REVIEW: In Your House: Mind Games: The Crazy Side Comes Out

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net, starting today. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be?

In Your House #10: Mind Games
Date: September 22, 1996
Location: CoreStates Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 15,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Mr. Perfect

Much like the rest of the series so far, there isn’t much to this show aside from the main event. The company is really starting to feel the heat from WCW’s NWO angle but it really doesn’t seem like the WWF is trying anything to fight back. Shawn is doing what he can, but when he has nothing backing him up, what is he supposed to do? Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on how evil Mankind can be and how only Shawn can stop him. We also get something about Goldust vs. Undertaker despite almost no one being interested in the feud. Tonight is the final match for them, thank goodness.

Justin Hawk Bradshaw vs. Savio Vega

This is fallout from about five minutes ago on the pre-show. Bradshaw is a big Texan and a newcomer who hasn’t lost a match yet but is mad that he can’t get a spot on the pay per view. He attacked Savio after his Free For All match so a Caribbean strap match was quickly made. It’s the touch all four corners variety again and remember if your momentum is stopped, you lose any corners you’ve touched. Savio charges in but gets taken down with clubbing forearms and some shots to the back with the strap.

Vega is knocked to the floor and choked up against the post but he manages to pull Bradshaw shoulder first into the steel. The most interesting part of the match is a local independent wrestler throwing beer on Savio and slamming the can into his own head. This would be the Sandman, an ECW mainstay with his cohort Tommy Dreamer next to him. Philadelphia was ECW’s home base and this was near the peak of ECW’s popularity. The theory was this being a shoot but it turned out to be the two companies working together. Paul Heyman, ECW owner, can be seen holding them back as security takes them out.

Back in and Bradshaw hooks a headlock on Savio and gets three buckles before Savio makes the save before the fourth. Some HARD strap shots to the back have Bradshaw down and Savio gets three buckles as a result before Bradshaw pulls him down to reset the score. A spinwheel kick puts Bradshaw down again but he makes the save after two corners this time.

Bradshaw takes him down with a big boot and a HARD clothesline to get three corners but just like in the first strap match with Austin, Vega follows along and gets them as well. Bradshaw makes the mistake of pulling on the strap though, sending Savio into his fourth buckle for the win.

Rating: D. So remember the Austin vs. Vega match where there was a ton of drama and hard hitting shots which got people into the match? None of that applies here. This was paint by numbers stuff which wasn’t anything interesting at all and was only interesting because of the ECW stuff. Nothing to see here.

It’s the best part of a bad match:

We recap Jose Lothario vs. Jim Cornette. This is really just an extension of Shawn vs. Camp Cornette as Jose trained Shawn to wrestle but Cornette swears he can beat up the old man. Jose was 61 years old at this point.

Before the match we cut to the back to see “Diesel and Razor Ramon” attacking Savio Vega. We’ll get to this idea later on but I’m putting it off as long as I can. In short it’s part of Jim Ross turning heel which has never worked and will never work.

Jose Lothario vs. Jim Cornette

Jose drops Cornette with a single punch and does it a few more times for good measure. Two more punches end Cornette in less than a minute. If there was a point to this it eludes me.

Savio isn’t sure what happened to him but doesn’t think it was the original Razor and Diesel. If it was the real Razor though, Savio has something for him.

Here’s Brian Pillman who had guaranteed that Bret Hart would be here tonight, but we get a clip from Bret saying that Pillman and Owen (who said Bret would be here too) are liars. Brian talks about how this is a nice facility they’re in here, but this is just a small percentage of the cesspool that Philadelphia has become. Pillman rips on the fans and brings out Owen Hart to class up the place a bit.

Brian sucks up to Owen, bragging on him about how much better he is at everything than his older brother. Owen says that Bret is getting older and slower and had finally admitted that Owen was the best Hart ever. Then Bret lied about being here in Philadelphia where he had promised to praise his brother and family friend Pillman in front of the world. The only thing that could keep him away is a fear of Steve Austin.

Here’s Austin who said everyone, including Austin himself, knew Bret wasn’t going to be here tonight because he’s such a coward. Austin’s opinion of Bret Hart is you need to add an S to his nickname (Hitman). Austin threatens to beat Bret from one side of the ring to the other if Bret ever comes back. This would be the start of the angle that kept the WWF afloat for the majority of 1997 and made Steve Austin the biggest star in the wrestling world.

We see newcomer Mark Henry walking around some of the tourists attractions of Philadelphia.

Tag Titles: Owen Hart/British Bulldog vs. Smoking Gunns

The Gunns are defending and the challengers have no Cornette with them due to the beating he received earlier. We see Cornette in the back with attorney Clarence Mason having him sign something. Also I have no idea why Owen left ringside after the previous segment when his match was next. Billy walks behind Bart with his arm around Sunny which probably isn’t a good sign. Sunny had a tradition of having a huge poster of her fall down from the ceiling but this time the challengers have painted a beard on it. Nice touch.

Clarence Mason comes to ringside, apparently replacing Cornette for tonight. Owen hits a few cross bodies for two each on Billy before it’s off to a headlock. A small package gets two more for Owen as JR is still playing the heel on commentary, ensuring Vince that the REAL Diesel and Razor are back. Remember that line because it becomes important in a few months.

Off to Bart vs. Davey with the Bulldog hitting a few dropkicks to take over before cranking his arm for a bit. Owen comes back in for a chop block as the target shifts to Bart’s knee. Owen and Bulldog take turns working on the leg with Owen putting on a modified Indian deathlock. A Boston crab doesn’t last long as Bart quickly makes the rope but Bulldog comes in for a vertical suplex to put him down again. Bulldog even throws in a front flip to show off his athleticism a bit.

Back to Owen for more leg work but his spinning toe hold is countered into a small package for two. Owen comes right back with an enziguri for two of his own but Billy finally interferes, pulling Bulldog out to the floor and sending him into the steps. Back in and Bart is able to make the tag off to Billy. The champions take over but Billy almost immediately tags back to Bart.

The Sidewinder connects but Mason distract the referee, allowing Owen to come in off the top with a shot to the back of Bart’s head. Bulldog can only get two though and it’s back to Billy who again only hits a few stomps before tagging out to the weakened Bart. Bart loads up a powerslam on the Bulldog but gets rammed into Billy who wasn’t paying attention. Davey hits the real powerslam for the pin and the titles.

Rating: D+. The title change was the right idea but this was one of the longest eleven minute matches I’ve ever seen. Both teams were heels here so the fans didn’t have anyone to cheer for and the Gunns were boring in the first place. It wasn’t terrible but the match didn’t do anything for me at all.

Post match Sunny yells at the Gunns and calls them no good cowboy wannabes. She’s had enough and fires both of them.

Paul Bearer guarantees that Mankind will win the title tonight and blames Undertaker’s fans for him turning his back on Undertaker. Mankind promises to make Shawn miserable tonight.

Mark Henry vs. Jerry Lawler

Henry is a newcomer to the WWF at this point and was on commentary during Jake Roberts vs. Jerry Lawler last month. Lawler had tried to pour whiskey down recovering alcoholic Roberts’ throat, drawing Henry off commentary for the save. This is Henry’s debut and his chance to prove that he’s the World’s Strongest Man. Lawler spends his entire walk to the ring badmouthing the Olympics (Henry was an Olympic weightlifter) and Henry in general, riling up a crowd as only he can. Lawler may not be the most skilled grappler he is one of the greatest of all time and making a crowd want to chase him down with pitchforks.

Lawler offers to start with a very basic headlock to let Henry get his feet wet. Mark easily counters into a hammerlock and shoves Lawler down, sending pure fear into Lawler. Henry puts on a headlock of his own and Jerry counters the same way Mark did earlier, but Henry counters the counter into another hammerlock. A gorilla press slam sends Lawler down again and his own shoulder block has about the same result.

Henry sidesteps Lawler and sends him flying to the floor in a big crash. Since plans A-C haven’t worked, Lawler pulls out a foreign object and socks Henry in the jaw a few times to take over for the first time. Mark will have none of that though and fires off knees into Jerry’s ribs before finishing him with an over the shoulder backbreaker.

Rating: D. This was what it was. The match was designed to make Henry look like a monster and that’s exactly what it did. That being said, it wasn’t exactly interesting as you can tell Henry is a big strong guy just by looking at him. At least it wasn’t long or anything though and it didn’t get too repetitive.

The debut of a Hall of Famer:

Post match the New Rockers and Hunter Hearst Helmsley come out to try to make a name for themselves against Henry and are easily dispatched.

The new tag champions are in the back with Clarence Mason. The paper that he had Cornette sign was turning over the contract of the new champions to Mason, making him their new manager.

We recap Undertaker vs. Goldust which has been going on for about five months now. There really isn’t even much of a story to it. Basically Goldust is weird and likes that Undertaker is weird too so they had a bunch of boring matches. Mankind is in there too as an ally for Goldust and would eventually become the real adversary for Undertaker.

Goldust vs. Undertaker

This is called a Final Curtain match, meaning there must be a pinfall winner so there are no disqualifications. Goldust doesn’t even get a full entrance. Undertaker jumps him to start and whips Goldust from corner to corner before lifting him up in a big choke. A legdrop gets two on Goldust and an uppercut easily stops his big deep breath. Taker suplexes him down before hiptossing Goldust across the ring. Old School connects and Undertaker throws him to the floor, only to have Goldust take something from Marlena’s purse.

With Marlena distracting the referee, Goldust throws powder into Taker’s eyes and gets his first advantage of the match. Goldust takes it to the floor and shoves Taker’s head into the steps to keep him in trouble. They head back inside with Undertaker avoiding an uppercut but walking into a clothesline for two. Undertaker finally comes back with a belly to back suplex but is still blinded by the dust.

Goldust comes back with a hiptoss of his own for two before trying to smother Undertaker. That goes nowhere so Undertaker grabs him by the throat and launches Goldust into the corner to pound away. A double clothesline puts both guys down but Goldust goes up top, only to be chokeslammed back down. The tombstone finally ends both Goldust and the feud.

Rating: D. NOW NEVER WRESTLE AGAIN. This was one of the least interesting feuds I’ve ever seen and it just kept going. Undertaker never lost a match clean to Goldust and there was never any reason to think he would. Undertaker was just a bigger deal and there was nothing Goldust could throw at him as a real challenge. Thankfully this was the last match they would have.

Shawn Michaels says he can’t wrestle a maniac like Mankind, but thankfully Shawn is a bit cuckoo himself, so he’s walking out with the title.

WWF World Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind

Druids wheel out a casket during the challenger’s entrance and of course Mankind is inside. A quick elbow to the jaw puts Shawn down and there’s a shot to the throat for good measure. Mankind’s signature clothesline (Cactus Clothesline) puts both guys out onto the floor where Mankind peels back the floor mats. Shawn dropkicks them into Mankind’s face and jumps up and down on Mankind before hitting a cross body off the top and out to the floor.

A flying shove sends the back of Mankind’s head into the concrete again but he doesn’t seem all that bothered. Back in and a top rope ax handle drops the challenger again and Shawn peppers him with left hands. Michaels drops the top rope elbow for no cover before tuning up the band, only to have Mankind bail to the floor where he holds the urn and rocks back and forth. Back in and Shawn slugs away even more so Mankind slaps him in the face, sending it down to the mat in a brawl.

Mankind trips Shawn down in a nice amateur style move where he tries the Mandible Claw but Shawn blocks the hand. He elbows Mankind in the jaw to escape and pounds away as they’re in what would be called full mount/guard positions respectively in MMA terms. Mankind throws him out to the floor and sets up the announce table next to the ring, only to have Shawn dive over to pummel Mankind even more. A suplex slams Mankind’s legs into the steps and the challenger is in big trouble.

Back in and Shawn stomps at the leg but stops to yell at the referee. Mankind gets in a few kicks with the good leg but Michaels catches him in a dragon screw leg whip. There’s a figure four but Mankind gets in a shot to the face to break it up. Michaels goes right back to the knee with a dropkick and an old Mr. Perfect (on commentary) move called the Robinsdale Crunch. Off to a half crab but Mankind is quickly in the ropes for the break.

They get back up and Shawn tries a running hurricanrana, only to have Mankind catch him in the air and fall back to drop Shawn throat first across the top rope. Mankind grabs a pen to stab into his own leg to wake it up a bit in a bizarre yet smart move. Shawn gets rammed face first into the casket and a running knee to the face keeps him in trouble. Mankind’s knee going into Shawn’s head slows the challenger down a bit so he rams Shawn face first into the mat to get a breather.

Michaels comes back with a quick belly to back suplex but can’t get any momentum going with Mankind right back on him. It turns back into a slugfest until Mankind whips him into the corner and gets Shawn tied up in the Tree of Woe. An ax handle to the face knocks Michaels free and a boot to the face puts him out onto the floor. Mankind follows him out but gets whipped knees first into the steps, followed by a drop toehold into the steps for good measure.

They fight for a suplex on the apron but Shawn winds up landing on the apron where he kicks Mankind’s leg out again to take over. Back inside and Shawn gets two off a powerslam before whipping Mankind in the ropes where he flips over, getting his neck tied up in the ropes. Shawn goes over but gets caught in a quick Mandible Claw to stop Shawn cold. The Claw goes on again on the floor but Shawn launches him face first into the barricade for the break.

Back up again and Shawn grabs a chair to block a right hand, hurting the Mandible Claw hand in a brilliant move. More chair shots to the hand have the challenger in trouble so Shawn bites away at the fingers. Back inside and Michaels stomps at the hand before going to the other hand to make sure it doesn’t feel unloved. Mankind manages to backdrop Shawn back to the floor and drops an elbow off the apron in another signature move. A swinging neckbreaker puts Shawn down on the floor as these guys are getting tired.

Back in again and Mankind gets two each off a double arm DDT and a piledriver. The fans sound ready to explode on Shawn’s comeback. Mankind is so frustrated that he pulls his own hair out. We get a couple of chairs thrown in but instead of using them, Mankind opens up the casket.

Shawn fights his way out of it and hits the forearm into the nipup that he’s famous for. Michaels stomps away in the corner and gets two off a high cross body. Mankind crotches Shawn on the top to slow down the comeback before loading up a belly to back suplex to the floor. Since that would kill Shawn though, he counters in midair into a cross body to drive Mankind through the table, sending both guys down in a heap.

Mankind sets up a chair in the ring and brings in a second one, only to have Shawn use the chair as a springboard to superkick the second chair into Mankind’s face in a cool looking move. That would look to be the finish but Shawn has to pull off and go after the interfering Vader, drawing the DQ in the only bad part of the match.

Rating: A+. This isn’t just the match of the night or the match of the year or the match of In Your House so far. This match is in the running for the greatest match of all time. It tells an amazing story with Shawn having to completely change his style and get crazy to hang with Mankind. On top of that you have the brutal physical aspect with both guys just beating the tar out of each other for nearly twenty seven minutes. Absolutely amazing stuff and well worth seeing if you never have before or if you haven’t seen it in awhile.

Post match Shawn knocks Vader to the floor but gets blasted in the back of the head by the urn. Sid shows up to fight Vader to the back but it’s Mankind up first. He puts the Mandible Claw on Shawn and goes to put him in the casket, but somehow the Undertaker is inside. Paul Bearer freaks out and the crowd comes unglued as Undertaker shoves Mankind to the floor and stalks the villains up the aisle.

Shawn poses a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event is the only thing worth seeing on here, but you have to remember this is a show lasting less than two hours and the main event is about 35 minutes of that counting introductions and post match shenanigans. It’s a very good thing to have over a fourth of your show be outstanding, but it doesn’t say much for the rest of it. The dark days are continuing for the company business wise, but the on screen stuff is coming in just a few months.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28 wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for “GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES” to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!