Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; July 6, 1997
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry “The King” Lawler & Jim Ross
This is the last traditional In Your House as the preceding IYH shows would move to three hours. The title is derived from Stu Hart’s old Canadian wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling ran out of Calgary. The crowd reactions are unique as they cheered for whomever they wanted especially the Hart Foundation who were heels in America and babyfaces everywhere else in the world, especially Canada.
New Blackjacks vs. The Godwinns: This is the Free-for-All match; the Godwinns have ditched their cheerful hog farmer gimmick and manager Hillbilly Jim for a more “pissed-off Southern boys” gimmick. Jim Ross reminds me that the reason is because Henry Godwinn was injured at the hands of the Legion of Doom cracking his C7 vertebra off a botched Doomsday Device and was on a bit of a revenge tour to make other feel his pain. Phineas Godwinn starts off with Blackjack Bradshaw and they lock up Phineas misses a clothesline and Bradshaw boots him to the floor. Hank tags in as does Blackjack [Barry] Windham; Henry presses Windham but he reverses it and back suplexes Godwinn. Phineas tags in as we see Stu Hart and Helen Hart seated ringside. Windham connects with a Mexican arm drag on Phineas and rolls to the floor and throws a fit. Bradshaw returns and hits a series of corner short-clotheslines and a pump-handle drop. Henry breaks up the pinfall and allows Phineas to take over with a DDT; Hank returns and Bradshaw fires back with a lariat. Barry Windham receives the tag and he bodyslams everyone and backdrops Phineas. Windham hits a diving lariat but Hank interrupts the count again; Bradshaw tries a vertical suplex but Henry interrupts, whilst the referee is with Bradshaw allowing Phineas to inside cradle Windham for three. 4.5/10 Short inoffensive little match; although I was curious of the constant jobbing of the New Blackjacks, they seemed to be a good rough and tumble tag team.
The opening package explains perfectly sums up Bret Hart’s plight regarding his heel turn and Steve Austin’s rise to prominence stating there is no more black and white yet all gray.
Mankind vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Chyna): Hunter defeated Mankind in the finals of the 1997 King of the Ring this is the rematch; this was the storyline that got both guys over (which is why they called on him to get Hunter over in 2000). Mankind was starting to show his other personalities and became a babyface, even showing clips from his old childhood movie that he made called, The Loved One. Mankind attacks at the bell and punches away and hits a running bulldog. Mankind bodyslams Hunter and drops a leg; double-arm DDT follows and Mankind mocks Hunter’s curtsey. Hunter comes back with a facebuster but backdrops Helmsley to the floor. He drops the Cactus elbow off the apron and gives a “bang, bang”. Mankind sends Hunter to the floor via the corner and climbs to the second rope so Hunter retreats up the apron so Mankind follows up with a clothesline and suplexes him onto the steel entrance ramp. Helmsley crawls back to the ring and gets knocked back down to the floor; Hunter tries a slingshot sunset flip but Mankind counters with the Mandible Claw. Chyna runs over and delivers a punch that breaks the hold; Mankind chases after her but she hiptosses him into the steel steps. Mankind’s ankle slams into the ring steps so Hunter smashes it with a chair and works it over in the ring. Hunter hits a springboard elbow drop onto the leg and then pummels him in the corner. A basement dropkick allows Hunter a figure-four leglock, Hunter uses the ropes for illegal leverage, and the referee eventually catches him and breaks the hold. Mankind fires back but Helmsley tries the Pedigree; Mankind counters into a slingshot attempt but Hunter kicks him off, Mankind falls and accidentally head-butts Hunter in the testies off the rebound. That always seemed to happen to him. Mankind recovers and punches Helmsley in the nose and hits the Cactus knee in the corner. Hunter gets tossed upside-down in the corner and tied to the Tree of Woe allowing Mankind to drive a running elbow into his face. The referee frees Helmsley right into a pulling piledriver, Mankind spiked him pretty good there, but it only gets two. Mankind drops them both to the floor with a Cactus clothesline and grabs a chair; Chyna grabs the chair drawing the referee over to her allowing Hunter to ascertain the chair and clobber Mankind, then when the referee questions Hunter about the chair, Chyna clotheslines Mankind. Teamwork. Hunter goes to the top but Mankind bounces off the ropes to crotch him; Mankind applies the Mandible Claw. Chyna grabs Mankind’s feet and crotches him against the ringpost; on the floor, Hunter tosses Mankind into the ring security railing. They brawl out into the crowd and both get counted out. Post-match, they battle in the crowd into the Calgary Flames’ penalty box; a whole bunch of referees (and Chyna) try to separate them. The brawl continues all of the way to the back. 8/10 Great opener starting off the pay-per-view properly. Mankind and Triple H had great chemistry in the ring and they both managed to get each other over in the summer of 1997 via a series of pretty good matches. The Hunter/Chyna dynamic was beginning to build steam as well and Hunter would shortly go on to join up with Shawn Michaels and form D-Generation X in the fall of ’97.
Highlights from the Stampede Parade and fans lining up the streets for a mile to get Bret Hart’s autograph. Back at the arena, Bret tries to talk to Dok Hendrix but Steve Austin barges in to try to attack the Hart Foundation. Bret hold his boys back because he does not want Austin beat up five-on-one they want him in the ring.
Taka Michinoku vs. The Great Sasuke: Before the match can begin, Mankind and Hunter Hearst Helmsley battle back out into the arena amongst a gaggle of referees and then into the back again as Hunter is bleeding. Back to Taka and Sasuke, this is both of these guys’ debuts as the match starts off proper they lock up and Taka pushes him into the ropes; they trade arm locks on the mat. Sasuke hits a spin kick right into Taka’s gut and applies a reverse chinlock he segues into a head scissors. Taka applies an armbar and slams it against his shoulder; Sasuke applies a sleeper. Taka frees himself but runs right into a spinning jump kick. Sasuke applies a half crab but Taka makes the ropes; Michinoku catches a kick and scores with a palm strike straight to the face. Snapmare into a basement dropkick to the back of the neck and then follows with a front dropkick to the face. Sasuke backdrops Taka ten feet into the air over the top to the floor and follows with a flying side kick from the top rope. Sasuke kicks the crap out of Michinoku in the corner nearly taking his head off with a spinning back kick and then a spin kick; Sasuke allows Taka to his feet which proves to be negative because Taka catches a boot and Dragon whips it. Taka then follows up with a dropkick to the knee forcing Sasuke to the floor where Michinoku hits a floating springboard plancha; that wakes the crowd up. Michinoku allows Sasuke to reenter the ring but catches him on the apron; he tries to vertical suplex him back into the ring but Sasuke flips out of the suplex and attempts a German suplex that Taka quickly lands on his feet off of and drops a hurracanrana for two. Taka sneaks in a Majestral cradle for another nearfall. Sasuke surprises Taka with a handspring elbow knocking him to the floor and follows up with an Asai moonsault. Back in the ring, Taka fires off a belly-to-belly snap-suplex for a nearfall. Taka nails him with a running knee in the corner and follows up with a springboard missile dropkick; Michinoku Driver follows… but it only gets a nearfall. Michinoku to the top but Sasuke kills him with a dropkick in midair; springboard moonsault press gets only two. Sasuke drops a powerbomb and then a Tiger suplex for the three count. 8.5/10 Wow that was one hell of a match there; these light heavyweights could really move around the ring, problem is with the WWF bring very much opposed to little guys most of the time, they did not get a chance to get over. They were brought in to compete with WCW’s cruiserweight division but once the WWF took off in ‘98 they did not need to compete with anyone on anything so the light heavyweight was just a novelty and eventually disappeared. But, for this one night, they shined quite brightly.
Out in the parking lot Mankind and Hunter Hearst Helmsley are still brawling. Mankind counters a Pedigree via backdrop onto a trunk; they finally get them separated. Elsewhere, Vader with Paul Bearer (who looks more like Percy Pringle III with his red hair and no moustache) says he is winning the title tonight; Paul Bearer continues to accuse the Undertaker of murdering his family. Paul also mentioned previously that Taker’s brother Kane is still alive.
WWF Heavyweight Championship Undertaker vs. Vader (w/Paul Bearer): This was supposed to be the Nation’s Ahmed Johnson but alas he got hurt again so Vader is stepping up to the plate again for the WWF to replace someone injured. Taker attacks at the bell, hits a lariat and drops a leg for a two count. Undertaker hits a Stinger splash and lands the Ropewalk Forearm for a nearfall. Vader comes back with a body splash but Taker sits up and comes back with the running clothesline. Vader finally overwhelms Taker and applies a standing side headlock; he throws his weight around in the form of a shoulderblock but Undertaker quickly recovers and hits a big boot, a second one sends Vader over the top to the floor. Taker chases him to the floor but gets sent knees first into the steel steps; Paul Bearer gets in his face and calls him a murderer. Vader tries to bring Taker into the ring but he hangs him off the top rope and climbs to the top and delivers a diving clothesline for a nearfall. Undertaker uppercuts Vader to the floor and then stalks Paul Bearer around the ring allowing Vader to nail him from behind; Bearer gets in a few licks with his shoe. Back in the ring, Vader peppers Taker with punches in the corner; he hits a short-clothesline and comes off the second rope with a diving lariat for a nearfall. Vader delivers a nice vertical suplex and hits a big splash for another two count; he settles into a trapezius hold. The fans rally the Undertaker REALLY LOUDLY and he responds punching away at Vader’s gut but he recovers sooner and hits a lariat; back in the corner Vader pummels the Taker but he fires back, sending the crowd ablaze again. He goes for a chokeslam but Vader counters with a deliberate low blow. Um, DQ? They try a Tombstone reversal spot but it goes horribly wrong and Taker winds up with a nearfall. Vader hits another standing body splash and drops an elbow into the groinal area. Vader goes for the Vader Bomb but Taker sits up and punches him in the jimmy. Undertaker gets a second-rope chokeslam… for a two count! Taker connects with another chokeslam also for a nearfall. Undertaker gets tired of this shit and drops a Tombstone for the three count. 7/10 Good old fashioned hard hitting match; I don’t mean to disparage anyone or wish for injury but Ahmed’s injury was the best thing to happen to this match. Unfortunately for Taker he was outshined by Steve Austin and the Hart Foundation storyline again.
Goldust says he put the team together and is ready; Ken Shamrock is in the zone; Animal and Hawk yell a lot about survival of the fittest. Steve Austin says nothing and walks off.
Prior to the main event the group Farmer’s Daughter sings O, Canada. Stu Hart and Helen Hart get introduced as well.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust & The Legion of Doom vs. Bret “Hitman” Hart, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, British Bulldog, Owen Hart & Brian Pillman (w/Diana Hart-Smith): Owen Hart is the IC Champion here and the Bulldog is the European Champion; Marlena is absent, at home, tending to motherly stuff. The Canadian fans are solidly behind the Hart Foundation. Big stare down at the bell and Austin and Bret start off and brawl at the bell; Bret gets the better of the exchange to a massive eruption. Austin fires back but Bret catches hit with a clothesline; he head-butts and hits an inverted atomic drop. Bret rakes Austin’s forehead across the ring ropes to a huge pop. Austin sneaks in a low blow and stomps Bret in the corner and applies the Million Dollar Dream; Bret tries to walk the ropes to score a pinfall like at the 1996 Survivor Series (full review, click here) but Austin releases the hold this time. Austin misses the leg rope splash and Jim Neidhart receives a tag but Stone Cold Thesz presses him and tags in Shamrock. The Anvil ducks a spin kick but the second one floor him; Shamrock goes for the ankle lock but Brian Pillman runs in and breaks it up. Shamrock arm drags Neidhart and then Anvil tries a hiptoss but Shamrock leg trips him into a roll-up for two. Pillman tags in and Shamrock armbars him so Pillman bites and eye gouges to get the advantage; backbreaker to Shamrock and follows up with a boot rake to the eyes. Shamrock fires off a belly-to-belly suplex and Pillman tags Owen to do battle with Goldust who also tagged. Owen pummels Goldust in the corner but Goldust reverses a cross-corner whip and backdrops him; Owen comes back with an enziguri for a nearfall. Goldust works over Owen and tags in Hawk who gutwrench suplexes him and drops a leg. Hawk to the top for a Superfly splash but it gets merely two. Owen grabs the ropes to avoid a dropkick and applies the Sharpshooter but Animal runs it to break it up. The Bulldog tags in and hits the delayed Bulldog suplex on Hawk; he plants Hawk with the Bulldog powerslam but Goldust interrupts the count. Bret and Animal go at it next; Animal head-butts him in the gut a few times but Bret comes back with a clothesline. Animal tags in Goldust and he and Bret give it a go; they battle in a test of strength but Bret boots him in the gut and takes over. Bret ties Goldust to the Tree of Woe in his corner and all five guys puts the boots to him to a vast eruption. Austin and friends run over to break it up; referee Earl Hebner actually manages to get control rather quickly. Owen comes in and hits a nice backbreaker; he misses a charge and posts his shoulder and Animal receives a tag. Owen sneaks in a spinning wheel kick and follows up with a missile dropkick and is fired up; he gets a little too fancy trying for a hurracanrana and Animal powerbombs him. Animal lands a powerslam and the LOD nail Owen with the Doomsday Device but the Anvil breaks up the pinfall and the match goes to Hell as everyone brawls. In the mêlée Austin pulls Owen to the corner and wraps his leg around the ringpost and slams it with a chair a few times. Bruce Hart tries to get involved (of course) Austin gets a few more licks in with the chair and the officials help the injured Owen to the back. Back in the ring, the rest of the Foundation clobber Austin in the corner; Stone Cold fights himself free and drags Pillman into his corner, by the tights, to allow his team their free shots. Austin hits the Stone Cold Stunner but Bret drags Austin to the other corner and bashes his leg into the ringpost and utilizes a fire extinguisher and then applies the ringpost figure-four; Austin tags out and he is helped to the back evening the odds four-on-four. Back in the ring, Davey Boy crotches Hawk and he tags in Animal; the Anvil and Animal go through a test of strength. The Anvil tags in the Hitman and they go old school Hart Foundation with a double team decapitation move. Shamrock gets a tag and goes to work Bret’s leg but stands there jawing at him and Pillman blindsides him with a clothesline. Bret works the lower lumbar area but Shamrock whip Bret into the corner for his chest first bump. Shamrock allows Bret to his feet but that proved stupid as Bret takes over and tosses Shamrock to the floor where Pillman tosses him into the French announce table. All Hell breaks loose on the floor in another wild brawl; Hawk goes into the steel steps as Bret applies a side-Russian leg sweep to Shamrock back in the ring. Goldust interrupts the count; the Bulldog gets a tag and stomps a mudhole in Shamrock in the corner to another titanic ovation. Shamrock low blows Davey Boy upsetting everyone in the building and tags in Goldust; he hits the running bulldog to the Bulldog (complete with impaling sell-job by Davey Boy). He sets up for the Curtain Call but Pillman breaks it up; Goldust goes to the second rope but the Bulldog catches him and he drops a top-rope superplex for a nearfall. Steve Austin returns to the apron and receives a tag as does Bret as the place comes apart as they battle in the ring. Austin gets the advantage stomping a mudhole and then cross-whipping Bret and following up with a vertical suplex. Austin drops his head on a backdrop and Bret spikes him with a DDT; Bret Hart goes for some of his favorites in the form of a backbreaker and a driving second-rope elbow for two. Bret applies a sleeper but Austin jawjacks himself free. Bret applies the Sharpshooter but Animal saves to a massive heel reaction; Austin applies the Sharpshooter to Bret but Owen reappears and makes the save to another gigantic babyface pop. Owen tags in but Austin clotheslines him to the floor right in front of the Hart family. Austin pummels Owen against the ring barricade and tosses him back in the ring. Bruce Hart tosses a soda at Austin who retaliates by roughing up his old man setting off a huge brawl between Austin’s team and Bruce and his other brothers. Bret tosses the dazed Austin back in the ring where Owen schoolboys him for three (with a handful of trunks) to a ridiculous pop. Post-match the mêlée continues as Shamrock tosses Bruce over the rail and Bret works over Goldust on the other side. Everyone battles in the ring as the Hart brothers begin to fill up the ring along with referees, WWF officials, security and cops. They finally clear Goldust, Austin, Shamrock and the LOD from the ring allowing the Harts alone to celebrate as winners are announced. Austin sneaks back out and clobbers the Anvil with a chair but he gets swarmed by the entire Hart family; Bret gets in a few extra shots as the cops handcuff Austin and drag him to the back, kicking and cursing, Stone Cold flips a pair of middle fingers upon his exit as a final salute to the Harts. The Harts help Stu and Helen into the ring as it fills up with tons of Hart family members. I see David Hart Smith in there; Owen poses with one of his kids with a tiny Maple Leaf flag. Tons of grandchildren piles into the ring as they all celebrate and the show ends. 10/10 One of the best matches in WWF history; there was nonstop action for twenty-five minutes, from bell to bell. Bret and the Harts got their huge shining moment in the USA/Canada rivalry of ’97 in the best match of the year. This may be the last time the Harts were in a professional wrestling ring and all was well with the world; prior to Owen, Pillman and Davey Boy’s death, the Montreal Screwjob and other tragedies that would follow.
OVERALL 10/10 One of the greatest pay-per-views the WWF (or any other promotion) ever put on. It holds up to WCW’s Great American Bash ’89 or the highly touted WrestleMania X-Seven (full review, click here) as one of the best; definitely the best card in 1997, a year with many great cards; also the greatest In Your House ever. All of the matches were great, the storylines excellent, it was basically a perfect show.