In Your House #15: A Cold Day in Hell

In Your House #15: A Cold Day in Hell - May 1997

Richmond, Virginia

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: The Undertaker holds the WWE World Championship coming into the show, Owen Hart is the Intercontinental Champion, The British Bulldog is the European Champion, and, together, Hart and Bulldog also hold the WWE World Tag Team Championships. 

COMMENTARY: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler


Tonight's show is one I remember (not fondly) from my childhood. I think I could even dig up a VHS copy if I searched my parents' basement hard enough. Still, this one got far fewer rewatches than Royal Rumble 92' or SummerSlam 91'. Extra trivia note - Aside from his appearance in multi-man matches (specifically the previous February's In Your House: Final Four), this is Steve Austin's first main event singles match on pay-per-view.


The show starts off with an interesting clash of styles - Flash Funk (aka 2 Cold Scorpio) taking on Hunter Hearst Helmsley (aka "Triple H") with Chyna by his side. As much as I like 2 Cold and can overlook the garrish outfit, there's something about seeing him in a WWE ring that always seemed "off." Is it that the ropes don't provide him the spring needed to capture the amazing airtime he showcased in WCW? Is it that the crowd's relative indifference makes his ECW run seem like a bigger deal? Is it just that the WWE's cameras never seem to capture his high-flying the right way? Whatever it is, what could've been and should've been a sleeper Match of the Night ends up being a match you might sleep through. There's some remarkable bumping out of Trips late in the match and the finish is pleasantly clean, but, overall, its just not that hot an opener. (1.5/5)

After some words out of Ken Shamrock, it is time for our next contest - Mankind taking on Rocky Miavia. This is an interesting match beyond just being one of the first times these two would tangle on pay-per-view. First, the match comes a week or two after the first part of Mankind's infamous sit-down interview with Jim Ross, the company's first attempt in turning Foley into a sympathetic babyface. On the other side is Rocky Miavia, no longer the Intercontinental Champion and no longer "all smiles," but still not yet "The Rock." Foley leads the youngster through the match's biggest moments (a Mankind front-flip onto Miavia outside the ring, a powerful running knee in the corner), but the crowd just never really cares. The Not-Yet-Great One can't garner any fan support and has almost no signature offense or taunting to help. In one particularly noteworthy moment, though, the Rock does land his future finisher, a vicious Rock Bottom on Foley on the steel ramp that earns him his biggest pop of the night. The last minute is the most revealing - The Rock connects with a nasty clothesline to the back of Foley's head, a clear heel tactic from the otherwise vanilla good guy. When he signals for his finish, the crowd boos and we finally see signs of The Rock we'll one day get,  Miavia spitting and cussing in defiance of the fan's tepid reaction to what he intends to be the nail in the coffin. While these 15 seconds don't make the previous 12 minutes any better, it is at least thought-provoking on re-watch in a way that the opener or the match that follows certainly weren't. (2/5)

A gauntlet match is next - Ahmed Johnson going up against Crush, Savio Vega, and Farooq in that order. Gorilla Monsoon bars the other Nation of Domination members from ringside, so these matches are all 1-on-1. The first bout, Johnson vs. Crush, is as dull and uninspired as one would expect, though, I do have to give credit to Johnson for his surprisingly varied offense. While he doesn't hit every move with precision, he had considerable gusto, connecting on some hard clotheslines and finishing Crush off with a very decent heel kick. The next bout, against Savio Vega, is more of the same, and, again, a tip of the hat goes to Johnson for not repeating spots, differentiating his strikes, and selling the fact that this is his second of three matches. After Vega gets himself disqualified, its time for the final round and Johnson is already knocked out. He miraculously hits a Pearl River Plunge, though, which makes little kayfabe sense, but at least adds some suspense. Watching this match, I immediately began to think of how Roman Reigns might've fared in a similar situation. To be honest, I'm not sure Reigns has the moveset to match the little bit of what Johnson accomplishes here, but I do think Reigns bests Ahmed in terms of selling and charisma. While far from a worthwhile watch, this one is surprisingly not as terrible as one would expect. (1.5/5)

Vader vs. Ken Shamrock in a submission-only, no disqualification match is next, this being Shamrock's in-ring WWE debut. The match begins with Shamrock trying to break Vader down with stiff kicks to the big man's legs and within minutes he has Vader reeling, forcing him to recalculate his battle plan on the outside. Shamrock hits a textbook belly-to-back suplex and seeing the one-time WCW juggernaut playing the cowardly, overmatched heel is a bit sad. The crowd pops for Vader's impressive offense, including a big suplex to the outside that Shamrock takes fearlessly, our first real sign that the former UFC Champion is more than prepared to hang in the world of pro-wrestling. After controlling the match for a stretch (with Shamrock selling well throughout), Vader misses on his moonsault and Shamrock hits an awesome powerslam before locking in a half-crab. Vader reaches the ropes and the match continues, Shamrock hitting Vader with all sorts of strikes in the corner before getting leveled with a stiff forearm to the face. With Vader seemingly in charge, Shamrock locks in a surprising ankle lock and forces the big man to tap in what I'd call a fairly unceremonious finish. There's some positives to this match: Shamrock's blend of stiff strikes and mat submissions, some surprisingly sharp commentary out of JR and Lawler, and both guys actually selling their asses off to make the other look like they're worth fearing, but Vader came into this match relatively cold and its hard not to notice how much less of a "big deal" Shamrock is when he's no longer mixing it up with Bret Hart and Steve Austin. (2.5/5)

Speaking of Steve Austin, its main event time - "Stone Cold" Steve Austin challenging The Undertaker for his WWE World Championship. Austin gets a bit of a muted response compared to how over he would be a year later, but the signs in the audience and Austin 3:16 shirts are certainly increasing in number by this point. The Hart Foundation gets a massive negative reaction as they make their way down the aisle and take their seats in the front row. Austin and Taker get some shots in against Pillman and Owen Hart before they get to work on eachother, Austin trying to wear down the champ with a headlock early on the match (a questionable way to kick things off, if you ask me). Stone Cold then goes after the Deadman's leg, bashing it into the corner ring post and stomping at it after tying Undertaker up by the turnbuckle. Austin even attempts an STF at one point, a rarity in The Rattlesnake's toolbox and a maneuver that the audience certainly hadn't seen much in a WWE ring. Undertaker is able to fight back and change the tides, though, by going after Austin's left knee, trying to wear down the Rattlesnake with a grapevine and, moments later, a half-crab. As the match continues, both men maintain their focus on their opponent's legs but, thankfully, begin to dish out more high-impact offense as well, going back to their respective bread-and-butter to try to put their opponent away. While the selling isn't great (neither guy limps around as much as they should considering how much emphasis is put on their targeted submissions), there are some "Attitude Era"-pointing moments, including Austin and Hebner trading birds, the Undertaker popping the crowd with a massive chokeslam, and a false finish involving a ring bell that screams "screwjob" roughly 7 months before that word would become popularized. With a really strong finishing sequence that keeps both guys looking strong and also pleases the fans by having the Hart Foundation get a bit of a comeuppance, this match absolutely holds up and defies the popular opinion that Steve Austin and The Undertaker never really "clicked" on the big stage. While not an all-time classic, this is easily the match of the night. (3.5/5)



With a pretty piddling score of 2.2-out-of-5, In Your House #15: A Cold Day in Hell is almost impossible to recommend. The only silver lining I can muster to support it is the novelty of seeing Steve Austin, Triple H, The Rock, and Mankind all on the brink of superstardom. Within 9 months, they'd each be much bigger players on the WWE scene, one headed to a WrestleMania main event, two en route to being the leaders of two of the most famous stables in WWE history, and one firmly established as the ultimate sympathetic "tweener," a guy that fans would spend most of 98' switching between loving, loathing, pitying, and praising. With only one match that I'd call above-average, I'm going to give this one a...

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville