The Dumpster Match it built to at Mania XIV helped as well; ANOTHER great example of Foley and Funk killing themselves to help young talent/new gimmicks get over...
I’d say The best storylines were Canada vs America, Bret vs Stone Cold, Bret vs Michaels, crybaby Bret, Paul Bearer vs Undertaker, Owen vs Stone Cold, NOD, Austin/Michaels, DX, Austin stuns everyone
@@lukeborne3253 hbk admittedly was in a bad space even without the back injury and tried to sabotage the rock. Wouldn't job to Austin without taker threatening him. Had the hitman never left what could've been?
@@eucliffe7267 100% true. bret hart kind've had a piece in the start of the attitude era too with his edgy heel turn with the reformation of the hart foundation.
Yep and thank god Vince McMahon found Vince Russo just in time to help steer the company in the right direction after out of touch fools like Bruce Prichard and Jim Cornette nearly killed his company.
From what I have read, another reason why WWE changed direction in 1997 was because USA Network was threatening to boot Raw off the air due to the poor ratings in favor of adding NHL hockey on Monday nights to replace it. USA Network at the time were in negotiations with the NHL for the TV contract that went from 1999-2004 & wanted to add more sports to their network. If the Attitude Era had not happened, it is likely Raw would have booted off air in October 1999 to make way for the NHL. Ultimately the NHL went with ESPN/ABC for the 1999-2004 TV contract. USA wouldn't air any NHL games until 2012 (after NBCUniversal took over ownership) when they aired a few Stanley Cup Playoff games & they continued to do this until 2021 when NBC lost the rights for the NHL to TNT & ESPN/ABC.
1997 was the single greatest year in wrestling full stop as WWF, WCW and ECW were all on fire with the competition bringing the best out of all of them
Here me out 1996-1997 Summerslam was one the best time frames in WWE wrestling. Epic feud between Mankind and Taker, ending with an epic feud between Hart and Taker. Everything else was solid and it doesnt end badly 🤝
I have very fond memories of Jays. Only available here in the Midwest, but they were a staple in my house growing up. My dad would kill a bag every other day.
I've been binge watching Raw in my spare time since 1993. I just got to 1997 this year. Recently watched Summerslam 1997, which like this year, the 97 SummerFest was also on August 3rd.
What a fantastic time 1997 was for professional wrestling! It has been often imitated, but it will NEVER be duplicated! I had front row tickets to the 5/19/97 episode of Monday Night Raw, and actually had the privilege of shaking Vince McMahon's hand live from the front row as he was joining color commentary for the War Zone segment of the show. This was obviously well before all the current trouble he's gotten himself into. Regardless, the WWF in 1997 will FOREVER be an absolutely legendary time in wrestling history!
there was also an ep where they said they were dealing with audio problems if people hear talking over them talking lol bc someone else had their mics channel or something
You don't get 3 divas matches every Raw during this era so it's a win over today regardless. In-ring I found it difficult to binge Raw 97, it did get better as the year went on but on only slightly. 98 is a massive improvement presentation and stroy line wise so far. I've got Raw 99 to binge soon,
Want to provide a few add ons to this list. This is all pretty fresh in my mind as I've been following a watch-through of this era of wrestling. Film quality: it was more poor during this time but i believe when WWF went to south Africa, they used a different production team. That should be fact checked. Invasion: McMahon was partially funding ECW which is why the cross promotion made sense on paper but it's still Vince who was making the decisions so we got what we got. Rick Rude: the episode of Raw after the survivor series was taped whereas the episode he appeared on Nitro was live so why he could appear on both shows on the same night. If you watch the taped Raw show, his demeanor was much different and could tell he was upset. He also was paid per appearance in WWF, not contracted, so he could leave very easily and did so
2:15 I was at Raw that night in Toronto and there was a huge snowstorm in the area that night. Since broadcast and transmission standards were not great at that time, the weather affected the quality of the feed
Don't say Hawk and Animal were "old." That didn't give WWF the right to completely bury them during that time. I bet you wouldn't have said Hogan or Flair were old winning the WCW title and taking spots away from the younger talents 🤦♀️🙄
You said it would be 5 years until they switched the world title again? But Austin beat Kane for the belt in 98 , night after kotr and it changed hands bunch of times in 99 on raw
Everyone was sick of them all having an outside profession lmao I never really thought about it but they were also the a absolute stereotype of said profession
That last one is so incredibly stupid that I can't even begin to wonder why that was even put in here. There are far more interesting things about Raw from 1997 including that the Raw from the Toronto SkyDome was only the second time that Raw had actually been in Canada (all other Raw episodes from Canada were taped in one night in 1995) and caused a massive expansion of televised shows outside of the United States. Or that Raw had episodes emanated from more than 2 countries for the first time ever (The US, Germany, South Africa, Canada) including their only televised show from German for 27 years (until the SmackDown before Bash in Berlin) and their only televised show from South Africa to date. Or that the Raw from the SkyDome was the highest attended Raw show ever at that point (although that record would be broken in 1999 by another Raw show in the same building.) Or that they went from the 1,000 seat Manhattan Center in February for the ECW Invasion episode to over 14,000 at Madison Square Garden by September. Or that 1997 marked the end of the double taped episodes of Raw where they would have a live episode of Raw and then tape one in the same night and in the same building. The last episode of Raw to happen like this would be in January of 1997.
Respectfully disagree about the 1997 New Age Outlaws. By the fall, they were vicious heels. Obliterating all the tag teams on the roster, stealing items from them and getting massive heat. After they joined DX they toned down the violence.
2008 was super underrated in my mind yes we had some stinkers but we also some great moments like Y2J vs HBK & Jeff Hardy winning the WWE title right at the end of the year
"Old" is code for Vince Mcmahon saying you ask for too much money and control and he's done with you, but he doesn't want to fire you until you can't help his competition anymore so he's got to devalue you first.
Classic WC, anytime you marks make a video about the downfall of WCW Vince Russo's name is all over it but you make a video about how great WWF was in the late 90s and no mention of Russo's writing. Pathetic marks.
He had nothing to do with the success of the WWF. It just coincidentally got better after years of sucking as soon as he became head writer. In fact, here's a breakdown of the writing: 93-96: McMahon is a horrible writer, anything decent was because of Cornette/Prichard 97-99: McMahon is a genius, all bad ideas are Russo 00: Kreski is a genius, all bad ideas are McMahon
@BurgerQueenDoudrop I was joking. That's always the IWC consensus which makes zero sense. Like how did it suddenly get better when he took over yet he gets no credit?
Oh goodie! It's time for Butt Culture to bury the Attitude Era for the one trillioneth times 🤦♂️ For an era they claim to hate so much, Smark Culture can't seem to shut up about it.
I disagree. Early to mid 1997 was mah. WWE really did not start to turn it on until late 1997 after the Montreal screw job. I hated the heel Bret Hart team Canada angle and it was a bit depressing.
Nah, The Outlaws really hit their stride after pushing Foley and Funk off the stage before No Way Out.
The Dumpster Match it built to at Mania XIV helped as well; ANOTHER great example of Foley and Funk killing themselves to help young talent/new gimmicks get over...
The birth of the WWF Attitude Era just got started in 1997.
Yep and Vince Russo was a huge reason why but of course these marks will never give him the credit he deserves.
Yo, how long of a birth are you describing?
1997 was the most important year for the WWE.
Brett VS Stone Cold and Steve VS Dwayne feuds of the year 1997. The build of Stone Cold was very well done.
I’d say The best storylines were Canada vs America, Bret vs Stone Cold, Bret vs Michaels, crybaby Bret, Paul Bearer vs Undertaker, Owen vs Stone Cold, NOD, Austin/Michaels, DX, Austin stuns everyone
Yes, good thing they had a professional like Vince Russo who knew what he was doing running the show back then, the writers today would be lost.
Tuning in every week & watching with my brother was epiiiccccc
1997 is easily one of the best/most important years ever… as a 13 year old at the time, I feel lucky to have been there
Yep, and Vince Russo's writing and vision for the company was a big reason why but of course these marks will never give him the credit he deserves.
My fav thing of 97 was Steve Austin
1997 was a transition year. the end of the hart / hbk eras and the birth of the austin rock hhh eras.
Still could’ve been HBK if not for that back injury
@@lukeborne3253 hbk admittedly was in a bad space even without the back injury and tried to sabotage the rock. Wouldn't job to Austin without taker threatening him. Had the hitman never left what could've been?
yeah but coked up HBK and 1st gen of DX is the trigger for that change.
@@eucliffe7267 100% true. bret hart kind've had a piece in the start of the attitude era too with his edgy heel turn with the reformation of the hart foundation.
Yep and thank god Vince McMahon found Vince Russo just in time to help steer the company in the right direction after out of touch fools like Bruce Prichard and Jim Cornette nearly killed his company.
Kane's debut was amazing & is easily my favorite moment of 1997!!!!
Shawn Michaels apparently wanted the New Age Outlaws in DX when he was there as he saw something in them
I was binge watching 97' two weeks ago and I appreciated it more
Been waiting on this video since I started binge watching every raw from 1997 😭
From what I have read, another reason why WWE changed direction in 1997 was because USA Network was threatening to boot Raw off the air due to the poor ratings in favor of adding NHL hockey on Monday nights to replace it. USA Network at the time were in negotiations with the NHL for the TV contract that went from 1999-2004 & wanted to add more sports to their network. If the Attitude Era had not happened, it is likely Raw would have booted off air in October 1999 to make way for the NHL. Ultimately the NHL went with ESPN/ABC for the 1999-2004 TV contract. USA wouldn't air any NHL games until 2012 (after NBCUniversal took over ownership) when they aired a few Stanley Cup Playoff games & they continued to do this until 2021 when NBC lost the rights for the NHL to TNT & ESPN/ABC.
The ironic thing is, that same TNT hosting NHL is what kicked AEW Dynamite off of TNT, and over to TBS. Funny how life works.
Love me some retro Simon
1997 was the single greatest year in wrestling full stop as WWF, WCW and ECW were all on fire with the competition bringing the best out of all of them
Here me out 1996-1997 Summerslam was one the best time frames in WWE wrestling. Epic feud between Mankind and Taker, ending with an epic feud between Hart and Taker. Everything else was solid and it doesnt end badly 🤝
I have very fond memories of Jays. Only available here in the Midwest, but they were a staple in my house growing up. My dad would kill a bag every other day.
I've been binge watching Raw in my spare time since 1993. I just got to 1997 this year. Recently watched Summerslam 1997, which like this year, the 97 SummerFest was also on August 3rd.
Started watching during the pandemic, then job picked up again, so now I don't get to watch as many episodes, but I'm still watching through.
What a fantastic time 1997 was for professional wrestling! It has been often imitated, but it will NEVER be duplicated! I had front row tickets to the 5/19/97 episode of Monday Night Raw, and actually had the privilege of shaking Vince McMahon's hand live from the front row as he was joining color commentary for the War Zone segment of the show. This was obviously well before all the current trouble he's gotten himself into.
Regardless, the WWF in 1997 will FOREVER be an absolutely legendary time in wrestling history!
Just the Peak of the Boom
there was also an ep where they said they were dealing with audio problems if people hear talking over them talking lol bc someone else had their mics channel or something
You don't get 3 divas matches every Raw during this era so it's a win over today regardless. In-ring I found it difficult to binge Raw 97, it did get better as the year went on but on only slightly. 98 is a massive improvement presentation and stroy line wise so far. I've got Raw 99 to binge soon,
The only three pivotal years in WWE is 1985,1997,2001
You can say 2024 is too. The first full year of the Triple H era
2007 belongs on that list too.
Want to provide a few add ons to this list. This is all pretty fresh in my mind as I've been following a watch-through of this era of wrestling. Film quality: it was more poor during this time but i believe when WWF went to south Africa, they used a different production team. That should be fact checked. Invasion: McMahon was partially funding ECW which is why the cross promotion made sense on paper but it's still Vince who was making the decisions so we got what we got. Rick Rude: the episode of Raw after the survivor series was taped whereas the episode he appeared on Nitro was live so why he could appear on both shows on the same night. If you watch the taped Raw show, his demeanor was much different and could tell he was upset. He also was paid per appearance in WWF, not contracted, so he could leave very easily and did so
Why did Rude even join WCW ?
Whwre the hell is my sweet sweet Andy H Murray?? He aint gone is he??
Rick Rude said I quit while looking directly into the camera
2:15 I was at Raw that night in Toronto and there was a huge snowstorm in the area that night. Since broadcast and transmission standards were not great at that time, the weather affected the quality of the feed
How can it be so cold ?
Don't say Hawk and Animal were "old." That didn't give WWF the right to completely bury them during that time. I bet you wouldn't have said Hogan or Flair were old winning the WCW title and taking spots away from the younger talents 🤦♀️🙄
Yes it did. They work for the WWF and they get to do whatever they want
@@attiepollard7847???😅
Glorious
Thank you! I’m still dreaming of a Force but can’t afford it anyway.
You said it would be 5 years until they switched the world title again? But Austin beat Kane for the belt in 98 , night after kotr and it changed hands bunch of times in 99 on raw
Where can i binge watch old wwe episodes?
Hello friends!
Brett hart made raw appointment viewing in 97 nitro vs raw I lived for it
I disagree. Early to mid 1997 was mah. WWE really did not start to turn it on until late 1997 after the Montreal screw job.
@@attiepollard7847Austin beating up Vince was everything
@@craigcarlock8910 it was a moment but it still did not get you to turn on WWE during that time to the Monday night wars in 97
@@attiepollard7847 no it actually did
Without 97 there may have been no main stream wrestling and the wrestlers that made it what it is today
Crazy to think that we would have lost out on the best 3 years in wrestling history if Vince McMahon had chose Cornette over Russo to be head writer.
@@BurgerQueenDoudrop yeah
Everyone was sick of them all having an outside profession lmao I never really thought about it but they were also the a absolute stereotype of said profession
That last one is so incredibly stupid that I can't even begin to wonder why that was even put in here. There are far more interesting things about Raw from 1997 including that the Raw from the Toronto SkyDome was only the second time that Raw had actually been in Canada (all other Raw episodes from Canada were taped in one night in 1995) and caused a massive expansion of televised shows outside of the United States.
Or that Raw had episodes emanated from more than 2 countries for the first time ever (The US, Germany, South Africa, Canada) including their only televised show from German for 27 years (until the SmackDown before Bash in Berlin) and their only televised show from South Africa to date.
Or that the Raw from the SkyDome was the highest attended Raw show ever at that point (although that record would be broken in 1999 by another Raw show in the same building.)
Or that they went from the 1,000 seat Manhattan Center in February for the ECW Invasion episode to over 14,000 at Madison Square Garden by September.
Or that 1997 marked the end of the double taped episodes of Raw where they would have a live episode of Raw and then tape one in the same night and in the same building. The last episode of Raw to happen like this would be in January of 1997.
Respectfully disagree about the 1997 New Age Outlaws. By the fall, they were vicious heels. Obliterating all the tag teams on the roster, stealing items from them and getting massive heat. After they joined DX they toned down the violence.
Rude was going from a script….its wwe after all
Whats up with Simon's narration on this video? something is way off
2008 was super underrated in my mind yes we had some stinkers but we also some great moments like Y2J vs HBK & Jeff Hardy winning the WWE title right at the end of the year
Simon sounds like he seriously needs a time out.
what a stupid last comparions. Bret hit a non wrestler for real, Shawn had a kayfabe match with a wrestler. maybe this guy doesn't know the difference
"Old" is code for Vince Mcmahon saying you ask for too much money and control and he's done with you, but he doesn't want to fire you until you can't help his competition anymore so he's got to devalue you first.
WHY I came here? THAT'S WHY ❗
SIMON MILLER 💪🏼💪🏼
I say 2000 is
The WWF will always be better than WWE, and no, they are not the same company
Next To 1998 1997 Was The Second Best Year The WWF Had To Offer And I'm Glad I Experienced It.
❤❤❤
Granny fix granpa steve something to eat. Bret hart aint xoming back
Er, Simon....I got my first mobile phone in 1997. Um...it was a Motorola flip phone. Nothing that amazing about it, tbh!😂
ECW
That the attitude era was only half good
It was also half unwatchable bs
I hear Simon, I thumbs up
Classic WC, anytime you marks make a video about the downfall of WCW Vince Russo's name is all over it but you make a video about how great WWF was in the late 90s and no mention of Russo's writing. Pathetic marks.
He had nothing to do with the success of the WWF. It just coincidentally got better after years of sucking as soon as he became head writer. In fact, here's a breakdown of the writing:
93-96: McMahon is a horrible writer, anything decent was because of Cornette/Prichard
97-99: McMahon is a genius, all bad ideas are Russo
00: Kreski is a genius, all bad ideas are McMahon
@@bsmusic8837 Oh wow, I didn't know you worked there for all those years.
@BurgerQueenDoudrop I was joking. That's always the IWC consensus which makes zero sense. Like how did it suddenly get better when he took over yet he gets no credit?
@@bsmusic8837 Ohh haha, you got me. Sorry I'm just so used to dealing with marks around here. And yes, you're right.
Marks just need somebody to hate. Russo doesn't care, he makes a living making fun of people like them.
One thing I learned is I didn’t once miss women wrestling watching it
0:42 it was probably true in 95 that most wrestlers had another job as the pay offs were probably so terrible in the WWE
Vince was forced his wrestlers to take a paycut after In Your House 2
Why oh why mr.narrator do u finish every sentence u deliver like it’s a question rather than a full stop. It ruins the whole video for me sorry dude
Oh goodie! It's time for Butt Culture to bury the Attitude Era for the one trillioneth times 🤦♂️
For an era they claim to hate so much, Smark Culture can't seem to shut up about it.
I disagree. Early to mid 1997 was mah. WWE really did not start to turn it on until late 1997 after the Montreal screw job. I hated the heel Bret Hart team Canada angle and it was a bit depressing.
1996/1997 the best years.. so glad I saw this live when it happened