Tossing Salt Retro Recap: WWF In Your House (May 14, 1995)

Tossing Salt Retro Recap: WWF In Your House
Originally Aired: May 14, 1995
Syracuse, New York
Doug Maynard
September 16, 2011

Time to take a look back to over sixteen years ago. It's the very first of the WWE In Your House pay-per-view series, complete with all of the matches from the pay per view event, as well as two big bonus matches. It's the biggest stars of the WWF in action. Such stars as WWF Champion Diesel, Psycho Sid, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, The Smoking Guns, Owen Hart & Yokozuna, Razor Ramon, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Jeff Jarrett, The Roadie, and so many more. Haven't watched this one in a while. Should be good! So let's fire up the Way Back Machine and get ready. It's a "Tossing Salt Retro Recap!". And I'm Doug, your humble recapper. And let's do it...

Vince McMahon and Doc Hendrix (Michael P.S. Hayes) are the announcers. They're live from Syracuse, New York. It's Mother's Day 1995. They're giving away a house in Orlando, FL. Hayes claims that he gets golf privileges. Hakushi and his ring-man, Shinja, are on their way to the ring. We see footage of Hakushi with an ambush on Bret Hart at a ceremony in Japan. Bret is wrestling twice tonight. We cut backstage to Todd Pentengill, who has a mic and Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Hart dedicates the match to his mother, gives a nod to Hakushi and makes some threats to Jerry Lawler. He gives the old "best there is, was, ever will be" speech and heads to the ring as his music plays.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart versus Hakushi w/ Shinja

There's a guy in the crowd with a sign that says "I want be like Bret". He looks more like he's the illegitimate child of Brian Knobbs. Just saying. Hakushi starts off by locking up a headlock and then does a cartwheel after Bret escapes. It's fingerlock time and Hakushi takes Bret down by the hair. Hakushi locks up the arm and hits a shoulder for two. Hakushi stays on the arm. Bret with a roll for two. Bret takes over and goes to the arm. Bret with a shoulder and an elbow. Armdrags by Bret and Hakushi rolls to the floor where Shinja consoles him.

Hakushi with chops to the throat and takes Bret to the corner. Bret fights back with punches. Hakushi slams Bret into the corner and hits a slam. Moonsault by Hakushi for two. We see Jerry Lawler watching from the back. Hakushi gets two and goes back after the arm. Hakushi with elbows and a choke. Hakushi flies and crotch-splashes Bret in the corner. Hakushi plays to the fans before going back after Bret. Bret goes to the floor and Shinja gets in some cheap shots. Bret back in the ring and Hakushi with stomps. Shinja distracts the ref while Hakushi chokes away at Bret. Then Hakushi distracts and Shinja does the choke on Bret from the outside. Big Wahoo chop by Hakushi. More chops in the corner and a "Shades of Great Muta" back handspring elbow in the corner by Hakushi.

Bret starts to fight back with punches. Hakushi with a chop and slam for a two count. Hakushi goes to the top and hits the diving headbutt for a very close two count. Hakushi goes to the top again and misses a dive to the mat. Bret is up and coming back with punches. Bret with the side legsweep for two. A bulldog by Bret for another two. Backbreaker and it's all Hitman now. A forearm drop from the corner and Bret goes for the sharpshooter. Shinja is up and Bret is distracted for a moment. An inverted drop on Hakushi and Bret remains in control. A big clothesline by Bret and Hakushi is loopy. Headbutt by Bret and Bret unloads with the fists.

Shinja trips Bret from the outside and Bret dives over the ropes to tackle Shinja. Bret back in the ring and Hakushi catches him with a dropkick for two. Hakushi with a suplex that sends both men to the floor. Both are down on the outside. Shinja grabs Bret's foot and gets a fist for his trouble. Hakushi flies from the ring and hits Bret with a suicide dive. The ref is counting. Bret scores with a victory roll and gets the pin.

Winner: Bret "The Hitman" Hart

Bret is walking around the ring, celebrating his win. He jumps off the ring apron to the floor and the knee buckles. Bret has a leg injury and limps to the back.

We go to some woman I don't recognize (it might be Shane's wife) and she plugs the whole giving away the free house deal. Don't know or don't care about this segment because it is just too lame. Luckily, we get Jeff Jarrett and The Roadie (The future Road Dogg) interrupting as they're headed towards the ring. We have a handicap match with Double J and The Roadie taking on Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) coming up next.

But first, we have Vince talking to 1-2-3 Kid (Sean Waltman). He's out, due to an injury. He wants to be there, but can't. He's watching the match and he'll be back and will get revenge on The Roadie for causing his injury. Then we go backstage where Vince and Doc talk to Razor Ramon. Razor says that Jarrett and Roadie want to play with the big boys and they'll be going down. He sends a shout out to The Kid and Mama Ramon. This time, it's personal.

Handicap Match
Razor Ramon versus Jeff Jarrett and The Roadie

This is the first ever handicap match on a WWF pay-per-view. At least that what Doc Hendrix (MIchael Hayes) says. Jeff Jarrett is the current Intercontinental Champion and is wearing the white cowboy suit and flashing sunglasses. He's such a goof. Razor does his "bad guy" intro and the fans are goingnuts. Roadie and Jarrett try to start off two on one, but the ref sends Roadie out. A distraction by Roadie and Jarrett unloads with fists. Razor fights back and Jarrett rolls to the floor. Jeff with kicks and fists, but misses a dropkick. A clothesline by Razor sends Jeff to the floor. Jeff pulls Razor out of the ring and Roadie comes from behind to nail the "Bad Guy". Jeff throws Razor into the ring and slings Razor corner to corner. A big boot by Jeff, but Razor catches Jeff and hits him with a fall-away slam for two.

Roadie tags in and scores with a clothesline. A headbutt to the gut and a series of elbows by Roadie, who is making his in-ring debut for the WWF at this show. Double-J is tagged back in. Jarrett attempts a sunset flip,but gets walloped by Razor. Lots of back and forth pin attempts by both Razor and Jeff. Lots of two counts. Jeff goes for a suplex, but Razor blocks and rolls Jeff up for two. Clothesline by Jeff. Roadie tagged back in.

Roadie with stomps and fists. Razor comes back, but gets nailed by Jarrett. Double-J tags in and goes after Razor. Razor with punches and he's going for the Razor's Edge. Jarrett escapes and backflips Razor to the floor. Roadie nails Razor with a clothesline. The ref is counting while Jarrett struts. Razor makes it in and beats the ref's count. Jarrett with a cross-body for two. Neckbreaker by Jarrett and a choke on the ropes. Jarrett misses a charge and groins himself on the middle rope. Both Jarrett and Razor are down.

Jeff throws Razor into the ropes and they collide. Both men down again. Back up and Razor hits a suplex on Jarrett. Both men are down again. Jarrett tags Roadie. Roadie with a flying knee for two. Chinlock by The Roadie. Razor responds to the fans and gets up with elbows and punches. Roadie tags Jarrett. Jeff runs into a series of punches by Razor. Roadie and Jarrett collide. Razor puts Roadie up in the corner and scores with a suplex. Jarrett clips the leg and is going for a figure-four leglock on Razor. Razor kicks Jeff away and Jarrett collides with Roadie who is on the ring apron. Roadie falls to the floor. Razor grabs Jeff and it's time for a Razor's Edge. Razor nails it and gets the pin.

Winner: Razor Ramon

After the match, Roadie tries to ambush Razor, but falls victim to a punch himself. Razor gets Roadie up for the Razor's Edge, but Jarrett is back up and clips the leg of Razor before the move can be executed. Double-J drops elbows over the leg and locks in a figure-four leglock on Razor. Aldo Montoya comes out for the save and brawls for a bit with Roadie before getting nailed by Jarrett. Both men double-team on Montoya and toss him to the floor. They go back after Razor and Savio Vega (who Vince and Doc don't know and can not identify) hits the ring and unloads on Jarrett and Roadie. Referees and other WWF officials, like Tony Garea and Rene Goulet come pull him off of Roadie. We get police security and they escort Vega off.

We go backstage and Jerry Lawler is raising hell with WWF President Jack Tunney. He wants his match with Bret Hart right now. Lots of yelling and screaming, but it's hard hear anything. I think Tunney is telling him no.

We go to a video packaged look at Psycho Sid (Vicious). Got to admit, the man is physically impressive and a monster. Too bad his in-ring skills sucked so bad.

Qualifying Match for King Of The Ring
Mabel (w/Mo) versus Adam Bomb

I just noticed that Danny Davis is the referee. Mabel (Viscera) starts off by doing some one(big man) clubbering on Adam Bomb (Bryan Clark). A splash in the corner by Mabel but he misses the second attempt as Bomb moves out of the way and throws some punches. A big shoulder to the back and Bomb knocks Mabel through the ropes and to the floor. Bomb launches himself over the top rope and nails Mabel, peppering him with hard punches. Bomb rolls Mabel into the ring and launches himself once more over the top, scoring with a clothesline for a two count. Bomb goes to the top rope and flies with another clothesline for two. Mabel reverses a whip to the corner and scores with a leg lariat. Bomb attempts a crossbody splash, but Mabel catches him and we get a powerslam / splash to the mat. Mabel hooks the leg and gets the pin.

Winner: Mabel (w/Mo)

Todd Pentegill is backstage with Razor Ramon. Razor has a scoop for Todd and tells him to say hello to Savio Vega. Savio says that no one will mess with him or his friend, Razor Ramon. Razor says that he's fought against this man (Vega) before and it's good to have him on his side. They fist bump as we go to back to ringside and The Smoking Gunns.

As Howard Finkel is introducing The Gunns, Jerry Lawler is out and trying to get to the ring. He wants his match against Bret Hart now, but Tony Garea and Rene Goulet escort Lawler away from ringside. Vince confirms that they've received word that Bret does have an injured knee. We've got a tag match coming up next.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
The Smoking Gunns versus Yokozuna & Owen Hart w/ Jim Cornette & Mr. Fugi (Champions)

We take a look backstage as we see Bret Hart holding an icepack on his knee with his head down. According to Doc Hendrix, this is the first time in the history of WWF pay per views that Owen came in as a champion, but Bret is not. Yoko starts the match with Billy Gunn. Billy with the headlock, but Yoko responds with the shoulder. A dropkick by Billy and Yoko is wobbly. Another dropkicks and Billy grabs the arm before tagging in Bart. Bart goes after the arm, but Yoko floors him with a headbutt. Owen tags in with kicks and punches and goes to work. Bart reverses and scores with a press-slam and a dropkick before tagging Billy back in.

A double-team by the Gunns and Billy covers for two. Billy distracted by Mr. Fugi and Owen scores with an ensaguri. Yoko tags in and flattens Billy with a clothesline. Chops by Yoko and he clamps in a nervehold on the neck. Owen tags in and its a suplex for two. Billy with a sunset flip for two. Boot by Owen and Billy rolls to the outside on the floor. Yoko goes after Billy and charges him, but Billy moves and Yoko hits the steel ringpost. Owen goes after Billy back in the ring, but misses a leap in the corner as Billy moves and tags Bart in.

Bart comes in and pounds away at Owen. Elbow and slam by Bart for two. Suplex by Bart and he signals to Billy. A double-team and Bart covers Owen for two. Bart goes for a body-press and misses as Owen ducks. Bart goes to the floor. Billy nails Jim Cornette, who is up on the ring apron. Yoko, who's still outside the ring, drops a leg across Bart's body. Yoko rolls Bart back into the ring and Owen covers to get the pin.

Winners and STILL WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: Yokozuna & Owen Hart w/ Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji

Now we go to Todd P., who is standing by with "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel (Kevin Nash). Todd asks Diesel where his head is. Diesel mentions that his mother passed away not long ago and he's thinking of her and he wishes all the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day. He talks about an attack earlier in the week by Henry Godwin, acting on behalf of Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Corporation" and says it didn't work. He tells Sid that he's 100%. Todd brings up Shawn Michaels, who had been injured by Sid. Diesel says that Sid has to be stopped Big Daddy Cool is going to show Sid something tonight.

Todd tells us that there's a commotion going on in the ring. We go to the ring and Jerry Lawler is there with some hot chica he claims is his mother. His "Mom" says that what will make her proud is that Jerry beats Bret Hart tonight. Jerry says he will and his "Mom", who's obviously about twenty-five or so years younger than Jerry (at least that much) says she wants to challenge Helen Hart after the match. Jerry makes some "Helen Hart" jokes and his "Mom" gives him a kiss for good luck.

We go backstage where Todd is standing by with Bret Hart. Bret says the leg is 100% and he's headed towards the ring.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart versus Jerry "The King" Lawler

Bret chases Jerry around the ring and unloads with punches in the corner. Headbutt by Bret and Jerry rolls to the floor. Bret slams Jerry's head into the fan barrier and then into the steps. Back into the ring and Jerry begs off. Bret with punches and a legdrop. Backdrop by Bret and he chokes Jerry on the ropes. Bret with more punches, but Jerry manages to catch Bret with a piledriver. Bret is up and throwing punches. Bulldog by the Hitman. Bret with a big piledriver. A forearm to the face and Lawler crawls to the corner to try to escape. Bret just stands on Jerry in the corner. As his "mother" pleads for Jerry to come back, Jerry catches Bret with a rake of the eyes. Big slam by Lawler and he goes upstairs to the top rope. He jumps right into a punch by Bret who then unloads with an elbow.

Bret pounds away at Jerry and we see Shinja out on the ring apron to distract the referee. Bret throws Lawler into the ropes and the referee takes a bump. His foot is caught in the ropes and the ref is hanging upside down outside the ring. Bret with a forearm drop from the second rope and he covers Jerry for the pin. Here comes Hakushi and he leaps from the top and nails Bret. Jerry holds Bret down as Hakushi climbs the ropes again and delivers a diving headbutt to Bret. Hakushi does it again as Shinja keeps the ref down. Jerry rolls up Bret and gets the pin.

Winner: Jerry "The King" Lawler

Jerry and Hakushi try to do some more damage to Bret, but as Jerry holds Bret, Bret manages to duck and Hakushi nails Lawler who rolls to the outside. Bret tosses Hakushi and then goes after Shinja, punching him several times before knocking Shinja to the floor. We now cut over to Psycho Side who is doing the camera up in his face type promo. He does the whispering thing and says that time has run out for Diesel and a new champion will be crowned. And then Sid started talking about symbols, factories, phantoms and other things. I hit mute. Too much Sid is NOT a good thing.

We see Vince and Doc at ringside and they talk about how anything can happen in the WWF. We then cut to Todd and the whiney woman from before. They're talking about and showing the house that the WWF is giving away in Orlando, FL. They rake over the entries and the chica (Stephanie Lyons) pulls out an envelope. Todd dials the name picked on a phone. It's Matt Pompacelli and he wins the house in Florida. They're happy! Yay!

Back to Vince and Doc at ringside. They talk about Diesel versus Sid and the WWF Championship match that's coming up. The main event is next.

WWF Championship Match
Sid w/Ted DiBiase versus "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel (champion)

Sid starts off by yelling at Vince and trying to intimidate him. The two big men face off in the ring. Diesel with a big shove and a running clothesline in the corner. Elbows by Diesel and Sid rolls to the outside for some advice from Ted DiBiase. Diesel leaps to the floor and pounds away at Sid. Back into the ring and Diesel with several clotheslines and a cover for one. Sid rolls back out to the floor.

Sid pulls Diesel out and get whalloped by a big fist. Diesel rolls Sid back into the ring. DiBiase is up on the ring apron to distract Diesel. Sid hits Diesel with a running kick to the back and sends "Big Daddy Cool" flying to the floor. Sid follows and drops Diesel across the ring apron. Kicks by Sid and Diesel rams him backfirst into the steel ringpost. Sid with a running punt to the head of Diesel. Sid goes back into the ring to break the count and mock the fans.

Diesel back in the ring and Sid just clubs away at "Big Sexy". Diesel with an elbow, but Sid responds with an elbow of his own. Clothesline by Sid and Sid plays to the crowd. Diesel is up, but Sid clubs away again pounding on the back. Sid locks in a Camel Clutch, clawing at the face. The fans are cheering and Diesel is starting to "hulk up",but Sid lays him back out, dropping his weight across the back. Sid covers for a two. Sid continues to pound away at Diesel and goes back to the Camel Clutch.
The ref is checking, but Diesel is just managing to hang on. It's comeback time.

Sid tries to flatten Diesel, but Diesel moves and Sid lands on his ass. Diesel is fighting back with elbows, but a chokeslam by Sid plants Diesel back into the mat. Sid just drops Diesel to the mat with a sloppy powerbomb. Sid takes forever and crawls over to get a two count. Sid pounds on Diesel in the corner, but Diesel is coming back. Punches and he drops Sid in the corner with "Snake Eyes" and then scores with a big boot to the face. Diesel with a big powerbomb and a cover but it's broken up by Tatanka. The ref calls for the bell.

Winner by DQ and STILL WWF Champion: "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel

Tatanka is in the ring and stomping away at Diesel. DiBiase joins in the fun as well. Sid is back up and is going to powerbomb Diesel, but Diesel manages to backdrop Sid to the mat. Here comes Bam Bam Bigelow into the ring and he clears the ring of Tatanka as Sid and DiBiase make their retreat. Bigelow raises Diesel's hand in victory as The Million Dollar Corporation flees.

And this is where the pay per view ended, but we've got some Colliseum Video exclusives. We start off with Paul Bearer and The Undertaker. They say that this match against Kama was one that the WWE was afraid to put on the pay per view. Taker says Kama will "rest in peace".

"The Supreme Fighting Machine" Kama w/ Ted DiBiase versus The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer

Kama (who will one day be conducting the "Ho' Train" as the Godfather) is wearing a large gold necklace that evidentially used to be the Undertaker's urn. Taker has the full "Dead Man" entrance going on as he's led by Paul Bearer to the ring. Takes a long,long, long time. Kama goes to the outside immediately and Undertaker follows him around and back into the ring. Kama catches Taker coming into the ring with kicks. Taker fights back with uppercut chops. Taker whips Kama from one corner to the other, grabs the arm and goes top-rope walking. It's time for "Old School!" Taker with a choke in the corner. Kama comes back with a suplex. Taker throwing the punches and a headbutt. Kama with an arm-drag and some kicks. Kama goes punchy-punchy on the Dead Man! It's all Kama now as he punches and kicks away on Taker. Stomps and kicks by Kama as Taker rolls out of the ring and to the floor.

Kama with kicks to keep Taker on the floor and out of the ring. Kama comes to the floor and throws some punches, but Taker fights back with punches of his own. Taker goes for an elbow on the outside, but he's distracted by Ted DiBiase and Kama ducks out of the way. Taker rams the steel ringspost. Kama rams Taker into thepost a couple of times and pounds away before getting back into the ring. Taker rolls back into the ring. Kama pounds away, but Taker keeps coming. Kama locks up Taker in a single-legged crab. Taker gets the fan support and begins to fight his way up, but Kama juststarts clubbering away at Taker. Slam by Kama for two. Kama with kicks.

Taker starts kicking and is coming back. Kama locks in a bearhug. Taker breaks free and lands a suplex on Kama. Both men are down. Kama with kicks, but Taker gets up a boot and lands a clothesline. A double-clothesline is next and both men are down. Taker up, but Kama with the fists. Taker goes into no-sell mode and throws the uppercuts. Taker tries for a slam, but Kama reverses and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Elbow drops by Kama and Taker is out. Kama plays to the crowd, but Taker sits up. Kama with fists. Taker with the chokeslam and then lifts Kama up for a tombstone and the pin.

Winner: The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer

And now, one more bonus match.

Bam Bam Bigelow versus Tatanka w/ Ted DiBiase

Tatanka starts with a sneak attack from behind on Bigelow before the bell rings. Chops by Tatanka, but a shoulder and a clothesline by Bigelow as he takes control. Slam and a dropkick by Bam Bam and Tatanka goes outside to the floor. Bam Bam does a cartwheel in the ring. Tatanka stalls to get back in the ring and then begs off. Tatanka with chops and kicks. BamBam wiht a hiptoss and a tackle. Bigelow runs the ropes and DiBiase reaches up to pull the ropes down, causing Bigelow to tumble to the outside and the floor. Tatanka follows and slams Bigelow's head into the steps. Tatanka with a slam on Bigelow on the floor before climbing back into the ring.

Bam Bam rolls back into the ring and is met by repeated kicks by Tatanka. Cross-body by Tatanka for a two count. Tatanka with the chinlock of doom. Bam Bam fights back with elbows, but to no avail as Tatanka lands some chops and goes back to the chinlock. Bigelow ramsTatanka into the corner to escape. Bam Bam goes to lift Tatanka up, but Tatanka tries for a sunset flip. Bigelow drops his weight on Tatanka and both men are down. They're up and both men try a cross-body. Both are down again. Bigelow with fists. Tatanka with a DDT. Tatanka goes up to the top and leaps off into a big fist by Bigelow. Headbutts and a knee by Bigelow. Bam Bam to the top rope and he dives off with a sunset flip and rolls up Tatanka to get the pin.

Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow

And there you go. It's the WWF and the very first "In Your House". And after watching this pay per view event, I understand why WCW was so thoroughly kicking Vince and the WWF's butt so badly. It's pretty hard to watch. The Bret Hart matches were okay and it was great to see Owen Hart and Yokozuna in action once more, but the rest of it... as Gorilla Monsoon used to say quite frequently, "Give me a break!" If you're a fan of Bret Hart, watch this DVD but otherwise, I wouldn't bother. I won't be watching it again.

And that's it for me for now. I'll be back later with more stuff. I'm Doug and I'm am out of here. Catch you on the flip side. Ubuntu!