| Company | WWF/WWE |
| Event | In Your House 3 |
| Series | In Your House |
| Edition | 3 |
| Format | Pay-Per-View |
| Date | Sunday September 24 1995 |
| Venue | Saginaw Civic Center |
| Location | Saginaw, Michigan, USA |
| Attendance | 5,146 |
WWF In Your House 3
WWF In Your House 3 was based around the novelty of its main event, a new concept by 1995 standards. It pitted WWF World Champion Diesel and Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels against World Tag Team Champions Yokozuna and Owen Hart, with the winning combo capturing gold. The idea was that if the babyfaces triumphed, they would win the Tag belts, but if either of the good guys lost the pinfall or submission, they would lose their respective crown to whomever scored a pin or submission over them. It’s a bit confusing to explain, but more confusing was the way in which the match changed, then returned to its original state, only for that aspect to cause a disputed ending. No, Vince Russo wasn’t booking the WWF in September 1995, but whoever was in charge clearly had an off-day. Incidentally, during the opening video, Todd Pettingill described Yoko and Owen as being “perhaps the greatest WWF Tag Team Champions ever”, which was a gross exaggeration.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS TV SHOWS? READ OUR PRE-PPV REVIEWS OF RAW & SUPERSTARS!
Savio Vega vs. Waylon Mercy
Kicking things off, we had newcomer Waylon Mercy battling Savio Vega, who after his brief flirtation with the main event scene at King Of The Ring was now in his natural home of the mid-card. Vega was a good wrestler to use in the opening match slot of a PPV because he would bring some energy and fire to get the crowd involved in a show, while at the same time being able to have a respectable bout that would set the tone for the evening. That being said, Waylon’s slower, more methodical style contradicted the speed and agility of Vega. The upshot was an interesting styles clash, but not a very interesting match. Considering that Mercy was seemingly starting to gather momentum with his creepily friendly mannerisms, it was a surprise that he took the loss after receiving a roundhouse strike from Savio. As it turned out, Waylon wasn’t long for the WWF as the man behind the gimmick, Dan Spivey, retired not too long afterwards. If anything, nowadays Waylon is more famous not for what he did in the WWF, but for his character inspiring Bray Wyatt and his madcap world, from the original Wyatt Swamp to the current Firefly Fun House.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS EDITION? READ OUR WWF IN YOUR HOUSE 2 REVIEW!
Henry Godwinn vs. Psycho Sid
Next up, we had Psycho Sid representing how far he had fallen in two months: having been in a feud with WWF Champion Diesel for a good three months, he had since missed SummerSlam altogether and was now facing a babyface pig farmer. Henry Godwinn failed to see the value of joining Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation (that’s understandable), and could not be swayed by money. Therefore, DiBiase planned to set the hounds on HOG, but since he wasn’t Mr. Burns, he had to settle for Sid. This was exactly what you would expect: namely, a fairly routine win for the Psycho, but not without Godwinn getting in some offence to give himself a fighting chance. Even so, while Sid had fallen down the WWF ranks, he wasn’t about to lose to a guy whose initials describe a farm animal, and so Sid triumphed with a Powerbomb. The more memorable aspect of this match came afterwards: Kama tried to help Sid and DiBiase pour slop over Godwinn, with Bam Bam Bigelow making the save; this led Bigelow to be trapped for a potential slopping, only for Henry to tip the bucket on Ted’s head for a big pop. Say what you will about DiBiase, but he was game for an embarrassing moment for the benefit of a strong crowd reaction.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS PPV? READ OUR WWF SUMMERSLAM 1995 REVIEW!
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. The British Bulldog
This was an interesting blend, as you had the powerhouse Bigelow (whose own star was on the wane by this point; he would be out of the WWF within a few months, despite headlining WrestleMania XI and having also co-headlined King Of The Ring three months earlier) going up against the more trimmed and muscular, yet equally powerful and talented, Davey Boy Smith. Bulldog had turned heel one month earlier and was being groomed for a headline push of his own, this time as a villain with Jim Cornette in his corner. Add to that his new look (short hair with long tights) and the lack of viable heels to challenge WWF Champion Diesel in the near future, and it was obvious whose hand would be raised in victory here. That would be Davey Boy’s, who scored a Powerslam to get the pin (not a mean feat considering Bigelow’s size). This was a good bout and an effective way to give Bulldog a boost over a credible opponent, though as things turned out, Bulldog would become a PPV main eventer once again sooner than expected.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FIRST EDITION? READ OUR WWF IN YOUR HOUSE 1 REVIEW!
Razor Ramon vs. Dean Douglas
In match number four, we had one of the rare PPV appearances for Shane Douglas’ Dean character, as he squared off against Razor Ramon (stemming from a confrontation that the two men had at SummerSlam). Douglas was a smarmy wannabe teacher whose cutting criticisms had riled up several WWF babyfaces, but ECW fans who had watched Douglas make a major impact over the past two years would have been confident that Dean’s wrestling ability would have carried him to a strong WWF spot. But while Douglas was positioned as an upper mid-card heel, something didn’t quite click, and a good example comes from this match, which was adequate but could have been far better, especially given how talented and popular Ramon was. Douglas has alleged that Razor was somewhat uncooperative at times during his WWF tenure, and while that didn’t seem obvious when watching this bout, there was definitely a disconnect which meant that Dean’s matches didn’t set the world on fire. At least he won here: with Douglas’ associate Bob Backlund distracting the referee (I totally forgot about their alliance until I went back and watched this show again), Ramon hit Douglas with a Razor’s Edge, and Razor’s buddy The 123-Kid ran in to make the three-count. Since referees weren’t determined by who could defecate in co-worker’s bags, the three mat slaps didn’t count, and a miffed Ramon aggressively shoved Kid away. This provided a further distraction that allowed Douglas to roll up Razor for the win. This would mark the beginning of the split between longtime pals Ramon and Kid, though not before Douglas and Ramon had a far worse match for the IC Title the next month at the notoriously poor In Your House 4.
Bret Hart vs. Jean Pierre LaFitte
Have you ever had an item of clothing stolen? Chances are that you’d be somewhat upset, but unless it was a piece of designer gear, you’d probably get over the disappointment and make a new purchase at River Island or Hollister at the next available opportunity. If you’re a WWF wrestler, though, and the item of clothing that was stolen happened to be a jacket of historical value, and if the burglar happened to be a gosh-darn pirate, the decision would instead be taken to step into the ring and give him what-for, while also assuming that the villain in question would be dumb enough to continue donning said item, rather than hiding it in his attic or selling it in a local market or something.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE LAST EDITION? READ OUR WWF ST. VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE: IN YOUR HOUSE REVIEW!
That pretty much sums up this feud, because LaFitte had stolen Bret’s jacket from the night that he won his second WWF Title at WrestleMania X, and The Hitman was out for revenge. Yes, the story was a bit lame, but it was 1995, so it’s not like LaFitte could have channelled the subsequent Attitude Era and, say, had a bunch of pirates force Hart to walk the plank into shark-infested waters or anything. Regardless of the reason for their battle, though, we should be glad that this plotline played out, because the match itself is awesome. Bret had some of his greatest battles against the most unlikely of show-stealing opponents, and this was a great example as the former Quebecer stepped up and managed to hang with Hart for the duration. He was also responsible for the bump of the night, as he took an incredibly painful-looking back-first crash landing on the ringside mats as he attempted to senton over the ropes onto Bret. Hart managed to last long enough to pick up the submission victory with the Sharpshooter, allowing him to reunite with his beloved jacket, and he lived happily ever after. Awwww! LaFitte would be another guy that left the WWF fairly soon afterwards, relating in part to a house show incident where Jean wondered why he should lose to Diesel in his hometown, which wound up The Clique no end (and if you know about the WWF of 1995, you’ll know that Shawn Michaels would stir the pot more than an out-of-control kitchen shelf at that point).
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING PPV? READ OUR WWF IN YOUR HOUSE 4 REVIEW!
Before the main event, we had the culmination of the show-long storyline: namely, that Owen Hart had gone AWOL and therefore he could not compete. After several options were debated by commentators Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross (JR’s first PPV appearance since King Of The Ring 1993, incidentally), it was finally ruled by on-screen WWF President Gorilla Monsoon that The British Bulldog would replace Owen. Supposedly, the reason for this was that Owen was legitimately running late due to his wife giving birth, but perhaps this wasn’t the only reason for this storyline, as I’ll explain shortly. And by the way, check out Jim Cornette’s face on the image above at the news of this announcement.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING EDITION? READ OUR WWF IN YOUR HOUSE 4 REVIEW!
Winner Take All: WWF Championship, Intercontinental Championship & World Tag Team Championship Match
Diesel (C) & Shawn Michaels (C) vs. Yokozuna (C) & The British Bulldog (C)
So, to clarify, Diesel was defending his WWF Title, Michaels was defending his IC Title, Yoko was defending his half of the Tag Titles, and Bulldog was defending Owen’s half of the Tag Titles. If you think that’s confusing, we’re not done yet. The match was pretty good: Michaels was at his peak at this stage, while Diesel’s character had a bit of momentum, Bulldog wanted to impress in his biggest match since SummerSlam 1992, and Yoko still had value prior to him putting on too much weight to wrestle by the end of 1996. The upshot is that, despite the line-up change and all of the craziness surrounding Owen’s involvement, this was one of the better and more underrated matches from 1995. In the end, the Two Dudes With Attitude captured the Tag Team Titles, but in keeping with the theme of the evening, it was a strange finishing sequence: Owen Hart finally arrived, climbed to the top rope and launched himself at Diesel, only to immediately take a Jackknife Powerbomb, thus giving the Tag belts to Diesel and Shawn. All’s well that ends well, right?
Erm, not quite. Because while Diesel and Michaels won the titles, since it was Owen (one half of the Tag Champs since WM XI, remember) that had been pinned, he technically was not the legal man because, due to Bulldog being inserted, Owen was officially no longer a participant. Therefore, the titles were stripped from Diesel and Michaels (the second time that their team had lost those belts without actually being beaten for them, and one of many such instances involving Michaels and the relinquishment of a title in the 1990s) and given back to Owen and Yoko the next night on Raw, meaning that the “guaranteed” title change never really happened. Capping things off, Owen and Yoko did lose the Tag Team Titles the very next evening to The Smoking Gunns, who celebrated their victory with Diesel and Shawn. What the hell?
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FOLLOWING TV SHOWS? READ OUR POST-PPV REVIEWS OF RAW & SUPERSTARS!
Though it required a few Google searches to follow what was happening, WWF In Your House 3 was still a fun card to rewatch. Bret vs. LaFitte is fantastic and the main event, while barmy, is rather exciting. The rest of the event isn’t great, making this a step down from the previous In Your House, but it’s still miles better than the next In Your House four weeks later. So, not a bad way to spend two hours, but the last two matches are the only bouts that I would really recommend.
WANT TO RELIVE WWF IN YOUR HOUSE 3? WATCH IT RIGHT NOW ON WWE NETWORK!
