In 1995, the World Wrestling Federation introduced the concept of a series of two-hour pay-per-views scattered throughout the year, intended to help to fill the space between their big five at the time: Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, King Of The Ring, Survivor Series, and Summerslam. The shorter PPVs would initially be listed at half the price of a standard WWF PPV, and would be given the name In Your House, usually with a subtitle attached. The branding of “In Your House” would become somewhat beloved among wrestling fans over the next four years, and would remain active until early 1999. The question is why did WWE drop the “In Your House” PPV series?RELATED: Ring Of Honor's Tape Library Is Reportedly Up For Sale

The Very First In Your House Was Very Successful

The very first time that WWE came into any house was in May of 1995, and for fifteen dollars fans were treated to a Big Daddy Diesel WWE Title defense against Psycho Sid, Bret Hart taking on Hakushi as well as Jerry Lawler in separate matches, and the commentary pairing of Michael Hayes and Vince McMahon himself. This first In Your House would, in the end, be one of the most successful of the series. It also marked one of the more ridiculous sweepstakes in WWE history, as there was a live drawing on the PPV for an actual house. The WWE gave away a free house, and it was won by an eleven-year-old child.

Despite only lasting for a few years, the 'In Your House' era of WWE PPVs stretches across the hottest period for WWE and potentially all of wrestling, the heart of the Attitude Era. The subtitles read as such with names like 'Rock Bottom', 'Revenge Of The Taker', 'It’s Time', and simply 'D-Generation X'. Many PPV’s that would go on beyond 1999 made their initial debut as a subtitle to In Your House such as Unforgiven, Judgment Day, and No Way Out with In Your House: No Way Out Of Texas.

WWE's Switch To Permanent PPV Names Came In 1999

1999 saw the end of the initial run of In Your House, with WWE deciding to use permanent names for all of their PPVs moving forward. This could have been preferred simply to blur the lines between major and minor PPVs, and even would work toward establishing new PPVs that fans would see as important like Judgment Day. It could have also been seen as very of the time for 1995 with those cheesy house sets, but maybe not the visual Vince McMahon and the WWE were looking to present as the new millennium drew closer. A final reason for the change could be just to explain the changes in pricing that had been happening, and would continue to happen well after the death of In Your House.

Notable other In Your Houses include 'Mind Games' which saw Mankind challenge Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship, the electric crowd at Canadian Stampede, 'Beware of Dog' in which the arena lost power during a strap match with Savio Vega and Steve Austin, and the subsequent 'Beware Of Dog II' filmed as a make up afterwards for those that had purchased the ill-fated first event. In Your House: Over The Edge remains memorable for the worst reasons as it marked the untimely demise of Owen Hart live on PPV. Badd Blood is remembered both for it being the first ever Hell In A Cell match, as well as being the debut of the Undertaker’s baby brother Kane.

2020 saw the return of 'In Your House' as an NXT Takeover and WWE Network special, and 2021 would see In Your House reborn once again on traditional PPV. Both NXT shows came fully equipped with the 90s House Set that is iconic to the era, and very inline with the nostalgia plays NXT has pulled off in the last few years with the return of other long dead PPVs like Halloween Havoc. The 2020 return would be the first 'In Your House' since St. Valentines Day Massacre took place 21 years prior.

The legacy of In Your House remains alive thanks to NXT. Thus far, it has done a decent job of staying true to the original, even going as far as to track down Todd Pettengill for a cameo in the most recent PPV. The response to the return of In Your House has been overwhelmingly positive, especially in comparison to how Starrcade had been brought back in years past. Whether or not the nostalgia will wear thin still remains to be seen, but for now, it scratches that itch.