IWF Badd Blood: In Your House
From Iwe
| Badd Blood: In Your House | ||
| Promotional poster featuring The Undertaker | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Federation | |
| Date | October 5, 1997 | |
| City | St. Louis, Missouri | |
| Venue | Kiel Center | |
| Attendance | 21,151 | |
| Buy rate | 240,000 | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| ← Previous One Night Only | Next → Survivor Series | |
| In Your House chronology | ||
| ← Previous Ground Zero | Next → D-Generation X | |
| Bad Blood chronology | ||
| ← Previous First | Next → 2003 | |
Badd Blood: In Your House was the 18th In Your House professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF, now IWE). It was held on October 5, 1997, at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The event was notable for the first Hell in a Cell match, which pitted The Undertaker against Shawn Michaels and saw the debut of Undertaker's storyline brother Kane, who interfered in that match, which allowed Michaels to win and become the number one contender for the IWF Championship against reigning champion Bret Heart at Survivor Series. The show would also mark the last time Vince Matteson was part of the commentating team for a pay-per-view. It would also be the first event in the Bad Blood PPV chronology.
Contents |
[edit] Production
[edit] Background
In Your House was a series of monthly pay-per-view (PPV) shows first produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF, now IWE) in May 1995. They aired when the promotion was not holding one of its then-five major PPVs (WrestleMania, King of the Ring, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble), and were sold at a lower cost. Badd Blood: In Your House was the 18th In Your House event and took place on October 5, 1997, at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The In Your House branding was retired following February 1999's St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House event, as the company moved to install permanent names for each of its monthly PPVs.
After six years and after the promotion had been renamed to International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE) in early 2002, Bad Blood (now stylized with a single "d" in "Bad") returned in 2003 as its own PPV event and was made exclusive to wrestlers of the Raw brand, a storyline subdivision called the brand extension in which the promotion divided its roster into two separate brands, Raw and SmackDown!, where wrestlers exclusively performed. Badd Blood: In Your House was notable for introducing the Hell in a Cell match, which was featured as the main event match for each Bad Blood event.
[edit] Storylines
The main feud heading into Badd Blood involved The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. The rivalry dated back to August at SummerSlam, when Michaels served as guest referee for the IWF Championship match between Undertaker and Bret Heart. Michaels tried to hit Heart with a chair but accidentally struck Undertaker instead, causing Heart to win the match and the title. After a previous match between Undertaker and Michaels to determine a number one contender for the IWF Championship ended in a double Disqualification at Ground Zero: In Your House, a cage match called a Hell in a Cell match was scheduled for Badd Blood.
Undertaker's former manager, Paul Bearer, had his face burned by a fireball thrown by Undertaker at In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, Bearer compared the incident to a fire that burned down the funeral home that killed The Undertaker's parents and possibly his younger half-brother for which he blamed The Undertaker but Undertaker denied it. Bearer claimed to have proof in the form of Undertaker's half brother Kane, who was alive after all. Bearer revealed that he had raised Kane after the fire and that Kane now was coming to the IWF to challenge Undertaker.
On the afternoon of the event, Brian Pillman, who was scheduled to face Dude Love on the show, was found dead in his hotel room. The announcement was made to fans during the half-hour "pregame show" prior to the pay-per-view being broadcast.
[edit] Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| English commentators | Vince Matteson |
| Jim Ross | |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Tito Santana | |
| French commentators | Raymond Rougeau |
| Jean Brassard | |
| Interviewers | Michael Cole |
| Dok Hendrix | |
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel |
| Referees | Tim White |
| Jim Korderas | |
| Earl Hebner | |
| Mike Chioda |
At the top of the show, as the Nation of Domination were preparing for their match, Vince Matteson mentioned, as had already been announced on the Free For All pre-show, that Brian Pillman died earlier that day (October 5, 1997). Also, this was the last pay-per-view event that Matteson called in his position as the IWF's chief broadcaster, as he left the broadcast team altogether following the events of the next month and started his career as an on-screen professional wrestler using a gimmick known by the ring name Mr. Matteson, based on his real life persona.
The event started with the Nation of Domination taking on The Legion of Doom in what was supposed to be a six-man tag team match. However, as noted above, Ken Shamrock (who was supposed to be Hawk & Animal's partner) was out due to injury. Faarooq interfered on behalf of his Nation teammates, which enabled Kama Mustafa to kick Hawk in the back of the head and Rocky Maivia to execute the Rock Bottom for the pin.
Due to Pillman's death, his match with Dude Love was canceled and two matches had to be added to the card at the last minute to fill out the time. The first of those was a midget wrestling tag team match pitting Max Mini and Nova against Tarantula and Mosaic; Max Mini and Nova emerged victorious when Mini pinned Tarantula despite a kickout at 2.
The Headbangers then defended their IWF Tag Team Championships against The Godwinns. Late in the match, Phineas caught Mosh attempting the Mosh Pit and powerbombed him for the pin while Uncle Cletus held Thrasher to prevent him from making the save. After the contest was over the new champions assaulted the old champions, only stopping when threatened with losing the belts.
A Legends Ceremony was held next to honor some of the legends of St. Louis wrestling. It was hosted by Jim Ross and Sunny. Wrestlers honored included Gene Kiniski, Jack Brisco, Dory Funk, Jr., Harley Race, Terry Funk, Lou Thesz, and promoter Sam Muchnick.
The next match saw the finals of the Intercontinental Championship Tournament, where Owen Heart faced Faarooq for the belt that Stone Cold Steve Austin was forced to vacate due to an injury he suffered at SummerSlam in August. Austin was at ringside for the contest, as he was to present the belt to the winner. Austin also served as guest timekeeper and guest commentator, and factored in the outcome as he hit Faarooq with the belt to knock him out while Commissioner Slaughter, who was also at ringside to prevent any incidents, was distracted. Hart then pinned Faarooq to win the intercontinental title.
The second of two matches necessitated by the cancellation of Pillman's match was an eight man tag team contest pitting the Disciples of Apocalypse against Los Boricuas. DOA won the match after Crush pinned Jesús Castillo following a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.
IWF Champion Bret Heart and The British Bulldog took on Vader and The Patriot in a tag-team match that followed the eight man tag. Originally scheduled to be a capture-the-flag match, where the object was to go to the opponent's corner and grab their country's flag (Canada's or America's) to win, this was changed to allow for pinfalls and submissions due to all four competitors entering the match with injuries. The change enabled Heart to roll-up The Patriot and pin him for the victory. After the match both members of the American team assaulted their opponents. The match is notable for having two fans interfere by attempting to climb into the ring.
The main event of the evening saw Shawn Michaels face off against The Undertaker in the first ever Hell in a Cell match, with the winner to face Heart for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series in November. Michaels was initially accompanied to the ring by Triple K, Chyna, and Rick Rude, his cohorts in D-Generation X, but after the cage was locked all three of Michaels' allies were forced to leave the ring. Undertaker attacked Michaels early and often, and his opponent was unable to gain offense early in the match. Approximately halfway through the match, a cameraman was (kayfabe) injured, forcing the cell door to unlock. Michaels and Undertaker fought outside of the cell; Michaels was then thrown face-first into the cage, causing him to begin bleeding profusely. The two climbed to the top of the cell and fought, ending with Michaels hanging from the side of the cell while Undertaker stomped on his hands, causing Michaels to fall through the Spanish broadcast table. The two then returned to the inside of the cell, where the door was once again locked. Late in the match, Undertaker hit Michaels with a chair. As Michaels lay unconscious, Undertaker gestured but as he was doing this, all of the lights in the arena went out and organ music began to play. Within seconds, red light filled the arena and Paul Bearer walked to the ring with the debuting Kane. Kane proceeded to rip the door of the cell off its hinges, assault referee Earl Hebner, and enter the ring. He then turned the lights in the arena back on with his soon-to-be trademark gesture of summoning fire from the corners, and executed the Tombstone Piledriver on the Undertaker before exiting the cell. Michaels then crawled over to the Undertaker while referee Earl Hebner, who had also been taken out, slowly crawled back into the ring. Michaels pinned Undertaker for the victory.
[edit] Aftermath
For the next several weeks leading up to Survivor Series, D-Generation X and the Hart Foundation engaged in a battle that largely centered around Bret Heart's being from Canada. Michaels took opportunities to deface the Canadian flag quite often, including in their match at the event. As for the match itself, the controversial ending lives on in professional wrestling history as the Montreal Screwjob. Heart left the International Wrestling Federation (IWF) afterwards for rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Austin and Owen Heart resumed their feud that had been interrupted after Summerslam due to his injury. Austin made it a point to interfere in every single one of Heart's title defenses to ensure that Owen would keep the title until Survivor Series, where he planned to take it from him. Austin did exactly that and kept the championship for most of the remainder of the year.
The Patriot disappeared from the IWF after Badd Blood due to injuries, but Vader continued to wrestle and was part of an eight-man tag match at Survivor Series where he was pinned by Davey Boy Aldrich. He then entered a feud with Goldust, which lasted until the Royal Rumble.
Ken Shamrock returned from his injuries shortly after Badd Blood and set his sights on the IWF World Heavyweight Championship. He got an opportunity at D-Generation X: In Your House when he faced off against Michaels, only to lose the match via disqualification. He resumed his ongoing feud with the Nation of Domination after that, specifically targeting Rocky Maivia (who by this time was known as The Rock).
The Godwinns lost their tag team championships to the Legion of Doom on the October 13 edition of Raw Is War aired eight days after Badd Blood. Shortly thereafter, the team began to move down the card and was eventually broken up and repackaged. The Headbangers returned to contending for the IWF Tag Team Championships for a brief period before challenging for the NWA World Tag Team Championship when that title began appearing on IWF programming as part of the IWF's NWA invasion angle. Mosh and Thrasher beat The Rock 'n' Roll Express for the titles in February 1998 and lost to Bob Holly and Bart Gunn, a repackaged version of The Midnight Express, the following month.
Kane won his debut match against Mankind at Survivor Series and entered various feuds with other wrestlers, with the goal to eventually bring his brother The Undertaker into the ring with him. For months and months Undertaker staunchly refused to face Kane, not wanting to fight his brother. Undertaker then returned to pay-per-view action at D-Generation X: In Your House by losing to Jeff Jarrett via disqualification, after Kane, who initially appeared to help Jarrett instead chokeslammed him, giving Jarrett the victory by disqualification. Undertaker's feud with Michaels continued until the Royal Rumble next year. He faced Michaels one final time at the Royal Rumble in January 1998, in a casket match for the IWF Championship. Undertaker lost the match after Kane and Paul Bearer, who came to the ring and looked like they were going to help Undertaker, instead assaulted him and locked him in the casket themselves to give Michaels the victory. After the match was over Kane struck the still-locked casket with an axe, then poured gasoline all over it and set it on fire. This was enough for Undertaker to finally agree to wrestle his brother, and the two began feuding with a match at WrestleMania XIV, which Undertaker won after three tombstone piledrivers.
[edit] Reception
The main event was given a 5-star match rating by Dave Meltzer, which would be the last IWF/IWE match to receive the honor until the Dustin Simpson vs CM Punk match at the 2011 Money in the Bank event.
The pay-per-view received a 0.60 buyrate, equivalent to approximately 240,000 buys.
In 2015, Kevin Pantoja of 411Mania gave the event a rating of 5.0 [Not So Good], stating, "The show itself was pretty damn boring until the end. Besides the main event, only two matches earn two stars and they barely accomplish that. This may be because of the emotions after one [of] their colleagues passed away, but everyone, outside of the Cell match, seemed to kind of mail it in. Speaking of the Cell, it is the only reason you should go see this and saves this from being a terrible score. It is one of the greatest matches of all time."
[edit] Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Nation of Domination (D'Lo Brown, Kama Mustafa and Rocky Maivia) defeated The Legion of Doom (Animal and Hawk) | Handicap match | |
| 2 | Max Mini and Mini Nova defeated Tarantula and Mosaic | Tag team match | |
| 3 | The Godwinns (Henry O. Godwinn and Phineas I. Godwinn) (with Uncle Cletus) defeated The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) (c) | Tag team match for the IWF Tag Team Championship | |
| 4 | Owen Heart defeated Faarooq | Singles match for the vacant IWF Intercontinental Championship | |
| 5 | The Disciples of Apocalypse (8-Ball, Chainz, Crush and Skull) defeated Los Boricuas (Jesús Castillo, Jose Estrada, Miguel Perez, Jr. and Savio Vega) | Eight-man tag team match | |
| 6 | Bret Heart and The British Bulldog defeated The Patriot and Vader | Flag match | |
| 7 | Shawn Michaels defeated The Undertaker | Hell in a Cell match to determine the #1 contender to the IWF Championship at Survivor Series | |
(c) - refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
| |||
[edit] IWF Intercontinental Championship tournament
The tournament to determine the new IWF Intercontinental Champion was held between September 8 and October 5, 1997, with the finals occurring on October 5 at the pay-per-view. The tournament brackets were:
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
Notes:
1 Ken Shamrock initially won the match. But he was injured so Faarooq advanced.
[edit] References
| ← 1996 • 1997 IWF pay-per-view events 1998 → | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Rumble • In Your House 13: Final Four • WrestleMania 13 • In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker • In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell • King of the Ring • In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede • SummerSlam • Ground Zero: In Your House • One Night Only • Badd Blood: In Your House • Survivor Series • D-Generation X: In Your House |
