In Your House 3 (1995): Bret Hart Gets His Jacket Back, Then the WWF Takes the Tag Titles Back

Waylon Mercy is far more interesting before the bell than after it. Dan Spivey's unsettling smile, Hawaiian shirt and false politeness create a character that feels unlike most WWF heels of the period, but his body is no longer capable of matching the imagination of the presentation. Savio Vega supplies movement early and late, while Mercy controls long stretches with deliberately slow offense that quickly quiets the crowd.

The match does improve when Vega begins stringing together kicks and quicker counters, and the spinning heel kick gives the opener a clean finish at just over seven minutes. Mercy's sleeper work fits the character but takes too much oxygen from a match that needs urgency. D+ / 5.0 reflects an intriguing gimmick attached to wrestling that never becomes equally interesting.

The historical value is larger than the match quality because Mercy makes his only WWF pay-per-view appearance here. The character's influence becomes easier to appreciate decades later, particularly through Bray Wyatt, but that does not retroactively turn the bout into a hidden gem. The idea survives far better than the seven minutes of wrestling.

Sid and Henry Godwinn are given a simple power match built around Godwinn's injured back and Ted DiBiase's interference. Godwinn sells the back consistently enough to give Sid's basic offense a target, but the pace remains slow and the crowd rarely sounds invested in the result. Sid's presence carries more star power than the wrestling creates on its own.

DiBiase twice interferes from ringside before Sid lands the Powerbomb for the win, making the finish easy to understand but equally easy to forget. The audience becomes much louder after the bell when the slop bucket finally reaches DiBiase, which is an unfortunate review of the match that just happened. D / 4.6 gives credit to Godwinn's selling and Sid's aura while recognizing that almost nothing between the bells rewards a replay.

The match does at least maintain Sid as a protected heel and keeps the Million Dollar Corporation involved in another program. That usefulness belongs more to the larger television story than to the pay-per-view performance. In Your House 3 does not truly begin improving until this match is over.

British Bulldog and Bam Bam Bigelow have enough athleticism for their size that the match repeatedly threatens to become better than average. Bigelow bumps hard to the floor, Bulldog attacks the left leg with a more methodical heel approach, and both men use the top rope often enough to keep the twelve minutes visually active. The problem is that the middle portion spends too long on holds that never become important to the finish.

Bigelow's moonsault miss creates the largest opening, and Bulldog eventually wins with the running powerslam after another strong burst of offense. The result is exactly right because Bulldog has recently turned heel and is moving toward a WWF Championship match with Diesel. Bigelow remains credible because he forces Bulldog to work rather than simply serving as an opponent.

C / 6.2 reflects a respectable heavyweight match with several good ideas and no real urgency. The match matters more for positioning Bulldog than for giving Bigelow another major story after WrestleMania. It also becomes historically stranger because Bulldog will return later that same night as Yokozuna's emergency partner in the Triple Header.

Razor Ramon and Dean Douglas give the event its first match that feels consistently competitive. Razor works the arm early, Douglas attacks the back after sending Razor to the floor, and the match gradually becomes less about the schoolteacher gimmick and more about Shane Douglas being allowed to wrestle an established upper-card opponent. That change is welcome because Douglas looks more credible whenever the character stops explaining itself.

The 1-2-3 Kid becomes the decisive complication. Razor hits the Razor's Edge after the referee goes down, Kid runs in and counts what would have been the pin, and Razor reacts by shoving him away instead of accepting the help. Douglas then rolls Razor up with the tights, giving the heel a significant victory while protecting Razor and pushing the friendship with Kid closer to collapse.

C+ / 6.8 reflects a solid match with a useful finish rather than a major in-ring achievement. The final minutes are much stronger than the slower opening, and Razor's credibility gives Douglas the best victory of his WWF run to this point. The post-match slap exchange between Razor and Kid may ultimately matter more than Douglas winning.

Bret Hart and Jean-Pierre Lafitte take a feud over a stolen jacket and wrestle as if the jacket contains the family deed. Bret dives through the ropes before the match can settle, Lafitte answers with power and athleticism, and the pace remains unusually aggressive for a 1995 WWF singles match. The premise works because neither man spends sixteen minutes apologizing for it. Bret wants his jacket and his pride back, while Lafitte wrestles like stealing the jacket was merely the first insult.

Lafitte's performance is the revelation. He lands a huge top-rope leg drop, uses a rolling senton, catches Bret in power counters and throws himself toward the floor with a spectacular somersault dive that ends badly when Bret moves. Those risks make every Bret comeback feel earned. Bret responds with his familiar precision but alters enough transitions that the match never feels like a standard Hitman formula applied to a temporary opponent.

The finish is especially good. After both men survive several nearfalls and failed aerial attacks, Bret catches the Sharpshooter while they are still tangled on the mat, turns Lafitte over and stands into the full submission. Lafitte taps, Bret gets the jacket back, and the entire feud ends with the simplest possible visual. A- / 8.8 is deserved because the match elevates both the silly story and the wrestler asked to lose it.

This is also the clearest reason to revisit In Your House 3 today. Bret could make almost any opponent look credible, but Lafitte is doing far more than being carried; he contributes danger, variety and commitment throughout. The tragedy is that WWF never finds another stage this large for him to repeat it.

The Triple Header is much better as a wrestling match than its reputation as a booking trick might suggest. Shawn Michaels and British Bulldog establish the pace, Diesel is used in shorter power bursts that suit him, and Yokozuna's size gives the babyfaces a problem large enough to justify the championship stakes. Whenever Michaels is involved, the match immediately becomes faster and the Saginaw crowd becomes louder.

The best section arrives near the finish. Michaels superkicks Yokozuna out of the ring, Bulldog hits Diesel with the running powerslam, and Michaels saves the WWF Champion with a flying elbow from the top rope. Owen Hart then appears, jumps into the action and is caught by Diesel, who punches him and hits the Jackknife Powerbomb for the pin. The crowd erupts because the show has spent nearly two hours promising that somebody will lose a championship.

The technical problem is obvious before the celebration even ends: Owen was not an official participant in the match. WWF nevertheless presents Diesel and Michaels as the new Tag Team Champions, gives them the belts and closes on the image of the two babyfaces holding every active championship. The next night's reversal confirms that the finish was never as clean as the celebration suggested.

B- / 7.2 gives the wrestling credit without pretending the finish is harmless. Michaels is excellent, Bulldog works hard despite wrestling earlier, Diesel is effective in the tag format and Yokozuna contributes enough size-based drama despite visible fatigue. The match is entertaining; the championship resolution is not. Those two truths have to coexist when grading the event's most famous attraction.