1 Year in Wrestling

HAPPY ROYAL RUMBLE WEEKEND!
The nostalgia is HEAVY on this one!
Some great, classic angles here on this one :
Macho Man is absolutely the MVP of the night - his various performances are just amazing to watch as he ramps up the rivalry with The Ultimate Warrior that would lead them to Wrestlemania 7.
Sgt Slaughter has become an Iraq-sympathizer as USA/Iraq Desert Storm war tensions rise to an uncomfortable place...Sarge ends up winning the Heavyweight belt from the Warrior due to Macho interference. This sets up the Hogan/Slaughter title match at WM7, as Hogan then wins the Royal Rumble later in the evening.
Virgil turns on the Million Dollar Man after their match with Dusty & Dustin Rhodes! Classic stuff.
The rapid-fire interviews prior to the Rumble, the purple ring apron, Gorilla Monsoon on commentary...ahhh the memories.
And what a STACKED roster WWF had at this time!!

So how did WCW follow up the blunder that was the December 97 PPV 'Starrcade' ??
Well, let's see here...
Nash almost paralyzed The Giant with a scary-looking Jackknife, Lex Luger took on Macho Man in a snoozefest main event, Booker T took on Rick Martel for some reason...no Heavyweight title match at all....not great stuff here.
The beginning of the card, however, saw a pair of great matches: Benoit took on Raven in a 'Ravens Rules Match' that was crazy!! and Chris Jericho had recently turned full-heel and was at the start of his 'Crybaby' phase as he took on Rey Mysterio. Also great stuff.
All in all - not a great show. You can feel the air coming out of the nWo angle. In 1996 and 1997 the nWo was so edgy and hip - whereas here you can already tell the peak has been hit and they are on the downslide.

Stone Cold!! Stone Cold!! Stone Cold!!
This is the Royal Rumble where the tide starts to shift back to WWF in the 'Monday Night Wars'.
Mike Tyson brings a lot of extra eyes to this PPV as he sits in a private box with Shane McMahon.
The Rumble starts with the infamous Cactus Jack / Chainsaw Charlie drawing 1 & 2 respectively. Classic stuff!
The New Age Outlaws continue to humiliate the Legion of Doom.
The event is headlined by Undertaker v HBK in a Casket Match that would see Michaels break his back on the casket...the match, itself, is outstanding.

This PPV is well-known (except to Chris) as the PPV with the botched ending that, in some folks opinion, showed the first crack in the WCW armour.
Nick Patrick was "supposed" to do a quick 3 count to feed into the story that followed : Bret Hart came down, claiming no ref funny business will ever happen on his watch, punches out Patrick and re-starts the match.
Rumour has it Hogan told Patrick NOT to do the rushed count in order to get what he wanted out of the match..whether that was making Sting look weak or whatever his reasons may have been. 
Sting had taken some heat for not being in ring-shape, as well - the hilarious quote of Bischoff suggesting he wasn't "tan enough". 
Aside from the confusing main event - the rest of the PPV was fairly middle of the road...
Of note :
Benoit took on Saturn, Eddy took on Dean Malenko - all 4 of the Radicalz fought amongst themselves on this night.
Nash was unable to make the event due to legit health issues, so his match against the Giant was pulled.
Goldberg had his first official PPV match v Mongo McMichael.
Curt Hennig took on DDP.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF OUR LISTENERS OUT THERE!! 
THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN FOR THIS PAST YEAR OF 1997 & 1990.

WE'LL BE COMING BACK AT YOU IN 2022 WITH '1 Year in Wrestling : 1998' ...as well as reviewing / rewatching the 'Big 4' for 1991.

See you next year!!!
- 1YiW

2 things come to mind when I think of this PPV :
D-Lo Brown getting a Stunner on the roof of a truck, and Owen Hart rushing the ring to attack HBK after the main event.
This PPV is the first PPV since Bret Hart left..a lot has changed. Vince is off-camera, for now, as the Mr.McMahon character is lurking just around the corner...JR and the King are the only 2 commentators for this event - which would set the tone for the Attitude Era, commentators-wise.
Brian Christopher and Taka M have an underrated match to kick things off, Marc Mero takes on Butterbean in a ToughMan Contest...
We get to see The Rock v Steve Austin in their first PPV match in a rivalry that would define the era.

As far as DX content :
Ken Shamrock proves he can hang with the main event crew as he takes on Shawn Michaels in the main event, while HHH takes on a 48 year old Sgt Slaughter in a Boot Camp Match..and the New Age Outlaws (pre-DX) take on the Legion of Doom.

ECW is back with their final PPV offering for 1997!
I actually quite enjoyed this PPV. 
Sabu v The Sandman in a 'Tables & Ladders' Match...very entertaining, sometimes unintentionally hilarious..
Tommy Dreamer v Rob Van Dam in a WWF/ECW Flag Match
Taz begins his uprising into the title picture.
Chris Candido continues to impress!
...and a sloppy & entertaining 4-way-dance tag match for the straps!! FBI v The Gangstanators v The Dudleys v The Hardcore Chair-Swingin' Freaks!!

oh, and Shane Douglas v Bam Bam Bigelow headlines.

We have been loving watching these old 1990's PPVs!
So much nostalgia...the interviews and promos are worth the price of admission!!!

Hard to say these aren't some of the greatest SS teams ever on this PPV :
Ultimate Warrior, Legion of Doom & Texas Tornado VS Mr.Perfect and all 3 members of Demolition.
A debuting Undertaker with Ted DiBiase, Honky Tonk Man & Greg Valentine VS Dusty Rhodes, Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, Koko B Ware
The Visionaries (Hercules, Paul Roma, Rick Martel, and The Warlord) (with Slick) defeated The Vipers (Jake Roberts, Jimmy Snuka, Marty Jannetty, and Shawn Michaels)
The Hulkamaniacs (Big Boss Man, Hulk Hogan, Jim Duggan, and Tugboat) defeated The Natural Disasters (The Barbarian, Dino Bravo, Earthquake, and Haku) (with Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart)

60 men. 3 rings. 1 winner. YOU DO THE MATH!!
Kevin Nash repels from the roof as the only 7' Sting in the history. Very amusing!
Looking at this card we didn't have high hopes but, honestly, WCW can almost do-no-wrong at this point! (That will change soon enough...)
LOTS of rematches from the previous months Halloween Havoc, and they all tell different stories than last months.

Flair v Hennig
Faces of Fear v Glacier & Ernest Miller
The Steiners v The Blue Bloods
Das Wunderkind v Mongo 
Eddy Guerrero v Rey Mysterio
60 Man Battle Royal (Scott Hall is the victor)

One of, if not THE, most infamous PPVs of all time...the Montreal Screwjob : Survivor Series 1997.
Live from the Molson Center in Montreal, Canada - 20,000+ strong witnessed a pivotal piece of wrestling history that would change the course of the business for years to come...
Bret Hart v Shawn Michaels and also Owen Hart v Steve Austin with many traditional "gang rulez" Survivor Series tag matches.

(Old) Age in the Cage!! Roddy Piper puts Hollywood Hogan to sleep!!...but doesn't win the belt. Annnnnd WCW sends the fans home angry, yet again.
Numerous bogus Stings throughout the event...very cool visual.
The match of the night is Rey v Eddy Guerrero - 5 stars, without question. So GOOD!
Macho Man takes on DDP in a tremendous Last Man Standing Match.
The infamous Disco Inferno v Jackie match...
Jericho v Gedo (with a scary bump by Jericho - almost landing on his head)
Scott Hall takes on Lex Luger w. Larry Zybsco as the special guest ref.
Another noteworthy moment : Goldberg makes his PPV debut with a sneaky run-in on the Alex Wright v Mongo McMicheal match.

Very solid PPV!!