Unforgiven: in Your House - Background

Background

Nation of Domination leader Faarooq felt his leadership compromised by the egotism of The Rock and so when Rock was tapping out to Ken Shamrock's anklelock at WrestleMania XIV, rather than appear to save him, Faarooq merely laughed as The Rock ostensibly lost his Intercontinental Championship (the decision was soon reversed). The following night Rock promised to Faarooq that in their match against Shamrock and Steve Blackman, the Nation of Domination would find a new strength. The new strength turned to be a double cross as Rocky left the match, making it a de facto handicap match which Faarooq lost. After the match, Faarooq demanded The Rock return so they could face each other man to man but when Rock came back to the ring it turned into a coup d'état as all the other members turned on their leader and Rock took leadership of the newly named Nation. The next week as Faarooq arrived at the arena he was met with a beating in the parking lot by all the Nation members, which they also filmed. Ken Shamrock, meanwhile, was forming an ad hoc tag team with Blackman based on their martial arts backgrounds, and still wanted his hands on the Intercontinental Champion.

As the only Hart family member left after the Montreal Screwjob, Owen Hart found himself in a feud with D-Generation X and specifically Triple H. Hart wanted Helmsley's European Belt after Shawn Michaels laid down to give it to Triple H as a Christmas present. Hart eventually persuaded Helmsley into a match, though it turned out to be a ruse with The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust playing the part of Triple H; Hart's win was upheld and he became champion anyway. Triple H would win the title back with the help of Chyna exploiting an injured ankle. Their rematch at WrestleMania XIV would see Commissioner Slaughter handcuffed to Chyna in a bid to prevent her from interfering but she managed to regardless and Hart lost the match after a low blow. The decision was then made for a rematch to be held at Unforgiven, with Chyna restrained in a small cage, suspended from the ground.

Jim Cornette had long been on a campaign to return tradition to the WWF and in doing so brought in a National Wrestling Alliance faction. The NWA Tag Team Champions The Rock 'n' Roll Express were part of this faction until two successive losses to The Headbangers saw Jim Cornette turn on them and bring in New Midnight Express who would record a success over the Headbangers and take the titles. The Rock 'n' Roll Express, though, still wanted revenge for their assault and Cornette's double-cross.

Marc Mero's jealousy over the attention his wife and valet, Sable, gained from the crowd. To mock her, he sent her from ringside and invited out to accompany him The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust, dressed up as Sable, which started a short-lived tag team between the two. The team would come undone, however, when Goldust's valet Luna Vachon took exception to Sable. After Sable dominated Vachon in a mixed-tag match at WrestleMania XIV, Vachon demanded a rematch with Sable between just the two of them, which was instantly accepted. The stipulation was later revealed to be an Evening Gown match, in order for Vachon to humiliate Sable, which she initially did by having Goldust dress up again as Sable and strip him as she intended to do to Sable. Sable appeared, though, and assaulted Vachon, with the latter having to flee.

After a series of successive losses, Legion of Doom seemed to split up after brawling in the ring following a loss at the hands of the cheating New Age Outlaws on Raw is War, February 24. They reappeared over a month later as the surprise competitors of WrestleMania's opening 15 tag team battle royal with a revamped image as LOD 2000 sporting new ring attire and a new manager, Sunny. By winning the match, they became the number one contenders for the WWF Tag Team Championships and would have faced the winners of the WrestleMania Dumpser Match, Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie, however a technicality saw the titles being stripped from the team and on the March 30 Raw, the Outlaws won the title back thanks to some interference from their new D-Generation X teammates meaning LOD 2000 would have to face their old rivals for the title.

Since Kane's debut in the WWF, interrupting The Undertaker's match and ruining his chances of beating Shawn Michaels at Badd Blood: In Your House, Paul Bearer ordered Kane to be constant trouble to his half-brother, who in turn had refused to fight Kane. Things changed though, during a casket match at the Royal Rumble when Kane interfered again, chokeslamming The Undertaker into the casket then padlocking it shut before setting it ablaze, seemingly destroying The Undertaker. After he returned, just before WrestleMania, he claimed to have gone to the afterlife and spoken to his parents and could now justify fighting his brother. Despite winning the match, it took him three tombstone piledrivers to do the job, and Kane recovered afterwards and tombstoned his brother onto a chair. Paul Bearer challenged him soon after on Raw, to a match surrounded by fire where the loser would be determined by the first to be set on fire. The following week Kane and Bearer were shown at the graves of Undertaker's parents, smashing the headstones and setting it ablaze. The week before the event, Undertaker went to the crypt of his parents only to find their coffins gone; they reappeared in the arena under the auspices of Kane and Bearer, who then set one of them on fire and when Undertaker tried to stop them, Kane chokeslammed him into the other coffin.

On the road to WrestleMania, Vince McMahon revealed in an interview by Kevin Kelly that the thought of Stone Cold Steve Austin winning the WWF Championship would be a public relations nightmare. Following the event, McMahon had Austin incarcerated after being assaulted in the ring. He later brought out a changed Austin, formed in his own corporate imagine with a suit. This turned out to be a ruse though, with Austin quickly stripping off into his normal attire and stunning McMahon. On Raw is War, April 13, Austin offered McMahon the choice of fighting him in the ring or being attacked back stage; McMahon took the offer of the match but once in the ring called on the boast that Austin had made, that he could defeat McMahon with one hand tied behind his back. Before the match could get underway though, Mick Foley returned in his Dude Love persona and attacked McMahon and then gave the mandible claw to Austin. The week before the event, McMahon commentated the final match, Dude Love versus Steve Blackman, and promised not only to be at ringside during Unforgiven but a catastrophic event would occur. Austin commented on this saying Vince McMahon has only sat at ringside one other time and that was at Survivor Series 1997 when someone else got screwed out of the title.