WWE SummerSlam 1997 (1997)

You won't be disappointed!

Powerful

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

1. Cage Match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs. Mankind - For me, that was their best match. Mankind uncled HHH and then climbed first. 9/10 2. Goldust Vs. Brian Pillman - Yeah, Pillman, who is class better than Goldust had to job, *sigh* 6/10 3. The Godwinns Vs. Legion of Doom - Totally uninteresting match. 5.5/10 4. WWF European Title Match: Champ-TheBritish Bulldog Vs. Ken Shamrock - Double DQ in an unnecessary match. 5/10 5. 8-man Tag Team Match: Los Boricuas Vs. Disciples of the Apocalypse - Waste of time. A few jobbers... 5/10 6. WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Stone Cold Vs. Champ-Owen Hart - It was good thing, until Stone Cold got Hurt, by inverted Piledriver. 8/10 7. WWF World Heavyweight Title Match: Bret Hart Vs. Champ-The Undertaker - Bret again became World Champion. I like that 8/10

Summerslam 1997 was a successful and entertaining event, headlined by a long awaited, well hyped WWE title match between Bret Hart and the Undertaker, given the catchy title "Hart and Soul." The night was built around the New Hart Foundation, who featured in four of the seven matches, three of which were for Championships.The night started off with Mankind taking on Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a steel cage match. This match is famous for the enthusiastic interference of Chyna who slammed the cage door shut on Foley's head, and Foley's flying elbow off the top of the cage near the end of the match. Foley was able to jump off the top of the cage to the outside, negating Chyna's presence, and get the victory, before leaving to the Dude Love theme.Next saw Goldust, accompanied by Marlena, taking on the Hart Foundation's Brian Pillman. Goldust was able to get the victory thanks to his wife, who smashed Pillman in the head with a glass jar out of the ref's sight, giving Goldust an easy roll up pin for the victory. Bad start to the night for the Harts.Next up saw the Godwinns (Henry and Phineas) take on the Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal). This was probably the worst match on the card, but had a memorable finish with the LOD doing a two man pile driver on Phineas to get the pin.Did you know that the unsuccessful million dollar giveaway used on RAW in 2008 wasn't the first time the WWE had tried something like that? They were doing something similar right here at Summerslam 1997 with Million Dollar Chance Sweepstakes. Not great television more than a decade later, though I'm sure those who entered and won enjoyed it.Brings us to the first Championship match of the night, with the British Bulldog putting the newly instated European Championship on the line against former UFC Heavyweight star Ken Shamrock. These two have a passable match, which the Bulldog wins by disqualification. Part of Shamrock's act was that he would snap during fights and couldn't be controlled. He snaps in this fight and gets carried away, hitting the Bulldog with a Vaseline jar and gets DQ'd. Not to be perturbed, he throws Bulldog back into the ring and puts him in a sleeper, with a bunch of refs coming out to pull him off the unconscious Bulldog. The Hart Foundation are 1 out of 2, and that win was not convincing at all.Next it's time for an eight man tag team match between Los Boricuas and the Disciples of the Apocalypse. This one breaks down very quickly and then the Nation of Domination come out to get involved. I think Los Boricuas won the match, but the brawl went considerably longer. So who's the dominant faction in the WWE after this result? The answer of course is none of these three.Brings us to the infamous Intercontinental Championship match between Owen Hart and Steve Austin. The build going into this had been solid, with IC Champion Owen pinning Austin in the main event of the previous month's Canadian Stampede PPV and then bragging about it for weeks on TV. Owen put his IC Title on the line against Austin under the proviso that the loser would have to kiss the winner's butt. And the two went out there and were having a perfectly entertaining match until Owen messed up a pile driver and broke Austin's neck. Austin was able to win the match in farcical fashion, getting Owen in a cradle that wouldn't have kept a toddler down for three, and was the new IC Champion, until he was forced to forfeit the title the following night due to the injury. This was a bad moment for all concerned and completely over shadowed an otherwise fine match and made the Hart Foundation 1 for 3 for the night.Now comes the main event, with The Undertaker putting the WWE Title on the line against Bret Hart with Shawn Michaels guest refereeing. Michaels had been interviewed earlier in the night and had confirmed that he would not get another title shot if he showed any bias against his bitter enemy Bret Hart. Hart, in the meantime had vowed never to wrestle in the USA again if he lost. Hart and Undertaker had a good match, with Hart really pushing his luck with Michaels and eventually spitting in his face after Michaels had taken a chair off him. Michaels then attempted to hit Hart, who ducked, with the chair, but instead hit Undertaker. Michaels had no choice but to make the count and Hart was WWE Champion for the 5th and final time.Michaels had earned the Undertaker's wrath, while Taker had problems of his own, with his former manager Paul Bearer threatening to reveal a dark secret from his past now that he had lost the title.There you have it, Summerslam 1997, a legitimate Super-Show that paid off the story lines going in and set up later ones. Overshadowed somewhat by Austin's injury, but still an entertaining show today. If Austin's injury had been tragic, nothing could prepare fans for the fate of his former tag team partner, Brian Pillman, just two months later.

I was laughing so hard during this pay-per-view and you'll have to read this review to find out why.Warning Spoilers!Mankind vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley(Steel Cage):This match was a very good opener for a pay-per-view, I was expecting this match to be later in the show but it was all good. Both these men put on a good match in the cage, even Chyna got involved in the action by trying to ruin Mankind's chances of escaping the cage but eventually Mankind was able to escape the cage, but not before pulling a Superfly and delivered a diving elbow to HHH from the top of the cage.Goldust vs. Brian Pillman:I have to admit I was rooting for Brian Pillman when I saw this match but Goldust was able to get a cheap victory when Marlena(Terri Runnels) hit Pillman with her purse which had a brick inside.L.O.D vs. The Godwins:I never really cared for this feud between these two teams but if I wanted anyone to win it would have been the Legion Of Doom, and they did win so I guess everything worked out for the better.British Bulldog vs. Ken Shamrock(European Championship):I always hated Ken Shamrock and I was a big Hart Foundation supporter so I was behind the Bulldog 100% and it seemed like he was doing pretty good until he put dog food on Shamrock, and then Shamrock went crazy and started hitting all the ref's, the match eventually came down to Shamrock putting the sleeper hold on the bulldog until eventually he let go and left.D.O.A vs. Los Boricuas(Eight Man Tag Match):I really didn't give a rat's ass about this match so all I will say is that Los Boricuas won.Owen Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin(Intercontinental Championship):This was a pretty good match even though Austin dominated the match I still have to say this was the second best match of the night even though Owen Hart lost, I hoped that Austin would have been gone for good when he broke his neck because I hate him.Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker(World Wrestling Federation Championship):This was the best match of the night and as far as I'm concerned Shawn Michaels being the special guest referee didn't effect the match at all even though most people would say that if it wasn't for Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart wouldn't have won but that's a load of bullcrap Bret once again proved that he's the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be, and the reason I was laughing was because before the pay-per-view the stupid Americans(I'm Canadian)were putting Bret Hart down and when he won they all shut the hell up! hahaha!So overall a good pay-per-view with the right man prevailing in the end(Bret Hart).

SummerSlam 1997 was one of many great PPV events in 1997 (a fantastic year for the WWF). It had great matches throughout.At the time of this PPV, The Hart Foundation had been feuding with stars such as Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels and there were some strong happenings in this event.One good match pitted the late British Bulldog VS Ken Shamrock in a match where the Bulldog would eat dog food if he lost. An entertaining match-up.The late Owen Hart faced Steve Austin in a match memorable for the fact that Owen nearly ended Austin's career (by accident). Despite what people say, it was not intentional on Owen's part;it was an accident which does happen in wrestling. Worrying about it, especially when Austin made a full recovery, is pointless.Hart Foundation member, the late Brian Pillman faced Goldust in a match where Pillman would have to wear a dress if he lost. He lost-and wore a dress on subsequent WWF PPV events.The best match of the night was Bret Hart VS WWF Champion The Undertaker in a match officiated by special referee Shawn Michaels. The stipulation was that if Bret Hart lost, he would never be allowed to wrestle on American soil again. It was a strong match and the presence of Hart's enemy Shawn Michaels added to the match. In the end, Bret Hart took the WWF Title for a fifth time thanks to inadvertent help from Shawn Michaels. This would be Bret Hart's last SummerSlam appearance.SummerSlam '97 is worth checking out.