WWE In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede (1997)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Wonderful character development!

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

A Disappointing Continuation

Live from Calgary, Alberta, CanadaAttendance 12,151Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross & Jerry LawlerHunter Hearst Helmsley (W/Chyna) Vs MankindThe match ends in a double countout after Mankind and Triple H brawl in the crowd. I enjoyed this match for the most part. It was an intense brawl with a lot of excitement. Chyna's constant interference affected the match positively and negatively. It was positive because it made Mankind look sympathetic. It was negative because it hindered the match at times.**3/4 out of 5Mankind and Triple H brawl some more in the audience.Taka Michinoku Vs The Great SasukeSasuke wins. This was a lot of fun! It was two guys pulling out all the stops in the air and on the ground to make this what it was. Some wrestling fans may find it tame for today's standards, but those that appreciate good wrestling will love it.***1/2 out of 5Mankind and Triple H take the fight all the way outside the arena.WWF ChampionshipThe Undertaker (C) Vs Vader (W/Paul Bearer)The Undertaker retains with a tombstone. What a match between these two! Aside from one huge botch, this is a hell of a match. You have two big guys with great agility for their size here. I shouldn't be surprised that this is a good match, but I didn't expect it to be THIS good.***3/4 out of 5Bret Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart & Brian Pillman Vs 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Goldust, The Legion of Doom & Ken Shamrock.Owen gets the win for his team by pinning Austin. Steve Austin runs into the ring after the match to try to get after The Hart Family, but he's handcuffed by security. The Hart Family celebrates to end the show. The ovation The Hart Foundation gets is ridiculously loud. The atmosphere is absolutely electric. Barring a few Austin fan, Austin was despised here. It's a surreal sight to see Austin get booed so vehemently like that. Truth be told, it made Austin look like more of a badass. He didn't give a damn about the reaction and even fingered the fans while in handcuffs. It's just a fantastic main event with so many memorable things going on. It's why I love it when WWE comes to Canada. ****1/2What a PPV! There is not a bad thing on this card. I'd have to rank it as the greatest In Your House PPV of all time. The crowd is amazing. Please go see this if you get a chance.9/10

1. The Godwinns Vs. The New BlackJacks - Average bout. 5/10 2. Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs. Mankind - Mankind must hurt himself in every match. It isn't possible. He deserve great piece of respect. - Double Count out ending hurts me more than Mankind. 6.5/10 3. Taka Michinoku Vs. The Great Sasuke - Taka's PPV debut was fine. Nice moves. He lose either. 8/10 4. Vader Vs. The Undertaker - Rematch? I like that with Vader's victory better. 6.5/10 5. Steve Austin/Ken Shamrock/Goldust/Legion of Doom Vs. Hart Foundation/British Bulldog/Brian Pillman - That was best worked main event I've seen for a while. 9/10

WWE embraced the spirit of Canada in this satisfying PPV event, featuring Vader's final WWE Championship match, a very well done 10 man tag main event, and Mankind seeking revenge on recently crowned King of the Ring, Hunter Hearst Helmsley.The night began with the two men who had wrestled in the King of the Ring final a month earlier, Mankind and Hunter Hearst Helmsley, going at it in a spirited opener. Chyna accompanied Triple H to the ring and interjected herself several times, the match eventually ending in a double count out as both men brawled outside. A fun match to start the night.Next it was time for Taka Michinoku, who would be used to this by the time his WWE tenure came to an end a few years later, to get beaten, in a pretty long match for what it was, by The Great Sasuke. Fun in parts and certainly not awful, this was part of the WWE's attempts to compete with WCW's very strong cruiserweight division. It never really caught on, and although the WWE kept a small man's title of some sort until 2007, it was mainly used as a joke, unless Rey Mysterio was holding it.Next came the big WWE title match which saw the Undertaker successfully retain the title against Vader. Taker and Vader had been feuding on and off since Vader had arrived in the WWE a year and a half earlier. Both on their own were good wrestlers, but they had no chemistry together and put on a string of poor matches. This was no exception. Vader's loss here marked the end of his title aspirations in the WWE. Near the end of the year he'd make an unsuccessful transition to a fan favourite, lost a bunch of matches, and didn't see out 1998.Out comes the Farmer's Daughter to sing O Canada. I never could remember the words to that song.Now came a big time Main Event match with the beloved home town heroes (who were booed throughout America, but were fan favourites in Canada) The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, Brian Pillman and Jim Neidhart) taking on the arrogant, hated Americans (Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Hawk and Animal) in one of the best 10 man tag matches ever to happen in the WWE. The big rivalry throughout 1997 had been Bret Hart vs Steve Austin. Austin had cost Hart victory in the Royal Rumble, then cost him the WWE Title a month later. Fans had turned on Hart after he defeated Austin at Wrestlemania 13, so Hart re-established the Hart Foundation as an anti-American, and more to the point, anti-Austin group and they cost Austin the title at the "Cold Day in Hell" PPV in May. So here it was time to get it on, and they certainly did. Owen Hart eventually won the match by pinning Austin who was being distracted by some of the Hart brothers at ringside. Austin had only himself to blame: he'd tried to attack them in their seats.So there you have it. Canadian Stampede was a tremendous show, and a grand end to the two hour In Your House spectaculars. From here In Your House would be three hours in length. In May 1999, the final In Your House PPV was held, but the real ending was here, where the original two hour concept was abandoned. The two hour shows had produced some great cards, some horrendous cards and some in between, but had played their part in transitioning WWE into a monthly PPV schedule.

Take 5 Americans, 5 Canadians, put them in a Calgary Saddledome full of rabid Canadians and what do you get? The best WWF PPV ever.Even though this is only a four match event it still ranks among the best ever. The matches range from good to excellent and encompass a range of styles from crazy American brawling to Jap-Lucha to a typical US big man match. New fans who have been weaned on HHH and Stone Cold (yes I know they were both on the card) really out to check this out and see how good this is.