D-Generation X: In Your House

D-Generation X: In Your House (also spelled as Degeneration X: In Your House) was the 19th In Your House professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on December 7, 1997, at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, and was the fifth and final WWF pay-per-view to be sponsored by Milton Bradley's Karate Fighters. Eight matches were contested at the event.

De-Generation X: In Your House
Promotional poster featuring Shawn Michaels
PromotionWorld Wrestling Federation
DateDecember 7, 1997[1][2]
CitySpringfield, Massachusetts[1][2]
VenueSpringfield Civic Center[1][2]
Attendance6,358[1][2]
Tagline(s)Attitude Is Everything
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Survivor Series
Next →
Royal Rumble
In Your House chronology
← Previous
Badd Blood
Next →
No Way Out of Texas

In the main event, Ken Shamrock defeated Shawn Michaels by disqualification in a match for the WWF Championship; Michaels thus retained his title. Notable matches on the undercard included "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeating The Rock to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship, The New Age Outlaws defeating the Legion of Doom by disqualification to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship, and WWF Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter coming out of retirement to lose a Boot Camp match to Triple H.

Production

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Background

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In Your House was a series of monthly professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) events first produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) 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. D-Generation X: In Your House (also spelled as Degeneration X: In Your House) was the 19th In Your House event and took place on December 7, 1997, at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. The name of the show was based on the more prominent matches featuring members of D-Generation X.[1][2]

Storylines

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The main feud heading into D-Generation X: In Your House was between Shawn Michaels and Ken Shamrock over the WWF Championship. The feud started after Bret Hart left the WWF to join rival company World Championship Wrestling (WCW) after the infamous "Montreal Screwjob" at Survivor Series. Shamrock, who recently returned from an injury, which had been caused by the Nation of Domination in September, was named the number one contender for Michaels' WWF Championship. On the December 1 episode of Raw is War, Michaels taunted Shamrock, saying that he would not be able to break Michaels' ankle (a reference to Shamrock's signature ankle lock). Later on that night, Michaels and his D-Generation X teammates, Chyna and Triple H, humiliated and assaulted Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, until Shamrock and WWF commissioner Sgt. Slaughter saved Neidhart, with Shamrock locking in the Ankle Lock on Michaels and Sgt. Slaughter locking the Cobra Clutch on Triple H. Slaughter then challenged Triple H to a Boot Camp match, which he accepted.

Another major feud heading into the event was between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. On the November 17 episode of Raw is War, The Rock stole Austin's Intercontinental Championship as Austin was engaged in a brawl with The Rock's Nation of Domination stablemates. In the weeks leading up to the event, The Rock taunted Austin with the title, declaring himself the "best damn Intercontinental Champion there ever was". Stone Cold retaliated with mind games of his own, including driving his pickup truck into the arena during The Rock's match with Vader on the December 1 episode of Raw is War.

Event

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The opening bout was the final match in a tournament to determine the inaugural WWF Light Heavyweight Champion, with Brian Christopher facing Taka Michinoku. The match ended when Christopher attempted to give Michinoku a Tennessee Jam and missed, enabling Michinoku to hit Christopher with the Michinoku Driver and then pin him to win the title.[3][4]

The second bout was a six-man tag team match pitting the Disciples of Apocalypse against Los Boricuas. Los Boricuas won the bout by pinfall following a leg drop by Miguel Pérez Jr.[3][4]

The third bout was a "toughman match" between Marc Mero and professional boxer Butterbean. The match ended in the fourth round when Mero gave Butterbean a low blow, causing a disqualification. Mero then attacked Butterbean with a stool until being driven away.[3][4]

The fourth bout saw WWF Tag Team Champions the New Age Outlaws defend their titles against the Legion of Doom. The match ended when Henry Godwinn came to the ring and hit Animal with a "slop bucket", after which Hawk seized the bucket and used it to hit Billy Gunn, resulting in the Legion of Doom being disqualified.[3][4]

The fifth bout was a "Boot Camp match" between Sgt. Slaughter and Triple H. The match ended when Slaughter applied the Cobra Clutch to Triple H, only for Triple H's bodyguard Chyna to give him a low blow, enabling Triple H to hit Slaughter with the Pedigree and pin him.[3][4]

The sixth bout was a singles match between Jeff Jarrett and The Undertaker, with an added stipulation that the winner would become the number one contender for the WWF Championship. Jarrett won the match by disqualification after Kane entered the ring to attack The Undertaker, chokeslamming Jarrett after he got in his way. After Kane left the ring, Jarrett attacked The Undertaker from behind, only to be chokeslammed again.[3][4]

The seventh bout saw WWF Intercontinental Champion "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defend his title against "The Rock" Rocky Maivia. The match began with Austin driving a pickup truck to ringside and brawling with Maivia 's Nation of Domination allies, eventually back body dropping D'Lo Brown through the truck's windshield. Towards the end of the match, Austin accidentally gave a Stone Cold Stunner to the referee. Austin then gave a Stone Cold Stunner to Rocky and pinned him to retain the title, with a second referee counting the pinfall.[3][4]

The main event saw WWF Champion Shawn Michaels defend his title against Ken Shamrock. The match ended when Shamrock applied an ankle lock to Michaels, upon which Michaels' D-Generation X allies Triple H and Chyna attacked Shamrock before Michaels could submit, resulting in Shamrock winning the bout by disqualification (meaning the title did not change hands). Following the match, Owen Hart made his return to the WWF, viciously attacking Michaels before retreating into the audience.[3][4]

Reception

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In 2014, Kevin Pantoja of 411Mania gave the event a rating of 4.0 [Poor], stating, "Too many disqualification finishes. Of the eight matches, four of them ended in a DQ. The opener was the best match and the final two matches weren't terrible. The six man tag, Butterbean stuff, Tag Title match and Boot Camp match were all crap though and that's too much crap on one show."[5]

Results

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No.ResultsStipulationsTimes[1][2][6]
1Taka Michinoku defeated Brian ChristopherSingles match for the inaugural WWF Light Heavyweight Championship12:02
2Los Boricuas (Miguel Pérez Jr., Jesús Castillo Jr., and José Estrada Jr.) (with Savio Vega) defeated The Disciples of Apocalypse (Chainz, 8-Ball, and Skull)Six-man tag team match7:58
3Butterbean defeated Marc Mero (with Sable) by disqualificationToughman match10:20
4The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) (c) defeated The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) by disqualificationTag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship10:32
5Triple H (with Chyna) defeated Sgt. SlaughterBoot Camp match17:39
6Jeff Jarrett defeated The Undertaker by disqualificationSingles match6:54
7Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) defeated The Rock (with Faarooq, D'Lo Brown, and Kama Mustafa)Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship5:28
8Ken Shamrock defeated Shawn Michaels (c) (with Triple H and Chyna) by disqualificationSingles match for the WWF Championship18:27
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

WWF Light Heavyweight Championship tournament

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The tournament to determine the inaugural WWF Light Heavyweight Champion was held between November 3 and December 7, 1997. The tournament brackets were:

Quarterfinals
(Raw)
Semifinals
(Raw)
Finals
(In Your House: D-Generation X)
         
November 3 Águila Pin
Hershey Super Loco 5:12
November 252 Águila Pin
Roanoke Taka Michinoku 6:19
November 10 Taka Michinoku Pin
Ottawa Devon Storm 5:00
December 7 Taka Michinoku Pin
Springfield Brian Christopher 12:00
November 111 Scott Taylor Pin
Cornwall Eric Shelley 5:27
November 252 Scott Taylor Forf3
Roanoke Brian Christopher
November 24 Brian Christopher Pin
Fayetteville Flash Flanagan 3:30

Notes:
1 This match aired on November 17.
2 These matches aired on December 1.
3 Christopher won by forfeit after Kane chokeslammed Taylor before he made his way to the ring, leaving Taylor unable to compete.

Other on-screen talent

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Commentators
Interviewers
Ring announcer
Referees

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 2: WWF 1990 - 1999. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ASIN B00RWUNSRS.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Historical Cards: D-Generation-X In Your House (December 7, 1997. St. Louis, Missouri)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 154. 2007 Edition.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Keith, Scott (July 28, 2002). "The SmarK Retro Repost – In Your House: D-Generation X". InsidePulse.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Pantoja, Kevin (December 15, 2014). "Random Network reviews: In Your House D-Generation X". 411Mania.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  5. ^ Pantoja, Kevin (2014-12-15). "Random Network Reviews: In Your House D-Generation X". 411mania.com. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  6. ^ Powell, John (December 8, 1997). "A Hart's Revenge". SLAM! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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