10 Reasons 1997 Was The Weirdest Year In Wrestling History

One of the trademarks of Vince Russo’s run in the WWF was the blurring of the line between face and heel.

The supposed “good guys” lost many of their noble and heroic traits, and it became questionable who the fans were supposed to root for. However, even before Russo’s tenure as creative head began, 1997 was jam-packed with blurry face/heel dynamics. For example, even though Sid was a scary, raving lunatic, he was never specifically made out to be a bad guy, even when feuding with faces such as Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker.

Speaking of whom, although The Undertaker was the babyface champion for much of ‘97, none of his qualities were that of a top good guy like Hogan or Bret Hart. He was still the spooky deadman who, if Paul Bearer was to be believed, was keeping a dark secret from the fans. And, of course, there was Stone Cold Steve Austin, who maintained the same anti-social, aggressive redneck persona, even after turning babyface. Meanwhile, a faction like the Hart Foundation, the supposed heels, maintained a strong familial bond and showed compassion for their fans in Canada and Europe.

The blurred lines reached a zenith in the build for Survivor Series. Shawn Michaels had recently turned heel and formed DX, a heel faction. However, he was feuding with Bret, also a heel, also with a heel faction. Shawn and DX portrayed themselves as the ones to boo, framing Bret and getting him entangled with the Nation of Domination (also heels). However, Bret was still on his anti-America shtick, and combined with that, he frequently threw homophobic insults in Shawn’s direction. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen!

Of course, there was no room for heroes and villains in 1997... unless it’s Shawn Michaels in real life.