WWE In Your House 10: Mind Games Review

The tenth WWF In Your House event was called Mind Games. This show followed SummerSlam 1996, which saw Shawn Michaels retain his WWE Title against Vader while Mankind picked up a huge win by beating The Undertaker.

That would set up Michaels vs. Mankind (Mick Foley) for this PPV for what was the only PPV match in the careers of those two Hall of Famers. Things just never worked out for them to have another match due to early retirements, or not being on the opposite side as faces/heels in their careers. I remember Shawn and Mick were on Edge & Christian’s podcast talking about the match. That’s a good thing to listen to if you want more thoughts on this match.

In Your House 10: Mind Games did 120,000 PPV buys, which was not a good number overall, but it did beat some of the other In Your House events that year. I think there was some interest in the Michaels vs. Mankind main event, but the rest of the card wasn’t that strong. This show took place at the Core States Center in Philadelphia with about 15,000 fans there according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, which meant it had the biggest crowd for an In Your House show at this point.

Looking at the lineup, it was strange that Steve Austin wasn’t in a match on the show (he would appear for a promo) three months after winning King of the Ring. The WWE decision-makers didn’t have much for him at SummerSlam either.

Here’s the synopsis on WWE Network:

“In Your House: Mind Games features The Smokin’ Gunns defending the WWE Tag Team Title vs Owen Hart and British Bulldog. Mark Henry vs Jerry “The King” Lawler. Caribbean Strap Match pits Savio Vega vs Justin Bradshaw. WWE Champion Shawn Michaels defends the championship against Mankind. The Undertaker, Goldust and more!” PG (L,V)

This was originally written in 2020.

WWF In Your House 10: Mind Games
Core States Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
September 22, 1996

There was an opening video package hyping up the big matches on the show like Shawn Michaels defending the WWF Title against Mankind and Goldust facing The Undertaker.

There was some pyro that went off by the entrance with the announce team of Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Mr. Perfect calling the action at ringside.

Savio Vega did a quick interview in English and Spanish about how he’s going to whip the butt of Justin Hawk Bradshaw in the opening match.

Caribbean Strap Match: Justin Hawk Bradshaw (w/Uncle Zebekiah) vs. Savio Vega

Pre-match notes: Justin Hawk Bradshaw was the name of the man that would be just Bradshaw and later John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) while Zebekiah was Dutch Mantel and later Zeb Colter. Bradshaw was the heel while Vegas was a face. The first man to touch all four turnbuckles in a row wins the match.

Bradshaw attacked with a leather strap before Vega could put the strap on his left wrist. Bradshaw with a hard strap smack to the back and then referee Harvey Wippleman put the strap on the left wrist of Vega. They left the ring with Bradshaw choking Vega with the strap until Vega countered by driving Bradshaw’s left shoulder into the ring post. The Sandman from ECW was at ringside and he spit some beer in the face of Vegas. There was also Tommy Dreamer and Paul Heyman with Vince calling them a “local wrestling group” while adding that they won’t shoot this ugly incident that is occurring. The ECW guys posed to the crowd and they left.

Analysis: The random appearance of ECW was part of the WWF slowly working with them more often, but this was done in a way that made it look like the ECW guys weren’t supposed to be there.

Bradshaw touched three of the turnbuckles, but Vega blocked a fourth attempt with a belly to back suplex. Vega got a hold of the strap leading to Vega using the strap to attack Bradshaw in the back repeatedly. Vega touched three of the corners in a row, but Bradshaw pulled on the strap to send him to the mat. Vega with two clotheslines, then he bounced off the ropes and hit a spinning heel kick. Vega touched three turnbuckles, but then Bradshaw puled on the strap again to take him down. Bradshaw with a boot to the face followed by a huge clothesline that would become the Clothesline from Hell later in his career. Bradshaw touched three turnbuckles in a row, Vega touched them after him and Bradshaw pulled Vega into the fourth corner as Vega touched his fourth turnbuckle to win the match at 7:09.

Winner: Savio Vega

Analysis: *1/2 It was a boring match. Vega won in a fluky manner even though Bradshaw dominated most of the match. There’s not that much drama in watching guys touch a turnbuckle and I thought the pacing was so slow that if I wasn’t reviewing it I would have hit fast forward through most of it.

There was a video package about Jose Lothario facing Jim Cornette in a battle of managers although Lothario was a former wrestler. Cornette made a lot of old jokes to try to build this up.

Jim Cornette made his entrance to Vader’s theme song. There was a backstage scene of Razor Ramon and Diesel beating up Savio Vega in the backstage area. Ross was shouting about how he was going to deliver them on Raw. We could not see their faces.

Analysis: That debut was a big disaster and I always felt bad for JR for having to be a part of it.

Cornette did a promo about how Jose Lothario is a legend that taught Shawn Michaels everything he knows, but he’s 105 years old. Jose Lothario made his entrance to the music of Shawn Michaels.

Jose Lothario vs. Jim Cornette

Pre-match notes: Lothario was the babyface manager/mentor of Shawn Michaels while Cornette was a heel manager. Lothario was 62 years old at the time of this match while Cornette was 35 years old. The difference was that Lothario was a former wrestler while Cornette was not a wrestler. Jose died in 2018.

Lothario with a punch with Cornette bumping well to sell it. Lothario sent Cornette into the turnbuckle two times with Cornette doing some comedic bumps. Lothario with a right-handed punch to the face and then a left-handed uppercut with Vince shouting “FUGGETABOUTIT” (forget about it) multiple times as Lothario pinned to win at 0:56.

Winner by pinfall: Jose Lothario

Analysis: DUD Really bad. At least it was short. The best part was when the match was finished. Cornette did some comedic bumps while Lothario’s punches did look decent enough for an older man. I think this would have been better as a segment on Raw instead of putting it on a PPV.

Let’s Hear from Brian Pillman with Owen Hart

Brian Pillman made his entrance as we got a clip from Bret Hart in South Africa where he said that Pillman was a liar for saying that Bret would be in Philadelphia for the pay-per-view. Bret said his brother Owen Hart is a liar too.

Pillman did a promo trashing Philly saying that the birthplace of freedom has become a cesspool of drug abuse, battered women and welfare recipients. Pillman ripped on the degenerates in the crowd with Vince apologizing to the fans. Pillman introduced the King of Harts, Owen Hart, who ran out there with a Slammy Award.

Pillman said that Bret is jealous of Owen, so Owen told “Pill” he thought that everything was great with his brother Bret. Owen claimed that Bret started to accept that Owen was the best Hart, that Bret wasn’t the technical wrestler he was and Bret has admitted Owen was the best there is, was and ever will be. Owen said that Bret claimed that he would be here in the City of Brotherly Love to give a speech…for all of these losers according to Pillman. Owen said he thinks that Bret is not there is because he’s scared. Owen claimed that the reason he is scared is for none other than reason than the 1996 King of the Ring “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

Steve Austin made his entrance in the black leather vest and jeans. Austin said that the whole world knew that Bret wasn’t going to show up. Austin said that Bret is scared of Stone Cold. Austin said that Bret doesn’t qualify to be called a chicken, “he’s the slimy substance that runs out the south end of a chicken.” Ouch.

Austin delivered an all-time classic line after that: “If you put the letter ‘S’ in front of Hitman, you’ve had my exact opinion of Bret Hart.” Love that line! Vince apologized for it even before Austin finished saying it.

Austin said that Bret cares about what these people thought while Stone Cold never gave a rat’s ass about anybody. Austin said if Bret ever comes back, somebody is going to get their ass whipped and “Austin 3:16 says it’s going to be your ass and that’s the bottom line cuz Stone Cold Said So.” Pillman added: “And Philadelphia sucks because I said so.” Vince did some more apologizing.

Analysis: These were three of my favorite wrestlers in the WWF at the time, so it was cool to see them in a segment together. Austin’s line “s in front of Hitman” line is legendary and I think he said it a few times in the rivalry, but it worked so well. The way they built up to Austin vs. Bret at Survivor Series 1996 was great because you had Austin as a star on the rise (after winning King of the Ring) calling out one of the biggest names in the company, so fans wanted to see what would happen when they had a match. That match at Survivor Series 1996 was legendary and the fact that Austin was doing promos like this helped build to it.

There were clips of Mark Henry, who was a rookie at this point, looking at some famous sights in Philadelphia.

Owen Hart went to the back to make his entrance again with tag team partner British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, who was going with the Bulldog name at this point. They were managed by Jim Cornette, who was in the first aid room getting tended to by a physician. Lawyer Clarence Mason was there to get Cornette to sign something.

The Smoking Gunns made their entrance as the Tag Team Champions with the lovely Sunny, who was walking with Billy and Bart was yelling at Billy to be more focused instead of constantly staring at Sunny. The Sunny poster above the ring was edited to make her look ugly.

WWF Tag Team Championships: The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart Gunn) (w/Sunny) vs. British Bulldog and Owen Hart

Pre-match notes: The Smoking Gunns were the champions that were more heel-like than faces. They were announced as brothers, but they were not really related. Even though Sunny was a heel, she was a popular figure with the crowd since she was 23 years old at the time of the match and gorgeous. Bulldog and Owen were heels as well as brothers in law since Bulldog was married to Owen’s sister Diana at the time.

The bell rang with Billy getting a rollup on Owen while Clarence Mason joined the heel team at ringside. Owen was aggressive with two hiptosses and a flying cross body block for two. Owen got an inside cradle for two. Bart with a body slam on Owen, the elbow drop missed and Bulldog tagged in with Bart hitting a shoulder tackle. Bulldog got a rollup followed by a dropkick and an armdrag. Owen was back in with a chop block to the back of the left leg of Bart. There were quick tags from Owen and Bulldog as they worked over the left leg of Bart with Owen jumping on the leg leading to a “FUGGETABOUTIT” call from Vince. Owen slapped on a Boston Crab submission, but Bart got his hand on the bottom rope. Bulldog hit his patented delayed vertical suplex followed by a leg drop for two with Billy breaking up the pin. Owen went in legally with a spinning leg lock, Bart got a two count and Owen hit an enziguri kick to the head. When Bulldog ran the ropes, Billy got in a cheap shot, Bart punched Bulldog and Billy attacked Bulldog on the floor. Billy whipped Bulldog into the steel steps. The champs made some quick tags with Billy hitting a corner splash on Bulldog. Bart held Bulldog on the side and Billy jumped off the top with a leg drop into a slam. Mason distracted the referee, so Owen jumped off the top with a double axehandle to Billy’s head and Bulldog covered with one arm for a two count. Good nearfall there. There were more double team moves by the Gunns as Billy stepped onto the face of Bulldog to keep him down. Bart picked up Bulldog on his shoulder teasing a powerslam, but Bart was distracted by Billy talking to Sunny, so Bulldog pushed Bart into Billy on the apron. Billy shoved Bart right into a powerslam by Bulldog and it looked like Billy tagged in, but it was not acknowledged. Bulldog covered Bart to win for his team, Billy went into the ring where he was met with a spinning heel kick from Owen and Bulldog’s cover was good for the win at 10:59.

Winners by pinfall AND NEW WWF Tag Team Champions: British Bulldog and Owen Hart

Analysis: **1/2 It was just an average tag team match. The story that Billy was enamored with Sunny ended up costing the team while Owen and Bulldog made for a talented championship team. There were a couple of good nearfalls in the match, but parts of it were slow and boring too. I thought the finish was booked well with Owen and Bulldog working together to win while the Gunns had a problem that cost them the win. Easy story to follow.

After the match, Sunny did a promo saying she gave her time to them, she gave her money to them, she gave “everything” to them and she thought they could be champions that could really be winners. Sunny called them “no-good cowboy wannabes” and she has had it. Sunny fired them and left. She ran to the back.

Analysis: That was the end of that grouping. It didn’t last that long anyway. A decent promo from Sunny there. She had good talking skills.

There was a Paul Bearer interview with Kevin Kelly on behalf of Mankind. Bearer said that Mankind will be the WWF Champion. Mankind said that Uncle Paul told him it was his destiny to hear Shawn Michaels scream and for Mankind to cuddle that Heavyweight Title. After that, we’ll all have a nice day.

Jerry “The King” Lawler made his entrance doing his usual heelish insults about his opponent Mark Henry. The introduction of Mark Henry was next with a generic theme song.

Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Mark Henry

Pre-match notes: Lawler was the heel while Henry was the face. Henry was signed to a deal with WWE earlier in the year. It was Henry’s first televised match. Lawler was a part-time wrestler/announcer at this point in his long career.

Henry applied a wrist lock and shoved Lawler to the mat as fans chanted “Burger King” at Lawler. Lawler went for an armbar, but then Henry shoved Lawler into the turnbuckle. Henry with a press slam. They did a closeup of Henry’s legs so Vince could get excited about how big his legs are. Yes, they really did that. Lawler ran the ropes, Henry sidestepped him and Henry sent Lawler between the top/middle rope to the floor with Lawler’s back hitting the barricade. Nice bump by Lawler. Lawler put some object in his right hand (without the referee seeing it), then he punched Henry twice and Lawler was in control. Henry no sold punches, then Henry with two knees to the ribs and some weak looking chops to the top of the head. Henry had Lawler on his shoulder in a backbreaker submission with Lawler giving up to give Henry the submission win at 5:13.

Winner by pinfall: Mark Henry

Analysis: 1/4* A short match to put over Henry in his debut. A few nice bumps by Lawler saves it from being a negative star match. Henry was very green at this early stage in his career, so they didn’t do very much while Lawler did a fine job of the comedic selling routine.

After the match, Leif Cassidy (Al Snow) went after Henry, but Henry threw him out of the ring. Marty Jannetty showed up as well with Henry sending him out of the ring also. Hunter Hearst Helmsley went after Henry with punches, but Henry caught him and press slammed Hunter over the top onto the New Rockers on the floor. Vince was screaming in excitement: “Unbelievable.” Vince continued to put over Henry as replayed shows of what happened. The fans loved it. They even had some pyro go off for Henry’s win.

Analysis: That was effective in terms of showing off the power of Henry. I’m surprised the fans popped as much as they did, which shows that the booking worked.

It was announced that The Undertaker vs. Mankind will take place in a Buried Alive match at the next In Your House event that was called Buried Alive. Imagine that.

There was a video about The Undertaker facing Goldust while mentioning that they are both masters of the mind games.

Goldust made his entrance first with the lovely Marlena, who was his wife at the time and many of you would know her as Terri for most of her run. The Undertaker was up next doing his slow walking entrance.

Final Curtain Match: The Undertaker vs. Goldust (w/Marlena)

Pre-match notes: The Undertaker was the face while Goldust was the heel. The only way to win the match is by pinfall. No disqualifications or countouts.

The Undertaker was very aggressive early with punches, then a double choke and a leg drop as Goldust went out of the ring. Goldust with a neckbreaker on the ropes, so Marlena slapped Taker. Goldust with a swinging neckbreaker, but Taker sat up. Taker with an uppercut punch leading to the FUGGETABOUTIT by Vince (for the second time this match), Taker hit a boot to the face and a suplex for two. Taker did the rope walking routine leading to the jumping forearm to the back. Taker tossed Goldust over the top to the floor, which led to Marlena giving her purse to Goldust, so Goldust grabbed something from it. Marlena to the apron, Taker lifted her up and put her down. Goldust threw some gold dust (I guess you could call it that as Mr. Perfect did) with Taker selling it like he couldn’t see. They went to the floor with Goldust working over Taker by the ring post. Goldust sent Taker face first into the announce table. The referee Tim White was counting while Undertaker left the ring, so somebody didn’t tell him the rules. Goldust did some eye-gouging while the referee counted to five, but if there’s no DQ then why is he counting? No idea. Undertaker countered some Goldust offense with a belly to back suplex. Goldust hit a suplex for two as fans chanted “Rest in Peace” as if it’s a good thing for children to chant something like that. Marlena was looking amazing at ringside. Goldust told the referee to look away, so he looked at Marlena and Goldust did a low blow kick that the announcers seemed to miss. Goldust whipped Taker into the turnbuckle. Taker came back with rapid punches to the body along with an uppercut. Goldust managed to hit a powerslam for two that led to Taker sitting back up. They both ran the ropes with Taker hitting a clothesline while Goldust got a bit of a clothesline himself. Goldust with a boot to the face, Goldust went to the turnbuckle and Taker hit a Chokeslam off the middle ropes into the center of the ring. Taker picked up Goldust, faced the hard camera like the good independent contractor he is and Taker hit the Tombstone. Vince made the call: “One…two…yes.” That’s it at 10:23. The fans popped big for it.

Winner by pinfall: The Undertaker

Analysis: ** A clean and dominant win for Undertaker as you would expect in a match like this. Even though it was a no disqualification, no countout match, they didn’t use weapons very much and Goldust still felt the need to cheat without the referee seeing it. The refereeing was strange with Tim White doing things like countouts and other things that shouldn’t have happened in a match with those stipulations. Undertaker sold for a few minutes after the gold dust to the eyes and made the predictable comeback to win.

Post match, Goldust left with Marlena while Undertaker did some in-ring posing much to the delight of the fans.

Shawn Michaels was interviewed in the backstage area by Kevin Kelly. Michaels joked about how there wasn’t much in his head, so you can’t really play mind games in his head. Michaels said he doesn’t know how he’ll deal with Mankind, but he’ll think on the job when they have the match. Vince said it sounded like Shawn was nervous.

There was a casket that was brought down to the ringside area. Mankind was led to the ring by manager Paul Bearer with Mankind popping out of the casket that was brought down to the ring.

Shawn Michaels got a big pop as the WWF Champion joined by mentor Jose Lothario. Vince was screaming about the roar of the crowd, he called Shawn the most flamboyant WWF superstar in history and there was a lot of pyro as part of the entrance.

WWF Championship: Shawn Michaels (w/Jose Lothario) vs. Mankind (w/Paul Bearer)

Pre-match notes: Shawn Michaels was the babyface champion while Mankind was the heel challenger. As mentioned earlier, this was their only one on one match on PPV.

Mankind with a back elbow, then punches and a back body drop. Mankind with the cactus clothesline that sent Shawn over the top to the floor with Mankind going with him. Mankind kicked Shawn into the barricade. Mankind pulled up the mat, Shawn dropkicked him down and stomped on the mat with Mankind under it. Shawn hit a cross body block off the turnbuckle onto Mankind on the floor. Shawn slammed the back of Mankind’s head into floor that was exposed. Back in the ring, Shawn hit a double axehandle, then punches to the face and a running clothesline. Shawn with a body slam followed by the elbow drop off the top rope. Mankind left the ring to avoid a superkick attempt. Shawn was sent into the ropes, Mankind didn’t go with him and Shawn was mad about something so he said “come on” to him. (I have read/interviews with both guys saying that was a planned spot idea from Mankind since he knew Shawn was legit mad at a mistake at SummerSlam.) They got into a bit of a slugfest as they exchange punches and Shawn managed to block the Mandible Claw attempt. A hard right hand by Mankind knocked Shawn down and then Shawn was sent out of the ring. Mankind pulled the Spanish announce table near the ring, but then Shawn took him down with a dive. Shawn with a suplex that sent Mankind’s knees into the steel steps. Mick Foley is crazy for willingly taking bumps like that. Back in the ring, Shawn with a chop block to the back of the left knee. Shawn drove the left knee into the top of the casket. Shawn shoved the referee after he admonished him with JR saying that wasn’t a smart move. Mankind with a back elbow, then punches, but Shawn caught the leg and wrenched Mankind down. Shawn slapped on the Figure Four Leglock submission with Mankind punching his way out of that. Shawn off the ropes with a dropkick to the left knee leading to Shawn hitting a knee drop on the left knee. Shawn slapped on a single leg crab submission with Mankind getting to the ropes to break the hold. Shawn with a sunset flip that Vince called “WHAT A MANEUVER” for two as Mankind followed by with a stun gun where he sent Shawn throat first into the top rope. Mankind struck his own knee repeatedly to fight off the pain. Mankind sending Shawn face first into the casket.

They were back in the ring with Mankind hitting a running knee to the face. Mankind sent Shawn face first into the mat two times. Shawn came back with a belly to back suplex. Shawn avoided a move off the ropes leading to a trip. Mankind sent Shawn into the turnbuckle, so Shawn was tied up into the ropes and Mankind hit two running elbow drops. Mankind with a leg drop to the head along with a kick that sent Shawn bumping over the top to the floor. Mankind charged on the floor, Shawn moved and Mankind went knee first into the steps. Shawn with a drop toe hold that sent Mankind face first into the steps. They battled on the apron, Shawn moved and Mankind went running into the steel connected to the turnbuckle. Shawn hit a powerslam for two. Shawn with a whip into the ropes with Mankind trapping himself between the top two ropes. Mankind was still able to slap on the Mandible Claw, but Shawn knocked him down with Mankind bumping to the floor. Mankind went for the Mandible Claw again with Shaw whipping him into the barricade. The referee was distracted by Bearer, so Shawn hit multiple chair shots including a chair to the left knee and right hand. Shawn worked over the right hand of Mankind to try to take away the Mandible Claw hold. Shawn stomped on the right hand three times. Bearer: “Not your hand!” Paul rules. Shawn charged and Mankind gave him a back body drop over the top to the floor. Mankind with the elbow drop off the apron onto Shawn on the floor. Mankind went back into the ring to break the count, then he left the ring and hit a neckbreaker on the floor.

Mankind with a leg drop to the back of the neck when Shawn was by the ropes. Mankind hit a double arm DDT to earn a “FUGGETABOUTIT” call from Vince and that got a two count. Mankind hit a pulling piledriver for three more two counts. Mankind brought two chairs into the ring, referee Earl Hebner got rid of them and Bearer opened the casket. Vince: “It’s not a casket match!” True. Shawn fought back with punches along with a running forearm and a kip up with the fans going crazy for him. Shawn with a body slam, then up top and Shawn got a cross body block onto a standing Mankind for two. Shawn went up top, Mankind bounced off the ropes to crotch him and Mankind went to the apron while Shawn was on the turnbuckle. That led to a big spot with Mankind going for a suplex off the turnbuckle, but Michaels turned it and landed on top of Mankind as they went crashing through a table. The referee Earl Hebner checked on the wrestlers as Vince McMahon stood there talking to Earl as if he was instructing something. The replay showed that Mankind took the majority of that bump, but they were still crazy. Mankind grabbed a chair on the ropes, Shawn jumped off another chair and kicked him in the face with the chair. Shawn went for a cover very slowly, Vader was late getting in the ring, Mankind kicked out and Shawn punched Vader, so that was the DQ due to Vader showing up. It went 26:25.

Winner by disqualification: Shawn Michaels

Analysis: ****3/4 It’s an awesome match that is arguably the best match in WWE history that doesn’t have a clean ending (the other one that comes to mind is Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin at SummerSlam 2001). That finish was confusing and disappointing because the run-ins didn’t really build to anything long term, but you can’t ignore the awesome work for 26 minutes leading up to it. Shawn and Mankind worked so well together, they both took crazy bumps, I loved the psychology of Shawn attacking the right hand to avoid the Mandible Claw, yet Mankind kept on finding different ways to try to win. That spot they did where they went off the turnbuckle and back first through the table looked brutal because it’s the worst way to take a bump like that. When you’re both falling backward, there’s more of a margin for error, but thankfully both guys got out of this unscathed. There weren’t that many nearfall attempts in a match as long as this one and I know Mankind/Foley has said that was by design to try to put over the idea that they were out there to hurt eachother before going for pin attempts. I liked how it was paced for nearly 30 minutes too. It didn’t feel long. It left me wanting more, yet sadly this was their only PPV singles match. I think they should have come up with a better finish and if that happened then I might go five stars for it. It’s still one of my favorite matches in the careers of both men.

There were still about nine minutes left in the show as Michaels hit Vader with a running forearm to knock him out of the ring. That led to Paul Bearer hitting Michaels in the back of the head with the urn. Sid ran out to the ringside to go after Vader with punches and they went brawling to the back. Bearer held up the urn, so Mankind got back up and put the Mandible Claw on Michaels on the mat with Shawn selling it like he was knocked out by it. Mankind called for the casket to open and The Undertaker was there! Huge pop for that.

The Undertaker got out of the casket and shoved Mankind over the top to the floor. The fans were going crazy with JR saying he didn’t believe what we were seeing. Vince: “You talk about mind games! We’ve seen it all here tonight!” Undertaker slowly walked to the back after Mankind.

Analysis: That pop for Undertaker was huge. It was a nice surprise to see him in the casket as payback for Mankind and Bearer beating Undertaker SummerSlam one week earlier. They went on to headline the next PPV as well.

Michaels was announced as still the WWF Champion as he celebrated with the title. The fans applauded the champion as Michaels did his posing for the crowd. Michaels greeted the fans at ringside as well. When Shawn got to Vince, the boss said: “Unbelievable!” Vince kept on putting over Shawn in a big way calling him the most charismatic champion ever. They showed replays, Michaels continued to celebrate and that was it.

There was a video recapping the event.

Analysis: It was an uneventful final five minutes with Michaels just doing his celebration. They probably could have given the match a few more minutes if that’s all they decided to do after the match.

This event had a runtime of 1:55:19 on WWE Network.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Show rating (out of 10): 4.5

I think Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind is arguably the best match in WWE history without a proper finish. I will never get sick of it. They did a tremendous job in that match and it was very entertaining from start to finish. I just wish the rest of the card had some other things that left me entertained. The undercard is mostly terrible here although Steve Austin had some good lines in his promo. Bulldog and Owen winning the Tag Team Titles made me happy, though, so that’s a good thing at least.

I would recommend watching Shawn vs. Mankind if you’ve never seen it. Feel free to skip the rest.

FIVE STARS

1. Shawn Michaels
2. Mankind
3. Owen Hart/British Bulldog
4. The Undertaker
5. Steve Austin

OPINIONS

Best Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (****3/4)

Worst Match: Jose Lothario vs. Jim Cornette (DUD)

Most Memorable Moment: When Mankind gave Shawn Michaels a belly to back suplex off the turnbuckle onto a table on the floor with Shawn reversing it to land on top. Ouch.

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That’s all for me. Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here. Thanks for reading.

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John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter @johnreport