The year comes to a close with arguably the most controversial moment in wrestling history...
9. Ground Zero: In Your House
The opening match with Goldust and Brian Pillman is very heated, and blurs the line between storyline and reality. The match had the stipulations that if Pillman won, he would have Marlena's services for 30 days. Sadly, this is Pillman's last PPV match, as he would pass away from an undetected heart condition just hours before the Badd Blood PPV. His Loose Cannon gimmick was so over with the fans (mainly due to his controversial statements) that it's a real shame that it had to come to an end so sudden, since this was arguably the highest point in his career. Another storyline fans were interested in was the fate of Stone Cold Steve Austin's title reigns. Thanks to his injury at SummerSlam, he had to vacate both the Intercontinental AND WWF Tag Team Championships (which he held with Dude Love). Of course, Austin wasn't going to go down quietly, and made his presence felt in the four corners elimination match to crown the new Tag Team Champions. This really helped shape the Austin we know and love, as he had no problem delivering Stone Cold Stunners to anybody in his way, including officials.One of the most important matches of the night was a battle of patriotism for the WWF Championship that saw Bret Hart (a proud Canadian) defend his title against The Patriot (obviously, a symbol for the United States). Although The Patriot's tenure with the WWF was short, this match is a pretty solid effort from both men. Everyone wanted to see the tension between Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker come to a boil in their match, and that's just what we got. The match was all about Taker wanting to destroy Shawn, and all Shawn wanted to do was get out of there.
Mild Recommendation
10. One Night Only
*The Three-hour version is now available on the WWE Network.
There's not a whole lot to write about on the show other than that. The two matches that stuck out revolved around the two main members of D-Generation X. Hunter Hearst Helmsley put aside his feud with Mankind and focused his attention on Dude Love (see what I did there?) in the show's opening match. But the biggest attraction of the evening came when hometown favorite, The British Bulldog, defended his European Championship against Shawn Michaels. The crowd is fully invested in everything going on (thanks to Bulldog's popularity there), and Michaels shows why he's one of the best performers of all time, as he does everything in his power to piss them off.
Mild Recommendation
11. Badd Blood: In Your House
As I said earlier, Brian Pillman was supposed to wrestle Dude Love on this night (with Goldust handcuffed at ringside to prevent interference), but he passed away earlier during the day. Having that in mind, most of the show is left with a very somber tone. Even when the show has The Legion of Doom against The Nation of Domination, the crowing of a new Intercontinental Champion (with a little help from Stone Cold Steve Austin), and a tag team match with four mini competitors, there is that uneasiness that I could even feel within the commentary that it was very hard to stay focused after the knowledge of Pillman's death was announced right before the PPV began.Thankfully, there is one match on the show that was able to demonstrate that the show must go on, as this show also marked the debut of one of WWE's most famous match gimmicks: Hell in a Cell. This variation of a Cage match with a roof was developed to keep D-Generation X from interfering in Shawn Michael's match with the Undertaker (and also preventing Shawn from escaping). The two are able to blend a bloody brawl at the hands of Taker, with great in-ring wrestling from Michaels, and the result is a fantastic debut for the match that was able to tell a great story. The Hell in a Cell isn't the ONLY important debut of the night, because after months of speculation, Kane (with Paul Bearer at his side) finally debuted and made his presence felt as he stood in the ring with his long lost brother, the Undertaker. As if that wasn't enough, the match was also to determine the number one contender for the WWF Championship, meaning the winner would go on to face Bret Hart at Survivor Series (I think we all know where this is going).
Recommended
12. Survivor Series
It's very possible that this Survivor Series features the most controversial moment in WWE history: the WWF Championship match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. The match is also known as the Montreal Screwjob, and while I won't give away what happens, I will say that it led to arguably one of the most important moments in wrestling history: the birth of the Mr. McMahon character. On top of all that, the match itself is actually really good (shame since fans usually just remember it for the ending). It's definitely a match every fan needs to see and is a great finale to a very memorable Survivor Series in Montreal.
Highly Recommended
13: D-Generation X: In Your House
The PPV lives up to its name in providing main event matches for both Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Shawn had to defend his WWF Championship against Ken Shamrock (I'm still really surprised that never went anywhere after this show), and Triple H fought Sgt. Slaughter in a Boot Camp match. I was pleasantly surprised at the effort put into the Boot Camp match. From the backstory of Sgt. Slaughter's glory days, to the amount of time Triple H spends getting beat up by Slaughter, to Chyna's role in the match, to the overall violence given to a midcard main event. I wish this match was talked about more often, because I think it really helped Triple H as a mainstay performer, and good for building up Commissioner Slaughter as an authority figure.I will say it's pretty intriguing that the two matches involving D-Generation X are not what the D-Generation X PPV is most known for. Aside from the crowning of the first Light Heavyweight Champion (in a match between Brian Christopher and Taka Michinoku), the show is best known for the Intercontinental Championship match between Rocky Maivia and Stone Cold Steve Austin. These guys had great matches together, but that's not what this match is about (in fact, this match is short and kinda underwhelming considering it's a Rock/Austin match). This match will always be known as the match where Austin drove to the ring in his pickup truck and used it to dispose of The Nation of Domination, which makes for an awesome moment but certainly not a classic match for the Intercontinental title.
Recommended
Final Thoughts: In conclusion, the year closed out with the first Hell in a Cell match, the debut of Kane, the rise of D-Generation X, the fall of the Hart Foundation, the birth of Mr. McMahon, and flashes of the future megastars Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock would become. Needless to say, these are some of the most influential PPV events in wrestling history. The beginning and middle of 1997 are both solid enough, but I definitely recommend the last few shows of the year as they got progressively better and maintained a chain of overall quality.
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