My Love For The WWF In 1997

[JETER123]

I don't think there is any year that compares to how amazing 1997 was in the WWF. The year started with the roll over feud between Austin and Bret Hart. In one of the most intense rivalries ever, Austin gained the upper hand after winning the 1997 Royal Rumble by illegally eliminating Hart, Vader and Undertaker after Hart had thrown Austin over the top rope. At the same event, HBK won his second World Title after beating Sid in his home town.

During the months of January and February, Bret Hart became bitter. Shawn Michaels would lose his smile. Austin continued to raise hell.

The first stand out match of the year happened at In Your House : Final Four. Bret Hart defeated Vader, Undertaker, and Austin for the vacant title. Sid would win the title from Bret the next night.

The next outstanding match was a submission match between Austin and Hart at WrestleMania 13. A fantastic match from start to finish. The famous "double turn" happened as Austin was cheered by the end of the match, and Hart was booed. The image of the blood dripping in between Austin's teeth is burned in everybody's memory.

Stone Cold vs. Undertaker at In Your House : A Cold Day In Hell was another awesome match. Face vs. face. Undertaker would win the match as the Hart Foundation antagonized both wrestlers.

King Of The Ring. One of my favorite matches of the year. Shawn Michaels vs. Stone Cold. Classic match. Ended in a double dq with both men showing so much attitude in the match.

Now, onto arguably the best match of the year. In Your House : Canadian Stampede. The Hart Foundation vs. Austin, Goldust, Shamrock, and LOD in a 10-man tag team match in Canada. Austin vs Hart at Mania was incredible, but I think this match was the best match of the 90's in the WWF. The crowd was insanely hot, which I don't think a crowd will be the hot ever again. The Hart Foundation wins, and after the match, Austin attacks the entire Hart family by himself, and gets taken away in cuffs. (All the while, flipping off the crowd.) The atmosphere in this match was so good, that it almost seemed real.

Bret Hart vs. Undertaker at SummerSlam was another great match. HBK as the special referee added to it. Bret needed to win or he would never be allowed to wrestle in the U.S again, and if Shawn didn't call it down the middle, he'd be banned from the U.S rings as well. HBK went for a chair shot on Hart but hit the Undertaker. Hart wins the title.

Michaels vs. Undertaker in the first Hell In A Cell. Another phenomenal match. It had everything. It was brutal, intense, and innovative. Kane debuted and cost Undertaker the match.

And the last classic moment was the Screwjob In Montreal. We all know the story. Vince screwed Bret. Bret screwed Bret. Shawn screwed Bret. The match was the beginning of the Evil McMahon character.

Other wrestlers that started to get over were Mankind, Rock, HHH, and the New Age Outlaws.

Austin vs. Hart at Mania. The Canadian Stampede match. Hell In A Cell. Those three matches are definitely top ten all time in WWE/F history.

 

[rocloc]

I have to agree 100%...in fact, I registered in the forums just to reply to this post. 1997 was, in my opinion, the greatest year in the history of the WWF/E. I had been watching on and off since the Hogan/Warrior/Savage days, but it was Hart and HBK that really got me hooked in early 1996. Things just seemed to progress through late '96 and then exploded in '97. It's likely due to the fact that I was younger and there was no internet, but I just remember being so excited to see RAW is WAR each week and always being surprised...I was shocked when Bret turned on us! haha...and I remember Kane destroying the entire roster before finally having that brutal match with Mankind...there was so much drama with Austin vs. Bret/Owen, the creation of DX, even Pillman/Goldust...god, it was such a good year, there is way to much to list here. Its strange that most people say the attitude era started with Austin winning the title in 1998...but maybe that is why I think 97 was the best...it wasn't the lame "New Generation," but it wasn't quite the "Attitude Era..." it was somewhere in between, and in my opinion was better than both. Great matches, great (but not ridiculously over the top) storylines, real drama...how the hell was WCW beating WWF in ratings during this time...i never understood that. I never liked WCW much, and was super pissed when Bret left for them...I always wonder what could've been if he would've stayed, but that is a whole different topic...

 

[motorcity madman]

i would agree 1997 was an incredible year for the WWF, i have always looked at that year as the transition period from the "new generation" to the "attitude era", at that point i personally had grown tired of pro wrestling and was lucky i could stay awake through a full episode of raw ( kind of like watching raw today) when i saw Bret hart snap on a live raw in march of 97 it kind of re kindled my interest again, then there was stone cold Steve Austin and mankind, the Crock, Owen Hart, Triple H, JBL, Etc. All though my personal favorite wwf years were from 1998 to 2003, i will totally agree 1997 was a very special year we will never see again

 

[Synner]

how the hell was WCW beating WWF in ratings during this time...i never understood that. I never liked WCW much, and was super pissed when Bret left for them...I always wonder what could've been if he would've stayed, but that is a whole different topic...

How WCW beat the WWF at the time was the face of the company was Sting and the main feud throughout the whole year was Hogan Vs. Sting with the fans not knowing what side Sting was on. Yes WWF at the time were putting on a good product and were beginning to showcase their "younger" stars and were starting to change the way we watched wrestling.

IMO the whole 1996 - 1999 Era in wrestling was the best because it kept fans on the edge and you never knew what was going to happen. The thing I think that set WCW apart at the time was they were starting to bring "real life" situations into focus instead of the dodgy storylines like "Robocop" (shudders at saying that).

WWF was in that transitional period and were making the ground up but they still had some storylines which would have been classed as dodgy.

Anyway that's my opinion but yes WWF in 97 was a lot better than today's stale product.

 

[Vega]

Yeah, exactly what I'm feeling. When I think of great wrestling, great drama and great characters I think of 1997. It was a year of change and great competition. A lot of top guys, but no indisputed top face. The fans were split and had different favorites. There also were the Monday Night Wars and WCW rose in the ratings. As a wrestling fan, you got everything you could dream of right served on a plate. Wow, I love 1997!

 

[TheAnimal]

I loved 1997. Im a huge Hart family mark, so the years when they were on top were awesome for me. The feuds they entered in were great, it was the first/only real time that the USA/Canada differences were evident and exciting.
Austin broke through and some of the matches were outstanding, i think looking back makes it better because it was the ignition for the most successful period in WWE history, and even though the harts weren't there except for Owen, they were a huge part of it.