The Year in PPV- 1997, Part I

While it might not appear so on the surface, 1997 was one of the most important years in WWE history because of its long-term effects on the business. What started out as another average year during the era of the New Generation became injected with a strong amount of dysfunction and attitude. Thanks to the rising stock of Stone Cold Steve Austin, the formation of D-Generation X, and a change in character for Bret Hart, a new era was on the horizon for the WWF.

Of course, the year is still full of many cringe worthy moments that were common for the New Generation. By the time the attitude was introduced, the company was wisely focusing more on what was controversial and less on what was cartoony. This year was also used to bring newer superstars to the roster. Future main event superstars like Triple H and The Rock would be utilizing the midcard throughout the year and their performances have aged well due to their future star power.

So let's not wait any further. This is the year 1997...


1. Royal Rumble

Apart from a six-man tag involving Mexican wrestling stars (I'm assuming in an attempt to please the San Antonio crowd), this show actually has pretty solid feuds used throughout. The opening match between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Goldust for the Intercontinental Championship is very solid and was a great way to help carry Helmsley's momentum as a potential top heel while also humanizing Goldust by showing his compassion towards Marlena. The feud between Ahmed Johnson and The Nation of Domination was white hot at the time (compare their push to that of The Shield or The Wyatt Family, but they didn't get a face response from the crowd), so much so that fans couldn't wait for Ahmed to get his hands on Faarooq. The Undertaker and Vader had a fine big man encounter, but it's nothing to write home about, then came that six-man tag, and then it was time for the Royal Rumble match.

One thing I liked about the Rumble match was that it utilized many of the superstars that wrestled earlier in the show (allowing their feuds to continue through this match), but also put some major focus on stars like Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin as obvious favorites to win the match. The conclusion is controversial (especially since the winner did NOT receive his number one contender's spot at WrestleMania) but led to one of WrestleMania's most important showdowns (which I will talk about very soon). Shawn Michaels returns as the prodigal son in his hometown as San Antonio to challenge Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship. It's obvious who's going to win, but it's still a good main event as the crowd is 100% invested in the outcome and I always enjoy a feelgood victory for The Heartbreak Kid.

Recommended 


2. In Your House 13: Final Four

This is my first In Your House PPV under the two-hour format, and I must say that I actually really enjoyed it. The In Your House PPV's are a little more breezy in having less matches, but those matches feel important being on PPV, and the two-hour length makes the bigger shows of the year (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, King of the Ring, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series) feel even more important because they have an extra hour. Looking back on this show so many years later, it is interesting to see guys like The Rock and Triple H wrestling for the Intercontinental Championship as Rocky Maivia and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. It's also great to see how the early days of the Nation of Domination were handled by having them on display primarily in six-man tag matches, very similar to how The Shield and The Wyatt Family have been booked in recent memory.

After Shawn Michaels "lost his smile," the WWF Championship was vacated and put on the line in this Four Corners Elimination Match between Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vader, and the Undertaker. While the rules seemed a little strange (elimination occurred via pinfall, submission, or throwing them over the top rope), it's great that they used two of the bigger feuds going on to put importance on the title, while also building Sycho Sid as an extra factor, as the winner would defend the championship against Sid the next night on RAW.

Mild Recommendation


3. WrestleMania 13

For a lot of people, WrestleMania 13 is a one match show and pretty forgettable, but I will argue that there are at least one or two more significant WrestleMania moments this show offers that people don't give credit for. One of those moments is a solid grudge match between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Goldust. The biggest factor heading into the match was how the recently debuted Chyna would help Helmsley, and the match itself is actually really good thanks to the chemistry between Helmsley and Goldust. One of the moments on the show I will defend the most is the Chicago Street Fight between The Nation of Domination (Faarooq, Savio Vega, and Crush) and Ahmed Johnson and The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal). There's a lot going on, but it is a great deal of entertainment and helped pave the way for a lot of the Hardcore Championship matches during the Attitude Era.

There is some pretty brutal matches on the card though, especially the Intercontinental Championship match between Rocky Maivia (seriously Rock....a match THIS bad at WrestleMania?) and The Sultan (Rikishi for those who didn't know). This was right around the time fans started booing the ultra babyface Maivia, but they weren't invested in The Sultan either, so they just stopped caring when this match took place. The biggest offense on the show, sadly, is the main event for the WWF Championship between Sycho Sid (good Lord) and the Undertaker (in his sixth WrestleMania match). Everyone talks about how Sid crapped his pants during this match (I guess you can play a game where you can try and spot the moment) and how boring the match actually is, so I won't drag those complaints out too much. The only saving grace in this match is Shawn Michaels on commentary, and Bret Hart coming out on 3 occasions during the match to vent his frustrations on Sid, Taker, and Shawn.

Speaking of Bret, he's involved in the most memorable moment on the show and one of the most important matches in wrestling history as he fought Stone Cold Steve Austin in a submission match. Not only does the match feature one of the most iconic images in company history (Austin bleeding and refusing to submit to Bret's sharpshooter), but also features the greatest double turn in wrestling history. When the match was over, Bret Hart (at one point, the company's golden boy) was now being booed out of the building by the Chicago crowd, who in turn applauded Austin (who had been gaining momentum as a heel) for his efforts during the match. There's also a lot of buzz surrounding Ken Shamrock as the guest referee, and the Chicago fans really eat up every moment of this war between two of wrestling's biggest icons that was a pivotal moment in constructing the Attitude Era.

Mild Recommendation


4. In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker

You would think that with a title like that, that the main focus would be on the Undertaker (I mean, he was the WWF Champion after all). However, there is a much larger focus on the feud between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart's rivalry that continued from WrestleMania (it was even the main event). Their match is more focused on Austin being attacked earlier in the evening, and whether or not he would show up for their match. This setup for this match was a great way of working the double turn that both Austin and Hart had at WrestleMania, as Hart was becoming more of a traditional heel in his actions and through his words, while fans were able to rally behind Austin and his anti-establishment attitude (something they really didn't have with a company babyface up to this point).

The WWF Championship match is the brightest spot on this PPV (but that's not saying too much), as Undertaker defended his title against Mankind. These two continue to show that they are capable of good matches together, and a lot of setup is placed in this match between Undertaker and Paul Bearer that would carry on for the rest of the year. The rest of the show, however, is a collection of forgettable championship matches (thanks to their endings) and a ridiculous match between Jesse James (the future Road Dogg) and Rockabilly (the future Mr. Ass), even if it is fun seeing these guys battle each other before they became The New Age Outlaws.

Skip It


Initial Thoughts: Things definitely seemed to be a bit rocky as this year began. There are obvious stars present, including the development of Austin as a babyface, but with Shawn Michaels "losing his smile," the main event was definitely lacking that spark. Because of that, there's a larger amount of midcard matches and feuds that are heavy in these PPVs. The company only had a few ideas that were compelling to the entire audience, so a lot of their creativity was invested in those ideas alone. Thanks to the heel turn of Bret Hart, gang warfare was on the horizon: between The Hart Foundation (representing Canada) and Austin and the rest of the WWF superstars (representing the United States).

Continued in Part II...


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