10 Reasons Why 1997 Was WWE's Most Important Year Ever

"It has been said that anything can happen here in the World Wrestling Federation, but now more than ever, truer words have never been spoken." Those are the words that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon used on the December 15, 1997 episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. It's a promo that fans consider to be the introduction to what would be known as WWE's Attitude Era. That was at the end of 1997, though. When we look back at that year, it's clear that a promo like that would have been more appropriate one year earlier. There were signs of WWE's change much earlier in 1997 thanks to the growth of characters like Steve Austin, The Rock, Mankind, Triple H and Kane as they mixed in with the more established names such as Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and The Undertaker. Even McMahon himself grew a lot as a performer in 1997 when fans were made aware of the fact that he was the owner of the company instead of just a lowly television announcer. The mid-90s were not the best time for WWE. After Hulk Hogan left for WCW in 1994, the momentum went with him. He was the biggest name in wrestling and WWE didn't do a good job of replacing him. They were able to keep things steady for a while, but as WWE passed them in terms of TV viewers in 1996, it was obvious that WWE needed something or somebody to get them back on top. Think of it like a sports team. You can't just buy players and expect to win. You have to draft the right guys, sign the right free agents and make trades. That's what WWE did as they built their roster the right way in 1997. While 1997 wasn't a huge year for WWE as a business, it was very important in terms of laying the foundation for the profits that they would see over the next five years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HznErMk97B4 The pressure was on in 1997. They couldn't stay where they were. If they did they would have continued to lose money and the gap that WCW was creating would be wider. They had to make changes. That's exactly what they did. Here's a look at ten reasons why 1997 was WWE's most important year ever.