WWE In 1997 | Wrestling Timelines
1. December 11 | Dicking Around
Shawn Michaels wrestles Triple H for the European title on Raw Is War. Except, this doesn’t happen; the two stablemates orchestrate a nudge-nudge, wink-wink farce.
They pretend to wrestle one another. It’s actually quite funny. Considering he’s not in Shawn’s league most of the time, Hunter is priceless here with the way in which he skips across the ring “taking” an Irish whip, treating it like a do-si-do. Michaels voluntarily lays down to gift Hunter the belt. The idea of wrestling as a real struggle, and the prestige of championships, are both nuked in one segment. It doesn’t matter. As Vince McMahon will infamously make public just days later, the WWF isn’t about that old boring sh*t anymore: it’s about Attitude.
1997 begins with Bret Hart primed to win the Royal Rumble, and ready to defeat Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania to reclaim his spot at the top of the WWF. 1997 ends with Bret Hart leaving, and seemingly taking every old value with him.
1997 is the most transformative, shocking, and important year in WWE history. There was no going back after it was done. It was at its best when those old values were under threat, not abandoned completely.
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