Taker’s 97 World Title reign was pretty good, he fought so many superstars during the reign despite winning it in one of the less talked about Mania main events in history But Bret was definitely the best guy to end the rein, since him and his family were in the middle of some of the best character work in wrestling
Taker had a good storyline in 1997 with Paul Bearer, but Bret was by far their top star in 1997 even though Taker was champion for longer. He always had some of their best angles, but he absolutely killed it in 97.
Glad you mentioned the stipulation of Anvil shaving his goatee. I argued with my next door neighbor about that at the time. I thought it was so stupid because the stakes were so low. My neighbor argued passionately that it was a huge stake because Neidhart had that goatee for so long and wouldn't be the same without it. Funny to think back to those passionate wrestling arguments we had as kids.
It would grow back in a month ffs. Bret puts his career in the USA on the line, Owen puts his IC title on the line, Pilman puts wearing a dress on tv on the line, Bulldog puts his European title and eating dog-food on the line. Anvil puts his beard on the line.
To the point about Mick Foley, from my memory, they were treated as three different beings for the most part. Like the big return of Jack, they aired a recorded promo where Dude was asking Mankind if he could handle Helmsley where Kind said no, but he knew a guy. Not so much a transformation but three facets of Foley's personality in physical form?
27:30 I don't think this is brought up enough, but Bret respected Taker to the point where he allowed Taker to be the first guy to truly break out of the sharpshooter. other people may have made it to the ropes/survived, but Taker was the first to truly free himself from it i think
@@jackcarraway4707 At this point Bret was the most senior guy in the locker-room. Bret had been in the company 6 years longer than Taker. Taker looked up to Bret. Taker even mentions this on a video interview about the Montreal Screwjob. He said Bret was the locker-room leader. It’s on RUclips.
@@cyrus2546being a locker room leader is a hell of a thing, hulk was most likely the leader before Bret and taker after Bret left following Montreal. In TNA even though Christian wasn’t an original he became the locker room leader once he got there in 05’ the other wrestlers respected him so much, there was a moment in 06’ I can’t really remember what it was only what AJ Styles said. He said “Dixie and Jarrett have a locker room meeting with us. They’re standing in front of us as we’re all sitting down. As they’re giving us the news I look over at Christian to see what he’s gonna do. If he stood up and left I would’ve left with him and I guarantee other would’ve too.” Hell of a thing to be so respected others would do that
I kinda feel the cage match is overlooked nowadays compared to the street fight and the hell in a cell in 2000. I don't think Foley and Hunter ever had a truly bad match against each other.
That cage door to Foley's head was so brutal. Mick is lucky he didn't fracture his skull. He's said multiple times that the cage door bump damn near killed him.
It was never a big deal to begin with there were plenty of other wrestlers with much more world title reigns back in the day like Flair why would anyone care about just 5.
I know... right? It was great when this was a milestone...now everyone wants to pad their resume with as many title reigns as possible. If it were me...I would rather have 1 long world title reign... seems like that would be a better accomplishment than having a ton of title reigns
One of my favorite Bret Hart moments came from what I think was the go-home show to this PPV. Bret was doing ringside commentary and Undertaker did that thing where he suddenly appears menacingly behind a victim. But instead of freaking out like most wrestlers do, Bret just looked over his shoulder, gave a “yeah, whatever” look and went back to commentary.
Great memories with this show as a kid. When I got into wrestling in late '97/early '98, luckily our mom and pop video store had a bunch of old WWF PPV's, I think every PPV from '87-'92 (and Starrcade '86 for some unknown reason) but one day we go in there just to browse and what do I see before my very eyes but a new copy of SS '97. My parents were good friends with the owners and they knew we would want to check something newer out so they got this show for their store. What awesome people they were.
I always consider this SummerSlam as the kickoff of the Attitude Era, it may not be one of the best, but I would say this is THE most important SummerSlam at that era.
I think the official start was Survivor Series but the unofficial start was the episode of Raw where Bret throws Vince on his ass in the ring and starts cursing about being screwed. It was March 97. I agree that this PPV was very important. It sets into motion Bret being screwed in Montreal, HBK heel turn which leads into the formation of DX, HBK-Taker rivalry which leads to Kane’s first appearance, the first Hell in a Cell, Steve Austin’s excellent promo work from August to October due to not being able to wrestle which lead to him stunning Vince for the first time in MSG.
I really love this ambiguous time in mid to late 97 when the new generation era is coming to an end but attitude isn't really in full swing yet, its an underrated time.
1997 will forever be my favourite year of wrestling. So much happened that year, it’s wild to look at the beginning of the year to the end and see how much it improved and changed.
I loved it too. This is when Bret Hart really added more brawling type matches to his already impressive resume. It was his last really great year. And by this time Stone Cold was already an established headliner, but hadn't won the WWF title yet.
We really missed out on a Bret-Mankind fued, Bret-triple h fued, Bret-Kane fued, Bret-Jericho fued. We could’ve seen so much great Bret stuff from 1998 to 2000 if Vince didn’t run Bret out the company.
@@cyrus2546 WCW's deep pocket book is partly to blame there. If there was no WCW, Bret Hart would have just had to take his pay cut or go to the indies or retire.
While the chain-link cage is no doubt safer, I'd still love to see the old Blue/Black Bar Cage return as a one-off, ideally for a Retro-themed Raw or Smackdown. WWE could even hype it up as being even harsher an environment than the modern cage. They obviously still have it in their warehouse, as it's made the rare appearance in certain instances, like the Firefly Funhouse Match at Mania 36.
I was just thinking that as well. I miss the visual of the old thick-bar cage, but having a chain-link cage that actually has some give to it probably makes more sense for the wrestlers and extends careers.
@@TakerKaneanite619 I don't think he would unless the wrestlers asked him to do it. He's put a lot of effort into developing a bunch of the wrestlers on that roster and seeing them broken on the unyielding blue painted steel won't make him very happy.
Bret Hart vs Undertaker at Summerslam 1997 is their best match by far. Great in ring work by both. I love the set-up for everything. Your setting up Shawn vs Undertaker in the ending, while setting up Shawn vs Bret while Setting up Kane vs Undertaker. Brilliant storytelling.
My good God, Sunny was absolute perfection around this time, I'd sneak looks too if I were right there. It's a humongous shame how far she's fallen over the years since then (after LOD 2000). Yeah the Godwinns were huge guys. LOD were big, maybe 6'3 or 6'4" but the Godwinns were monsters. It's a miracle and a blessing that Stone Cold continued on after this gruesome looking botch, even though everything he did up to that point was pretty legendary. And it's insane and baffling how the tables turned later for Owen, RIP.
This is the start to the attitude era in my eyes. Austin's injury forced him out of action and he became a star in the segments they shot while he was out and then there is the main event. Shawn and bret already had their beef and his accidental costing taker the title dug shawn into a deeper hole. From that, we got a continuation of bret vs shawn, leading to the screwjob and shawn as the most despised man in wrestling (who would be taken down by the newly white hot austin) and it gave us taker and Shawn's feud which gave us hell in a cell and kane. The trajectory of the entire company was altered by this show.
This was the first wrestling PPV I ever attended. 10 years old and an absolutely obsessed fan during one of the greatest eras in history. One of my favorite memories as a kid. There was a massive tailgate party outside the arena that afternoon. You can even see some of that footage on the Wrestling with Shadows documentary. Safe to say that 90% of the adult audience was already hungover before the show even started.
@@frankf684 I meant they started drinking so early that many were already in the hangover phase by the time the show was underway. A drunk crowd is usually rowdy, but this one you could tell by how quiet they got that they were coming down already.
He said it hurt so bad he didn't even hold his head he grabbed his own shoulder to try and recover. Chyna was stiff af at that point and she put all her strength into slamming the door, what a 🤡
What's interesting about your comment about the Mr. McMahon gimmick is that while they were making more allusions to Vince being in charge, they never had any thought of what we eventually got. Even coming out of Survivor Series Vince thought he was going to be the baby face. Luckily, once he realized that wasn't the case he was smart enough to lean into the backlash and the rest is history.
Bret Hart vs Undertaker at SummerSlam 1997 is criminally underrated. The ending of the match set of a chain of events that would change the landscape of the WWE
After watching this review and the Bret retrospective from Wrestling Bios this is the most consequential main even in WWE history so much happened over the next 2 years because of it
7:12 - Specifically it was supposed to be a heart _tattoo_ on Mick's chest, but on the day of the show he realized he had forgotten to get the tattoo, so he just crudely drew the heart on with paint or a marker or whatever right before he went out, and then it was sweated off during the match, for lack of a better word.
Show had a great beginning (Hunter vs. Mankind). And a great ending (Bret vs. Taker with the HBK stuff thrown in). The rest was kind of, meh. And Austin had to completely change his style after his neck injury. Probably shortened his career by years as well.
Definitely shorted his career. After this he wrestled from November 1997 to November 1999. He was injured from November 1999 to September 2000. He wrestled again from September 2000 to June 2002. Then he walked out of the company and would only return for one last match against The Rock in March of 2003 (I’m not counting the 4 minute “match” he had against Eric Bichoff a month earlier in February. If this injury didn’t happen he would probably be the top star of the WWE until 2007 or 2008. John Cena’s rise would be delayed by a few years.
This was when gang warfare just started with the WWF with Los Boricuas, DOA, The Nation of Domination, Degeneration X, and Heart Foundation! I enjoyed this stable warfare time!
I didn't enjoy that much so much. It seems like a lot of those stables were set up just for the survivor series, and they were incredibly forgettable. Particularly the Truth Commission and the DOA. But the Hart Foundation truly shined at this time and made the Canadian Stampede the event of the year.
They didn't do a triple threat because it was 1997. Unless you count the Final Four PPV, they only did their first triple threat/multi-man match like a month earlier and I don't remember it being all that great so they were probably not completely sold on the concept yet.
They did a terrible one on Raw with HHH, Goldust and Owen in June. They did another terrible one with Savio, Crush, and Faarooq at Ground Zero in September. These are the only two triple threat matches WWF had on TV in 1997.
You know I'm glad you brought up the karma that went Austin's way. No one ever brings up the FACT that Austin broke Chono's neck in NJPW in like 95' or whatever. You're the only one brining that up. Good job on that.
@@SteRDLK - It's a figure of speech dipshit. But the fact that Austin broke another wrestler's neck WITH THE EXACT SAME FUCKIN' MOVE not 2 years earlier is undeniable and no one ever mentions it except for our illustrious host.
I was at this PPV, I was born and raised in NJ and I was 10 at the time of this PPV so I don’t really remember too much from it but what a time to be a kid growing up watching wrestling
Also, I disagree that Taker could've been anyone else in the HBK/Hart context. It leads to a great Taker/HBK feud. There were a lot of overlapping storylines in the main event
@@dkres82 I absolutely love that match. Hbk & taker were at their physical peak. They just had great chemistry & knew how to captivate the crowd. The no finish made sense since it lead to being trapped in a hell in a cell (my fav match ever)
Yeah Sunny and Sable ushered in the attitude era. Sunny was smoking hot in 1997 and her on screen attitude and personality was excellent, it’s a shame her off screen life went so wrong she would have killed it in the attitude era
I very vividly remember Savio Vega saying there had been a terrible accident and grabbing a camera man. I had only been watching wrestling for a few weeks
the spot where taker just flung bret so hard with his legs he broke the hold and fell outside the ropes, even as a kid rooting for bret my whole childhood i was literally just like holy shit did that really just happen? such a creative but simple spot
It’s a credit to Mick Foley’s talent that he could switch between 3 different gimmicks throughout the Attitude Era and it never felt like he was breaking kayfabe. We all just bought into the idea that Foley embodied all 3 personalities and it came across as genuine.
On the other hand, re: Undertaker could have been anybody It did need to be Undertaker who then entered into a feud that ends up in a new kind of cage match, which ended in a monster debut. And this match ended up being a very logical entrance into that story, I'd say.
When it comes to the piledriver incident with Owen and Stone Cold on one hand I understand why Stone Cold had beef with Owen considering that move broke his neck after that but at the same time i doubt that Owen was trying to kill or paralyze Stone Cold with the move. So I feel like the piledriver breaking Stone Cold's neck was an accident but I understand the beef
Austin was apparently more upset that Owen didn’t call him or check to see how he was doing. Even Bret said that Owen messed up there and he told Owen to call Austin as well.
@@michaelsinger4638 what's worse is that they started having Owen do these promos bragging about how he broke his neck and you can see Owen looked really reluctant to do it. Also he apparently did apologize once to Austin. Austin did say that if he broke someone's neck he would be calling 25 times apologizing.
I think if you hurt someone on accident you should always apologise and keep in contact with them on their road to recovery. Its what Brock did when he hurt Hardcore Holly and the fact Owen didnt really didnt help his case at all
@@jayharv285 Yeah I can definitely see the reason Owen didn't call was simply because of shame. I mean this isn't just a case of hurting your opponent by accident, he could have easily been worst with Austin being paralyzed/killed.
The Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love switches I always felt added to the overall "character" of Mick Foley. I still remember laughing at him entering that Royal Rumble as each of them when I watched live on TV.
the original Dude Love debut is probably one of my favorite moments of this era, partially due to Stone Cold's reactions to the Dude's arrival. Some of the funniest expressions I've ever seen from Austin, which you wouldn't expect from a guy best known for being a gruff, toughj badass.
I remember reading a story can't remember who told it but the close up shot of Dude Love toe tapping in his titantron was apparently Vince's favourite shot.
Cornette recently talked about hating WWE's version of the cage and cage match. He mentions hating the big, bulky blue bars as well as escaping the cage to win explaining that two guys who are fighting in a cage shouldn't be trying to escape, but I really disagree with that. I think that escaping the cage to win added a level of excitement to cage matches. It was just two weeks ago when BZ covered the classic Bret/Owen cage match from '94 and just how meaningful the two made the escape stipulation feel. It's just... different. And I also loved the prison-style blue bars. I understand that they hurt like hell, but they looked great on TV. Definitely better than any red Hell in a Cell ever looked. Then again, I grew up a WWE fan since summer of '94, so what do I know?
Cornette has said that he either has or had one of those god awful cages...Its not just Cornette that hated the cage, everyone hated the cage, it was apparently ridiculously massively heavy, a pain to transport and move and a pain to assemble....
I think Hogan suplexed the Bossman off the top of one of those blue cages at a Saturday Night's Main Event once. That shocked me. Had to have been the biggest bump the Bossman ever took.
The blue cage also reportedly and understandably had no give and it was hard to work with in a way that wouldnt result in physical injury of some measure. Also, Cornette is a purist, if the first cage matches in the biz were instittued so as to keep two guys stuck in close quarters together, and prevent any funny business in form of outside interference, then that is 100% how he will always feel it should stay. i love cornette but ya gotta take some of his views with a grain of salt, understanding what fuels em. Much of his, "the biz has changed for the worse/that's now how it should be done based on history" stuff is 100% spot on, but there are things, like the cage match, where there is some room for debate and room for some innovation and change in how things are done i think.
@@jackburton2680 Even Hell in a Cell started to prevent outside interference from DX. It was designed so Michaels would have to be punished by the Undertaker and Chyna and Triple H couldn't help him.
A super cool factoid I learned from this: That SS'97 was Michael Cole's debut appearance, and also Todd Pettingill's final appearance. Kind of a neat little line drawn between the New Generation and Attitude Eras.
@@nemopouncey3827 Yes, but rarely are such examples perfect. After all, it's only one of a bunch of events you could mark down as the dividing line between the two eras.
Bro back then no one even seen it as a big deal. Now that all these channels talk about it and they made documentaries everyone claims it was big to them. The internet message boards weren’t even talking about it. Foleys dive and HBK hitting Taker was all the news.
@@TheBuddha337 Yeah, I think a lot of people were shocked to see him have to hang it up right after _WrestleMania XIX_ in Spring 2003, although there were definitely some classic moments between Austin and Eric Bischoff as Co-General Managers, and later in ’03 through early ’04 with Austin as the “Sheriff” of _RAW_ .
@@a.grimes4202 Oh I agree. I enjoyed the Co GM and Sheriff Austin stuff, it was hilarious. And I guess Austin wasn't really that young persay when he retired he was 38, I believe. But the neck injury forsure didn't help anything. Can't believe I'm saying this but I'm glad that he had "1 more match" at least I would consider it a match. I mean it was a brawl, but as soon as Austin took the suplex bump on the outside, I was like.. oh okay, this is really happening 🤣
Taker kinda being a non factor in the main event reminds me of the main event of Summerslam in 2000. As popular as the rock was he was kinda in the background while the story was Triple H, Kurt angle, Stephanie love triangle.
I still wonder if Bret would have been able to adjust to the changing environment he just missed out on, (Bulldog and Neidhart probably would have fallen through) Shaun Michaels would be still stuffed by WM14...
@@AuroDHikoshi Bret has actually said in interviews that he hated the more raunchy approach the wwf was moving to so I highly doubt he would’ve lasted longer after WM14 he would’ve probably rejected the more luid storylines like Owen did
@@rickyrosay33977 Joining Shaun(for the time being) and Road Warriors to just slowly being written out of events behind Undertaker/Foley and Austin.... montreal if not SS97... could have been in 98?
Man its been 25 years ago i loved this period with WWF Brett has face in Canada and bad guy in US i dont think that will ever be repeated on that scale again
We had a Discovery Zone. Never went in it. I thought it was for kids and I was too old for it. But right beside it, in the same building, technically, but different doors and a wall between. Was a Dark Zone. It was a laser tag arena and it was so much fun. I spent so much time there
August 3, 1997 - World Wrestling Federation Summerslam 1997: Hart & Soul, from East Rutherford, New Jersey. The 25th Anniversary of the World Wrestling Federation Championship. Ladies and Gentlemen, the winner of this bout, and 5 Time World Wrestling Federation Champion, Bret "Hitman" Hart!
For me this was the first ppv to set up the Montreal Screwjob. It was the event that gave Bret Hart the title and it also set up Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels. That feud lead to Shawn winning the wwf Title Shot and setting up Hart vs Michaels at Survivor Series 1997.
I understand why you consider the piledriver moment a bad part of the show and put it as a negative in your final score. But watching it play out on TV for the first time, this cemented Steve Austin as a heroic figure no matter what the storyline was. You don't see the man finish a match after breaking his neck and not think to yourself, well now I have to cheer for him for the rest of his life now. I don't think this makes it 'all worth it', but if there was an upside to that botch, it would be that part of that history changing moment is that it accelerated his path to superstardom. Definitely I think everything would have been better if he became that superstar completely healthy, as agile and with as much ability as Stunning Steve Austin. But of course those botches usually ended with the match abruptly ending and the injured performer bowing out of the spotlight. I guess the closest situation like it was Triple H's return at MSG in 2002. Trips is honestly as courageous as Stone Cold was not to let injuries dishearten him, and they both lucked out that they could still come back to the ring.
The difficulty with modern reviews of WWF PPVs from 1997-1999 is the shows were entertaining at the time because of character work and storyline (*some* storylines), more so than ring work. Whereas most reviewers rate shows based on the match quality alone. A good match in '97 or '98 was one that had the crowd invested. See most of Austin's work after his broken neck.
Saying a match is an objectively good match just cause the crowd cheered for it wouldn't make a person a reviewer but just a mark. I think we should be looking at this era without those rose tinted glasses.
As far as Henry Godwinn's injury goes, it is entirely possible to come back from a fractured vertebrae in that amount of time. If he fractured only one or two vertebrae and only had to have a kyphoplasty/posterior fusion done (where they inject bone cement to seal the fracture and then fuse the vertebrae together), you could be back in 6 weeks if he didn't have any neurological issues. Compression fractures and stingers like the one Austin suffered have a much longer recovery time.
1997 is one of my favorite years in WWE. The overarching story of Taker's WWF Title reign, Brets heel turn, the rivalry between HBK and Bret being hotter than ever. The Rise of Austin, the Hart Foundation, the hell in a Cell, debut of Kane, it was all so good and without this excellent year and it great stories I don't think the attitude Era would have been aa great as it was
@@makaveli4205 honestly I don't even bother watching most modern stuff. I just watch old ppvs from next generation, attitude Era, Ruthless Aggression stuff
Wasn’t this event prior to them booking triple threat matches in the WWF? Edit: Disregard. The first triple threat was Owen vs. Triple H vs. Goldust on 6/23/97. They just weren’t booking them for nearly every show around that time.
there wasn't more of a connection between mankind and dude love being tag champs with Austin....it's exactly like it's suppose to be. back then it was suppose to be Mick Foley having a legit multiple personality disorder...so mankind was feuding with triple h and dude love was a separate person that was tag champs with Austin...it connected exactly how it was suppose to
What a sliding doors moment for Austin. On one hand: this injury shortens his career and alters his wrestling style where he was a pretty athletic bumper in the ring and that Austin reign could've gone into the mid-2000s. On the other hand: Austin segments while he was healing really showed how elite he was on the mic and his presence became must see TV so when he came back to wrestle fans were hooked.
This event brings back memories. This one was the only big time Wrestling Event I got to see in person. Earlier in the day we were at Monmouth Park for New Jersey's big yearly horse race, the Haskell(father hit $3000 on a Trifecta), so it was a day of sports all around. I was looking forward to this SummerSlam because of all the wagers and stupulatons being thrown around that I was hoping at least one would be realized.
That main event is still one of my favorite match endings ever. Soap opera level drama. I think it would be remembered a lot better if it wasn't completely overshadowed by the unbeatable Montreal Screw Job.
![ARGENTINA vs. CHILE [3-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 7](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/De3AWmXzhuA/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for the Bret Hart "the Summerslam" montage. Worth it. 🤣
The Summerfest- Jeremy Piven
If only "the WCW" hosted "the Summerslam".
@@ChrisDeRoin The SummerSlam has The Jam
To be fair, everybody says “the WWE” as well
The fact that Austin was able to even roll up Owen is absolutely crazy.
That kickout attempt Owen does always makes me cringe knowing how hurt Austin was
@@deangelobayley7079 Maybe in Owens head that was auto to save face but it added to the problems.
Exactly
It’s called having heart and being tough af something you are not
@@lonngotti1656 Nice dude
Taker’s 97 World Title reign was pretty good, he fought so many superstars during the reign despite winning it in one of the less talked about Mania main events in history
But Bret was definitely the best guy to end the rein, since him and his family were in the middle of some of the best character work in wrestling
Also it gave way to Kane's debut eg HBK vs UTaker
they got sable an sunny endorsing
a kid's thing?
rest my case.
sable and sunny sending the wrong
message to little kids.😂
I agree
Taker had a good storyline in 1997 with Paul Bearer, but Bret was by far their top star in 1997 even though Taker was champion for longer. He always had some of their best angles, but he absolutely killed it in 97.
Not gonna lie, for how historically important this show is, SummerSlam 97 is supremely underated.
The SummerSlam 97*
@@mightyvoovooSummer Fest*
Glad you mentioned the stipulation of Anvil shaving his goatee. I argued with my next door neighbor about that at the time. I thought it was so stupid because the stakes were so low. My neighbor argued passionately that it was a huge stake because Neidhart had that goatee for so long and wouldn't be the same without it. Funny to think back to those passionate wrestling arguments we had as kids.
Luckily Anvil would be back in time for that year's Survivor Series.
me to
It would grow back in a month ffs. Bret puts his career in the USA on the line, Owen puts his IC title on the line, Pilman puts wearing a dress on tv on the line, Bulldog puts his European title and eating dog-food on the line. Anvil puts his beard on the line.
To the point about Mick Foley, from my memory, they were treated as three different beings for the most part. Like the big return of Jack, they aired a recorded promo where Dude was asking Mankind if he could handle Helmsley where Kind said no, but he knew a guy. Not so much a transformation but three facets of Foley's personality in physical form?
Yup. I love that moment too, “Cactus Jack is back” whole crowd erupted, Trips freaking out in the ring.
@@dkres82 oh man the pop for cactus' debut on raw was huge. one of the biggest all year on raw.
@@iandc7050 I popped in my room lol.
I think I am thinking what you think I think you're thinking
Even the SD vs RAW Series gave them 3 slots.
27:30 I don't think this is brought up enough, but Bret respected Taker to the point where he allowed Taker to be the first guy to truly break out of the sharpshooter. other people may have made it to the ropes/survived, but Taker was the first to truly free himself from it i think
Tbf, not respecting Taker was basically career suicide.
@@jackcarraway4707 nah it just two guys admiring wrestling abilities
then they'll clash again in 2010.
until Nexus ruined the whole thing
then attacked taker.
@@jackcarraway4707 At this point Bret was the most senior guy in the locker-room. Bret had been in the company 6 years longer than Taker. Taker looked up to Bret. Taker even mentions this on a video interview about the Montreal Screwjob. He said Bret was the locker-room leader. It’s on RUclips.
@@cyrus2546being a locker room leader is a hell of a thing, hulk was most likely the leader before Bret and taker after Bret left following Montreal. In TNA even though Christian wasn’t an original he became the locker room leader once he got there in 05’ the other wrestlers respected him so much, there was a moment in 06’ I can’t really remember what it was only what AJ Styles said. He said “Dixie and Jarrett have a locker room meeting with us. They’re standing in front of us as we’re all sitting down. As they’re giving us the news I look over at Christian to see what he’s gonna do. If he stood up and left I would’ve left with him and I guarantee other would’ve too.” Hell of a thing to be so respected others would do that
I'm glad you mentioned the Chono incident. Austin knew the danger of the move.
Everyone knows the danger
I kinda feel the cage match is overlooked nowadays compared to the street fight and the hell in a cell in 2000. I don't think Foley and Hunter ever had a truly bad match against each other.
Because they didn't. They meshed SO well!
So true
me to
The street fight at the Royal Rumble was probably my favorite of the bunch.
@@theboombody same here, I even get goosebumps now watching the promo where Mankind turns into Cactus Jack
That cage door to Foley's head was so brutal. Mick is lucky he didn't fracture his skull. He's said multiple times that the cage door bump damn near killed him.
Yes it was
It's amazing with how raw Chyna was at the time she never permanently inquired anyone.
Sigh…remember when being a five-time WWF/E champion was a big deal? Good times…
It was never a big deal to begin with there were plenty of other wrestlers with much more world title reigns back in the day like Flair why would anyone care about just 5.
I know... right? It was great when this was a milestone...now everyone wants to pad their resume with as many title reigns as possible. If it were me...I would rather have 1 long world title reign... seems like that would be a better accomplishment than having a ton of title reigns
@@SirRavixofFourhornI’m curious. By 1997 who else but Flair had won more than five world titles?
@@rmcastillo83there was Hogan, Lou Thesz, Harley Race, Verne Gagne, and to an extent Jerry Lawler
@@therasslingrob I’m sorry that’s a pretty short (and very elite) list. I still consider 5 titles in 97 a big deal.
This main event has long stood out to me as one of the most underrated matches ever. Three legends at their peaks.
One of my favorite Bret Hart moments came from what I think was the go-home show to this PPV. Bret was doing ringside commentary and Undertaker did that thing where he suddenly appears menacingly behind a victim. But instead of freaking out like most wrestlers do, Bret just looked over his shoulder, gave a “yeah, whatever” look and went back to commentary.
Great memories with this show as a kid. When I got into wrestling in late '97/early '98, luckily our mom and pop video store had a bunch of old WWF PPV's, I think every PPV from '87-'92 (and Starrcade '86 for some unknown reason) but one day we go in there just to browse and what do I see before my very eyes but a new copy of SS '97. My parents were good friends with the owners and they knew we would want to check something newer out so they got this show for their store. What awesome people they were.
Awesome quick question is that mom & pop store still around?🤔🤔🤔
@@zacharythomason7359 Unfortunately no. They sold it off in the mid-2000's and the people who bought it renovated it into an actual house.
@@heyitsfriskey550 oh wow did not know that thanks for the info.
awesome
Where did u live? I was In Georgia and since its the south, they only had wcw ppvs
I always consider this SummerSlam as the kickoff of the Attitude Era, it may not be one of the best, but I would say this is THE most important SummerSlam at that era.
According to WWE '13, the PPV was the jump off point you the attitude era
‘98 was more important, because that show established HHH and the Rock as future superstars and was the first chapter of their rivalry
I think the official start was Survivor Series but the unofficial start was the episode of Raw where Bret throws Vince on his ass in the ring and starts cursing about being screwed. It was March 97. I agree that this PPV was very important. It sets into motion Bret being screwed in Montreal, HBK heel turn which leads into the formation of DX, HBK-Taker rivalry which leads to Kane’s first appearance, the first Hell in a Cell, Steve Austin’s excellent promo work from August to October due to not being able to wrestle which lead to him stunning Vince for the first time in MSG.
@@dantegood2195 wrong.
I really love this ambiguous time in mid to late 97 when the new generation era is coming to an end but attitude isn't really in full swing yet, its an underrated time.
1997 will forever be my favourite year of wrestling. So much happened that year, it’s wild to look at the beginning of the year to the end and see how much it improved and changed.
I loved it too. This is when Bret Hart really added more brawling type matches to his already impressive resume. It was his last really great year. And by this time Stone Cold was already an established headliner, but hadn't won the WWF title yet.
We really missed out on a Bret-Mankind fued, Bret-triple h fued, Bret-Kane fued, Bret-Jericho fued. We could’ve seen so much great Bret stuff from 1998 to 2000 if Vince didn’t run Bret out the company.
@@cyrus2546 WCW's deep pocket book is partly to blame there. If there was no WCW, Bret Hart would have just had to take his pay cut or go to the indies or retire.
I’m glad you mentioned the Chono neck break, I don’t feel like that part gets talked about much
Austin always neglects to mention it whenever he moans about his own neck break. Weird.
@@mathewbarrie It looked much worse than this one. The clip is online.
@@cyrus2546 I know. I've seen it.
I love that Vince looked at how unbelievably terrible the money giveaway was and thought he should then do it again later.
todd pettengill, the master of the hard sell, what a workhorse for wwe..... turning chicken shit into at least chicken salad
Yay I made a shoutout for my PPv choice 🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿
While the chain-link cage is no doubt safer, I'd still love to see the old Blue/Black Bar Cage return as a one-off, ideally for a Retro-themed Raw or Smackdown. WWE could even hype it up as being even harsher an environment than the modern cage. They obviously still have it in their warehouse, as it's made the rare appearance in certain instances, like the Firefly Funhouse Match at Mania 36.
I was just thinking that as well. I miss the visual of the old thick-bar cage, but having a chain-link cage that actually has some give to it probably makes more sense for the wrestlers and extends careers.
Warrior Rick rude lol
Oh yeah I love the old school Cage myself cause it looks easier to climb out of. 😊😊😊😊😁
Triple H is the kind of guy that would bring it back for one night only
@@TakerKaneanite619 I don't think he would unless the wrestlers asked him to do it. He's put a lot of effort into developing a bunch of the wrestlers on that roster and seeing them broken on the unyielding blue painted steel won't make him very happy.
Oh my god the side characters being in the boxes is incredible that was a hilarious bit
Bret Hart vs Undertaker at Summerslam 1997 is their best match by far. Great in ring work by both. I love the set-up for everything. Your setting up Shawn vs Undertaker in the ending, while setting up Shawn vs Bret while Setting up Kane vs Undertaker. Brilliant storytelling.
And unfortunately booked them into the screw job
My good God, Sunny was absolute perfection around this time, I'd sneak looks too if I were right there. It's a humongous shame how far she's fallen over the years since then (after LOD 2000). Yeah the Godwinns were huge guys. LOD were big, maybe 6'3 or 6'4" but the Godwinns were monsters. It's a miracle and a blessing that Stone Cold continued on after this gruesome looking botch, even though everything he did up to that point was pretty legendary. And it's insane and baffling how the tables turned later for Owen, RIP.
I totally agree!!
This is the start to the attitude era in my eyes. Austin's injury forced him out of action and he became a star in the segments they shot while he was out and then there is the main event. Shawn and bret already had their beef and his accidental costing taker the title dug shawn into a deeper hole. From that, we got a continuation of bret vs shawn, leading to the screwjob and shawn as the most despised man in wrestling (who would be taken down by the newly white hot austin) and it gave us taker and Shawn's feud which gave us hell in a cell and kane. The trajectory of the entire company was altered by this show.
This was the first wrestling PPV I ever attended. 10 years old and an absolutely obsessed fan during one of the greatest eras in history. One of my favorite memories as a kid.
There was a massive tailgate party outside the arena that afternoon. You can even see some of that footage on the Wrestling with Shadows documentary. Safe to say that 90% of the adult audience was already hungover before the show even started.
They were drunk not hungover
@@frankf684 I meant they started drinking so early that many were already in the hangover phase by the time the show was underway. A drunk crowd is usually rowdy, but this one you could tell by how quiet they got that they were coming down already.
6:30 Mankind said Chyna SLAMMING that cage door on his head was one of the worst pains of his wrestling career
He said it hurt so bad he didn't even hold his head he grabbed his own shoulder to try and recover. Chyna was stiff af at that point and she put all her strength into slamming the door, what a 🤡
What's interesting about your comment about the Mr. McMahon gimmick is that while they were making more allusions to Vince being in charge, they never had any thought of what we eventually got. Even coming out of Survivor Series Vince thought he was going to be the baby face. Luckily, once he realized that wasn't the case he was smart enough to lean into the backlash and the rest is history.
I have a soft spot for this show. I legit went out and mowed lawns to get money to order this ppv.
Bret Hart vs Undertaker at SummerSlam 1997 is criminally underrated. The ending of the match set of a chain of events that would change the landscape of the WWE
the start of the attitude era
After watching this review and the Bret retrospective from Wrestling Bios this is the most consequential main even in WWE history so much happened over the next 2 years because of it
7:12 - Specifically it was supposed to be a heart _tattoo_ on Mick's chest, but on the day of the show he realized he had forgotten to get the tattoo, so he just crudely drew the heart on with paint or a marker or whatever right before he went out, and then it was sweated off during the match, for lack of a better word.
Show had a great beginning (Hunter vs. Mankind).
And a great ending (Bret vs. Taker with the HBK stuff thrown in).
The rest was kind of, meh. And Austin had to completely change his style after his neck injury. Probably shortened his career by years as well.
Definitely shorted his career. After this he wrestled from November 1997 to November 1999. He was injured from November 1999 to September 2000. He wrestled again from September 2000 to June 2002. Then he walked out of the company and would only return for one last match against The Rock in March of 2003 (I’m not counting the 4 minute “match” he had against Eric Bichoff a month earlier in February. If this injury didn’t happen he would probably be the top star of the WWE until 2007 or 2008. John Cena’s rise would be delayed by a few years.
This was when gang warfare just started with the WWF with Los Boricuas, DOA, The Nation of Domination, Degeneration X, and Heart Foundation! I enjoyed this stable warfare time!
I didn't enjoy that much so much. It seems like a lot of those stables were set up just for the survivor series, and they were incredibly forgettable. Particularly the Truth Commission and the DOA. But the Hart Foundation truly shined at this time and made the Canadian Stampede the event of the year.
They didn't do a triple threat because it was 1997. Unless you count the Final Four PPV, they only did their first triple threat/multi-man match like a month earlier and I don't remember it being all that great so they were probably not completely sold on the concept yet.
They did a terrible one on Raw with HHH, Goldust and Owen in June.
They did another terrible one with Savio, Crush, and Faarooq at Ground Zero in September.
These are the only two triple threat matches WWF had on TV in 1997.
@@cyrus2546 The more you know 🌠
You know I'm glad you brought up the karma that went Austin's way. No one ever brings up the FACT that Austin broke Chono's neck in NJPW in like 95' or whatever. You're the only one brining that up. Good job on that.
"karma" ffs
@@SteRDLK - It's a figure of speech dipshit. But the fact that Austin broke another wrestler's neck WITH THE EXACT SAME FUCKIN' MOVE not 2 years earlier is undeniable and no one ever mentions it except for our illustrious host.
I was at this PPV, I was born and raised in NJ and I was 10 at the time of this PPV so I don’t really remember too much from it but what a time to be a kid growing up watching wrestling
Also, I disagree that Taker could've been anyone else in the HBK/Hart context. It leads to a great Taker/HBK feud. There were a lot of overlapping storylines in the main event
True
Didn’t Shawn costing the Undertaker the championship set the stage for the first Hell in a Cell?
@@TheFlock83 yeah plus their no contest match at Ground Zero
@@dkres82 I absolutely love that match. Hbk & taker were at their physical peak. They just had great chemistry & knew how to captivate the crowd. The no finish made sense since it lead to being trapped in a hell in a cell (my fav match ever)
@@MR.__G agreed.
'97 was such a pivotal year for WWE. It was make or break for them. It was a clear transition from the New Gen to Attitude
Wow really
yeah sable,sunny, and a kids product
mixes together.😔
WTF WWF?
what were yawl trying to do
to the little one's?
Yeah Sunny and Sable ushered in the attitude era. Sunny was smoking hot in 1997 and her on screen attitude and personality was excellent, it’s a shame her off screen life went so wrong she would have killed it in the attitude era
u know who we have to thank for the pull out of the new generation right???? Vince freakin Russo bro!! his new ideas evolved the company!!!!
One of the best opening intros ever, the production, score, narration, footage were done so much better back then
I very vividly remember Savio Vega saying there had been a terrible accident and grabbing a camera man. I had only been watching wrestling for a few weeks
to bad he only made 2k16.
the spot where taker just flung bret so hard with his legs he broke the hold and fell outside the ropes, even as a kid rooting for bret my whole childhood i was literally just like holy shit did that really just happen? such a creative but simple spot
It’s a credit to Mick Foley’s talent that he could switch between 3 different gimmicks throughout the Attitude Era and it never felt like he was breaking kayfabe. We all just bought into the idea that Foley embodied all 3 personalities and it came across as genuine.
On the other hand, re: Undertaker could have been anybody
It did need to be Undertaker who then entered into a feud that ends up in a new kind of cage match, which ended in a monster debut. And this match ended up being a very logical entrance into that story, I'd say.
When it comes to the piledriver incident with Owen and Stone Cold on one hand I understand why Stone Cold had beef with Owen considering that move broke his neck after that but at the same time i doubt that Owen was trying to kill or paralyze Stone Cold with the move. So I feel like the piledriver breaking Stone Cold's neck was an accident but I understand the beef
Austin was apparently more upset that Owen didn’t call him or check to see how he was doing.
Even Bret said that Owen messed up there and he told Owen to call Austin as well.
@@michaelsinger4638 what's worse is that they started having Owen do these promos bragging about how he broke his neck and you can see Owen looked really reluctant to do it. Also he apparently did apologize once to Austin. Austin did say that if he broke someone's neck he would be calling 25 times apologizing.
I think if you hurt someone on accident you should always apologise and keep in contact with them on their road to recovery. Its what Brock did when he hurt Hardcore Holly and the fact Owen didnt really didnt help his case at all
@@michaelsinger4638 I mean D-Lo always tried to contact Drozz.
@@jayharv285 Yeah I can definitely see the reason Owen didn't call was simply because of shame. I mean this isn't just a case of hurting your opponent by accident, he could have easily been worst with Austin being paralyzed/killed.
The Ken Shamrock match was rough but it led to that iconic yell that WWF Warzone used for the intro on the PS1
"GET OUTTA MY WAY!!!!!"
That game and Beyond The Mat were my introductions to wrestling
I always wondered how much longer Stone Cold would have wrestled had he never got his neck broken.
Crazy how big his impact in wrestling was while being very short lived. Also missing most of 2000.
Tbh he'd probably still be working today, but in a limited capacity like Sting or Goldberg.
The Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love switches I always felt added to the overall "character" of Mick Foley. I still remember laughing at him entering that Royal Rumble as each of them when I watched live on TV.
the original Dude Love debut is probably one of my favorite moments of this era, partially due to Stone Cold's reactions to the Dude's arrival. Some of the funniest expressions I've ever seen from Austin, which you wouldn't expect from a guy best known for being a gruff, toughj badass.
I remember reading a story can't remember who told it but the close up shot of Dude Love toe tapping in his titantron was apparently Vince's favourite shot.
I know Foley wrote about that in his first book.
The toe tap while on the ground is one of those little things that shows how good Mick was. Hilarious but great!
*The WCW Presents:*
*THE SUMMERSLAM*
*Featuring The Bret Hart!*
One of my all time favourite PPVs from the pre Attitude era, tied with IYH Canadian Stampede and Ground Zero.
Cornette recently talked about hating WWE's version of the cage and cage match. He mentions hating the big, bulky blue bars as well as escaping the cage to win explaining that two guys who are fighting in a cage shouldn't be trying to escape, but I really disagree with that.
I think that escaping the cage to win added a level of excitement to cage matches. It was just two weeks ago when BZ covered the classic Bret/Owen cage match from '94 and just how meaningful the two made the escape stipulation feel. It's just... different. And I also loved the prison-style blue bars. I understand that they hurt like hell, but they looked great on TV. Definitely better than any red Hell in a Cell ever looked.
Then again, I grew up a WWE fan since summer of '94, so what do I know?
Cornette has said that he either has or had one of those god awful cages...Its not just Cornette that hated the cage, everyone hated the cage, it was apparently ridiculously massively heavy, a pain to transport and move and a pain to assemble....
I think Hogan suplexed the Bossman off the top of one of those blue cages at a Saturday Night's Main Event once. That shocked me. Had to have been the biggest bump the Bossman ever took.
The blue cage also reportedly and understandably had no give and it was hard to work with in a way that wouldnt result in physical injury of some measure. Also, Cornette is a purist, if the first cage matches in the biz were instittued so as to keep two guys stuck in close quarters together, and prevent any funny business in form of outside interference, then that is 100% how he will always feel it should stay. i love cornette but ya gotta take some of his views with a grain of salt, understanding what fuels em. Much of his, "the biz has changed for the worse/that's now how it should be done based on history" stuff is 100% spot on, but there are things, like the cage match, where there is some room for debate and room for some innovation and change in how things are done i think.
@@jackburton2680 Even Hell in a Cell started to prevent outside interference from DX. It was designed so Michaels would have to be punished by the Undertaker and Chyna and Triple H couldn't help him.
A super cool factoid I learned from this: That SS'97 was Michael Cole's debut appearance, and also Todd Pettingill's final appearance. Kind of a neat little line drawn between the New Generation and Attitude Eras.
Aannnnnnnd this guy is still active
in WWE today.
@@nemopouncey3827 Yes, but rarely are such examples perfect. After all, it's only one of a bunch of events you could mark down as the dividing line between the two eras.
I’ll mostly remember this PPV as the night where Owen Hart inadvertently injured Stone Cold and eventually ended his wrestling career.
Foley's cage dive is fairly memorable, too.
Bro back then no one even seen it as a big deal. Now that all these channels talk about it and they made documentaries everyone claims it was big to them. The internet message boards weren’t even talking about it. Foleys dive and HBK hitting Taker was all the news.
@@Bbknuckles Well yeah, then. But now of course we know it ended Steve's career earlier than it should have.
@@TheBuddha337 Yeah, I think a lot of people were shocked to see him have to hang it up right after _WrestleMania XIX_ in Spring 2003, although there were definitely some classic moments between Austin and Eric Bischoff as Co-General Managers, and later in ’03 through early ’04 with Austin as the “Sheriff” of _RAW_ .
@@a.grimes4202 Oh I agree. I enjoyed the Co GM and Sheriff Austin stuff, it was hilarious. And I guess Austin wasn't really that young persay when he retired he was 38, I believe. But the neck injury forsure didn't help anything.
Can't believe I'm saying this but I'm glad that he had "1 more match" at least I would consider it a match. I mean it was a brawl, but as soon as Austin took the suplex bump on the outside, I was like.. oh okay, this is really happening 🤣
Taker kinda being a non factor in the main event reminds me of the main event of Summerslam in 2000. As popular as the rock was he was kinda in the background while the story was Triple H, Kurt angle, Stephanie love triangle.
I always enjoy seeing these 97 shows they feel like a seed change new generation era slowly passing the baton to the attitude era
I still wonder if Bret would have been able to adjust to the changing environment he just missed out on, (Bulldog and Neidhart probably would have fallen through) Shaun Michaels would be still stuffed by WM14...
@@AuroDHikoshi Bret has actually said in interviews that he hated the more raunchy approach the wwf was moving to so I highly doubt he would’ve lasted longer after WM14 he would’ve probably rejected the more luid storylines like Owen did
@@rickyrosay33977 Joining Shaun(for the time being) and Road Warriors to just slowly being written out of events behind Undertaker/Foley and Austin.... montreal if not SS97... could have been in 98?
@@rickyrosay33977 I could imagine Bret seeing the choppy choppy your pee pee storyline with Val Venus and calling up WCW the same night.
This era and time was my alltime favorite. Bret Hart was the most authentic badass ever.
15:15 It’s the Davey Boy Smith chinlock! Highlight of the week every week
The most devastating move in wrestling.
Man its been 25 years ago i loved this period with WWF Brett has face in Canada and bad guy in US i dont think that will ever be repeated on that scale again
Congrats on the move! Always welcome out in Crooked River Ranch :)
We had a Discovery Zone. Never went in it. I thought it was for kids and I was too old for it. But right beside it, in the same building, technically, but different doors and a wall between. Was a Dark Zone. It was a laser tag arena and it was so much fun. I spent so much time there
This was a pivotal period for Foley, and it's a shame it gets overlooked by his other amazing in ring moments.
That intro reminded me of that Spongebob episode when he's stuck home with objects as friends
That Chip has a beautiful voice- Patrick Star
Bret Hart Has Been One Of My Favorite Wrestlers ever WWE Smackdown VS Raw on PS2 2 decades ago
I love when video games lead to our favorite wrestlers. For me, it was Jericho in the original Smackdown.
After all this time after Austin breaking his neck, had no idea he had been on the opposite side of a similar accident with Chono.
Bet Austin went so that is how it feels.
I loved this Taker/Bret match. I had no idea how Bret was going to win this match.
August 3, 1997 - World Wrestling Federation Summerslam 1997: Hart & Soul, from East Rutherford, New Jersey. The 25th Anniversary of the World Wrestling Federation Championship. Ladies and Gentlemen, the winner of this bout, and 5 Time World Wrestling Federation Champion, Bret "Hitman" Hart!
Los Boriquas versus the Dirty Ol Assholes, aka the Bane of Wrestling Bios's existence.
Biker miker likers
at least with Bret calling it the SummerSlam had been closer than Jeremy Piven calling it the Summerfest
Welp at least Bret didn't say "The Summerfest"
Jeremy Piven did 😂
For me this was the first ppv to set up the Montreal Screwjob. It was the event that gave Bret Hart the title and it also set up Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels. That feud lead to Shawn winning the wwf Title Shot and setting up Hart vs Michaels at Survivor Series 1997.
Also the catalyst for Kane.
@@lewisaino yes !! That match would lead up to my favorite match, HIAC bad 🩸
I understand why you consider the piledriver moment a bad part of the show and put it as a negative in your final score. But watching it play out on TV for the first time, this cemented Steve Austin as a heroic figure no matter what the storyline was. You don't see the man finish a match after breaking his neck and not think to yourself, well now I have to cheer for him for the rest of his life now.
I don't think this makes it 'all worth it', but if there was an upside to that botch, it would be that part of that history changing moment is that it accelerated his path to superstardom.
Definitely I think everything would have been better if he became that superstar completely healthy, as agile and with as much ability as Stunning Steve Austin. But of course those botches usually ended with the match abruptly ending and the injured performer bowing out of the spotlight. I guess the closest situation like it was Triple H's return at MSG in 2002. Trips is honestly as courageous as Stone Cold was not to let injuries dishearten him, and they both lucked out that they could still come back to the ring.
Every time bulldog applies a chin lock I hear that theme from wrestling bios
The difficulty with modern reviews of WWF PPVs from 1997-1999 is the shows were entertaining at the time because of character work and storyline (*some* storylines), more so than ring work. Whereas most reviewers rate shows based on the match quality alone. A good match in '97 or '98 was one that had the crowd invested. See most of Austin's work after his broken neck.
Saying a match is an objectively good match just cause the crowd cheered for it wouldn't make a person a reviewer but just a mark. I think we should be looking at this era without those rose tinted glasses.
This is a great surprise for my birthday thanks!
I remember this paper view as a kid and I was so shocked at the ending but happy for Bret!
This was the first pay-per-view I ever saw in my life. Good time to be a WWF fan.
Even Austin himself calls that the worst roll-up ever... but in the circumstance maybe it's fairer to call it the BEST roll-up ever!
I Love the sponsorship! I'd like to see your characters interact with each other more often!
As far as Henry Godwinn's injury goes, it is entirely possible to come back from a fractured vertebrae in that amount of time. If he fractured only one or two vertebrae and only had to have a kyphoplasty/posterior fusion done (where they inject bone cement to seal the fracture and then fuse the vertebrae together), you could be back in 6 weeks if he didn't have any neurological issues. Compression fractures and stingers like the one Austin suffered have a much longer recovery time.
1997 is one of my favorite years in WWE. The overarching story of Taker's WWF Title reign, Brets heel turn, the rivalry between HBK and Bret being hotter than ever. The Rise of Austin, the Hart Foundation, the hell in a Cell, debut of Kane, it was all so good and without this excellent year and it great stories I don't think the attitude Era would have been aa great as it was
To bad current WWE sucks. Raw was better just 2 hours.
@@makaveli4205 honestly I don't even bother watching most modern stuff. I just watch old ppvs from next generation, attitude Era, Ruthless Aggression stuff
We'll just assume Jim Neidhart cut his goatee off immediately after Pillman lost and it grew back in the few months he was gone.
God damn it's hard to watch the Austin vs Owen match. It's easy to forget just how fucking smooth Austin was in the ring before his injury.
Best....advert....ever! I didn't think I missed Claude so much...but I did/do
This led to the best Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker
Wasn’t this event prior to them booking triple threat matches in the WWF?
Edit: Disregard. The first triple threat was Owen vs. Triple H vs. Goldust on 6/23/97. They just weren’t booking them for nearly every show around that time.
The second one was 9/7/97 on PPV. Savio vs Crush vs Farrooq.
there wasn't more of a connection between mankind and dude love being tag champs with Austin....it's exactly like it's suppose to be. back then it was suppose to be Mick Foley having a legit multiple personality disorder...so mankind was feuding with triple h and dude love was a separate person that was tag champs with Austin...it connected exactly how it was suppose to
I love that move! "The Flying Nothing"
23:40
I wish he would said "The Summerslam in The WCW" 🤣
BILLAY BILLAY BILLAY!! Be safe on your move to Oregon! Love you, Brian. Lol. 💜
What a sliding doors moment for Austin. On one hand: this injury shortens his career and alters his wrestling style where he was a pretty athletic bumper in the ring and that Austin reign could've gone into the mid-2000s.
On the other hand: Austin segments while he was healing really showed how elite he was on the mic and his presence became must see TV so when he came back to wrestle fans were hooked.
My 1st PPV, was a fun night overall. Remember getting home and watching the VHS tape my mom recorded for me.
Me and my brother recorded it live at thr time really good pay per view in fact,still have the vhs tape to this day
This event brings back memories. This one was the only big time Wrestling Event I got to see in person. Earlier in the day we were at Monmouth Park for New Jersey's big yearly horse race, the Haskell(father hit $3000 on a Trifecta), so it was a day of sports all around. I was looking forward to this SummerSlam because of all the wagers and stupulatons being thrown around that I was hoping at least one would be realized.
Totally agree with the final grade. That main event was pretty epic back then
Bret would have been the greatest WWF heel of all time if he never went to WCW. The heat from the US/Canada feud was REAL!
I like that not only does Bret say The Summer slam, it’s “in the summer slam”, not “at the summer slam”
That Side character bit intro has homestar all over it
Sunny alone makes the segment worth it.
Back then, hotter than Sable in my opinion
That main event is still one of my favorite match endings ever. Soap opera level drama. I think it would be remembered a lot better if it wasn't completely overshadowed by the unbeatable Montreal Screw Job.