10 Most Memorable WWE Raw Moments From 1997

1. Steve Austin Stuns Vince McMahon For The First Time

Date: September 22nd If you poll wrestling fans and ask them what wrestling's all-time greatest feud happens to be, a large percentage of them would name Steve Austin VS Vince McMahon as the winner. It helped to carry the entire company for multiple years, and was the main reason people kept tuning in to Raw on a weekly basis. When you look back at how it all began, you have to go back to September 22nd, in front of the infamous Madison Square Garden fans. Austin was on the shelf after injuring his neck at SummerSlam the month prior, but because he was so red hot with live fans, the company continued to have him on the show, cutting promos and raising as much hell as he could physically handle. Vince was trying to get Austin to calm down, and to stop attacking people left and right. He cut a promo about how the WWF cared about Austin and his well-being. Austin responded like only he could... by telling Vince which of his body parts to kiss, and then proceeded to lay McMahon out with a Stone Cold Stunner, blowing the roof off the Garden. By that point, everyone knew that Vince was the Owner of the company, and not just a commentator like he played on television, so to watch Austin get so physical with his boss was tremendous television. Unfortunately for Vince, he isn't the most physically coordinated person on the planet, so his sell of the Stunner looked more like Austin snapped his neck, but that imperfect sell actually made the whole thing better, as it looked more "real", as opposed to simply a "wrestling move". McMahon would set out for revenge, on a plot that would take him all the way to WrestleMania 17, nearly four years later, when Austin would turn heel and align with him.