gunn mocked Shamrock, claiming that he'd gotten a doctor's note for a 'tummy ache,' to get out of wrestling.

Naturally, our man Ken didn't take too kindly to that and slapped Gravy Granule Gunn in the Ankle Lock.

The Fans Don't Like Bret

From one interview to another next, as Vince McMahon spoke via video link to WWF Champion Bret 'The Hitman' Hart, who was standing by backstage.

Hart received a genuine mixed reaction from the live crowd, but, despite this, insisted that the British fans still believed in him and that he was going to do right by us by defeating The Undertaker, who The Hitman said was likely to be Bret's biggest fight yet.

Vince asked if Bret could hear the very loud boos he was getting, and I have to believe that he was, if only to explain the way he fumbled awkwardly through the entire promo.

I mean sure, Bret always seemed to lack a certain smoothness to his mic work, but this was bad even for him.

Vader vs. Owen Hart

Having just booed Bret as loud as they could, the NEC were firmly behind The Hitman's younger brother Owen Hart, a fact acknowledged -and questioned- by Jerry Lawler.

Owen played up to this admiration, smiling and hi-fiving fans on the way to the ring for a match with his former Camp Cornette teammate, Vader.

Though it would later prove not to be the best match on the card, Owen/Vader certainly proved a worthy contender for that title, with the smaller Hart flying around the place and Vader using his bulk to dominate the bulk of the contest.

All in all, it made for a very exciting match which really got you on the edge of your seat, rooting for babyface Owen to score the big win.

At one point, it even looked as though he were going to, with a sharpshooter and a flying top rope dropkick rocking The Mastadon.

Alas, it wasn't to be.

Hart tried a second top rope dropkick but was sadly caught, squashed, and pinned.
Your Winner: Vader

Prior to our next match, The Undertaker cut a backstage promo, promising Bret Hart that tonight, we wouldn't see a repeat of Summerslam 97, when Bret beat 'Taker for the title thanks to a misplaced chair shot from special guest referee, Shawn Michaels.

With that, it was on to the first of two big title bouts.

World Wrestling Federation Championship
WWF Champion Bret 'The Hitman' Hart vs. The Undertaker

By September 1997, 13 year-old me was aware that all was not what it seemed when it came to pro wrestling, but this match made me forget all that.

This match sucked me into the kayfabe drama of professional wrestling like no other match had before, or has since.

I was at every big WWF and WCW event from the UK during the Attitude Era, but no match that I ever saw live ever lived up to this one.

It remains one of my favourite matches of all time and watching it back now for the first time in years, I'm reminded why.

Absolutely exhilarating from start to finish, the match started with Bret getting his ass kicked by his larger opponent before resorting to his usual strategy for fighting big men - kick 'em in the knee.

That levelled the playing field and gave us a terrific back and forth battle that has me as fully absorbed in the action now as it did 20 years ago when I watched it in person.

I remember that back then, my friend Dale and I had taken a huge Undertaker sign that I, being the arty and creative kind of child that I was (still am) had spent weeks getting just right.

Half way through the match, I found my heart truly wanting The Hitman to win, and dumping that sign on the floor.

I don't think I was alone, either. The more the match went on, the more the Birmingham crowd got fully behind the champ.

Sadly, there was nothing we could do to stop him getting his head caught in the ropes were Undertaker, now the defacto heel in the finest, pummelled away at him.

That caused the referee to throw this one out, and eat a chokeslam as a thank you from The Dead Man.
Your Winner by Disqualification and Still WWF Champion: Bret 'The Hitman' Hart.

Not content to leave it at that, Undertaker also chokeslammed Gerald Briscoe, who had come to help Bret break free, and then went after the ring announcer, who apparently hightailed it out of there.

HBK Is On His Way

Greeted to a rapturous chorus of boos, The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels cut a boastful and arrogant backstage promo in which he promised not only to juice us the match of the night, but to capture the European Championship in the process.

World Wrestling Federation European Championship
WWF European Champion The British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels

And so it came to this, the one match that I've been absolutely dreading rewatching.

Yes, I know pro wrestling is fake, I knew it then, but that only made me more angry on this night because I knew that the whole thing was a result of backstage politics more than anything else.

Still, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Things started with Shawn making his way to the ring to a very mixed reaction - loud boos coupled with hysteria from girls on the front row and -hilariously- one young fan beating the shit out of Shawn with a British Bulldog Hasbro action figure that uber-heel Shawn stole and dropped down his pants.

Davey Boy made a humble and straightforward entrance, accompanied by his sister, who he'd dedicated the match to.

Things started off well, with Michaels being a Super Dick Heel and getting his comeuppance at every turn thanks to the overwhelmingly popular Bulldog, who was wrestling better here than he had done in a long time.

I'm even prepared to say that, for the first five or ten minutes, this was even better than the two WWF Championship matches they had at King of the Ring 1996 and In Your House: Beware of Dog, but then Michaels' 'insurance policy,' Rick Rude came down and things descended into a long, slow, and painful-to-watch slog that saw HBK take apart his opponent.

Davey recovered a little and gave plenty of hope to his countrymen, but the arrival of Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna soon dashed those hopes.

The numbers game prices too much, and Bulldog succumbed to a Triple H Pedigree before eventually -after a valiant battle- passed out in a Shawn Michaels Figure Four.

OK, so the match was a lot better -and a lot less emotionally traumatic- now that I'm watching it back for the first time in 20 years, but that still sucked as an ending.
Your Winner and New WWF European Champion: Shawn Michaels

Afterwards, Michaels and Hunter tormented the live crowd whilst beating on Bulldog some more until Diana Smith, Bret Hart, and Owen Hart, all rushed to Davey Boy's aid.

As a way to establish Michaels and his entourage as the company's top heel outfit, I admit that this was actually a perfect move, but it was not what any of us wanted, and boy did we let the heels know it by pelting the soon-to-be D-Generation-X with an onslaught of plastic bottles as our hero bravely tries crawling to his feet.

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You know, I started this review not looking forward to that main event, but after watching it -and the entire show- again, I actually find myself filled with a sense of gratitude.

I'm grateful because, at an age when I was accepting that pro wrestling was all a big work, One Night Only gave me that one last chance to suspend my disbelief and act like it was all real.

From Owen Hart's plucky battle against Vader to Bret's dramatic title defence against The Undertaker and that truly heartbreaking main event, I was able to lose myself completely in the emotion of pro wrestling, not just when I was there live as a 13-year-old kid, but even now, 20 years later.

We all laughed when that kid broke down and cried that it was still real to him, dammit, but you know what?

I think I'd give anything to go back to that time when I was just able to lose myself in the stories pro wrestlers told us and avoid all the worrying about ratings, work rate, and smart fans, wouldn't you?

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1997 events reviewed so far:

1. WWF - Royal Rumble 1997
2. WCW - Souled Out 1997
3. WWF - In Your House 13: Final Four 
4. WCW - Superbrawl VII 
5. WCW - Uncensored 1997 
6. WWF - Wrestlemania 13
7. WCW Spring Stampede 1997
8. WWF - In Your House 14: Revenge of The Taker
9. WWF - In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell
10. WCW - Slamboree 1997
11. WWF - King of the Ring 1997
12. WCW - Great American Bash 1997 
13. WWF - In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede 
14. WCW - Bash at the Beach 1997 
15. WWF - Summerslam 1997
16. WCW - Road Wild 1997
17. WWF - In Your House 17: Ground Zero
18. WCW - Fall Brawl 1997

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PPV REVIEW: WWF Ground Zero - In Your House 17

September 7, 1997
Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky

Despite being the first In Your House to run for three hours, and the first to have the actual 'In Your House' as the subtitle instead of the main selling point, the September 1997 Ground Zero event is often an overlooked and entirely forgotten pay per view.

On the face of it, this isn't too surprising. Sandwiched directly between Bret 'The Hitman' Hart's fifth title win at Summerslam 1997 and the debut of both Kane and the Hell in a Cell match at the following month's Badd Blood, the seventeenth In Your House event lacked that big-time memorable moment or any kind of all-time classic match.

Does that mean it deserves to languish, forever forgotten among an enormous pile of pro wrestling shows which only grows higher with each passing week?

Not necessarily.

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As we'll find out today, Ground Zero: In Your House may not have changed the world, but it sure did entertain.

Shawn Michaels is a Bad Man

Our opening video tonight focused solely on Shawn Michaels and his ongoing heel turn which began when he accidentally nailed The Undertaker with a chair at Summerslam 1997 and cost The Dead Man the WWF title.

Feeling the wrath of 'Taker himself, not to mention his legions of fans, HBK had developed a new attitude that would eventually see him become a full on degenerate.

Before that though, The Undertaker had promised that Michaels would pay for his crimes, and would pay for them tonight, here at Ground Zero: In Your House

Welcome to Ground Zero

Tonight marks the first In Your House show where the brand was used as the subtitle instead of the main title.

That was evident when Vince McMahon welcomed us to Ground Zero before welcoming his broadcast colleagues, Jim Ross and Jerry 'The King' Lawler.

The trio put over tonight's card after which McMahon told us that our first match would be Goldust against Marlena.

No, that's not a typo. That's what he said.

What he meant of course, was Goldust against Brian Pillman.

Special Stipulation Match
Brian Pillman vs. Goldust

The stipulation here was that if Goldust won, Pillman would have to leave the WWF, but if The Loose Cannon won, he would get the services of Marlena for 30 days, hence McMahon's confusion.

By this point his career (which would tragically soon be over), Pillman was no longer the high-flying wunderkind he had once been, but by employing a very different approach, he and Goldust were able to work together to put on a fun opening match which got better as it went on.

Of course, it helped tremendously that the crowd were white hot and into every move, but that only added to what was already a fine display from the two men in the ring.

Towards the finish, Earl Hebner got in the way of Goldust landing The Curtain Call and sold the gentle stroke of Pillman's elbow across his cheek as though he'd been run over by a bulldozer.

As Goldie checked on the fallen referee, Pillman snatched Marlena's purse from her, drilled his opponent with it, and won the match.
Your Winner: Brian Pillman

Post-match, The Loose Cannon grabbed hold of Marlena and forced her backstage after winning what was to be his last ever PPV match.

The drama continued for the next five minutes, first with Jerry Lawler showing us that Marlena had a brick in her purse, then with Pillman forcing the blonde beauty into his car and driving away, and finally with Goldust having a breakdown in his dressing room and dropping a couple of well-covered F-bombs.

Scott Putski vs. Brian Christopher

Nothing says 'Big Time PPV' like Scott Putski, does it?

Still, I shouldn't mock, because this was starting to look like a pretty fun match until Ivan Putski's lad injured his knee on the outside, promoting Mike Chioda to award the match to Brian Christopher.

Before that, we got a decent little show, albeit one that lacked the impassioned crowd of the opening match.
Your Winner: Brian Christopher

Afterwards, Christopher and his daddy both mocked the fallen Putski as a gaggle of referees tried to help Polish Power Jr. to his feet.

Putski was wheeled out on a stretcher, and I'm not sure he was ever heard from again, at least not on PPV.

Faction Action

Up next, Vince and JR told us that we were going to look at some 'faction action' which to you and me meant the company's thinly-disguised Gang Warfare storyline.

If you recall, Farooq had fired most of The Nation of Domination after the group cost him his WWF title match against The Undertaker at King of the Ring 1997.

That prompted ex-members Crush and Savio Vega to form their own gangs - The Disciples of The Apocalypse and Los Bouricas respectively.

Meanwhile, Farooq had rebuilt his Nation with its one other original member D'Lo Brown and former Papa Shango, Kama Mustafa, who hadn't been seen on a WWF PPV since the 1996 Royal Rumble, when he was still Kama The Supreme Fighting Machine.

Farooq's long-time rival, Ahmed Johnson, had turned on the fans to complete The Nation line-up for a while, and even put in an appearance at the end of the D.O.A vs. Los Bouricas match at Summerslam 1997, but when he got injured again, The Nation eventually booted him out and replaced him with Rocky Maivia.

Tonight, the leaders of all thee factions would go head to head.

That match was next.

Triple Threat
Savio Vega vs. Crush vs. Farooq

I swear that when Crush first left The Nation, I wrote about the tattoo on his head disappearing.

I must have been on crack though, because he definitely had it tonight as he went up against Savio Vega and Farooq in a match that I don't think was all that special.

I say 'think,' because right from the word go this one failed to keep my attention.

Every time I turned back to the screen, it would bore me so much I was immediately back to playing with my phone or scratching my ass or something far more than this match.

In the end, Crush nailed Farooq with the Heart Punch but then got drilled by a spinning heel kick from Vega who scored the win.
Your Winner: Savio Vega

With that over, we got a look at the outside of the arena including Mohammed Ali Boulevard, and then the crowd.

Minis Match
El Torito vs. Max Mini

No, this wasn't the same El Torito who had that feud with Hornswoggle that time.

This was a mini luchadore who tonight went one on one with the popular Max Mini.

You'd have to be completely heartless not to enjoy this match.

Mostly a fast-paced lucha libre match with a hilarious spot of comedy thrown into the middle, the whole thing was fun from start to finish.

No, it wasn't a classic, no it wasn't a master class in-ring psychology and storytelling, but as a lighthearted diversion from the rest of the show, it was terrific.

Predictably, Max Mini won with a sunset flip.
Your Winner: Max Mini 

Up next, we were reminded that Stone Cold Steve Austin was being forced to surrender his half of the tag team titles on tonight's show.

Austin, if you recall, had originally won the tag team titles with Shawn Michaels earlier in the year, even facing Michaels in a match at King of the Ring 1997 whilst the two held the titles together.

Michaels then went down with an injury again, leaving Austin to try and capture the now vacant belts on his own.

Instead, Dude Love showed up and the two became champs together until Austin suffered a legitimate and horrific neck injury at Summerslam 97 and was genuinely out of action for a while.

As such, new WWF Commissioner, Sgt. Slaughter had ordered Stone Cold to surrender his half of the Championship.

Instead of just, you know, having Austin drop the title off at the office or something, this was pro wrestling, so the official forfeiture had to be done in the ring.

Stone Cold Surrenders the Tag Titles

We began the formalities with Jim Ross noting to Sgt. Slaughter what a crappy part of the commissioner's job this was.

Slaughter agreed, but didn't seem too phased by the whole thing, instead insisting that he knew the job was going to be hard when he first got into it.

Ross then brought out Dude Love, who was in a much more sombre mood than usual.

Though he could try and defend the titles himself, said the Dude, it would be unfair to Austin, since Stone Cold was the only reason Love had the belts in the first place.

That brought out Austin, who wasn't too thrilled to be giving up his title.

Stone Cold ignored Dude altogether, snatched the mic from JR and used it to verbally abuse Slaughter.

After tossing the title at Slaughter's feet and demanding the commissioner pick it up, Austin next turned his attention to Jim Ross.

The two weren't best buds yet, though when Austin ordered the announcer to say something, Ross did a pretty good job of kissing some Stone Cold ass. Presumedly sickened by the whole thing, Austin drilled JR with a stunner, earning the loudest crowd reaction of the night.

The best part of all this was actually Vince McMahon, who let it be known on commentary just how much he disapproved of Austin's antics.

That would come in useful down the road.

Owen Hart Likes Saying 'Crap'

Backstage, Doc Hendrix spoke with WWF European Champion The British Bulldog and Owen Hart, the latter of whom said that what Steve Austin had done to Jim Ross was 'a load of crap.'

Then he said it again, and a third time. Presumedly, Owen just liked the fact that he could get away with saying 'crap' on TV now.

That aside, this was another entertaining promo from the brothers-in-law, with Owen demanding that he be given the Intercontinental title back (Austin had beaten him for it at Summerslam), and Davey Boy promising to be in Owen's corner when Hart and Austin did lock up again.

Fatal Fourway Tag Team Match for the Vacant World Wrestling Federation World Tag Team Championship
The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher) vs. The Godwins (Henry & Phineas) vs. The Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal) vs. Owen Hart & WWF European Champion The British Bulldog

Prior to the match getting started, The Godwins, Legion Of Doom, and The Headbangers all had pre-recorded comments for us.

Unsurprisingly, each one promised to win the tag team title tonight.

What they didn't promise, was an entertaining match, which is just as well considering they mostly failed to deliver one.

For the first two-thirds of the bout, the action ranged from passable to mediocre, with the only real entertainment coming from Owen and Bulldog, who refused to tag in and get involved.

Yet when Hawk and Animal got disqualified for hitting Henry and Phineas Godwin repeatedly with a steel bucket, and The Godwins quickly fell to Mosh and Thrasher, Owen and Bulldog had no choice but to get stuck in.

When they did, the match picked up and gave us an exciting finale which almost looked to have Owen Hart secure the win with the Sharpshooter.

Instead, Steve Austin ran and planted the Slammy award winner with a stunner, allowing The Headbangers to get the upset win, and the Tag Team titles.
Your Winners and NEW WWF Tag Team Champions: The Headbangers

Post match, Mosh and Thrasher dove into the crowd to celebrate their big win with their fans. The celebration then moved out into arena lobby, where Mosh and Thrasher celebrated with an army of rabid fans by a mobile food and drink truck and gave out what I assume were burritos.

It was certainly different, and a fun way to show the new Champions' pride and joy at winning the belts.

Jim Ross is a Potty Mouth

Backstage, an understandably upset Jim Ross held an ice pack on his neck whilst letting his feelings be well known about Steve Austin.

Dropping expletives every other word, JR insisted that he'd leave the WWF if he got beat up again.

Oh JR, how little you know about what was going to happen in your future.

A Look at The Patriot

Prior to our next match, we got an in-depth look at The Patriot and why he was so well-equipped to challenge Bret 'The Hitman' Hart for the WWF Championship.

The video did a good job of making The Patriot look good, but it did nothing to make you want to care about him.

Nor did the promo he cut moments later when Sunny interviewed him backstage.

Bland, riddled with cliches and like something straight out of the 1980s, The Patriot's goody-two-shoes promo was as cheesy as it was cringeworthy.

Bret isn't Worried About The Patriot

The reigning WWF Champion didn't actually say he wasn't worried about his challenger, but that was precisely the point; Bret didn't mention The Patriot at all.

Instead, He spent all of his time with a really scrawny-looking Michael Cole talking about how the American wrestling fans hated him and he hated them just as much.

The only time Bret even considered his opponent was right at the end of his promo when he promised to kick the crap out of 'this guy,' basically treating the number one contender to the title like some no-name jobber.

World Wrestling Federation Championship
WWF Champion Bret 'The Hitman' Hart vs. The Patriot

Having never actually seen this match before, I'd gone into it with low expectations, for some reason thinking that it wasn't going to be as good as the calibre of matches Bret was capable of having.

In that respect, I was sort of right:

This wasn't the best Bret Hart match ever.

Then again, even the worst Bret Hart match is better than many other's best, and that was certainly the case here.

After a somewhat dull start, things quickly picked up, turning into a good match with a few exciting moments.

One of those came early on, when Davey Boy Smith got involved, only for his interference to be countered by the arrival of Vader, who was now a full-fledged babyface.

With those two gone, it was left to champ and challenger to build up the drama, most of which focused on teasing the idea that The Patriot might just win the title.

Whilst the execution of those drama-building spots was perfect, I'm not sure anyone in the arena that night truly believed that Bret was going to lose.

So, when Bret slapped on the Sharpshooter and won the match, it seemed all too obvious, taking the shine over what was otherwise a solid contest.
Your Winner and Still WWF Champion: Bret 'The Hitman' Hart

Afterwards, we saw both men making their way to the back, The Patriot looking especially frustrated.

Everyone's a Loser

Backstage, Micheal Cole caught up with Bret Hart and The British Bulldog, suggesting to The Hitman that the Hart Foundation's war with the USA might be 'starting all over again.'

Bret merely dismissed such silliness, instead claiming that the USA were losers, The Patriot, The Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels were all losers, and well, everyone was a loser.

Not Canada and the UK though, they were great, said The British Bulldog, and they were going to win the war.

In a not-so-subtle attempt to ensure he got a babyface reaction at the upcoming One Night Only PPV in England, Bret then mentioned that the UK appreciate great wrestlers.

Shawn Michaels Never Sleeps

Prior to our main event, we got a look back at the intense rivalry between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker.

That took us to backstage comments from HBK himself, who said that he could never rest in peace because he never slept, and was more than ready for The Undertaker.

Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker

Though erring on the side of heeldom, Shawn was in a 'tweener role here, one minute having garbage thrown at him on his way to the ring, the next hi-fiving a group of fans at ringside.

Whether you liked him at this stage of his career or absolutely hated him, there was no denying how entertaining he was.

The referee got bumped right from the off, giving The Undertaker the chance to batter Michaels around the ring and up to the entrance without mercy or regard for the rules.

Watching Undertaker vs. @ShawnMichaels from IYH Ground Zero, Sept 97. Michaels so entertaining when just getting his butt kicked 😀 pic.twitter.com/c7yUEcnWJC

— Retro Pro Wrestling (@retropwrestling) October 17, 2017

Michaels sold his ass-whooping like a hero, at one point even banging on the front door of the In Your House set as though begging someone to let him in so that he could get away from his pursuer.

Order was restored when Commissioner Slaughter brought out Earl Hebner to oversee proceedings, giving HBK a chance to turn the tides in his favour.

Despite Michaels getting the upper hand, however, The Undertaker continually managed to turn the match back in his favour, even after Michael's insurance policy, Rick Rude, came down and handed his client a pair of brass knuckles.

From there, the match descended back into the chaos that it begun with. More referees got bumped, chair shots were threatened but never materialised, and brass knuckle shots were exchanged.

Marking the first PPV appearance of what would come to be known as D-Generation-X, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna also came out, but even despite their efforts to help Michaels destroy The Undertaker, the Man From The Darkside continued to fight back and even took out another referee.

Eventually, Tim White decided that he had completely had enough, ran to the ring and threw the whole thing out.
No Contest

Afterwards, a random assortment of WWF Superstars ran out to break up the fight, only for The Undertaker to break free and hit a sweet looking tope on Michaels, The Godwins, and a crowd of other ne'er-do-wells.

The whole thing, from Shawn's pre-match promo to the final moments of the show wase're an absolute joy to watch. One of the most fun main events I've seen in ages, this is definitely worth checking out.

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I couldn't say that the whole of Ground Zero: In Your House is a total must-see show, but it's certainly one of the better events to be promoted under that brand.

The main event was superb, the title match was textbook but still enjoyable, and the undercard -despite dragging at times- did have its own flashes of brilliance.

Sadly, this did mark the last PPV appearance of Brian Pillman, a subject that's going to be even more difficult to talk about in the next WWF In Your House review - Badd Blood.

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1997 events reviewed so far:

1. WWF - Royal Rumble 1997
2. WCW - Souled Out 1997
3. WWF - In Your House 13: Final Four 
4. WCW - Superbrawl VII 
5. WCW - Uncensored 1997 
6. WWF - Wrestlemania 13
7. WCW Spring Stampede 1997
8. WWF - In Your House 14: Revenge of The Taker
9. WWF - In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell
10. WCW - Slamboree 1997
11. WWF - King of the Ring 1997
12. WCW - Great American Bash 1997 
13. WWF - In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede 
14. WCW - Bash at the Beach 1997 
15. WWF - Summerslam 1997
16. WCW - Road Wild 1997

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