10 Things You Totally Forgot About WWE In 1997

When someone says "professional wrestling in 1997", what comes to mind?

There's a great number of moments, matches and memories that are likely recalled to any sports-entertainment fan. If the focus is WWE, you're likely to hear responses like "Montreal Screwjob", "Hell In A Cell", "Austin vs. Bret", "Shawn loses his smile", "Austin breaks his neck" and more.

In some ways, 1997 feels every bit of being nearly 20 years-old, but there are still some things that haven't changed in the world of WWE since then. Vince McMahon still calls the shots, the Monday Night RAW set is fundamentally the same as it was when introduced in March of '97, and even some of the competitors remain the same, with the likes of Mark Henry, Goldust, Kane, Triple H, and The Undertaker still stepping into the ring.

As memorable as 1997 was, there are plenty of things about this year that are often overlooked or flat out forgotten because of the shadow that so many of these monumental memories created. With strong rivalries like Shawn vs. Bret, Bret vs. Austin and Undertaker vs. Kane, some factoids and developments from 1997 go unnoticed.

These moments and memories might've been bigger had they taken place at a different time in a different year, but given the numerous breakout performances and activity that took place in WWE during 1997, the following 10 facts are often forgotten by the average WWE fan.

No two superstars were quite as synonymous with the World Wrestling Federation in 1997 than The Heartbreak Kid and The Excellence of Execution. Their WrestleMania XII and Survivor Series '97 matches are legendary, but many forget that the two were scheduled to square off much sooner than their final meeting in November in Montreal.

After forfeiting the WWE title and giving his infamous "lost smile" speech, Shawn Michaels was out of action from February through May. Coincidentally, a few weeks after the In Your House: Revenge of Taker match with Steve Austin, Bret would also be sidelined as he recovered from knee surgery. Both men's returns were scheduled to come against each other at the King Of The Ring.

The match was advertised on RAW with stipulations being that if Bret couldn't defeat Shawn in under 10 minutes, that he would never again wrestle in the United States. Also, each member of the Hart Foundation would be handcuffed to a ring post so they, supposedly, could not interfere. Bret's recovery wasn't quite as miraculous as WWE had hoped for and the KOTR match, just six weeks after his surgery, had to be changed.

The main event became Michaels vs. Austin and WWE would save the Hitman's barred-from-wrestling-in-the-US stipulation until SummerSlam.