In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell

In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell
Promotional poster featuring "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	May 11, 1997 [1]
City	Richmond, Virginia [1]
Venue	Richmond Coliseum [1]
Attendance	14,381 [1]
Tagline(s)	"There's gonna be a whole lotta whoop-ass goin' on!"
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker Next → King of the Ring
In Your House chronology
← Previous Revenge of the 'Taker Next → Canadian Stampede

In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell was the 15th In Your House professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on May 11, 1997, at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. The PPV portion of the show featured five matches, plus a match on the Free for All pre-show and a dark match after the main event match.

The main event of the show featured The Undertaker defending the WWF Championship against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The show also featured the in ring debut of former Mixed Martial Arts champion Ken Shamrock as he took on Vader on the under card.

With the launch of the WWE Network in 2014, this show became available on demand, but does not include the Free for All pre-show nor the dark match held after the main show.

Background

In Your House was a series of monthly professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) events first produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in May 1995. They aired when the promotion was not holding one of its then-five major PPVs (WrestleMania, King of the Ring, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble), and were sold at a lower cost. ^[2] In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell took place on May 11, 1997, at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia. The name of the show was based on the rivalry between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Undertaker. ^[1]

Event

Other on-screen personnel

Role:	Name:
Commentator	Jim Ross
	Jerry Lawler
	Carlos Cabrera (Spanish)
	Hugo Savinovich (Spanish)
	Ray Rougeau (French)
	Jean Brassard (French)
Interviewer	Todd Pettengill
Ring announcer	Howard Finkel
Referee	Tim White
	Jack Doan
	Earl Hebner
	Jim Korderas
	Mike Chioda

During the Free For All pre-show, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and Brian Pillman were interviewed backstage, claiming they bought tickets for the show to watch the "Stone Cold" Steve Austin match later in the night. ^{[1] [2]}

During the PPV, Ahmed Johnson faced off against all three members of the Nation of Domination (NOD) in a Gauntlet match. Before the match begun, WWF president Gorilla Monsoon came to ringside and ejected any member of the Nation of Domination that was not wrestling, forcing manager Clarence Mason, D'Lo Brown and others to leave ringside. Johnson pinned Crush in the first match in just over five minutes. The second match ended in a disqualification when Savio Vega hit Johnson with a chair repeatedly. The deliberate disqualification was to set Johnson up as an easy victim for NOD leader Faarooq. Faarooq faked an arm injury and then quickly attacked Johnson's knee gaining a fast victory. ^{[1] [2]}

The match between former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Ken Shamrock and Vader featured mixed rules as a hybrid between wrestling and MMA that would only allow someone to win by submission or knock out. During the match, Shamrock accidentally broke Vader's nose with a series of knee strikes to Vader's face, causing Vader to strike Shamrock with a stiff lariat. In the end, Shamrock forced Vader to submit to an Ankle lock submission hold. ^{[1] [2]}

The Hart Foundation made their presence known during the main event between The Undertaker and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. At one point, when it looked like Austin was about to win, Pillman reached over and rang the bell prematurely, causing a distraction. In the end, the Undertaker pinned Steve Austin, followed moments later by Neidhart, Owen Hart, Bulldog and Pillman attacking both wrestlers. Moments later, Steve Austin knocked Bret Hart out of his wheel chair and then used one of Hart's crutches as a weapon to chase all the members of the Hart Foundation off. ^{[1] [2]}

Results

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times
1F	Rockabilly (with The Honky Tonk Man) defeated Jesse James	Singles match	3:36 [1] [2]
2	Hunter Hearst Helmsley (with Chyna) defeated Flash Funk	Singles match	10:05 [1] [2]
3	Mankind defeated Rocky Maivia by technical submission	Singles match	8:46 [1] [2]
4	The Nation of Domination (Faarooq, Savio Vega and Crush) defeated Ahmed Johnson	Gauntlet match	13:25 [1] [2]
5	Ken Shamrock defeated Vader by submission	No Holds Barred match	13:21 [1] [2]
6	The Undertaker (c) defeated "Stone Cold" Steve Austin	Singles match for the WWF Championship	20:07 [1] [2]
7D	The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) defeated Owen Hart and the British Bulldog (c) by disqualification	Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship	5:00 [2]
(c)  – the champion(s) heading into the match F  – the match was broadcast prior to the pay-per-view on Free for All D  – this was a dark match

References

1. "Historical Cards: In Your House 15 (May 11, 1997. Richmond, Virginia)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 151. 2007 Edition.
2. Cawthon, Graham (2013). The History of Professional Wrestling. Vol. 2: WWF 1990–1999. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ASIN   B00RWUNSRS.