10 Things You Learn From Watching 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.