10 Wrestling Matches That Were Controversially CANCELLED
4. Bret Hart Vs Shawn Michaels (WWE King Of The Ring 1997)
WWE television had become unmissable in the summer of 1997, driven mostly by the actions of an irrepressible Stone Cold Steve Austin and some key retoolings of company mainstays Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker.
That energy wasn’t exactly evident for the 1997 King Of The Ring though. The tournament field obscured Mankind’s awesome babyface turn but revealed Triple H as a winner still not ready for his spot, and Undertaker’s humdrum feud with Faarooq was overwhelmed by the first teases of Kane’s existence and an Ahmed Johnson mini-feud on the side. They we’re going to get away with all that though, because one the very same night they had former Hollywood Blondes Steve Austin and Brian Pillman wrestling for the first time in WWE, and Bret Hart taking on Shawn Michaels for the first time since WrestleMania XII.
Tensions ran high in the build, but they infamously ran too high when Hart and Michaels were involved in real backstage fight on June 6th. ‘The Hitman’ was reinjured and the bout was rendered untenable.
Austin Vs Michaels was reasonably deemed a suitable replacement for the pay-per-view (the battle of the former Blondes was bumped to Raw the night after), but yet more drama between ‘The Excellence Of Execution’ and ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ only heightened the hunger for their on-screen showdown.