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[1995-07-23-WWF-In Your House II] Shawn Michaels vs Jeff Jarrett


Loss

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  • 2 months later...

Well, this was a revisit. I think I liked this more on this viewing than I ever have. Aside from the Foley match, this may be Shawn's best non-gimmicked singles match, and possibly Jarrett's best too. It doesn't compare to the best matches around the world for the year in terms of offense or depth of story, but it's really strong in other ways. They choose a really basic match layout and execute it to near-perfection. All of the showboating early on is just the right amount without being excessive, and there are some excellent WWF-style nearfalls. I'm tired right now, but I really enjoyed this way more than I expected, and I think it's pretty safely in the top handful of matches in company history.

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The early stalling. I really liked that every single tease was paid off in a wrestling-focused way. So there was clowning, but it all came back to the wrestling. I also liked that it wasn't the typical "heel shows ass at the end of every sequence", which is the norm for matches like that. Early on, Jarrett was out-wrestling and out-gloating Shawn in quite a few sequences himself. It was within the WWF style, but it was also pretty different from most WWF matches that go that long in terms of how they laid out and paced the match. The interference spots were smart and perfectly timed. It just worked really well all around.

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  • 5 months later...
  • 2 years later...

The band that backed up Double J for the live version of "With My Baby Tonight" plays his regular entrance theme live as well, which is kind of cool. I'm not sure if this is as good as Bret-Diesel as far as the best WWF match of '95 goes, or how it will hold up to the ladder match to come. But it's got a more satisfying ending than the Royal Rumble match and has a lot of twists and turns without coming off as overbooked. A pretty seamless blend of Memphis bullshit and Pat Patterson, with some death-defying bumps by Shawn and Jarrett hitting one of the greatest dropkicks in wrestling history. Roadie unseeingly trips Double J to set up their split that never happened, as both men would quit the company immediately after this match.

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  • 1 year later...

WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett vs Shawn Michaels - WWF In Your House II

 

One of my all-time favorite WWF matches because of just how feel good it is. I love me some good shtick and this is good shtick. Shawn Michaels as part of the Rockers was in some good bullshit matches and he fit in this Memphis style match seamlessly. I thought he was great as cocky jock showing up the annoying showboat, Jarrett. Jarrett actually gets a couple over on HBK allowing him to strut and kick back and relax on the top rope. But he gets a little too fancy for his own good so Michaels pokes him right in the eye and then does exactly what Jarrett intended and blasts him in the face. After HBK dumps him on his ass, he does a little strut and booty shake. Combining the Fabulous Ones and Fantastics in one awesome combo! Michaels wipes out both Double J & The Roadie. I am probably alone in feeling this way, but I actually thought Shawn Michaels felt pretty cool in this. I liked the head and shoulders fake out on the reverse crossbody sunset flip by HBK. It is not the greatest babyface shine ever, but it is a fun one and one that is unique for WWF. The bump Michaels takes to the outside over the top turnbuckle to set up the heat segment is crazy. I think Jarrett supplies a lot of great heel character work in this, but Michaels was dictating the flow of the match with his bumping. The heat segment was not as good as I remembered it unfortunately. It felt a little dry. I liked the classic cheating like ab stretch assist and Roadie attacking with a clothesline from the apron and Michaels mixed in good bumping and hope spots. The sleeper was a good climax to the segment. It just did not feel special. The finish was well-done with Shawn working through his comeback and adding a nice posting of Double J. I liked the wrinkle of Roadie causing Shawn lands on his nuts on the top turnbuckle to set up some figure-4 attempts. Jarrett signals for Roadie to trip HBK on a criss cross, but Roadie not looking trips up Jarrett and BANG! Sweet Chin Music! Great finish

 

Feels like a great, Southern 1980s match that happens in 1990s WWF, which makes it special. I would say easily Jarrett's best WWF match and a top ten Shawn Michaels 90s match. Thought the shine and comeback were real fun and the heat segment was just alright. I loved the fan sign that said "HBK would be with Jarrett's belt tonight" and even with the loss "With My Baby Tonight" remains the best pro wrestling song not named Badstreet USA. ****1/4

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  • 4 months later...

http://placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-400-351/

 

#385

 

Great match. I had a good time watching this tonight. It reminded me of the Jarrett I watched recently during the 1990 Dallas era for him and I thought Shawn played to that style perfectly. Easily the best JJ match in WWF that I can recall, and possibly his final match to reach **** level. Shawn took some pretty sick bumps in this match!

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  • 5 months later...

Terrific match. The announcing, however, was absolute dogshit awful. Lawler was at his very hack worst here and Vince's blowjob commentary was obnoxious as well. Roadie, arguably minutes away from the biggest mistake of his career, did his part well. His dreadlock/extensions were just ugly.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1995-07-23-WWF-In Your House II] Shawn Michaels vs Jeff Jarrett
  • 5 months later...

You know, for a guy who has a rep in some circles of not being all that good, Jarrett has a decent resume of fun stuff. Still think this is his best match and probably his best performance. It wasn't a carry job by any stretch but this was total Memphis and I'd guess it was him who laid the thing out. Sure looked like he was having a blast the whole time. All the early horse shit rules, fun stalling, great shtick. Michaels' bump over the post is a doozy and works as a quality transition. I thought Jarrett's control segment dragged just a bit at points and his abdominal stretch was pretty muck, but they're minor quibbles. Finishing stretch lasts longer than I remembered but it was also good stuff. The double clothesline leading to the nine count before Michaels does the kip up is effective in that it plausibly allows him some extra time to recover. I don't mind the kip up in general but I know it's an irritation to lots of folk. Plus this was the smoothest kip up ever because he does it straight after the flying forearm and just kips right up without his feet touching the mat first and McMahon blew his knickers off I bet. Roadie was also a fun annoying shit all the way through this and the finish was a fun payoff to that. Mega fun match. Top 3 WWF match of the year? Top 10 US? 

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  • 2 years later...

Jarrett goes full Memphis during the opening stalling. The fans eat up all these house show-style antics. Shawn does some heel tactics such as gouging the eyes, but Jarrett sells them in such a campy heel manner that it never felt like the babyface was being the bully. Although Shawn was great in this, Jarrett worked his arse off trying to get HBK over. Vince is creaming himself over Shawn on commentary. They go for twenty minutes and everything got a lot of time to breathe. Jarrett works on a lot of holds but keeps bending the rules to keep things fresh whenever they needed to take a breather during this high-energy match. Shawn's victory made for a feel-good ending and I love the finish of Roadie accidentally tripping up Jarrett. I don't think Jeff Jarrett ever had a match as good as this one again. ★★★★ ¼

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  • 1 month later...

In 1995 I was obsessed with wrestling and watched everything I could on television but did not have access to the PPVs. As a result, I've never watched a lot of these IYH shows.  This was quite the hidden gem.  Shawn Michaels is such a singular talent in wrestling, there are so many things during this match that I can't see anyone else pulling off.  His charisma is off the charts, the crowd is just eating him up from the second his music hits.  Michaels always seems to be in complete control of his body; in the beginning of the match, he is flying all over the ring but never misses a step or is out of place.  I've always loved his selling, the way he lies face down on the canvas like he's dead.  He does a Flair-flip into the corner then to the outside where he is moving so fast but manages to make it totally safe.  After he wins, he gets the fireworks treatment when it was still a novelty for the WWF and has the look of a future superstar.

I don't want to neglect JJ either.  He and the Roadie were heeling out with cheats and trickeration throughout the match to stay in control until one cheat too many cost him the title.  He also hit what might be the best WWF dropkick in the pre-Randy Orton era.

Finally, there is a scene post match with Dox Hendrix reporting outside JJ's locker room that has to be seen to be believed.

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  • 2 years later...

The best part of the match was everything they did in the beginning. Love all the early stalling. Not every match needs to be 100 miles an hour :) . Wrestling should be what these guys did up to the part where Shawn Michaels mocks JJ with the famous strut! The ending was great too. The middle part just felt there. I think with a stronger layout this would be something special. ***1/2

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