In Your House 1 - Background

Background

The pay-per-view was the first ever under the In Your House banner, which signaled the beginning of the WWF's monthly pay-per-views. The In Your House pay-per-views were promoted at $14.95, which was cheaper than WWF's other pay-per-views, in an effort to garner mainstream exposure for the WWF after several years out of the spotlight.

The most prominent rivalry heading into the pay-per-view was between then-WWF Champion Diesel and his storyline rival Sycho Sid. At the previous pay-per-view, WrestleMania XI, Diesel defeated Shawn Michaels to retain the WWF Championship, partly due a an interference by Michaels' bodyguard Sid backfiring. The following night, Michaels announced that for a potential rematch, he would give Sid the night off, causing the bodyguard to turn on Michaels by powerbombing him three times. Diesel eventually came out to help Michaels. Michaels was legitely injured, and this sidelined him for six weeks, effectively shelving plans for a rematch between Diesel and Michaels. Diesel was then scheduled to defend his title against Bam Bam Bigelow, a member of the Million Dollar Corporation stable, after a staged confrontation between the two on the April 16, 1995 episode of Action Zone, a secondary television program for the WWF. On the same day, on Wrestling Challenge, another secondary television program, in a segment featuring the Corporation, Bigelow was noticeably snubbed, signaling a turn. It was announced over the weekend of April 16 that Sid and Diesel would face each other at In Your House, where Sid could potentially face Diesel for the WWF Championship, depending on whether he retained or lost his title against Bigelow. On the April 24 episode of Raw, Sid stated he was unhappy about this stipulation, as it meant that if Bigelow won, Sid would not get a shot at the title. Diesel retained the title when the Corporation turned on Bigelow, with Tatanka tripping Bigelow as he ran off the ropes. Diesel hit Bigelow with a big boot and executed a powerbomb for the win. After the contest, Bigelow was insulted by Ted DiBiase and attacked by the Corporation. Diesel, who had gone back to the locker room, came to Bigelow's aid. In Sid's match with Razor Ramon on the May 1 episode of Raw, Diesel approached the ring ready to fight Sid, who, along with the Corporation's manager DiBiase, left the arena abruptly. The following week on Raw, DiBiase revealed that he and Sid had been working together for a while, admitting that it was him who told Shawn Michaels to get a bodyguard.

Prior to the event, a feud also began to develop between Bret Hart and Hakushi. After Hart won the WWF Magazine "Award of the People" on the February 20, 1995 episode of Raw, Jerry Lawler made mention of the award, stating the votes made by Japanese people were excluded and that Hart was a racist. Lawler persuaded Hakushi that Hart was a racist, and on the March 25 episode of Superstars of Wrestling, Hakushi attacked Bret after he received a separate award from the Japanese media. On the April 10 episode of Raw, Bret teamed up with the 1–2–3 Kid and Bob Holly to take on Hakushi and the WWF Tag Team Champions, Owen Hart and Yokozuna. Bret's team won the match as Holly pinned Owen. It was announced on the April 23 episode of Wrestling Challenge that Bret would face Hakushi at In Your House. On the same day, on Action Zone, Bret teamed with Razor Ramon to take on WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett (accompanied by The Roadie) and Hakushi. Bret and Ramon won the match, with Ramon pinning Jarrett. Hart's feud with Lawler dated back to King of the Ring 1993. On the May 1 episode of Raw, Bret offered to face Lawler at In Your House after his scheduled match with Hakushi. Bret announced that he was dedicating his match with Lawler at In Your House to his mother, as the pay-per-view was going to take place on Mother's Day. Lawler also announced on the May 8 episode of Raw that his mother was going to be at ringside for their encounter.

The most prominent rivalry on the undercard, written into the pay-per-view, was for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. The feud took place between Razor Ramon, the 1–2–3 Kid, the Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett, and his personal enforcer, The Roadie. Ramon and Jarrett faced each other at WrestleMania XI, but Jarrett was disqualified. Jarrett faced Aldo Montoya on the April 8 episode of Superstars of Wrestling in a non-title bout, where Jarrett accidentally pinned himself (he never lifted his shoulder off the ground after being slammed to the mat by Montoya). Jarrett was initially announced the winner, but Montoya was later declared the winner. Jarrett and Montoya faced each other again two weeks later, on the April 22 episode of Superstars of Wrestling. During the match, Razor Ramon came to ringside and chased The Roadie backstage. Despite this, Jarrett managed to gain the victory, making Montoya submit to the figure four leglock. It was announced the next day on Wrestling Challenge that Ramon would team up with the 1–2–3 Kid to take on Jarrett and The Roadie at In Your House. The 1–2–3 Kid suffered a legit neck injury, however, and it was announced on the May 1 episode of Raw that he was unable to participate in the match. This changed the In Your House match to a Handicap match as Ramon would face both Jarrett and The Roadie by himself.

The other main rivalry on the undercard was for the WWF Tag Team Championship between the team of Owen Hart and Yokozuna and The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart). The Smoking Gunns dropped their WWF Tag Team Championship to Hart and Yokozuna at WrestleMania XI, the previous pay-per-view event. Their rivalry was reignited on the April 23 episode of Action Zone, when the Blu Brothers (Don and Ron Harris) faced the New Headshrinkers (Sione Vailahi and Solofa Fatu). Hart and Yokozuna interfered in the contest, attacking the New Headshrinkers, causing a disqualification. The Smoking Gunns ran to the ring, attacking Hart and Yokozuna. The Headshrinkers posed with Hart and Yokozuna's tag team belts and celebrated with the Smoking Gunns. The following night, on Raw, it was announced The Smoking Gunns would get a rematch for the WWF Tag Team Championship at the In Your House pay-per-view. They made their intentions of winning the title clear by quickly defeating Barry Horowitz and the Brooklyn Brawler. In their last encounter before the event, Bart defeated Hart via pinfall on the May 8 episode of Raw.