It's time, for the 1997 WWF Royal Rumble, live from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas!
Last week, the show closed out with an image of The Nation of Domination & Vader obliterating Ahmed Johnson and The Undertaker.
Other notable feuds, such as HHH-Goldust and Sycho Sid- Shawn Michaels are given their own match spotlights in this Pay-Per-View.
There are lots of things to talk about, and without wasting any further time, let’s begin...
MATCHES-
1) Hunter Hearst Helmsley (c) (w/ Mr. Hughes) vs. Goldust (w/ Marlena) {WWF Intercontinental Championship Match}.
2) Ahmed Johnson vs. Farooq (w/ Nation Of Domination).
3) The Undertaker vs. Vader (w/ Paul Bearer).
4) Heavy Metal, Jerry Estrada & Fuerza Guerrera vs. Perro Aguayo, Hector Garza & Canek.
5) 30-Man Royal Rumble Match.
6) Shawn Michaels (w/ Jose Lothario) vs. Sycho Sid (c) {WWF World Heavyweight Championship Match}.
#1: HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY (c) (w/ MR. HUGHES) vs. GOLDUST (w/ MARLENA) {WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH}.
‘Since becoming Intercontinental Champion, Triple H’s ego has expanded more than his stock portfolio.’ - An excerpt from the video package for this match.
HHH has an obsession over Goldust’s wife, Marlena. Hunter tried to kidnap her, to you know— do things that aren’t PG-friendly. That is the focal point of this whole feud (The Intercontinental Title feels secondary in this case).
Goldust interrupts Hunter by attacking him mid-way through his entrance. The commentary team is surprised to see that HHH is accompanied by his butler, Mr. Hughes.
The match starts off more like a brawl initially, but it slows down immediately, which enables me to point out some interesting (and sometimes irrelevant) stuff.
Somewhere in between, the camera pans to Marlena for 2 seconds, and the crowd goes insane for it. Hunter & Goldust are trying to put up a good match, but a 2 second shot of Goldust’s wife standing outside the ring yields the loudest pop of the night (so far).
And hey, it’s not just the audience who cannot control their urges, our very own Jerry “The King” Lawler is a part of this frenzy too, who goes—
“…Can’t stand Goldust. But I (you know), I can’t say anything bad about Marlena, especially when she wears that outfit, it brings out the BUST in her…I mean the best in her!”
Sigh.
Goldust uses the steel steps, the guardrail, and the ring-post also come into play. Things seem to get out of hand, and as the commentary team points out, Goldust should have been disqualified by now, and the referee is very lenient (Surprise, surprise. The ref is Earl Hebner, who will soon officiate The Montreal Screwjob in the future). This is personal.
Goldust even chop-blocks HHH outside, which reminds us of Stone Cold Steve Austin doing the same to The British Bulldog last week on RAW. Oddly, there is a mid-match mini-interview with a country singer (Colin Raye) sitting in the audience, who is prompted to sing a line from one of his smash-hits whilst the action is going on in the ring.
Mr. Hughes throws the IC belt into the ring and distracts the ref. HHH is too busy kissing Marlena though, and that allows Goldust to get the upper hand. Goldust even jams Marlena’s cigar right into Mr. Hughes face.
But all of this chaos results in Hunter delivering a nasty clothesline to Goldust and finally using the pedigree to win the match via a three-count.
I mean, this was an undercard match, and it was certainly presented as one. The crowd wasn’t too hyped for it. Goldust’s wife, a country singer and Jerry Lawler’s hormones stole the spotlight in this one.
RESULT: HHH retains via pinfall.
Pre-taped shorts show a cool mirror shot of Bret Hart claiming that he’s gonna win the Royal Rumble even though everybody will be targeting him in the ring.
Mankind wants to win the Royal Rumble, but main-eventing WrestleMania isn’t the top priority on his list, no— he just wants to hurt a LOT of people, that’s all.
Cool.
#2: AHMED JOHNSON vs. FAROOQ (w/ Nation Of Domination).
Ahmed Johnson rushes in and tackles Farooq right onto the mat. It’s an all-out brawl considering what happened last week.
But, this is where my meter ticks off. You see, when two people are brawling in the WWF, we all consider that this is a “brawl”. But, back in those days, if two “black people” are brawling in the WWF, Jim Ross keeps pointing out that Ahmed and Farooq are “taking it to the ghetto”, and how it is an all-out “turf war”.
Are you getting the ‘hood’ vibes here? Yeah, well, it is what it is.
Back to where the action’s at- The audience is clearly behind Ahmed Johnson, and they voice their support for him by cheering his name loudly. This is probably because he’s a crossover star from the NFL just like Ronda Rousey is from the UFC. So it is a HUGE DEAL.
But unlike Rousey, Johnson isn’t known for his “undeniable” in-ring skills. No, as far as I’m concerned, this match is bound to be a disaster if they keep dragging it.
Also, unlike Ronda Rousey, Ahmed Johnson’s wrestling tights/trunks keep slipping off with every bump he takes, revealing an exposed butt cheek jiggling its way into the television sets of millions of fans watching the PPV from home.
Anyways, they keep this match slightly under 10 minutes, which makes it somewhat interesting. Johnson even delivers a mid-air Power-slam when Farooq jumps off the top-rope.
Ahmed Johnson wins by DQ when N.O.D members jump him out of nowhere. He manages to fend them off, and some cowards from the faction even run-off backstage
However, Johnson is not done. He grabs a random N.O.D member, and delivers a Pearl River Plunge, sending the poor guy right through the French Announce Table, which prompts Jerry Lawler to go— “I think we just lost transmission to France!”
Pretty good post-match events and the match was not spectacularly bad, to say the least.
RESULT: Ahmed Johnson wins via DQ.
#3: THE UNDERTAKER vs. VADER (w/ Paul Bearer).
Once again, it is the big guy versus big guy trope that has haunted The Undertaker up to this point of his career. However, this match was pretty good.
At one point during this match, The Undertaker leaps off his feet and somehow (rotates and) delivers a leg drop to the back of a standing Vader. I mean, that is some pretty magnificent stuff, even for a leg drop.
Mid-way through this contest, another mini mid-match interview happens, and no, it is not any famous star or a country singer this time around. The interviewer picks a random lady and asks her to narrate how she eventually got here.
The lady reveals that she was saving up all her money through babysitting just to watch The Royal Rumble live, and to remind you, Vader is pounding The Undertaker in the ring whilst this mini-interview is going on. In the words of Gordon Cole from Twin Peaks: The Return— “What the hell?!”
Anyways, The Undertaker even slams Vader mid-air. A lot of back and forth happens, and Vader delivers a quick power-bomb. But The Undertaker, who is impeccable for his timing, sits up in his trademark dead-man fashion, yielding a huge pop from the audience.
Unexpectedly, Paul Bearer comes out with an urn in his hands. The Undertaker choke-slams Vader, but instead of pinning him, he goes after Paul Bearer.
This is really good storytelling— our hero can easily pave his way through victory, but there is a roadblock, or conflict in his way, Paul Bearer.
Towards the climax of this match, Bearer attacks ‘Taker with the urn from behind, outside the ring.
This knocks ‘Taker into a semi-conscious state. Vader seizes the opportunity and quickly delivers a Vader Bomb just as The Undertaker rolls inside.
1,2,3! This is how Vader wins the match. A disgruntled Undertaker gets pissed off after the match and choke-slams the referee for it. The crowd pops.
The match itself was decent and followed post-contest shenanigans just like the previous bout. Not bad, but where does that leave everybody for the upcoming 30-Man Royal Rumble match? Hmmm.
RESULT: Vader wins via pinfall.
Pre-taped shorts show Stone Cold walking backstage where the camera tries to follow him for a comment. As usual, Austin spews a ton of Southern Slang and gives some insight into his ‘no-f*cks-given’ attitude. On the opposite end of this ‘attitude’, we see The British Bulldog entering the arena, being cheered on and adored by the fans.
It is very interesting to see two different eras (and attitudes) clash together and take it out later in the Royal Rumble match. How is it all going to fit together?
#4: HEAVY METAL, JERRY ESTRADA & FUERZA GUERRERA vs. PERRO AGUAYO, HECTOR GARZA & CANEK.
Sigh. Where do I start?
The 30-Man Royal Rumble match should have immediately followed the Vader-‘Taker bout. But no, instead we get THIS. First question, what is THIS?
Here is what you should know. WWF was in partnership with AAA at that point in time. Basically, this was an unadvertised filler match consisting of- 1) Guys in masks, 2) Mexican Legends? 3) A guy with a Heavy Metal gimmick who is simply called “Heavy Metal”.
People were walking to and fro in the background, perhaps attending to their needs or doing something else, as these guys put on a fast-paced match with fancy moves that nobody really cared about.
Perro Aguayo is a Mexican legend, and Canek has been wrestling for over two decades (JR says so). We get it, these guys are huge in Mexico. But the transition from Mexico to the States when it comes to WWF is totally non-existent.
These guys are busting their butts, giving loud-chops, high-flying moves, and whatnot. Athletically, these guys are the best so far. But nobody cares. Not even a single cheer.
JR is desperately trying to put them over, and it all looks as if this was his idea all along, whilst Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler are figuring this out for themselves, mixing up their names and trying to catch-up with the fast-paced action in the ring.
Perro Aguayo uses the Coup De Grace (Finn Balor’s finishing move) to win the match (and not even a single soul cheered in this mass of more than 60,000 people). Sad.
205 Live in 1997 WWF ladies and gentlemen…
RESULT: Canek, Hector Garza, and Perro Aguayo defeat Heavy Metal, Jerry Estrada, and Fuerza Guerrera.
#5: 30-MAN ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH.
Howard Finkel announces that 60,477 fans are in attendance for The Royal Rumble PPV. Maybe now is the right time to go and get that drink you’ve been itching for. Here we go!
Entrant 1. CRUSH
Crush makes his way into the ring accompanied by members of The Nation of Domination. And then, entrant number two makes his entrance, and boy, if Vince McMahon ever wants you to believe that the Royal Rumble draws are legit— he’s lying, because…
Entrant 2. AHMED JOHNSON
…How convenient.
Entrant 3. (FAKE) RAZOR RAMON
A Razor Ramoan from an alternate universe makes his way to the ring. However, I was not expecting him to enter when he did. Why? Well here’s why— there was no countdown clock that appeared on my screen before Fake Razor’s arrival. Neither did the audience count backward before his entrance.
To clear the confusion, Vince McMahon from commentary quickly informs that they are having problems with the countdown clock. Huh, imagine if that happened in 2018— people wouldn’t stop talking about it for the next ten years.
Nevertheless, Fake Razor enters the ring and stays in it for about a solid 17 seconds to have the honor of being the first eliminated by Ahmed Johnson.
But the craziness does not stop there. We are once again reminded that N.O.D members, including Farooq, are positioned ringside. Therefore, when Farooq causes a source of distraction to his current rival Ahmed Johnson— the NFL star turned Pro-Wrestler jumps out of the ring to chase Farooq backstage, hence eliminating himself in this process.
Crush is left alone in the ring. I mean…C’mon!
Entrant 4. PHINEAS GODWINN
The countdown clock is still not working…
Entrant 5. STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN
Here comes the rattlesnake, only to be met by a dead crowd reaction (probably because the clock is not working yet).
However, Austin gets into the ring and sells a clothesline by Godwinn like a million bucks. He livens up the audience and breathes life into this situation currently.
Godwinn eliminates Crush. However, he underestimates Austin— as the rattlesnake lays Phineas Godwinn with a Stunner immediately. Austin eliminates Godwinn.
So Austin is alone in the ring, and here is why he truly compliments his character. Just after eliminating Goodwinn, Austin sits on the top rope, pretending to check his made-up watch in a satirical manner, waiting for the next entrant.
He is secretly mocking the fact that the countdown clock is not working, however, the timing is impeccable, as the clock immediately starts working just when Stone Cold is mocking the botched situation itself!
The audience finally starts counting backward from 10…
Entrant 6. BART GUNN
Gunn comes in and stays for about 26 seconds, as Austin clotheslines him to the floor.
Stone Cold is once again alone in the ring, as he checks his imaginary wristwatch for the next entrant to arrive…
Entrant 7. JAKE “THE SNAKE” ROBERTS
Jake Roberts is met with a huge crowd reception. Plus, Roberts and Austin have a huge history too, because it was Austin’s promo after defeating Jake Roberts in the 1996 King of The Ring finals that put him on the map.
Jake puts the rattlesnake down (get it?) and the crowd wants a DDT. They’re literally chanting for it. But…
Entrant 8. THE BRITISH BULLDOG
…we see the Bulldog make his entrance, and that is exactly when Jake Roberts is eliminated over the top rope— off-screen. Poor guy.
Austin and the Bulldog have a good back and forth, after all, Austin cost him a match against Rocky Maivia last week on RAW.
If there’s anyone on top of The Hart Family’s watch-list, it is Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Entrant 9. PIERROTH
Who? Remember, WWF is in partnership with AAA. Pierroth is a luchador. Unfortunately for Pierroth, Austin and The British Bulldog team up to make sure that this guy isn’t going anywhere other than over the top-rope.
Interesting turn of events for The Hart Family-Steve Austin angle.
Entrant 10. THE SULTAN
The Sultan is accompanied by Iron Sheik. Interestingly, the Sultan is none other than Rikishi under a mask.
He gets in and goes right after the luchador.
Entrant 11. MIL MASCARAS
What! For those who don’t know, Mil Mascaras is an all-time legend. Check him out sometime. Adding to my surprise, even the crowd pops real hard when Mil Mascaras enters the ring. They know who he is.
He attacks the Sultan, who in turn manages to get the better of Mascaras with a belly-to-back suplex…
Entrant 12. HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY
The Sultan is eventually eliminated by The British Bulldog. HHH is ALMOST eliminated by Austin. The ring is getting crowded.
Entrant 13. OWEN HART
Finally, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog work together on eliminating the redneck (Steve Austin) who is a top-most threat to them after what happened last week.
But, surprise, surprise- Owen accidentally eliminates The British Bulldog. He insists that it was an accident, but the slow-mo replay tells a different story entirely— as Vince points out. The plot thickens…
Entrant 14. GOLDUST
The Bizzare One, accompanied by Marlena, makes his way to the ring, aiming for HHH.
However, Steve Austin acts as a roadblock for Goldust. Some other time Dustin, perhaps some other time…
Entrant 15. CIBERNETICO
Another luchador. Speaking of the Mexican flair we have going on right now— the legend Mil Mascaras and Pierroth eliminate Cibernetico, after which Mascaras manages to eliminate Pierroth by himself.
And here’s where things get interesting, and bizarre, yet again. Mascaras heads towards the top rope after eliminating Pierroth. The audience, me, and perhaps you— the reader, assume that Mascaras will dive onto somebody in the ring.
But no, Mascaras dives outside and delivers a cross-body to the wrestler he just eliminated seconds ago— Pierroth.
Did Mil Mascaras accidentally eliminate himself? Mascaras is dumbfounded because apparently, he was not aware of the rules (laughing internally). The referees inform him and even try to stop Mascaras from getting back into the ring.
Even Vince and his co-commentators snicker on commentary. What a comical situation. We can make out his disappointed expression under that mask.
So much for the legend…
Entrant 16. MARC MERO
Goldust eliminates HHH, and the crowd pops hard. At last, Dustin got revenge in some form or another.
Owen Hart uses an enzuiguri on Steve Austin. Enzuiguri seemed to be a huge thing back then because the crowd loves it.
Entrant 17. LATIN LOVER
He is Latin. He is a lover. He is a luchador. He is a luchador who is mask-less.
If that does not answer all of your questions, well then, you need to know that this guy works STIFF. You can clearly make out that distinct ‘THWACK’ sound when he delivers a kick.
Nevertheless, Owen Hart almost eliminates Goldust, but the sequence looks odd, probably because Goldust was supposed to go over the top rope. My doubts are confirmed when Owen sends Goldust out of the ring immediately after that.
Entrant 18. FAROOQ
The Nation of Domination leader comes in and quickly eliminates the Latin Lover.
Here is where things turn around pretty fast. The Ahmed Johnson/Farooq storyline converges at this point when Johnson (who eliminated himself by going after Farooq early on) storms in with a 2x4 to attack Farooq.
Farooq realizes the danger, and runs away from him, outside of the ring, therefore eliminating himself.
Austin eliminates Marc Mero & Owen Hart off-screen.
Ahmed Johnson eliminated himself. Farooq eliminated himself. Mil Mascaras eliminated himself.
Trifecta.
Eliminations everywhere! And after all the chaos is over, we realize that Steve Austin is once again, alone in the ring— all by himself. What now?
Entrant 19. SAVIO VEGA
The timing is impeccable, I repeat— the timing is impeccable. Vega and Austin go back to WrestleMania 12, and with Austin alone in the ring, this makes for a great back-and-forth sequence.
After putting on a great course of events, Austin manages to clothesline Vega over the top rope. In this way, WWF has managed to converge two storylines one after the other (Johnson-Farooq, Austin-Vega).
Austin is alone in the ring. How far can the rattlesnake go?
Entrant 20. JESSE JAMES
Jesse James, you must ask— who? Well, Jesse James is none other than the person we all love to hate for today’s creative problems, ‘Road Dogg’ Jesse James.
However, he is not quite the ‘outlaw’ yet. As a matter of fact, he comes out to a country tune, which is definitely not a characteristic feature of an outlaw.
You must remember, the Attitude Era is not in full-force yet, and a lot of characters lack the attitude to qualify for that era, including Mr. Jesse James.
Nevertheless, Austin single-handedly eliminates Jesse James. Austin is once again, alone in the ring. Let’s hope that the next entrant does not complicate matters further, at least for Stone Cold Steve Austin…
Entrant 21. BRET “THE HITMAN” HART
At this point, even you must have realized that Stone Cold has a lot of Bad Blood with countless superstars even before reaching his peak superstardom.
But it had to be Bret Hart, his most fierce, current rival as of yet, and Austin has an expression of the most shocked superstar on his face. Great.
Both of them have an amazing sequence which lights the crowd on fire (not literally). Hart gets the better of Austin, but the redneck has not been eliminated yet…
That is when…
Entrant 22. JERRY “THE KING” LAWLER
‘I told you, McMahon!’
Jerry Lawler takes off his headset, gets up from the commentary table, and heads inside the ring, only to be eliminated by Bret Hart in a span of four seconds.
But what happens next is the part that actually cracked me up. After being eliminated, Jerry Lawler rushes back to the table and puts the headset back on so fast, as if nothing really happened in the first place.
Throughout the rest of the match, Vince and JR mock Lawler, occasionally asking if he’s alright in the head.
Entrant 23. (FAKE) DIESEL
Jerry “The Butt-hurt” Lawler turns on Bret Hart during the commentary and the match proceeds at a stable pace.
Entrant 24. TERRY FUNK
The Hardcore Icon is here! But he is already half-way through the entrance ramp even before the countdown is over.
The match progresses at a moderate pace. However just before the next entrant arrives, Terry Funk hits one of the ‘weakest’ piledrivers on Bret Hart in the history of professional wrestling. The reader must note that I did not use the word ‘botched’. This is only because that specific piledriver was genuinely weak.
Entrant 25. ROCKY MAIVIA
The pace has slowed down a lot. Perhaps it is needed for what is about to come. You simply cannot cramp all of your best sequences in one single match, otherwise, it gets bloated…
Entrant 26. MANKIND
Mankind and Terry Funk share an insane history full of hardcore moments even before this point in time. The commentary team picks up on that too.
Entrant 27. FLASH FUNK
Unlike Terry Funk’s weak piledriver, Bret Hart delivers an amazing one to Stone Cold Steve Austin.
But I shudder. Why? Because I shudder each and every time somebody drops Stone Cold right on his head. You know why.
Entrant 28. VADER
Its Vader time, as the mastodon joins in on the tradition of beating Steve Austin to the pulp.
Steve Austin still hangs on.
Entrant 29. HENRY GODWINN
Henry Godwinn enters into the foray and single-handedly manages to take down Vader with a clothesline.
The end is nigh….GONG!
Entrant 30. THE UNDERTAKER
The dead-man walks towards the ring, surrounded by mystique.
We all know that he is going for Vader. It is important to note that it was at this point when the ring was most populated throughout the entire match.
Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Henry Godwinn, Rocky Maivia, (Fake) Diesel, Terry Funk, Flash Funk, The Undertaker, Vader, and Mankind.
Find something similar? More than half of the people currently in the ring are going to be the leading names in WWF’s upcoming revolution that is going to change this industry for good.
Also, one of them is going to win the 1997 Royal Rumble.
‘Taker knocks Vader down and does the same to Mankind and Steve Austin.
Austin and Vader get choke-slammed. The dead-man then goes out to attack (Fake) Diesel a.k.a Glenn Jacobs a.k.a his onscreen brother in the near-future.
Vader performs a fallaway slam on Flash Funk, not in the ring, but he throws the poor guy right outside. Undertaker eliminates Henry Godwinn. Mankind uses the Mandible Claw on Rocky Maivia and drives him over the top-rope, thus, eliminating him.
Mankind and Terry Funk finally get a good back-and-forth, with Mankind emerging victorious by eliminating his rival, Terry Funk. However, The Undertaker eliminates Mankind right after that.
But hey, Terry Funk and Mankind are not your ‘usual’ WWF Superstars. Both of them start brawling outside the ring even though they have been eliminated already, because, why not? They’re hardcore rivals after all.
This prompts a horde of referees trying to separate these two apart, and this is where the climax of this match takes place—
- Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart actually manages to eliminate Stone Cold Steve Austin.
- However, Austin gets right back in, without any officials to stop him. Why?
- You see, since each and every official was busy separating Mankind and Terry Funk apart, they did not notice Steve Austin being eliminated from the match.
- So technically, Steve Austin is still in the match. He surprises Vader and The Undertaker by eliminating them from behind.
- Three superstars remain. Bret Hart has no idea about Steve Austin, so he eliminates (Fake) Diesel over the top-rope.
- Unbeknownst to Bret, Steve Austin is already behind him, and without wasting any time, Stone Cold pushes Bret Hart right over the top just as soon as the latter is done with (Fake) Diesel.
Stone Cold Steve Austin is your 1997 Royal Rumble winner!
All of this happens in a fury of seconds, and everybody is in disbelief, especially Bret Hart.
You bet Jerry Lawler is having the time of his life, now that he’s anti-Bret.
Bret Hart rushes back into the ring and manhandles the referee. What follows is one of those rare sights that breaks the normal tradition of what usually happens after these Royal Rumble matches—
There is no celebration. The winner of the 30-Man Royal Rumble, Steve Austin has already left the ring, whilst the runner-up, occupies the ring, demanding answers.
There is only confusion and chaos (and Bret Hart)…
The Hitman even grabs Vince by the collar and demands an explanation from him. Of course, Vince McMahon is not a full-fledged character yet, so he does not respond with anything.
Looking back at it, the finish of this Royal Rumble match is one of the most replayed moments in Austin’s career. However, this certainly WAS NOT the case back then.
It is not true that each and every fan in that arena started magically boarding the Austin hype train. No. People were dumbfounded too.
You can look behind the commentary table after the match gets over, and there are fans booing right into the camera so much so, that even Vince has to acknowledge that the fans are unhappy.
Moreover, this was easily one of the sloppier Royal Rumble matches in history. There were some great moments in there, but the legendary finish does not change the fact that the former half of this match suffered from a lot of kinks.
But yes, there were many memorable moments and sequences throughout its entirety. Only time will tell what is to be and what is not…
RESULT: Stone Cold Steve Austin wins the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match.
#6: SHAWN MICHAELS (w/ JOSE LOTHARIO) vs. SYCHO SID (c) {WWF WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP}.
Time for the real main-event of this evening. Let’s get one thing straight— Shawn Michaels…is OVER. I know that this is his hometown, but HBK is the real deal.
How can I claim this, you ask?
Well, for starters, we see a shot of HBK nearing the gorilla position & after a split reaction on the Rumble’s aftermath, the crowd seems to have re-energized themselves using some sort of devil-trickery. Because when we see the first shot of Shawn Michaels walking backstage, the audience loses their minds.
I thought the 2-second shot of Marlena rooting for her husband yielded a loud pop, but HBK tops that.
I quickly realize that the fans did not rush into the Alamodome primarily because of the Royal Rumble match. No, they came to see Shawn Michaels.
That is how important star-power is. These days, fans will buy tickets specifically for the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match.
But in this case, HBK is the main attraction. Sure, the Rumble match is important too, but it is secondary at this point.
Also, Shawn Michaels, at that point in time, was possibly responsible for drawing more than ninety percent of the female demographic in the WWF.
Remember that random lady who was part of a mini interview during the Vader vs. The Undertaker match early on in this show? Do you?
She narrated her story about saving all that money via babysitting just to watch this PPV live. Well, there is one part I purposefully did not tell you and was saving up to this point— the lady also revealed that she came here all the way just to watch her favorite Shawn Michaels in the main-event.
Just a real example, but you get my point.
They also show Sid nearing the Gorilla position after HBK has already made his entrance. Sure, Sid was not great when it comes to mixing up words in live promos, but that guy had nuclear heat on him that night.
I mean, this match is a really big deal.
The match starts, and it is a classic heel versus face matchup. There is no one cheering Sid just because it is ‘cool’ to cheer heels over faces.
The concept actually works very effectively. Sycho Sid puts on a simple hold, and a wave of boos echo throughout the arena. Shawn Michaels escapes the simple hold and the crowd cheers as if they just survived World War II.
HBK didn’t even work his butt off in this one. The crowd practically did all the work for them.
No one but Jerry Lawler is getting an orgasm when Sid gets the upper hand. So essentially, this classic back-and-forth keeps going on, and Sid has Michaels in a bear-hug.
There is even a point where Shawn Michaels body-slams Sid, who is way bigger than HBK himself. The referee goes down in the ring, and Sid delivers a powerful chokeslam to Shawn Michaels.
However, there is no referee to make the count. Another referee does get in later, but HBK kicks out of two due to the delay.
Due to pure frustration, Sid knocks the second referee down too. This allows Michaels to take hold of the opportunity, grab the camera and nail Sid twice in the form of sweet revenge (Sid had done the same during Survivor Series 1996).
Michaels pins the champion, but the referee is pretty much out of it, and Sid manages to kick-out at 2-and-half. The audience cannot believe it.
So Shawn does what needs to be done. He gears up for the Sweet Chin Music and hits it at the exact right moment. Sid goes down. 1,2….3!
Shawn is the champ! The Heart-Break Kid has done it. San Antonio goes wild, as they have just witnessed their hometown hero win the gold.
Shawn Michaels celebrates with the audience, and at one point, Vince McMahon himself has to awkwardly shuffle aside when Shawn is right behind him, hugging all the people. HBK turns around and gives his boss a little hug too.
Why not? He actually needs it. The ratings war haven’t been in Vince’s favor so far, that’s for sure.
Despite the controversial Rumble match, the show actually signed off on a positive note. Sure, HBK did not give his 100 percent for this match, and technically, it was decent when it comes to in-ring quality.
Truthfully, no matter how much people adore him, Shawn is playing the audience into cheering him. Make no mistake, he acts like a heel, and Bret Hart is indeed right about him.
But then again, did Shawn really need to go a 100 percent for this one? Because the crowd did more than half of the work for him.
This is something that AJ Styles has yet to achieve, at least on HBK’S level…
RESULT: Shawn Michaels is the new WWF World Heavyweight Champion.
SUMMARY:
Isn’t it frustrating enough that you now have to read a summary based off on the mammoth of content that precedes this section?
Anyways, this show is most famously known for that final climax involving Steve Austin and Bret Hart that has been played over and over during the course of these years.
However, when you watch the whole show in its entirety— that does not seem to be the case at all.
The Steve Austin victory was divisive. The preliminary matches, HHH vs. Goldust, Ahmed Johnson vs. Farooq and that charisma-less six-man tag team match including AAA’s athletic wrestlers did not seem to help this show at all.
The main-event including Sycho Sid and Shawn Michaels wasn’t an all-time in-ring classic, but it still makes for an amazing watch because it helps you to figure out the dynamics behind the successful culmination of a match that did not require so much effort in the first place.
-What to watch then?
1) The Sycho Sid vs. Shawn Michaels main-event, obviously.
2) The 30-Man Royal Rumble Match, even if it was a bit sloppy.
3) And, if you have the mileage to go for one more, then do check out The Undertaker vs. Vader matchup.
Critically, the 1997 Royal Rumble was not a huge success, but looking back, some parts were necessary for shaping out the future of this company.
1997 ROYAL RUMBLE GRADED: B-
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