10 Fascinating WWE King Of The Ring 1997 Facts

9. Steve Austin Was Supposed To Face Brian Pillman

Triple H King Of The Ring 1997 Resized
WWE.com

Hart vs. Michaels wasn't the only juicy rivalry that was scuppered from the 1997 King of the Ring. A battle of the former Hollywood Blondes was due for the show, more than six months after Austin broke into a gun-toting Pillman's home in one of the most controversial angles in WWE history.

The scrapping of Hart's match with Michaels threw a good chunk of the show into disarray, leaving Michaels without an opponent. Austin was then plugged in with Michaels in a higher-profile "unlikely partners that hate each other" deal, leaving Pillman without an opponent. That was probably for the best, given how physically limited Pillman was at the time.

The two did have a physical confrontation on the show, when Austin jumped Pillman earlier in the night and dragged him into a bathroom stall, where he flushed his former partner's face inside a toilet. To this day, the world wonders who installed the toilet cam, and why.

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Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.