10 Things You Totally Forgot About WWE In 1997

10. Bret Vs. Shawn Was Original Main Event For King Of The Ring

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No two superstars were quite as synonymous with the World Wrestling Federation in 1997 than The Heartbreak Kid and The Excellence of Execution. Their WrestleMania XII and Survivor Series '97 matches are legendary, but many forget that the two were scheduled to square off much sooner than their final meeting in November in Montreal.

After forfeiting the WWE title and giving his infamous "lost smile" speech, Shawn Michaels was out of action from February through May. Coincidentally, a few weeks after the In Your House: Revenge of Taker match with Steve Austin, Bret would also be sidelined as he recovered from knee surgery. Both men's returns were scheduled to come against each other at the King Of The Ring.

The match was advertised on RAW with stipulations being that if Bret couldn't defeat Shawn in under 10 minutes, that he would never again wrestle in the United States. Also, each member of the Hart Foundation would be handcuffed to a ring post so they, supposedly, could not interfere. Bret's recovery wasn't quite as miraculous as WWE had hoped for and the KOTR match, just six weeks after his surgery, had to be changed.

The main event became Michaels vs. Austin and WWE would save the Hitman's barred-from-wrestling-in-the-US stipulation until SummerSlam.