10 Best Years To Be A WWE Fan
3. 1997
WWE didn't win a single Monday Night ratings war in 1997, but those who were watching the product couldn't have cared less. This was the year where reality betrayed perception, the year Raw became WAR and the year the former heroes were pushed from the pedestals by a performer that spoke to the disenfranchised demographic.
But f*ck me could those heroes still work.
Bret Hart was in the form of his life on the microphone, marrying up with a flawless in-ring style that hadn't faltered since his debut over a decade earlier. Shawn Michaels lost his smile, lost his way, and lost his mind, but when he wasn't infuriating absolutely everybody other than Triple H he was so much of a 'Showstopper' that Vince McMahon couldn't not book him.
Storming through the chaos unscathed and unshaken - such was the power of his momentum - Stone Cold Steve Austin could not be moved as the next pro wrestling icon-in waiting. On commentary, McMahon used to question why the audience loved him, as if he was sounding everybody out in person one last time before strapping the rocket. Ear-splitting reactions gave him answers more definitive more than any "why" or "how". This was happening - it was his job to ensure it went off without a hitch.