WWF – Badd Blood: In Your House
October 5, 1997
St. Louis, MO
Kiel Center

The current WWF champs were as follows:
World Champion: Bret Hart (8/3/1997)
Intercontinental Champion: Vacant (9/8/1997)
European Champion: Shawn Michaels (9/20/1997)
World Tag Team Champions: The Headbangers (9/7/1997)

NOTE: This is my 1000th post on PDRwrestling! Since 2007, ladies and gentlemen.

Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler. This is the last PPV where Vince is lead commentator. Outside of the main event, this is not one of his best nights to say the least.

• Handicap Match: The Legion of Doom vs. Rocky Maivia, Kama Mustafa & D’Lo Brown
  

During the NOD’s entrance, Vince McMahon announces that passing of Brian Pillman that occurred earlier in the afternoon, which has to be mind-boggling to anybody who didn’t know about it. The show must go on though. This was supposed to be a six-man with Ken Shamrock joining the LOD, but he was injured by Faarooq a few weeks back after a nasty Spinebuster. D’Lo and Hawk start us out. This is the PPV WRESTLING debut of D’Lo Brown. He’s appeared on several PPVs this year, but only as a second for Faarooq. Naturally, Hawk owns D’Lo until he can’t take anymore. Time for Animal and Maivia. Rocky sucks, you know. He pulls a Memphis stall job thanks to the fans. Back inside, Rocky can’t handle Animal either. Vince calls LOD the premiere tag team in the WWF and then remembers they aren’t the champs. Tag to Hawk, the NOD try and corner him on their side of town. In comes Kama, both he and Hawk NO-SELL a double clothesline. Tag to Animal, you can bet he quickly becomes *your* face in peril once Rocky comes in and dumps Animal on his head with a DDT. The NOD take turns beating the crap out of Animal and cutting off tags for a few minutes. McMahon calls the NOD a pack of bears and then realizes that bears don’t normally travel in packs. Over in the corner at one point, Rocky threatens the ref with his fist instead of his elbow. He’ll learn. He does draw in Hawk so he can punch Animal straight in the balls for two. We do the false tag routine, which doesn’t do Animal any favors. Rocky and Kama hold him down for the LO DOWN from D’Lo, but Kama only gets two. Out on the floor, Animal gets thrown into the steps. Back inside, Animal manages to make the HOT TAG TO HAWK. Reverse Neckbreaker to D’Lo! Animal takes care of Kama. DOOMSDAY DEVICE for Rocky? Out comes Faarooq to distract. D’Lo dumps out Animal. Meanwhile, Hawk misses a Flying Clothesline on Rocky. Kama then kicks him into the ROCK BOTTOM for the 1-2-3. (12:20) That darn Faarooq. By the numbers formula tag match for sure, but Rocky sure was drawing some good heat for a rookie. **

Dok Hendrix and Sunny are backstage to tell us to call the WWF Hotline for post-match reports.

Vince gives us more information on the death of Brian Pillman. If you know who Brian Pillman is, you probably know all the details by now. Right here is where his match with Dude Love was planned to happen.

• Max Mini & Nova vs. Mosaic & Tarantula
  

This is the replacement match, I suppose. I refuse to strictly transcribe this match since I really don’t care for these mini matches. They do the usual midget lucha stuff. Tarantula press slams Max Mini onto the announce table directly in front of Lawler so he can have a good laugh. Any chance this is a joke towards lucha libre stars in WCW? ANY CHANCE? Anyways, the match ends with Max Mini pinning Tarantula with a crucifix rollup. (6:43) Ehh, who cares. ¾*

Buy the Austin 3:16 t-shirt! The graphic says $25 plus S&H. Pettengill says $20. Hmpfh.

• WWF Tag Team Champions The Headbangers vs. The Godwinns (w/Uncle Cletus)
  

Since they have nothing better for her to do, Sunny introduces the teams for this match. Ross wonders what Muchnick and Thesz are thinking of the Headbangers right now. The Headbangers clean house to start. Back in, Phineas and Mosh catch their own spit. Riiiight. Now let’s get going, guys. Mosh headscissors Phineas to the floor and then Thrasher headscissors Phineas from the apron. Back inside, Phineas falls straight down on his head after a flapjack. Whoops. Tag to Henry, he can’t seem to figure out Thrasher. Now back to Phineas. The Headbangers deliver a series of double-team moves on him. Vince makes a big deal about a stud in Thrasher’s tongue. Once Thrasher is caught dancing though, Henry sneaks in and runs him down with a clothesline to help the Godwinns take control. They play their little cheating tag team games when Thrasher is thrown out to ringside. Back inside, Phineas drops a bunch of knees down onto Thrasher for two. Desperation sunset flip on Phineas riles up the crowd. Wheelbarrow facebuster by Henry scores another nearfall. Double KO sets up a tag to Phineas, but he cuts off the tag to Mosh. Phineas misses a corner charge, allowing Thrasher to connect with a back suplex. Hot tag to Mosh, and he’s a house of fire. Thrasher powerbombs Mosh onto Phineas for 1-2-NO! As Thrasher goes after Henry and Uncle Cletus, Mosh comes off the top rope for the MOSH PIT only for Phineas to catch him in mid-air and drill him with a powerbomb for the win and the tag titles. (12:17) To celebrate, the Godwinns do a number on the Headbangers. It gets to the point that the ref will strip them of the belts if they do not leave. DANG. Average match with a finish that came out of nowhere. *½

We get a special video package highlighting Steve Austin delivering the Stone Cold Stunner to all these people with authority and also Jerry Lawler. The most important moment (and most hilarious) being the Stunner on Vince McMahon. MONTREAL WAS A WORK~!

Owen Hart stops Michael Cole backstage from talking about Stone Cold. Owen wants Commissioner Slaughter to keep Austin away from him so he can do his job and once again secure the IC title.

Obviously a Jim Cornette idea, the WWF honors living St. Louis wrestling legends in the home of the NWA complete with video introductions and plagues: Gene Kiniski, Jack Brisco, Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race, Terry Funk, Sam Muchnick, and Lou Thesz.

Backstage, Dok Hendrix makes Faarooq a little angry asking him about Steve Austin getting involved in Nation of Domination business.

Vince gives us more details on Brian Pillman. He mentions a drug overdose, but won’t know for sure until the toxicology reports are made public next week.

• Intercontinental Title Tournament Finals: Owen Hart vs. Faarooq
  

The match is really of no consequence. Steve Austin is supposed to just sit at ringside, but instead he turns into a super entertaining individual. He puts on Vince’s headset and SPEAKS. He threatens Lawler not to talk any trash about him. Now that he’s back over beside Slaughter, Austin is seen talking on a walkie-talkie for some reason. Austin then knocks off JR’s hat. He’s like a kid with ADHD. Now he goes over and steals Carlos Cabrera’s headset and has a conversation with him. He threatens Tito Santana when he hears Tito say the word “loco”. HAHA. Austin makes an appearance with the French announce team as well. He tells the French listeners he will be in Montreal for Survivor Series and he’ll be pissed off when he gets there. AWESOME. Oh yeah, the match. The powerslam and the Spinebuster brings out Jim Neidhart. While Slaughter is taking care of Neidhart, Austin sneaks in and blasts Faarooq with the IC title belt! Owen covers Faarooq for the pinfall and the IC title. (7:12) Yeah, Austin really made this one entertaining because no one will pay to see Owen and Faarooq. Austin throws Owen the IC belt and stares daggers at him while he’s walking away. Meanwhile, Owen and Neidhart wonder what just happened. Owen tells the camera he regained the belt all by himself. DELUSIONAL~! *

Let Us Take You Back: RAW, 9/29/97. The Hart Foundation do a number on the Patriot and Vader and then lay Canadian flags over their beaten down bodies.

• Disciples of Apocalypse vs. Los Boricuas
  

Oh boy. Just a lot of clubberin’ in this one. Chainz plays biker in peril for what feels like forever as Los Boricuas swarm him every chance they get. Finally, Crush gets a tag and we have a pier six brawl. Crush scores with a big boot on Jesus, but then gets planted with a DDT for two. Chainz nails Jesus as he comes off the ropes into the TOUR OF THE ISLANDS by Crush for the three-count. (9:11) The crowd is either popping for the DOA or for the end of this one. ¾*

Michael Cole interviews Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith. They plan to prove the Hart Foundation is better than any two Americans whether America likes it or not.

Over to Dok Hendrix, he’s with the Patriot and Vader. Patriot has every intention of settling his problems with the Hart Foundation tonight. As for Vader, he feels Bret’s “best there is…” tagline is a bunch of bullshit, LOL. Vader doesn’t like big mouth Canadians talking trash about America. It’s VADER TIME. JR – “Good grief.” HAHA.

• Flag Match: The Patriot & Vader vs. Bret Hart & Davey Boy Smith
  

Pinfall, submission, or grabbing your flag secures the victory. Big ringside brawl before the bell. Patriot and Bulldog pair off in the aisle while Vader handles Bret over by the announce tables. Flagpoles are used as weapons, but not the ones in the corners. Just craziness. Once we get the bell sounded, Patriot takes forever to figure out that he can just grab the US flag until it’s too late. Bret lowblows Patriot when he goes for the flag. In comes Vader, he nails the Body Attack. Tag to Bret, Vader wins a slugfest obviously. However, Vader misses an avalanche and gets taken down with a clothesline by Bulldog. Bret hits the Russian legsweep and goes for the Canadian flag, but Vader quickly punches in the balls. Sunset flip by Bret proves to be a mistake. Odd that Bret would make that kind of mistake. In comes Bulldog and the Patriot. Patriot goes for the US flag, but Bret and Bulldog pound him down. While Bret chokes Patriot over on the apron, Davey Boy goes for the Canadian flag only to be slammed down by Vader. Nice. Patriot misses a corner charge and runs his shoulder into the post. Bret makes sure to walk over and grab Patriot to apply the Ringpost Figure-Four. Vader scares Bret away though. Back inside, Vader tries to stop the SHARPSHOOTER on Patriot. Nevertheless, Patriot reverses the hold on Bret and does a horrible job at the hold. Over in the US corner, Patriot tries crawling over the other three to get to the flag. No dice. Bulldog pulls him down. Demolition Decapitation on Patriot gets two. Even so, Vader gets the hot tag. Body attack on Davey Boy gets 1-2-NO! He follows up with a splash and scores another nearfall. Vader looks good in this match as well. He’s got to be a top 5-10 wrestler in the US in 1997. Bret starts to wear down Vader with a back suplex and tries a Sharpshooter only for Patriot to break it up. For an ounce of retribution, Patriot grabs the figure-four on Bret. He tags Davey Boy while still in the hold. Hourglass suplex on Patriot gets two. More wearing down on the Patriot. Vader gets a tag and goes for the VADERSAULT on Bulldog, but Davey Boy moves and Vader lands on his feet! Well, almost. Good job though! Seriously, that was amazing. Bulldog takes a clothesline to the floor, which does a number on his knee injured by Shawn a few weeks ago. Bret finds the ringbell and uses it on both Patriot and Vader. That’s pretty brutal. Back inside, Bret slams Vader and hits the flying elbow. DDT to Vader gets two. Vader comes back with a double clothesline and tags Patriot as he’s a house of fire. UNCLE SLAM to Bret! Davey Boy makes the save to prevent the pinfall. Hey, there’s an idiot fan in the ring. Out he goes. Vader Bomb to Bret! Nevertheless, Patriot tries an O’Connor roll when Bret reverses thanks to a handful of tights and gets the three-count rendering the flags completely unnecessary as mere symbols for the simple-minded. (21:16) The match started off great as a fun brawl. It probably should have stayed that way and not allowed pinfalls. Not sure if this was given more time due to the Brian Pillman match not happening, but it definitely felt like the middle and end dragged without much of a story going on. **½

Dok Hendrix is standing by D-Generation X backstage. Shawn is RELIEVED that his European title isn’t on the line. It’s a real load off his mind. Wink wink. Ain’t nobody crazy enough to do this gig except the Heartbreak Kid. He will once again show us why he is the number one guy in this business today. Hunter Hearst Helmsley starts to say something and then the camera cuts away. HA.

HBK/Taker hype video airs highlighting the character change in Shawn Michaels over the past couple months.

• Hell in a Cell: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
  

Once Shawn gets inside the cell, he starts FREAKING OUT. Too bad, bro. Taker begins to stalk and goes for a chokeslam early, but Shawn kicks away. Some mounted punches in the corner do little good as UT is in total control. Old School connects and we go to the floor. Shawn tries to climb the cage wall to get away, but yeah that’s not going to work. UT just pulls him down and whips Shawn into the steel a couple times. Now Taker picks Shawn up and drives him into the ringpost and then into the corner of the cell. HBK shoves off a snake eyes into the cage, but UT NO-SELLS and clotheslines Shawn down. UT misses a charge into the cage and knocks himself silly. UT hotshots Shawn away from him, but then gets knocked off the apron into the cell. With Taker in position, HBK nails him with a suicide dive! Good thing he had the cell to keep him from flying into the front row. Michaels keeps UT grounded as he pulls the ring steps apart and crashes them down upon the Undertaker. With only the bottom steps in place, Shawn gives UT a PILEDRIVER ON THE STEPS! Strange how that sounded like a watermelon bursting. Shawn brings a chair into the ring and may we remind you that this whole feud started with a chairshot to the Undertaker at SummerSlam when Shawn was the special referee in Taker’s WWF title match with Bret Hart. Shawn proceeds to beat UT down with the chair, but still only gets a two-count. UT fights off Shawn’s barrage of punches and backdrops Shawn clear over the top onto a cameraman on the floor. Whoa. Now Shawn pitches a fit and beats up the cameraman! When he’s done, he drags the guy over to where the cage door is at. That becomes important later. Meanwhile, Shawn hits the Flying Forearm and the Flying Elbow Drop. SWEET CHIN MUSIC, but Taker NO-SELLS AND SITS UP! Now the door has been opened as the camera guy gets some help. Shawn decides to quit and exits the door, but UT follows him out. They continue to brawl and Shawn starts dishing out dropkicks, but then UT catches one of them and catapults Shawn into the cage to bust him open!

Taker delivers the snake eyes he wanted earlier and delivers it twofold. It looks like he wants another, but Shawn kicks him in his dead balls. Shawn resorts to climbing ONTO THE ROOF OF THE CAGE to get away from the Undertaker. What he doesn’t realize is that Undertaker is following him up the cage! Shawn tries a piledriver, but UT backdrops out. Does anybody remember seeing a wrestling match on top of the roof of a steel cage for the first time? UT press slams Shawn and boy that is an EERIE sight. Shawn nearly gets punched off the cage when as he is climbing down, Taker stomps on HBK’s hands to cause him to fall through the Spanish announce table! Incredible. UT meets Shawn on the floor and beats him back inside the cell. SUPER CHOKESLAM by the Undertaker! Now UT finds his own chair and delivers one nasty shot to Shawn’s head. As Taker calls for the Tombstone, the lights go out and some strange organ music plays as Paul Bearer walks out through hellfire and brimstone with who we know today as Kane. Vince ~ “THAT’S GOTTA BE KANE! THAT’S GOTTA BE KANE!” You think? Kane rips the door off its hinges, throws Earl Hebner REALLY hard into the cage, and then walks right up to Undertaker. UT is in total disbelief that his brother is here. Kane sets (three of) the four ringposts on fire and gives UT a TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER! Then he gives his brother one last glare and leaves with Paul Bearer. The damage has been done. Now Shawn drapes an arm across the defeated Undertaker as Earl Hebner crawls into the ring and slow counts the 1-2-3. (30:00) Undertaker had too much going on at the time to possibly overcome the odds here. He had his obvious problems with Shawn Michaels, his brother finally pops in on him, and he wants to get the WWF title back from Bret Hart. Talk about some stress. That’s what the teardrop on his cheek is for – he’s unbelievably overwhelmed! Anyways, one of the most memorable matches of the ’90s that completely epitomized what the match promised and there are few matches (Austin-Foley at Over the Edge maybe?) that inspired the Attitude Era quite like the first Hell in a Cell, which I still believe to be the greatest of them all. Sorry, Mick. *****

Final Thoughts: Well, obviously the main event is worth the price of admission. One could argue and depending on the day of the week and who is digging what wrestler more at the time that it’s the greatest match in the USA of the 1990’s. However, it is 2015 now, and you really don’t need this entire show in order to catch the Hell in a Cell. Apart from the main event, anything with Steve Austin at ringside was entertaining, yet the flag match was disappointing since it was about 5-10 minutes longer than it should have been and was a little frustrating with the stipulations over the flag. Of course I have the same problems with WWF cage matches and people climbing out instead of heading for the door. Slight thumbs in the middle for Badd Blood: In Your House.