10 Notable Changes Made To WWE Raw In 1997

4. More Frequent Title Changes

Steve Austin Vince McMahon Raw 1997
WWE.com

Back when championships meant something, it was less common to see title changes on television. When one happened, it was a big deal, and the landscape of the company would change palpably.

From Raw's 1993 debut through the end of 1996, only eleven title changes aired in on the show during that four year stretch. In 1997 alone, ten title changes aired on WWF's flagship program.

This included Psycho Sid beating Bret Hart for the WWF Championship on February 17, the first ever World title change in Raw's history. Also in that haul are three Intercontinental title changes (including Steve Austin's handover to The Rock), two European title changes, and four World Tag Team title switches, keeping things interesting for the yet-to-be-desensitised viewer.

Contributor
Contributor

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.