In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks - Background

Background

The most prominent feud heading into the pay-per-view was between then-WWF Champion Diesel and his storyline rival Sycho Sid. Despite the feud surrounding the main championship in the WWF, it had less airtime than some of the undercard feuds, with more time being devoted to other angles on the show. During the feud, Ted DiBiase acted as Sid's manager, accompanying him to the ring for his matches. At the first In Your House pay-per-view on May 14, 1995, Diesel successfully retained the WWF Championship defeating Sid via disqualification after Tatanka (Chris Chavis) interfered, attacking Diesel in the process. Tatanka's interference set up a tag team match for the King of the Ring pay-per-view in late June, with Tatanka and Sid booked as "heels" to face Diesel and Bam Bam Bigelow, who were portrayed as "faces". Diesel and Bigelow won the contest after Diesel performed an elbow drop. It was announced on the June 26, 1995 episode of Raw that a match between Diesel and Sid was booked for the second In Your House pay-per-view, with Diesel defending his WWF Championship in a Lumberjack match. In the weeks leading up to their match, commentator Vince McMahon conducted interviews with both Diesel and Sid. On the July 10 episode of Raw, McMahon conducted an in-ring interview with Sid. DiBiase (Sid's manager) brought out the fourteen lumberjacks that were scheduled to be at ringside for the title match. The following week on Raw, Diesel brought his lumberjacks to the ring, leading to a staredown with Sid moments later.

At around the same time, WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett and his personal enforcer The Roadie were embroiled in a feud against the 1–2–3 Kid and Shawn Michaels. During the feud, Jarrett and The Roadie were portrayed as "heels" with the 1–2–3 Kid and Michaels portrayed as "faces". At the first In Your House pay-per-view, the 1–2–3 Kid was scheduled to participate alongside Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) against Jarrett and The Roadie in tag team action, but the 1–2–3 Kid suffered a legit neck injury during a house show match with The Roadie, and thus was unable to participate in the match. As a result, the match was changed to a two-on-one Handicap match, with Ramon facing Jarrett and The Roadie. Ramon won the bout after performing the Razor's Edge. After the match, an unknown man, portraying a "face" role, attacked both Jarrett and The Roadie before being escorted backstage. The man, later revealed to be Savio Vega, faced Jarrett on the June 26, 1995 episode of Raw for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Halfway through the contest, The Roadie pushed Vega onto Michaels (who was commentating the match-up), who in turn shoved The Roadie back away. Vega looked set to win the bout with a roll-up, but The Roadie interfered, breaking up the pinfall attempt and causing a disqualification. After the bout, Vega and Michaels attacked both Jarrett and The Roadie as the show went off the air. Jarrett attempted to return to the ring shortly after the broadcast went off the air, but Michaels Superkicked Jarrett. Away from his WWF Intercontinental Championship rivalry, Jarrett was focusing more on his music career. On the July 1, 1995 episode of Superstars of Wrestling, Jarrett's music video, "With My Baby Tonight", premiered for the first time. The music video played over again at forthcoming WWF shows during July 1995.

One of the angles heading into In Your House 2 surrounded "heel" wrestlers Mabel and Mo, known collectively as Men on a Mission. Mabel became King of the Ring at the King of the Ring pay-per-view, defeating "face" superstar Savio Vega in the final. After the match, Men on a Mission assaulted Razor Ramon, who was at ringside supporting Vega during the match. During the attack, the 1–2–3 Kid returned, running-in to try and help Ramon. Men on a Mission, however, continued to have the upper hand, as they assaulted the 1–2–3 Kid and Ramon. The assault on Ramon further injured his ribs after suffering an injury on June 9, 1995. As part of his King of the Ring victory, the Mabel character received a push from the WWF creative team, resulting in a WWF Championship match at the SummerSlam pay-per-view. The attack by Men on a Mission at King of the Ring led to a tag team match being made for the second In Your House pay-per-view, with Ramon and Vega teaming up to take on Men on a Mission. As part of their gimmick, Mabel and Mo were renamed to King Mabel and Sir Mo, respectively, with Mabel being carried to the ring on a throne for his matches. Mable was put over by other superstars, as he competed in squash matches in which he would beat his opponent in a short space of time. On the June 26, 1995 episode of Raw, Mabel began his reign as King, defeating Kenny Kendall with a belly to belly suplex. Collectively, Mabel and Mo also competed as a tag team, and on the July 8, 1995 episode of Superstars of Wrestling, the two defeated The Smoking Gunns – composed of Billy and Bart Gunn – with Mabel pinning Billy to get the victory.

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