1997 in professional wrestling

List of years in professional wrestling

1997 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

Calendar of notable live events

January

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
NJPW Wrestling World 1997 January 4 Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan 62,500
ECW House Party (1997) January 11 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1,400
WWF Royal Rumble (1997) January 19 Alamodome San Antonio, Texas 60,477[1]
WCW Souled Out (1997) January 25 Five Seasons Center Cedar Rapids, Iowa 5,120
ECW Winter Blowout January 31 Sports Plus Lake Grove, New York N/A

February

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
ECW Crossing the Line Again February 1 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1,400
WWF In Your House 13: Final Four February 16 UTC Arena Chattanooga, Tennessee 6,399[2]
AAA Rey de Reyes (1997) February 21 N/A Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico N/A
ECW CyberSlam (1997) February 21-February 22 Lost Battalion Hall, ECW Arena Queens, New York, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2,800
WCW SuperBrawl VII February 23 Cow Palace San Francisco, California 13,324
ECW Mountain Top Madness February 28 The Flagstaff Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania N/A

March

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
ECW Hostile City Showdown (1997) March 15 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1,075
WCW Uncensored (1997) March 16 North Charleston Coliseum North Charleston, South Carolina 9,285
CMLL Homenaje a Salvador Lutteroth (1997) March 21 Arena México Mexico City, Mexico N/A
WWF WrestleMania 13 March 23 Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois 18,197

April

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
CMLL International Gran Prix April 4 Arena Mexico Mexico City, Mexico N/A
WCW Spring Stampede (1997) April 6 Tupelo Coliseum Tupelo, Mississippi 8,356
N/A Second Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Show April 12 West High School Cherry Hill, New Jersey N/A
ECW Barely Legal April 13 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1,170
CMLL 41. Aniversario de Arena México April 18 Arena México Mexico City, Mexico
WWF In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker April 20 Rochester Community War Memorial Rochester, New York 6,477
FMW FMW 8th Anniversary Show April 29 Yokohama Arena Yokohama, Japan 16,000

May

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
FMW Japanese Survival May 8 Korakuen Hall Tokyo, Japan N/A
ECW Chapter 2 May 10 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania N/A
WWF In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell May 11 Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia 9,381[3]
ECW The Buffalo Invasion May 17 Burt Flickinger Center Buffalo, New York N/A
WCW Slamboree (1997) May 18 Independence Arena Charlotte, North Carolina 9,643

June

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
ECW Wrestlepalooza (1997) June 7 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1,250
WWF King of the Ring (1997) June 8 Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island 9,312
N/A Second Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show June 6 Marine Midland Arena Buffalo, New York N/A
AAA Triplemanía V-A June 13 Plaza de Toros Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico 6,000
AAA Triplemanía V-B June 15 El Toreo Naucalpan, Mexico N/A
WCW The Great American Bash (1997) June 15 The MARK of the Quad Cities Moline, Illinois 9,613
ECW Orgy of Violence June 28 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania N/A

July

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
CWA Euro Catch Festival (1997) July 5 Eisstadion Liebenau Graz, Austria 2,800
WWF In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede July 6 Saddledome Calgary, Alberta 12,151
WCW Bash at the Beach (1997) July 13 Ocean Center Daytona Beach, Florida 7,851[4]
ECW Heat Wave (1997) July 19 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1,600

August

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
FMW Shiodome Legend (1997) August 2 Shiodome Tokyo, Japan 3,750
WWF SummerSlam (1997) August 3 Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey 20,213
ECW Born to be Wild August 9 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania N/A
WCW Road Wild (1997) August 9 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Sturgis, South Dakota 6,500[5]
WWC WWC 24th Aniversario August 15 N/A Bayamón, Puerto Rico N/A
ECW Hardcore Heaven (1997) August 17 War Memorial Auditorium Fort Lauderdale, Florida 1,800

September

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
WWF Ground Zero: In Your House September 7 Louisville Gardens Louisville, Kentucky 4,963[6]
ECW WrestleFest: 50 Years of Funk September 11 Amarillo Civic Center Amarillo, Texas N/A
AAA Verano de Escándalo (1997) September 14 Río Nilo Coliseum Tonalá, Jalisco, Mexico 18,000
WCW Fall Brawl (1997) September 14 Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 11,939
CMLL CMLL 64th Anniversary Show September 19 Arena México Mexico City, Mexico N/A
ECW As Good as it Gets September 20 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania N/A
WWF WWF One Night Only September 20 NEC Arena Birmingham, England. 11,000[7]
FMW Fall Spectacular (1997) September 28 Kawasaki Stadium Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan 50,012

October

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
WWF Badd Blood: In Your House October 5 Kiel Center St. Louis, Missouri 21,151
N/A Second Annual Ikki Kajiwara Memorial Show October 12 Sumo Hall Tokyo, Japan N/A
WCW Halloween Havoc (1997) October 26 MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, Nevada 12,457
N/A First Annual Plum Mariko Memorial Show October 30 Ota Ward Gym Tokyo, Japan N/A
ECW Fright Fight October 31 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania N/A

November

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
ECW Ultimate Jeopardy (1997) November 8 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1,100
WWF Survivor Series (1997) November 9 Molson Centre Montreal, Canada 20,593
WCW World War 3 (1997) November 23 The Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, Michigan 17,128
ECW November to Remember (1997) November 30 Golden Dome Monaca, Pennsylvania 2,000

December

Promotion(s) Event Date Venue Location Attendance
ECW Better than Ever December 6 ECW Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1,100
WWF D-Generation X: In Your House December 7 Springfield Civic Center Springfield, Massachusetts 6,358[8][9]
AAA Guerra de Titanes (1997) December 13 Convention Center Madero, Mexico 11,000
WCW Starrcade (1997) December 28 MCI Center Washington, D.C. 17,500[10]

Notable incidents

Tournaments and accomplishments

AAA

Tournaments Winner Date won Notes
Rey de Reyes Octagón February 21

WCW

Tournaments Winner Date won Notes
WCW Women's Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Toshie Uematsu April 7
World War 3 Scott Hall November 23

WWF

Tournaments Winner Date won Notes
Royal Rumble Stone Cold Steve Austin January 19
WWF European Championship Tournament The British Bulldog February 26
Kuwait Cup Tiger Ali Singh April 13
King of the Ring Hunter Hearst Helmsley June 8
WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dude Love July 14
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship Tournament Taka Michinoku December 7

Slammy Awards

Poll Winner[11][12][13]
New Sensation Rocky Maivia
Best Dressed Sable
Best Tattoo The Undertaker
Match of the Year Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII
Best Hair Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Loose Screw Mankind
Best Bow Tie Owen Hart
Best Entrance Music The Undertaker
Best Finisher Shawn Michaels – Sweet Chin Music
Best Couple Goldust and Marlena
Freedom of Speech Stone Cold Steve Austin
Star of the Highest Magnitude The Undertaker
Lifetime Achievement Award Arnold Skaaland
Miss Slammy Sable

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Category Winner
PWI Wrestler of the Year Lex Luger
PWI Tag Team of the Year The Outsiders
(Scott Hall and Kevin Nash)
PWI Match of the Year Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WrestleMania 13)
PWI Feud of the Year Diamond Dallas Page vs. Randy Savage
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year Sting
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year Bret Hart
PWI Comeback of the Year Bret Hart
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year Ken Shamrock
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year Terry Funk
PWI Rookie of the Year Prince Iaukea
PWI Lifetime Achievement Arn Anderson
PWI Editor's Award Bill Alfonso

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

Category Winner
Wrestler of the Year Mitsuharu Misawa
Most Outstanding Mitsuharu Misawa
Best Box Office Draw Hulk Hogan
Feud of the Year Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Hart Foundation
Tag Team of the Year Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama
Most Improved Tatsuhito Takaiwa
Best on Interviews Stone Cold Steve Austin

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame

Inductee
Édouard Carpentier
El Hijo del Santo
Toshiaki Kawada
Jimmy Lennon
William Muldoon

Title changes

ECW

ECW World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Raven
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 13 Terry Funk Barely Legal
August 9 Sabu Born to Be Wired
August 17 Shane Douglas Hardcore Heaven
October 16 Bam Bam Bigelow Live event
November 30 Shane Douglas November to Remember
Incoming champion – Shane Douglas
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
June 7 Taz Wrestlepalooza
Incoming champions – The Eliminators (Kronus and Saturn)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 15 The Dudley Boyz
(Buh Buh Ray and D-Von Dudley)		 Hostile City Showdown
April 13 The Eliminators
(Kronus and Saturn)		 Barely Legal
June 20 The Dudley Boyz
(Buh Buh Ray and D-Von Dudley)		 Hardcore TV #218
July 19 The Gangstas
(Mustapha Saed and New Jack)		 Heat Wave (1997)/Hardcore TV #222
August 17 The Dudley Boyz
(Buh Buh Ray and D-Von Dudley)		 Hardcore Heaven
September 20 The Gangstanators
(Kronus and New Jack)		 As Good as it Gets
October 18 The Full Blooded Italians
(Little Guido and Tracy Smothers)		 Hardcore TV #236
December 5 The Can-Am Express
(Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon)		 Live event
December 6 Chris Candido and Lance Storm Better than Ever

FMW

FMW Double Championship
Incoming champion – The Gladiator
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
September 28 Masato Tanaka Fall Spectacular
FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Headhunters (A and B)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 25 W*ING Alliance
(W*ING Kanemura and Hido)		 Fighting Creation Tour
August 21 Funk Masters of Wrestling
(Mr. Gannosuke and Hisakatsu Oya)		 Super Dynamism Tour
October 19 ZEN
(Atsushi Onita and Yukihiro Kanemura)		 Power Splash Tour
November Vacant N/A
November 28 ZEN/Team No Respect
(Mr. Gannosuke and Yukihiro Kanemura)		 Scramble Survivor Tour
FMW Women's Championship
Incoming champion – Megumi Kudo
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 21 Shark Tsuchiya Winning Road tour
April 29 Megumi Kudo 8th Anniversary Show
June 13 Vacant King of Fight tour
September 28 Shark Tsuchiya Fall Spectacular
September 28 Retired N/A
FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Taka Michinoku
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
June 29 El Satánico House show
August 25 Taka Michinoku House show
December 18 Vacant N/A
FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Funk Masters of Wrestling (Hisakatsu Oya, Headhunter A and Headhunter B}}
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 21 Fuyuki-Gun
(Kodo Fuyuki, Jado and Gedo)		 FMW
July 8 Vacant N/A
August 5 Funk Masters of Wrestling
(The Gladiator, Hisakatsu Oya and Mr. Gannosuke)		 FMW
August 31 Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka and Koji Nakagawa FMW
October 14 ZEN
(Atsushi Onita, Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Hido)		 FMW
December 20 Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka and Hisakatsu Oya Super Extreme Wrestling War tour

NJPW

Incoming champion – Keiji Mutoh
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
August 31 Kensuke Sasaki Final Power Hall in Yokohama
Incoming champions – Cho-Ten (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Masahiro Chono)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 4 Kazuo Yamazaki and Takashi Iizuka Best of the Super Jr. III
April 12 Kensuke Sasaki and Riki Choshu Battle Formation 1997
May 3 The Bull Powers
(Manabu Nakanishi and Satoshi Kojima)		 Strong Style Evolution in Osaka Dome
August 10 Kazuo Yamazaki and Kensuke Sasaki The Four Heaven in Nagoya Dome
October 19 Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono nWo Typhoon 1997
Incoming champion – Último Dragón
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 4 Jushin Thunder Liger Wrestling World 1997
July 6 El Samurai Live event
August 10 Shinjiro Otani The Four Heaven in Nagoya Dome

WCW

Incoming champion – Hollywood Hogan
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
August 4 Lex Luger Nitro
August 9 Hollywood Hogan Road Wild
December 28 Sting Starrcade
Incoming champion – Ultimate Dragon
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 21 Dean Malenko Clash of the Champions XXXIV
February 23 Syxx SuperBrawl VII
June 28 Chris Jericho Saturday Nitro
July 28 Alex Wright Nitro
August 12 Chris Jericho Saturday Night
September 14 Eddie Guerrero Fall Brawl
October 26 Rey Misterio, Jr. Halloween Havoc
November 10 Eddie Guerrero Nitro
December 29 Ultimate Dragon Nitro
Incoming champion – Eddie Guerrero
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 16 Dean Malenko Uncensored
June 9 Jeff Jarrett Nitro
August 21 Steve McMichael Clash of the Champions XXXV
September 15 Curt Hennig Nitro
December 28 Diamond Dallas Page Starrcade
Incoming champion – Akira Hokuto
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
June 15 Vacant N/A
September 20 Devil Masami N/A
September 20 Retired N/A
Incoming champion – N/A
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 7 Toshie Uematsu WCW Main Event
July 19 Yoshiko Tamura The Dream & Future ~ 2nd Jr. All Stars
September 20 Sugar Sato GAEA Double Destiny
Incoming champion – Lord Steven Regal
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February 17 Prince Iaukea Nitro
April 7 Ultimate Dragon Nitro
May 18 Lord Steven Regal Slamboree
July 22 Ultimate Dragon Nitro
August 21 Alex Wright Clash of the Champions XXXV
September 22 Disco Inferno Nitro
November 3 Perry Saturn Nitro
December 8 Disco Inferno Nitro
December 29 Booker T Nitro
Incoming champions – The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 25 The Steiner Brothers
(Rick and Scott Steiner)		 Souled Out
January 27 The Outsiders
(Kevin Nash and Scott Hall)		 Nitro
February 23 Lex Luger and The Giant SuperBrawl VII
February 24 The Outsiders
(Kevin Nash and Scott Hall)		 Nitro
October 13 The Steiner Brothers
(Rick and Scott Steiner)		 Nitro

WWF

Incoming champion – Sycho Sid
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 19 Shawn Michaels Royal Rumble
February 13 Vacant Raw Forfeited the title due to a knee injury
February 16 Bret Hart In Your House 13: Final Four This was a four-way elimination match for the vacant title also involving Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Vader.
February 17 Sycho Sid Raw
March 23 The Undertaker WrestleMania 13
August 3 Bret Hart SummerSlam Shawn Michaels was the guest referee.
November 9 Shawn Michaels Survivor Series Montreal screwjob
Incoming champion – Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February 13 Rocky Maivia Raw
April 28 Owen Hart Raw Is War
August 3 Stone Cold Steve Austin SummerSlam
September 8 Vacant Raw Is War Vacated due to a neck injury that Stone Cold Steve Austin suffered in winning the title
October 5 Owen Hart Badd Blood: In Your House Defeated Faarooq in a tournament final
November 9 Stone Cold Steve Austin Survivor Series
December 8 The Rock Raw Is War Austin handed the championship belt to The Rock, who was formerly known as Rocky Maivia
Incoming champion – N/A
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February 26 The British Bulldog Raw Aired on tape delay on March 3. Defeated Owen Hart in a tournament final to become first champion
September 20 Shawn Michaels WWF One Night Only
December 11 Triple H Raw Is War Aired on tape delay on December 22.
Incoming champion – N/A
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
December 7 Taka Michinoku D-Generation X: In Your House Defeated Brian Christopher in a tournament final to become first champion
Incoming champions – Owen Hart and the British Bulldog
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
May 26 Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels Raw Is War
July 14 Vacant Raw Is War Vacated after Shawn Michaels got into a backstage fight with Bret Hart.
July 14 Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dude Love Raw Is War
September 7 Vacant Ground Zero: In Your House Vacated after Stone Cold Steve Austin sustained an injury.
September 7 The Headbangers
(Mosh and Thrasher)		 Ground Zero: In Your House Won in four way elimination match involving The Legion of Doom, Owen Hart and the British Bulldog and The Godwinns
October 5 The Godwinns
(Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn)		 Badd Blood: In Your House
October 7 The Legion of Doom
(Animal and Hawk)		 Raw Is War Aired on tape delay on October 13.
November 24 The New Age Outlaws
(Billy Gunn and Road Dogg)		 Raw Is War

Births

Retirements

Deaths

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Royal Rumble 1997". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  2. ↑ "Final Four results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. 1997-02-16. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  3. ↑ "Historical Cards: In Your House 15 (May 11, 1997. Richmond, Virginia)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 151. 2007 Edition.
  4. ↑ "Bash at the Beach 1997". Pro Wrestling History. July 13, 1997. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Road Wild 1997". Pro Wrestling History. August 9, 1997. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  6. ↑ "WWF Ground Zero: In Your House info/results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  7. ↑ "One Night Only". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  8. ↑ Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 2: WWF 1990 - 1999. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ASIN B00RWUNSRS.
  9. ↑ "Historical Cards: D-Generation-X In Your House (December 7, 1997. St. Louis, Missouri)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 154. 2007 Edition.
  10. ↑ "Starrcade 1997". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
  11. ↑ "Slammy Awards History". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  12. ↑ "WWF Slammy Awards (1997)". TWNP News. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  13. ↑ "WWF Slammy Awards (1997)". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  14. ↑ Ruse, David (January 17, 2016). "Who is Tyler Bate? We profile the first WWE UK Champion". Sky Sports. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Fritz Von Erich dead at 68". Slam! Sports. 1997-09-11. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  16. ↑ "WWE profile".
  17. ↑ Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
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