It’s July 1997 and the Hart Foundation are heels in WWE…or are they? By this time, WWE started to do more PPVs in addition to its big four seasonal events. Yes, the In Your House series of shows often gave you bouts that could’ve been on the major show. July 6, 1997, was the date of one of the company’s greatest PPVs…WWF In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede.
The Blue Blood vs. The Demented One
There was a lot of build-up for three of the matches on the show. First, you had the career-long beef between Youngster Triple H and Cactus Jack in Brown. Triple H took the finals at that year’s King of the Ring tournament. His opponent in the finals was Mankind who really gave him a hard fight.
I love a brawl and when these two are put in the ring against each other, they really go at it. After that match, their feud pretty much continued afterward. Their match at WWF In Your House 16 was a condensed version of their King of the Ring bout but it was still good even with a draw.
As I said, Foley and Triple H work extremely well together.
In Your House 16: Michinoku in Canada
This was a bout that really had no story going in is The Great Sasuke against TAKA Michinoku. All these two needed was ten minutes to deliver a solid match. They had faced off multiple times in multiple combinations in Japan. TAKA’s stock even rose as a result of his feud with The Great Sasuke.
They definitely had that familiarity with each other.
Is It Vader Time? I Believe It Is!
Undertaker had been feuding with Vader throughout the year as well. I believe they worked well together. Well enough to deliver on a decent match on In Your House 16. While a major feud in WWE at the time, this particular match did a great job of cooling things down in time for the main event.
As far as if it was exciting or action-packed: it was a throwaway WWE World Title defense for Taker but the action was solid. This match and the TAKA vs. Sasuke match could’ve easily been on RAW but it wasn’t a bad bout by any means.
USA vs. Canada: Live On PPV!
The main event was awesome! Our main storyline here was Austin vs. Hart. You had the face team of Austin, Goldust, Shamrock, and the Legion of Doom treated like heels. When the heel Hart Foundation came out afterward, they got an insane pop in Calgary!
The fans weren’t having it from Team WWE at all. This bout wasn’t all fan reaction, though. The action was also awesome. Shamrock would probably be something of the weak link here. He has the year of experience like the others but most of his in-ring experience before returning to professional wrestling was in shoot-style promotions. Totally different approaches to matches there.
However, Shamrock held his own in the match. He didn’t look out of place at all here. Everyone else had their boots on to wrestle and wrestle they did. Dope match.
Verdict for WWF In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede
When you have a four-match show and charge $20, at least three of the matches have to be good at minimum. You can probably slide with one decent match. In Your House 16 hit those base requirements, featured a strong opener, and an aggressively strong main event!
