Tagline(s) Dead or Alive! Attendance 9,649 | Sponsor(s) PlayStation Venue Market Square Arena | |
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Promotion World Wrestling Federation Date 000000001996-10-20-0000October 20, 1996 | ||
In Your House 11: Buried Alive was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on October 20, 1996 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the eleventh In Your House event and comprised six matches shown on pay-per-view as well as two matches held solely for the audience in the arena. The main event was the first Buried Alive match, between The Undertaker and Mankind. On the undercard Sid faced Vader in a match to determine the #1 contender for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and Marc Mero defended the Intercontinental Championship against Goldust. This was the first WWF pay-per-view in which the active World Heavyweight Champion did not compete on-air on the show.
Contents
With the launch of the WWE Network in 2014 this show became available on demand, but did not include the two dark matches.
Background
In Your House 11: Buried Alive comprised professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines that 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 in a wrestling match.
The focal point of the event was the feud between The Undertaker and Mankind, that had been evolving since the summer of 1996 when the Undertaker's manager turned on him and joined forces with Mankind. The two had already fought each other in a Boiler Room Brawl at the 1996 SummerSlam, during which Bearer sided with Mankind. 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 soil 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" following the supposed burial at In Your House, 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. 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.
Due to his victory over Vader, Sid earned a match against WWF World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels in the main event of the 1996 Survivor Series, in which Sid won his first WWF World Heavyweight Championship.