Summerslam 1997: A Retrospective Look

[Dagger Dias]

This summer I'll be looking back on each of the previous Summerslam events, one by one. Every few days I will submit a new topic until we reach 2014's edition of the 2nd biggest brand in WWE.

This thread will be for discussing.... Summerslam 1997!

Summerslam 1997 took place on August 3, 1997. It was held at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Here are the results of the matches from this show:



1. Mankind defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley (with Chyna) in a steel cage match (16:13)

2. Goldust (with Marlena) defeated Brian Pillman in a singles match; as a result of his loss, Brian Pillman had to wear Marlena's dress until he won a match. (07:17)

3. The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) defeated The Godwinns (Henry and Phineas) in a tag team match (09:15)

4. The British Bulldog (c) defeated Ken Shamrock by disqualification in a singles match for the WWF European Championship (07:29)

5. Los Boricuas (Savio Vega, Miguel Pérez, Jr., Jose Estrada, Jr. and Jesús Castillo) defeated The Disciples of Apocalypse (Crush, Chainz, 8-Ball and Skull) in an Eight-man tag team match (09:08)

6. Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Owen Hart (c) in a singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship (16:16)

7. Bret Hart defeated The Undertaker (c) in a singles match for the WWF Championship with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee (28:19)





Now, here are some discussion questions concerning the event:

What was your favorite match on this show, and why did you like it the most? What about the worst match of this show, why did you like it the least?

If you could change a few things about Summerslam 1997, what would it be and why?

You may only use wrestlers who were available at the roster at that time or make changes that could have realistically taken place in August 1997. Please keep in mind the situations going into the show such as who could actually have been pushed into a title match, or what songs existed back then if you wanted to change the show's theme music, and so forth.

You may only discuss Summerslam 1997 in this thread. The remaining Summerslam events will be getting their own retrospective threads, any posts regarding other events will be considered spam and you risk getting an infraction.

Discuss!

 

[The Brain]

SummerSlam 97 was one of the best SummerSlam events. I'd probably rank it #2 all time. I always thought this was the show that brought the WWF out of their slump. A lot of late 1996/early 1997 was kind of a clusterfuck but this show got them back on track. For the first time in a while it felt like a big WWF PPV. It even felt bigger than WrestleMania that year. Many look at WM14 as the turning point to the WWF's success but a turnaround doesn't happen overnight. This show laid the groundwork.

There are a few matches I could pick as a favorite from this show. The steel cage match between Mankind and Hunter Hearst Helmsley was great and a fantastic way to kick off the show. The final match between Bret Hart and Undertaker was great too. My favorite was the IC title match between Owen Hart and Steve Austin. It's just a shame we never got to see the finish. Those two were having a terrific match until the botched piledriver. It was great as it was but if they were able to go through with their planned climax I'm sure it would be remembered as an all time classic.

My least favorite match was the eight man tag between DOA and Los Boricuas. I wasn't really into the gang warfare that was going on at the time. It wasn't too bad but it was just kind of blah to me. The Nation of Domination was the best of the three feuding groups so I think it would have been better to somehow get them involved in the match rather than just interfering.

That leads me into my change. Instead of the eight man tag I would have done a triple threat with the three leaders. Faarooq vs. Crush vs. Savio Vega. They were the leaders and all former partners in the Nation. Each could have had their groups with them and it still could have ended in chaos. I believe this triple threat actually took place on the very next PPV so I say just move it up a month.

 

[HBKperfect23]

I also put this as my number 2 Summerslam ever. Spring/Summer of 97 was, IMO, the start of the attitude era. Great time to be a wrestling fan. I was pumped for this Summerslam card, coming off two solid ppvs (Canadian Stampede/KOTR). The USA/Canada build was tremendous.

The under card was great. HHH/Mankind cage match was a solid opener. Pillman/Goldust had a good angle going and the LOD/Godwins tag match was decent.

I would have liked Bulldog/Shamrock to have gotten a little more time. I was excited for that match. Wasn't too into the NOD/DOA/Bor feud but the match was harmless.

My least favorite match Ill go with Austin/Owen. Even though it had incredible build and a big match feel, AND started off as a really good match, I have to go least favorite because of the ending. Im a fan of both guys but since this really messed Austin up, it gets the nod for least favorite.

Favorite match: You usually won't find a Summerslam card that I don't pick the Bret Hart match as my favorite. He always seemed to over deliver at the Summers biggest ppv. The concept with HBK as the ref was cool because it could transition the belt to Bret without hurting Taker and start the HBK/Taker program and continue the HBK/Bret feud. The match itself was very good, one of takers best and even one of brets.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Great Summerslam, I used to watch this on VHS all the time after school. This is where things started to turn around for the WWE with the rise of Austin, Michaels' heel turn, Taker vs. Michaels, the first ever Hell in a Cell match, DX, the Montreal Screwjob, the introduction of the Attitude Era, all leading to Wrestlemania 14. The PPV is also the owner of the most badass wrestling poster and tagline (Hart & Soul) I've ever seen.

Best match: The Undertaker vs. Bret Hart. Both guys had great chemistry with each other, it was unpredictable and had a brilliant finish that would set up one of the best heel turns of all time and a great blood feud in Taker vs. Michaels. I've always said this should've been a rematch from Wrestlemania that year. My idea was Bret defending the WWF Title twice at Mania 13, first against Austin in the Submission match then in the main event against Taker. Taker wins the title from Bret at Mania, Bret takes it back from Taker at Summerslam. It would've made a great match at Mania & been an even better rematch at Summerslam and would've saved us from that abomination that was Sid vs. Taker.

Worst match: Pillman vs. Goldust or DOA vs. The Boricuas.

I have a bunch of changes in mind but I'm actually fine with them never having taken place as I still enjoyed the show bar Austin breaking his neck.

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Brian Pillman

They were originally set to face off at King Of The Ring but there were concerns about Pillman's ankle, so Brian dropped out of it. And of course if this match had taken place instead, the Piledriver that broke Austin's neck might've been avoided. The Austin/Owen and Pillman/Goldust programmes could've been saved for Ground Zero the following month.

Owen Hart (c) vs. Ken Shamrock for the WWF Intercontinental Title

Shamrock vs. Bulldog wasn't bad but I can't really think of a better replacement for Austin than Shamrock. This still could've been as good as Austin vs. Owen until the Piledriver, and they can still have Shamrock flip out on Owen and the referees after the match by having Owen cheat to win or cause a DQ.

The Patriot vs. The British Bulldog

The WWF could've done more with The Patriot. Give Patriot a win over a Hart Foundation member before going on to challenge Bret for the WWF Title at Ground Zero.

Vader vs. Jim Neidhart

This was a night where all the Hart Foundation members competed in singles matches yet Neidhart was the only member not on the card. I would've put him up against Vader who also wasn't on the card.

The Nation Of Domination vs. Los Boricuas vs. The Disciples Of Apocalypse in a Street Fight Match

I would've added The Nation to this. I think Ahmed Johnson was cleared to return to the ring by this time. They could've had Ahmed take the fall in the match as he would end up getting kicked out of The Nation shortly after for "not being bad and black enough". Farooq could also say that he was the weak link in the group since he was the one that got pinned in the match. Also, a Street Fight would've made a good stipulation for this as this is the type of match/brawl that should spill out all over the arena instead of only taking place in the ring and it hides the weaknesses of the competitors in the match.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

Great SummerSlam from top to bottom. But as much as I like this card it is a little bittersweet because this card was responsible for Austin's neck injury which shortened his career and forced him to change his style. And to a lesser extent, this card marks the beginning of the end for Bret as he began what would be his last title run in the WWF.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

This was the beginning of the upward trend for WWE so it's hard to question many of the choices made in the card. Fate had robbed them of Pillman's best so a major match wasn't really an option at this point. Bret was basically working notice/time till he "faxed his career away" as he put it in Wrestling with Shadows... Vince knew it, Shawn knew it, Taker knew it...

Most of the guys knew a changing of the guard was about to happen, just not the way it actually did.

Of course this is fondly remembered as a Summerslam because it was the last "big event" before the Screwjob... people remember where they were when Shawn hit Taker with that chairshot, they remember Austin's neck being broken, they even remember Shamrock losing it, seemingly legit when Davey smeared dogfood in his face and they remember this being the PPV where Mankind became a future main eventer.

Pillman v Goldust was fine for what it was, Pillman at that point had no business being an active wrestler and today wouldn't be allowed near it. Had they let him just be Austin or Triple H's manager instead then it might have ended differently for him.

Where this card suffered a little was the lower card booking. Boricuas and DOA were useless, the spot could easily have gone to Del Wilkes for a strong debut as The Patriot. LOD were a spent force by this time as Hawk was in bad trouble healthwise, but the Godwinns seemed to be a bad fit for them. it made more sense to have a four way with DOA, LB's, LOD and The Godwinns or to begin the trend of "creating teams" early.

The Euro belt was of course there as "compensation" for Davey not getting his contracted/promised World title reign in 96. Shamrock was a fine opponent for him but I always felt Owen would have been a better opponent for him at this show to "unify the belts". Austin didn't NEED the IC title in the way so many others did and he ended up throwing it in the river anyway. Austin could have easily faced Farooq, Rocky or even Ahmed Johnson and gotten a better result and perhaps avoided the injury.

The main event picture was by then murky cos of Bret's departure, the beefs with Shawn. The saving grace however was Taker, who had grown in leaps and bounds since being injured by Mabel just less than 2 years earlier. In that 2 years he had worked with most of the top workers and learned exponentially. This was the first big Summerslam where Taker not only looked like he could hold the title again, but that he had turned the corner to be a true main eventer rather than an attraction as he'd been booked for his first 5 years in the company. That run happened a lot sooner than he thought once Bret and Shawn were both out of the picture.

 

[Judah's Lion]

SummerSlam 97 was extremely solid, even good. there was definitely potential for great, but real life issues made that regrettably impossible. Bret/HBK had very legit issues with one another that would lead to Bret's exit to WCW, Austin broke his neck during his match and Pillman had a serious ankle injury at the time that limited his ring work. those three factors hindered this event from making it even better than it was. still, a very solid and enjoyable show. i always thought that more could have/should have been done to play up the USA vs. Canada angle that was going on. give everyone in the Hart Foundation, Anvil included, a match and add some opponents that were more patriotic.

loved Mankind vs. Triple H in the Steel Cage. it was an incredible match with great action and ring psychology. the ending was also mega entertaining.

Gang Wars was kind of a fun idea, but most of the "gangs" were pretty unintimidating. still, blow off these multiple feuds as Brain suggested, with a Triple Threat Match between Farooq, Crush and Savio Vega. make it a Street Fight to play into the "gang war" mentality.

LOD vs. Godwinns was decent. they had some good history and they were both hard-hitting teams so i liked the brawl that this match was. but to continue with my changes, i'd add the DOA (8-Ball & Skull) as well as Owen/Anvil from the New Hart Foundation. 4 teams going at it for the Tag Team Titles. any team can win here but i'd prefer Owen/Anvil go over.

European Title: Bulldog vs. Patriot. it'd just make sense to have the British Bulldog go against the American Patriot. again, either man can win, but i guess i'd go with Bulldog.

that leaves Goldust vs. Shamrock. Goldust was a face by this time but i still think he could have had a good program with Shamrock. maybe delay Goldie's face turn till after SummerSlam just so he can feud with Shamrock first. and Goldie being the character that he is can do something creepy to set Shamrock off and have him snap on Goldust instead of on Bulldog.

Austin vs. Pillman. i consider this to be a huge missed opportunity given their history in WCW and even the "he's got a gun" segment from Raw. not sure if that Raw episode happened before or after SummerSlam 97 but either way, these two guys were former partners not too long ago. and they're two of the best on the mic and in the ring of all time. this would have been a perfect place for the two to go one-on-one. i am making the assumption that Pillman can in fact wrestle at this event despite his ankle injury given that he really did have a wrestling match.

the IC Title can be either the Goldust/Shamrock or the Austin/Pillman matches. i'm okay with any of these four guys holding the belt.

Bret Hart vs. Undertaker for the WWF Title with HBK as the Special Referee was perfect. leave it absolutely as is. like Fabulous Rougeau stated, this is bitter sweet as it marked the beginning of the end of the Hitman in the WWF.

 

[DJG]

I enjoy this Summerslam to this day. With the exception of the NOD/DOA/Los Boricuas stuff which to me was a mess. Austin's injury looking back leaves a bad taste in my mouth & at the time I thought it was a work. The way Hart won the belt was great & set up the rest of the years big time main events quite nicely.

 

[roipdh123]

It is a great wrestling PPV my 3rd best Summer Slam ever {the 1st is the 2002 show & the 2nd is the 2000 show}.

I have a few changes for this show but changes that will not affect the impact that it had and I will have the card look as follows:
1.Mankind defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsely in a Steel Cage match.
2.Ken Shamrock defeated Goldust.
3.The Patriot defeated The British Bulldog {C} via a DIsqualification to retain the WWF European Championship.
4.Owen Hart defeated Vader.
5.Farooq defeated Crush and Savio Vega n a Triple Threat match.
6.Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Brian Pillman {C} to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship.
7.Bret Hart defeated The Undertaker {C} to win the WWF Championship with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee.