In Your House 11: Buried Alive

In Your House 11: Buried Alive
Promotional poster featuring Mankind, Paul Bearer, and The Undertaker
Tagline(s)	Dead or Alive!
Information
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Sponsor(s)	PlayStation
Date	000000001996-10-20-0000October 20, 1996[1]
Attendance	9,649[1]
Venue	Market Square Arena[1]
City	Indianapolis, Indiana[1]
Pay-per-view chronology
In Your House 10: Mind Games In Your House 11: Buried Alive Survivor Series (1996)
In Your House chronology
In Your House 10: Mind Games In Your House 11: Buried Alive In Your House 12: It's Time

In Your House 11: Buried Alive was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and presented by PlayStation, which took place on October 20, 1996, at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the eleventh pay-per-view of the In Your House series and featured six matches as part of the PPV event as well as two additional matches held after the main portion of the show solely for those in the arena. With the launch of the WWE Network in 2014 this show became available on demand, but did not include the two dark matches held after the main show. The featured match in the main event was the first Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Mankind and was also the first time ever such a match was held in professional wrestling. On the undercard Sycho Sid faced off against Vader in a match to determine the #1 contender for the WWF Championship and Marc Mero defended the WWF Intercontinental Championship against Goldust. This was the first WWF pay-per-view in which the active World Champion did not compete on-air on the show.

Background

In Your House 11: Buried Alive featured professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on Monday Night Raw and other World Wrestling Federation television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.^[2] The focal point of the event was a long running storyline feud between The Undertaker and Mankind that had been evolving since the summer of 1996 when the Undertaker's manager turned on him and teamed up with Mankind to fight Undertaker. The two had already faced off in a Boiler Room Brawl at the 1996 SummerSlam that was won as Bearer sided with Mankind.^[3] In order to settle the storyline between the two the "Buried Alive match" was devised, playing off the characters of both the Undertaker and Paul Bearer as the only way to win the match was to throw their opponent into an open grave and then shovel dirt on the grave.

Event

During the event, Jim Ross, who was in the middle of a storyline where he turned "heel" as a commentator, grew increasingly irritated as his headset went through notable legitimate technical difficulties throughout the event. Several times he would comment that the WWF was trying to keep him from voicing his opinions, all of which was part of the storyline.

Aftermath

The Undertaker would later "return from the grave" and continue his storyline against Mankind and Paul Bearer, including a match at the subsequent In Your House show where he defeated the Executioner in a Armageddon Rules match.^[4] The feud with Mankind continued off and on for several years, including a very high profile Hell in a Cell at the 1998 King of the Ring.^[5]

Due to his victory over Vader, Sycho Sid earned a match against WWF Champion Shawn Michaels, defeating him in the main event of the 1996 Survivor Series to win his first ever WWF Championship.^[6]

Results

References

External links