10 Things You Learn From Watching 1997 On The WWE Network
The precursor to the Attitude Era.
It's impossible to be a pro wrestling enthusiast and not know about the 'Montreal Screwjob'. Whilst the events of the 1997 Survivor Series have dominated headlines for close to 20 years ever since, there's so much more to learn by looking back at '97 as a whole.
The WWF's landscape was changing noticeably in 1997. Vince McMahon knew he had a fight on his hands with World Championship Wrestling kicking his ass in the ratings with his former talent headlining. Ever since Eric Bischoff had introduced the nWo in the Summer months of 1996, WCW had started to look much cooler than the WWF. That couldn't be allowed to happen.
Still, McMahon didn't fully embrace the concept of 'Attitude' that came to encapsulate an entire era quickly. This becomes clear when analysing '97 fully, looking into all that happened in that year with the luxury of retrospect.
From Royal Rumble to In Your House: D-Generation X, the WWF presented no less than 13 pay-per-views in 1997. That number is unlucky for some, although quality was (mercifully) generally high.
Let's dig in and see what can be gleaned from looking at the WWF's pay-per-view output from 1997 on the WWE Network...
10. Booking The Alamadome Was A Bold Move
On December 15, 1996, the WWF ran a pay-per-view in West Palm Beach, Florida called In Your House 12: It's Time. Playing before around 5,000 fans, the show was a relatively low-key affair compared to what the promotion had planned next. Right at the start of 1997, the Royal Rumble would be huge.
A homecoming for Shawn Michaels, the Rumble pay-per-view took place inside the cavernous Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Around 60,000 people were in attendance, although it's been claimed by some that the event was heavily papered. Even so, it was quite the bold move for Vince McMahon to even try running the venue, especially considering where his company was at the time.
In terms of scale, the Royal Rumble was bigger than WrestleMania 13 (a show which drew a crowd of approximately 18,000). Smart or not to try filling such a building, McMahon showed his guts by gunning for a capacity crowd to celebrate Shawn Michaels recapturing the WWF Heavyweight Title from Sycho Sid.
It's startling to look back to this Rumble, it was the biggest pay-per-view crowd in quite some time.