10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 1997 Facts
4. Bret Hart Was Supposed To Win The Rumble Match
When attempting to re-sign "The Hitman" in the summer of 1996, Vince McMahon and Jim Ross proposed to Hart the idea of beating Shawn Michaels in a WWE Championship rematch at WrestleMania 13, setting up a "rubber match" between the two down the line.
That was the plan all the way into January 1997, until Vince Russo opened his mouth. Russo was acting as his alter ego, Vic Venom, during an episode of WWE Livewire, when the in-the-know writer "predicted" that Hart would win the Rumble match.
Reportedly, McMahon was furious that Russo would "spoil" the Rumble by making an accurate prediction, and changed the finish to a screwy Austin victory instead. Austin would lose the winner's title shot along the way (due to the chicanery of the finish), but even the final plans of a Hart/Michaels match would be changed anyhow. As was the case with much of 1997, there was so much disarray across the main event scene.