10 Ultra-Rare Unreleased WWE Matches We’d Love To See

8. Number One Contender's Battle Royal (September 22nd, 1997)

Kurt Angle Owen Hart
WWE.com

Taped at the start of what would prove to be one of the most historic nights in company history, WWE staged a 20-man battle royal before television cameras rolled on a September 1997 Madison Square Garden edition of Monday Night Raw.

Remembered fondly for the white hot segment in which Stone Cold Steve Austin levelled Vince McMahon with the boss' first ever Stone Cold Stunner and an absorbing Falls Count Anywhere between Cactus Jack and Triple H, the live crowd had already seen a shocking development in the crowning of an unlikely Number One Contender for the WWE Title the next time the organisation were set to return to their home turf.

The over-the-top challenge was made up predominantly of tag teams, with The Headbangers, The Blackjacks, Los Boricuas, The Disciples of Apocalypse and the Truth Commission all filling the ring alongside resident chancers Scott Taylor and the Brooklyn Brawler.

Feeding the nostalgia of the New York faithful, the Brawler broke the habit of a lifetime and actually won the whole thing.

Amazingly, WWE also delivered on the stipulation, and his ten minute WWE title match against Shawn Michaels is available online thanks to handheld footage taken at the time.

Brawler's improbable battle royal victory sadly remains unseen.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett