#3 In Your House: Final Four
Memorable matches/moments:
- Bret "The Hitman" Hart vs. Vader vs. Undertaker vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - Four Corners Elimination WWF Championship Match
- Chyna's debut
Heading into In Your House: Final Four, WWF Champion Shawn Michaels suffered an alleged knee injury that required him to take time off. This led to his infamous "Lost My Smile" promo. Following this, the WWF Championship was relinquished with the main event of the next event deciding the new champion.
At the Royal Rumble 1997, Stone Cold Steve Austin won in controversial fashion. With the referees distracted by a brawl on the floor, Bret Hart eliminated Austin from the match. Austin noticed the referees did not see this and got back in the ring to eliminate Hart. He then eliminated Vader and Undertaker to win the match. This led to the main event of In Your House: Final Four
To end the controversy, the final four competitors were placed in a Four Corners Elimination Match with the vacant WWF Championship on the line. This contest was truly compelling, being the first of its kind in WWE history. It was a chaotic, fast paced encounter with all four men putting on tremendous performances.
All four men stood out in their own ways in this In Your House: Final Four main event. Austin being the dangerous heel and instigator of action, despite a banged up knee. Vader was intense and on his game here, putting in the best effort of his WWE run. Undertaker delivered and Bret Hart held everything together. In the end, Hart eliminated Taker to win his fourth WWF Championship.
Earlier at In Your House: Final Four, fans witnessed the first encounter between Rocky Maivia and Hunter Hearst Helmsley for the Intercontinental Championship. Although this wasn't as good as their later matches, the post match had an awesome debut. Goldust and Marlena distracted Helmsley leading to his loss, but Chyna debuted by choking out Marlena on the floor after the match.
There was also a fun tag contest with Owen Hart and British Bulldog losing to Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon by DQ. With these two matches and the shocking arrival of Chyna, In Your House: Final Four has to be considered among the best of 1997 and in the history of the event.