In Your House 11: Buried Alive
In Your House 11: Buried Alive was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on October 20, 1996 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the eleventh In Your House event and comprised five matches shown on pay-per-view as well as three matches held solely for the audience in the arena. The main event was the first Buried Alive match, between The Undertaker and Mankind. On the undercard Sid faced Vader in a match to determine the #1 contender for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and Marc Mero defended the Intercontinental Championship against Goldust. This was the first WWF pay-per-view in which the active World Heavyweight Champion did not compete on-air on the show.
| In Your House 11: Buried Alive | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Federation | ||
| Date | October 20, 1996[1] | ||
| City | Indianapolis, Indiana[1] | ||
| Venue | Market Square Arena[1] | ||
| Attendance | 9,649[1] | ||
| Tagline(s) | Deadman's Paradise Dead or Alive! | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
| |||
| In Your House chronology | |||
| |||
With the launch of the WWE Network in 2014 this show became available on demand, but did not include the three dark matches. However the Shawn Michaels vs. Goldust match was included in the Attitude Era Unreleased DVD and Blu-ray release in 2017.
Storylines
In Your House 11: Buried Alive comprised professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines that played out on Monday Night Raw and other World Wrestling Federation (WWF) television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated in a wrestling match.[2]
The focal point of the event was the feud between The Undertaker and Mankind, that had been evolving since the summer of 1996 when the Undertaker's manager Paul Bearer turned on him and joined forces with Mankind. The two had already fought each other in a Boiler Room Brawl at the 1996 SummerSlam, during which Bearer sided with Mankind.[3] In order to settle the storyline between the two the "Buried Alive match" was devised, playing off the characters of both the Undertaker and Paul Bearer as the only way to win the match was to throw their opponent into an open grave and then shovel soil on the grave.
Event
During the event, Jim Ross, who was in the middle of a storyline where he turned heel as a commentator, grew increasingly irritated as his headset went through notable legitimate technical difficulties throughout the event. Several times he would comment that the WWF was trying to keep him from voicing his opinions, all of which was part of the storyline.
Also notable is the debut of Stone Cold Steve Austin's "Hell Frozen Over" music, featuring the infamous shattered glass at the beginning. The shattered glass at the beginning along with the tune that originated from "Hell Frozen Over" would become part of Austin's character for the rest of his career. The production theme song for In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker was the bumper theme for the event
Aftermath
The Undertaker would later "return from the grave" following the supposed burial at In Your House, and continue his storyline against Mankind and Paul Bearer, including a match at the subsequent In Your House show where he defeated the Executioner in an Armageddon Rules match.[4] The feud with Mankind continued off and on for several years, including a very high-profile Hell in a Cell at the 1998 King of the Ring.[5]
Owing to his victory over Vader, Sid earned a match against WWF World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels in the main event of the 1996 Survivor Series, in which Sid won his first WWF World Heavyweight Championship.[6]
Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | The Stalker defeated Justin Bradshaw (with Uncle Zebekiah) | Singles match | 20:00[1] |
| 2 | Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley | Singles match | 15:30[1] |
| 3 | Owen Hart and the British Bulldog (c) (with Clarence Mason) defeated The Smoking Gunns (Bart Gunn and Billy Gunn) | Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship | 9:17[1] |
| 4 | Marc Mero (c) (with Sable) defeated Goldust (with Marlena) | Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship | 11:38[1] |
| 5 | Sycho Sid (with Shawn Michaels) defeated Vader (with Jim Cornette) | Singles match to determine the #1 contender to the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series | 8:00[1] |
| 6 | The Undertaker defeated Mankind (with Paul Bearer) | Buried Alive match | 18:25[1] |
| 7D | The Godwinns (Henry O. Godwinn and Phineas I. Godwinn) defeated The New Rockers (Leif Cassidy and Marty Jannetty) | Tag team match | 6:00 |
| 8D | Shawn Michaels (c) (with Jose Lothario) defeated Goldust (with Marlena) | Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship | 13:35 |
| |||
Other on-screen personnel
|
|
References
- "Historical Cards: In Your House 11 (October 20, 1996. Indianapolis, Indiana)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 151. 2007 Edition.
- "Live & Televised Entertainment of World Wrestling Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
- "Survivor Series (1996)". Pro Wrestling History. November 17, 1996. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- "Historical Cards: In Your House 12 (December 15, 1996. West Palm Beach, Florida)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 151. 2007 Edition.
- Powell, John (June 29, 1998). "Kane wins WWF World Title, Foley soars". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
- "WWE Championship Match: Sid def. Shawn Michaels to become new WWE Champion". World Wrestling Entertainment. November 17, 1996. Retrieved January 4, 2011.