–Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Jim Ross are calling the action and they are doing their final broadcast from Valparaiso, Indiana. McMahon says that the Undertaker will not face Kama on today’s show because of the Undertaker’s recent facial injury. Thehistoryofwwe.com says that the Undertaker won the match, originally taped for this show on September 26, as one would expect because Kama has not done anything of note since SummerSlam.
–Henry Godwinn is shown feeding his hogs in Arkansas.
–Opening Contest: Henry Godwinn (22-6-2) defeats Tom Knox after a Slop Drop at 2:35:
Hunter-Hearst Helmsley comes out during Godwinn’s match with an aide, who he gets to steal Godwinn’s slop bucket. Godwinn smothers Knox, not giving him any offense, and when he realizes that his slop bucket has been stolen he complains to the referee.
–Dok Hendrix hypes the next Madison Square Garden card on November 25. Hendrix promises that the Undertaker will be at the Garden and will challenge for the WWF title. He also discusses the Nassau Coliseum card where Diesel, Shawn Michaels, and Bret Hart face Yokozuna, King Mabel, and the British Bulldog. Michaels cuts a promo praising his partners and promises that they will go “hog wild” on the heels because no titles are on the line. Hendrix promises that despite his injuries that Michaels will still defend the Intercontinental title at In Your House.
–A replay of Barry Horowitz talking to Hakushi about baseball is shown.
–Dean Douglas (4-0) pins Hakushi (24-3) after the Final Exam at 5:39:
In the opening moments of the contest, Skip, Sunny, and Rad Radford come to ringside, ostensibly to lend some moral support to Douglas. Radford also takes the time to try to convince Skip that he should be a bodydonna. Hakushi’s aerial offense fits him much better as a babyface, although Douglas keeps much of the match grounded. Hakushi tries a slingshot splash into the ring, but that eats knees and Douglas pins him without much ceremony after the Final Exam. Considering the abilities of both guys, this was a disappointing match. The crowd wasn’t into it either, probably because it was near the end of a lengthy television taping, so that hurt how the match came off as well. Rating: **
–Hendrix urges fans to buy life size cardboard cutouts of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels for $25 each (plus shipping & handling)!
–McMahon recaps the WWF’s Full Metal Tour of Europe, with footage shown of action in London, England and Vienna, Austria.
–Fatu (5-2) beats Terry Richards after a top rope splash at 2:29:
Terry Richards is a future ECW World Champion Rhyno, who is making his first appearance on WWF programming in this match after spending some time earlier in the year doing some enhancement talent work for World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Richards tries to attack Fatu before the bell, but that goes nowhere. Hunter-Hearst Helmsley cuts a promo in the split screen during the match as well to put over his looming encounter with Fatu at In Your House. Fatu makes short work of his opponent today as the announcers discuss future WWF house shows.
–The announcers hype In Your House 4.
–Footage of Diesel, Shawn Michaels, and the Undertaker getting brutalized by Owen Hart, Yokozuna, the British Bulldog, Dean Douglas, and King Mabel two weeks ago on RAW is shown. We also get a replay of the Bulldog and Mabel’s post-match promo and Paul Bearer lamenting that the Undertaker’s face had been crushed.
–McMahon does a special interview with WWF Champion Diesel. McMahon recaps some of Diesel’s recent setbacks in the ring, to which Diesel responds that those victories by his opponents were shallow and that he may not want to keep his cool at In Your House. This was an underwhelming interview that did not lend any new insights for the Diesel-Bulldog feud.
–WWF officials are shown keeping Fatu from getting to Hunter-Hearst Helmsley backstage after Helmsley sprays Fatu with some of his cologne.
–Call 1-900-737-4WWF to get more updates on Shawn Michaels condition!
–Hunter-Hearst Helmsley (19-0) defeats Joe Deegan after a Pedigree at 3:00:
Deegan has been wrestling as “Joe Dorgan” on other shows, so it is unclear why the company changed his name for this encounter. Lawler is not happy on commentary when McMahon informs him that Bret Hart will be doing commentary for the WWF title match at In Your House. Helmsley uses some basic wrestling to dismantle Deegan and the Pedigree makes things academic to send Helmsley to 20-0.
–Hendrix does yet another sell for the New York area house shows next month. Jim Cornette, the British Bulldog, Mabel, and Sir Mo cut a promo against Diesel, Shawn Michaels, and Bret Hart for the Nassau Coliseum. Cornette promises that his side will turn the three babyfaces into “three blind mice.”
–The announcers put over the value of In Your House 4 in one final sell of the show.
–Goldust quotes Jaws and says that his premiere at In Your House 4 will be something to remember.
–A video package hypes the various matches on the In Your House 4 card.
The Last Word: Much like the recent RAW telecast, this was a waste of a show, hindered by the fact that the company could not air the Undertaker match since they wanted to give the impression that Superstars was not taped well ahead of time (the Undertaker-Kama match would later be run on an episode of RAW). Aside from that, this was really the Hunter-Hearst Helmsley show as he pissed off two midcarders. This may be okay in 1998, but in 1995 it is a sorry indictment of the company’s booking that Helmsley was put in such a prominent place with his Lord Steven Regal-like gimmick.
As was customary during this time, there were no house shows leading up to In Your House 4. However, here were some news items about the WWF and the wrestling world prior to that pay-per-view (courtesy of The Wrestling Observer for October 30):
*Vader is now a free agent after WCW informed him that his contract was being cancelled since he was unable to perform due to a shoulder injury. However, it is very likely that he will take some time off for surgery before signing with another promotion.
*The Undertaker’s surgery required that his eye be moved a quarter of an inch so that his orbital bone could be corrected. He should return to the ring by the end of next month.
Up Next: In Your House 4!