WWF In Your House: Zero Hour was a 1997 professional wrestling event put on by the World Wrestling Federation. It was the 15th In Your House event, the 2nd event of 1997, and the 86th event overall in the alternate WWF timeline. Emanating from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, the main event of the show was initially supposed to be a fatal four way match between Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Faarooq & Ahmed Johnson with the winner earning a WWF title shot the following night on Raw. However, due to the forfeiture of the title by Shawn Michaels due to a knee injury (years later it would be revealed the injury was likely faked by Michaels, as he didn't want to drop the title to anyone in the ring) led to the match being changed to include former WWF Champion Vader, with the winner getting the vacated title. Other matches on the card included Hunter Hearst Helmsley trying to regain his recently lost Intercontinental Title from Rocky Maivia, a tag team title match as The British Bulldog and Owen Hart defended against the team of Mankind and Sycho Sid and a match between former partners as Lance Storm faced Chris Jericho.
Prelude[]
At the Royal Rumble, Bret Hart had seemingly eliminated Stone Cold Steve Austin from the match. However, Austin was able to sneak back into the ring behind the referee's backs due to a fight they were trying to break up on the outside. Austin then eliminated Faarooq and Ahmed Johnson before then also eliminating Bret Hart from behind. Incensed, Hart led to Austin getting thrown out of the ring by the eventual winner of the match, The Undertaker. With all four men having a legitimate grievance about the manner of their "official" elimination, a match was made to determine which of the final four would receive a title shot the following night on Raw.
However, just before the event, Shawn Michaels was forced to vacate the WWF Title due to a supposed career threatening knee injury. As Michaels had been scheduled to face Vader that night on Raw, Vader was added to the Fatal Fourway match at the Pay Per View, making it a Five Man Elimination match instead, with the winner becoming the new WWF champion and going on to Wrestlemania XIII to face The Undertaker.
On the Raw prior to the pay per view, Hunter Hearst Helmsley had lost his Intercontinental Title in a surprise match against the rookie sensation Rocky Maivia. This led to a change in the original title match which saw Marc Mero challenging the champion. Mero and Helmsley had been feuding for several weeks, a feud made more intense by the sudden arrival of Chyna to the mix, who made a habit of attacking Sable at ringside, distracting the Wildman. Helmsley tried to put that feud aside however, in an effort to regain his title.
Paul Bearer had added to his stable of wrestlers, enlisting the services of Sycho Sid to team with the deranged Mankind. Despite the pairing being volatile, the two won a #1 contenders match against the Godwinns to earn a title shot. Things were not copacetic with the tag team champions either, as Owen Hart and The British Bulldog (having broken away from Jim Cornette as their manager) were arguing with each other. Hart had eliminated The Bulldog at the Royal Rumble, leading to some tension. This was compounded by individual title success, as The Bulldog had defeated Ahmed Johnson (with some side help from the Nation of Domination) to win the television title as well. Both squabbling teams were thus on a collision course with the titles hanging in the balance.
The previous month had seen Lance Storm turn his back on his longtime tag partner, Chris Jericho, costing the Lionheart the WWF Lightheavyweight title in the process. Storm claimed it was due to Jericho's lack of concern for his partner during a time out with injury the previous year, as Jericho had become a singles star in the process. The Lionheart was instead out for revenge.
Event[]
Coming Soon...
Results[]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| FFA | The Headbangers [Mosh & Thrasher] d. Kama & D'Lo Brown by Pinfall | Tag Team Match | 8:12 |
| 1 | Flash Funk d. Leif Cassidy by Pinfall | Singles Match | 13:12 |
| 2 | Lance Storm d. Chris Jericho by Countout | Singles Match | 9:00 |
| 3 | Sycho Sid & Mankind w/Paul Bearer & Owen Hart & The British Bulldog (c) Wrestled to a No Contest | Tag Team Match for the WWF Tag Team Titles | 13:00 |
| 4 | Ken Shamrock d. The Honky Tonk Man by Submission | Singles Match | 3:55 |
| 5 | Rocky Maivia (c) d. Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/Chyna by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWF Intercontinental Title | 17:00 |
| 6 | Vader w/Jim Cornette d. Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Faarooq & Ahmed Johnson | 5-Way Elimination Match for the Vacant WWF Championship | 23:45 |
Aftermath[]
Austin and The Hitman would finally settle their score in a Submission match at Wrestlemania XIII, while Ahmed Johnson would challenge Faarooq and two other members of the Nation to a Chicago Street Fight, aligning himself with the debuting Road Warriors in the process. Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna would team with each other to take on Marc Mero and Sable in a Mixed Tag Team Match, while Rocky Maivia would move into a feud with Shane Douglas. Sid and Mankind would explode, leading to a match between the two, while Owen and the Bulldog's tensions continued to build.