While 1997 may not have been the best year for the WWF commercially, in retrospect, it may be among the very best in terms of storytelling. Vince obviously decided that the only way to truly compete with WCW was to offer a more cohesive and intelligent product, a lesson I wish he would take today. There were quite a few overarching story threads that all collided here at SummerSlam, each one highly intriguing. First, you had Canadian nationalist Bret Hart, who had reformed the Hart Foundation following his heel turn, bringing in brother Owen, former tag partner and brother-in-law Jim Neidhart, another fellow brother-in-law in The British Bulldog and finally "The Loose Cannon" Brian Pillman, joining the group to assist in their war against Stone Cold. Of course, Pillman wasn't actually Canadian, neither was Bulldog for that matter, just look at his ring name, but they were anti-American and that's all that mattered. As mentioned, their main rival was Steve Austin, who began his own feud with Owen Hart at In Your House: Canadian Stampede(my review can be found here). The second big story dominating WWF television involved new champion The Undertaker and his former manager, Paul Bearer. Bearer was teasing at the reveal of a compromising secret from both men's pasts, blackmailing 'Taker into taking him on as a manager again. You also had the undercard feud between Mankind and Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a wildly underrated feud that proved to be a launching pad toward the main event scene for both men, whilst Hart Foundation members Bulldog and Pillman began their own rivalries with Ken Shamrock and Goldust, two of Austin's allies at Canadian Stampede. There's so much going on leading into this show and plenty more to talk about, so let's get into it.
- Vince, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler are again on the call, as they are for seemingly ever 1997 pay-per-view. SummerSlam takes place in front of just over 20,000 fans in the Continental Airlines(now Meadowlands) Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and before I move on, I quickly need to shout-out that terrific poster, seen above. Most pay-per-view posters that feature The Undertaker are great, and there's a better one coming in my next review, but I just love this one.
- The old school blue steel cage is already down as the show opens in grand tradition, with Mankind and Triple H meeting inside the cage. This match is incredibly physical, as both men make great use of the environment. We get an early superplex off the top of the cage by Hunter, a ridiculous spot to be pulling off within minutes of the start of a match. Mankind takes back control by slamming Hunter into the cage multiple times, before Chyna gets involved. I think she adds so much to Hunter's heel act and makes him so much more legitimate as a potential top guy, and she plays a huge role into making this match seem more even. Ultimately, Mick Foley is just too much for Hunter, and has an easy chance to drop to the floor to get the win, but sacrifices it to make a much bigger moment. In a move reminiscent of Jimmy Snuka's famous cage dive in 1982, Mankind leaps from the top to deliver an elbow drop, before finally getting the win as Chyna attempts to pull Hunter out first. A fantastic way to open the show and a true coming out party for two future world champions.
- Time to take it way back down, as Goldust defeats Brian Pillman in a bit of a comedy match. These two have been feuding since facing off in opposite sides of the eight man tag at Canadian Stampede, with the stipulation that Pillman would be forced to wear a dress if he lost. Early into the match, Goldust kisses Pillman, leading to Brian wrestling the rest of the match with his face covered in gold and silver paint, a hilarious visual. Pillman spends most of the match just feuding with Marlena, and it eventually costs him when Marlena hits him with her purse to allow Goldust to score the win. Both guys are capable of much more than this, but this match is just to progress a storyline so neither took it too seriously.
- In tag team action, the Legion of Doom pick up a win over the now heel Godwinns. These two teams began feuding after Hawk and Animal botched a Doomsday Device on Henry, giving him a cracked vertebrae. As mentioned, Henry and Phineas have turned heel, no longer fun loving pig farmers and now bitter southern thugs, complete with a Confederate flag, which is pretty uncomfortable. Henry and Phineas control most of the match in their usual slow and dull fashion, before Hawk gets the hot tag and is fantastic, tossing both Godwinns around the ring. The Doomsday Device connects again, this time executed safely, and the faces score a nice win.
- European Champion The British Bulldog is in action up next against Ken Shamrock, and apparently his belt is at stake, though I don't remember that fact being mentioned on commentary. This match includes another silly stipulation, as Bulldog has agreed to eat a can of dog food should he lose, and poured some wet food on Shamrock following on the go-home show. These two big tough guys spend most of the match just beating the hell out of each other, and it's pretty fun. Lots of big strikes and slams, though Shamrock does add some finesse into proceedings with a very slick takedown into an attempted ankle lock. They brawl to the floor, where Shamrock smacks Bulldog with the can of food, getting himself disqualified. Multiple officials run in to get Shamrock off of Bulldog, as Ken has a sleeper locked in tight, and Shamrock goes wild, delivering belly to belly suplexes to any ref that gets in his way. The post-match fracas gets a big pop, as Shamrock's post match attacks were often very over and made him a pretty fun character.
- Another of the ongoing storylines dominating the summer of '97 in the WWF is the much maligned gang warfare clash, as Savio Vega and Crush were fired from the Nation of Domination. They began their own stables, Vega forming Los Boricuas, an all-Puerto Rican stable, and Crush joined up with the Disciples of Apocalypse, an all-white biker faction. I am normally a fan of faction warfare, but the racial segregation of the three groups doesn't quite feel right, and introducing a bunch of new faces to fill out the ranks meant the crowd had little reason to care. Los Boricuas and the DOA meet here in a match that absolutely no one in East Rutherford gives two sh**s about, and the only excitement comes when the Nation arrives through the crowd. Los Boricuas are able to steal a cheap win but it's quickly overshadowed by a massive brawl between all three stables, that ends when Crush starts trying to run over everyone, including his own allies, with his bike.
- The WWF Intercontinental Championship is on the line in the penultimate match of the evening, as Owen Hart defends against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. This match is infamous for Owen's botched piledriver, which caused me to physically cringe while watching, but before that point, it's very good. Owen focuses a majority of his offense on the neck and back of Austin, a very unfortunate bit of psychology in hindsight, delivering his always great German suplex and a nice flying elbow drop. Austin's moveset isn't as impressive, but what he does hit looks nasty, including countering a hurricanrana into a powerbomb that is genuinely one of the best I've ever seen. If this match had gotten to a natural finish, it likely would've ranked as one of the greatest IC title matches ever, but it certainly does not. Owen botches the Tombstone, and everything comes to a halt. Austin is immediately down and can't get back up, and Owen is forced to improvise. As referee Earl Hebner tries to asses the damage, Owen begins taunting and working the crowd, who were obviously stunned by what happened but quickly rally to begin booing. Somehow, Austin finishes the match, just about able to roll up Owen and manages to stand just long enough to celebrate with his new belt before needing assistance to get to the back. It's a really tough few minutes to watch and must've been terrifying at the time, but I still thought this was enjoyable enough, at least for the first 15 minutes. All in all, I think this could've gone so much worse, as Austin, the toughest SOB in the business, was still able to finish the match, and would obviously go on to superstardom. That being said, this botch likely took years off Austin's career and also ended any chance of Owen reaching the main event level, as Austin wasn't willing to work with Owen ever again. So it's a very mixed bag and one of the more infamous matches in company history, but I didn't regret watching it.
- Main event time, as The Undertaker defends the WWF Championship against Bret "The Hitman" Hart. I really liked JR bringing up both men's stellar SummerSlam records up before the bout, really putting them both over and adding a ton of intrigue to seeing them face off. Just for reference, 'Taker had just 1 loss, the previous year to Mankind when Paul Bearer interfered, and Hart had also only lost once at the event, the famous match in '92 with Bulldog. There's a ton of moving parts to be found in this title match, as Bearer appears and is beaten up by 'Taker and Owen and Pillman show up to support Bret, only to suffer the same fate. Shawn Michaels is the guest referee, and doesn't have much to do for most of the bout, occasionally jawing with both competitors. The match itself is mostly just fine, a bit of a disappointment considering the combined talent in the ring. There isn't a lot of chemistry between Bret and Undertaker, unfortunately, and the first 20 minutes or so is mostly just a slog. But things get really interesting down the stretch, as after spending most of the match working Undertaker's legs, Bret gets the champion locked in a Sharpshooter on the ring post. After 'Taker fights his way free, Bret is sent flying into Shawn, injuring HBK's knee. Bret takes the chance to introduce a steel chair and blast Undertaker with it, but only for two. Hart and Michaels then meet face to face, and Bret unleashes a wad of spit, finally get Shawn to lose his cool. It's all a ruse, as Michaels goes for a chair shot and Hart evades, as a dazed Undertaker takes another bout of steel, right between the eyes. Shawn reluctantly makes the count, leaving the former champion to walk to the back empty handed and making his mortal enemy the second five-time WWF Champion, as Bret celebrates in front of a hostile crowd with his cronies to end out the night. The match may not have been the best of either man's career, but it told a great story and set up some historic events to come.
7/10
There's more than enough good to be found on SummerSlam 1997 to make you ignore the bad, especially from the steel cage match and both Bret and Owen's matches. Neither was an all-time classic or anything, though for different reasons obviously, but all three of those matches certainly had their moments. Everything beyond that never really gets beyond mediocre, though if you enjoy stiff brawling, I would suggest Shamrock-Bulldog. Still, I think if I paid money for this show, I'd be very happy with what I got, and would certainly have more than enough incentive to do it again in the future, especially with the way it ended.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: Badd Blood 1997, where Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker meet in the first Hell in a Cell match, featuring a legendary debut. See you soon.
- Henry
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