WWF 1997.07.06 - In Your House: Canadian Stampede

This is one of the rare Pay-Per-View events that the WWF performed outside of America. It's just over the border in Canada, but there's a completely different atmosphere. In the USA Bret Hart is unpopular with the fans, but in Canada he's a big hero. Davey Boy Smith, aka British Bulldog, is married to the reigning Mrs. Calgary, Bret's sister Diana. This photo was taken at an outdoor event earlier in the day.

Location: The Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canda

Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler. Jim Ross

Normally Jim Ross is the only one who wears a cowboy hat, but today it's also Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler. Can Jerry see anything from under that hat?

Match 1. Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Mankind

Triple H comes into the ring expecting an easy victory against Mankind after defeating him at the 1997 King of the Ring.

But all eyes are on Chyna. Does this fan called Serge have a chance? He might do better if he knew how to spell her name properly-

Chyna follows Triple H to the ring without even giving Serge a glance. It looks like the weather in Canada is colder than she's used to.

The match starts with a clear advantage for Mankind. He tosses Triple H around the ring like a rag doll. The fans are all cheering for Mankind. Jerry Lawler says it's because they can relate to him, since most Canadian women look like him. Come on, Jerry, take another look at the photo of Mrs. Calgary. She's a beauty, even though I prefer Chyna.

When Triple H is thrown out of the ring, he falls in front of the Hart family, who are occupying the front row seats. It's more of a dynasty than a family. Stu Hart, Bret's father, has 12 children, most of whom are connected with the wrestling business.

Mankind applies his finishing move, the mandible claw, to Triple H. Chyna punches him behind the referee's back, or rather over the referee's head. This gives Triple H a temporary advantage, but Mankind fights back. While they're outside the ring, Chyna throws Mankind against the steel steps. This is the real turning point. Triple H fights brutally, concentrating on Mankind's leg.

Outside the ring again, Chyna knocks Mankind down behind referee's back. They brawl outside, until the referee counts them both out.

The fight continues. Mankind runs into the audience, followed by Triple H and Chyna. The referees, assisted by Jerry Brisco, do their best to separate them.

Match 2. Great Sasuke vs Taka Michinoku

The WWF does something unusual. Two unknown wrestlers are pitted against one another in a PPV. Both are Japanese light heavyweights, but Taka Michinoku is currently wrestling in Mexico. The Great Sasuke was already praised by Jim Ross at the beginning of the show as the world's greatest light heavyweight wrestler. Obviously, today's PPV is a try-out for Sasuke. Taka is a jobber who's supposed to lose quickly.

But guess what? Even though he loses the match, the audience likes Taka Michinoku more. They side with the underdog. I'm sure that Vince McMahon at ringside was taking note of this. Wrestling ability is less important than being able to win over the audience.

The match's start was delayed because Mankind, Triple H and Chyna were still fighting at the back of the arena. When it finally started, it was an exciting high-flying match between the two Japanese wrestlers. Sasuke used impressive martial arts kicks. Taka fought valiantly, but he lost.

Mankind and Triple H are still fighting in the parking lot, while the referees are doing their best to hold Chyna back.

Triple H is bleeding badly, but he doesn't want to stop.

Match 3. WWF Championship, Undertaker vs Vader

Undertaker was due to defend his title against Ahmed Johnson today, but his knee was injured in a backstage brawl at Raw two weeks ago.

Before the match Paul Bearer repeats his accusations that the Undertaker murdered his whole family. Dok Hendrix doesn't believe it.

The Undertaker is the crowd favourite, in Canada as in America.  Despite his huge size, the Undertaker is fast and agile. Vader isn't fast, but he makes up for it by having more muscle mass. For the first few minutes the Undertaker has a clear advantage, making several near pins. All the time Paul Bearer is standing outside the ring taunting the Undertaker, calling him a murderer. Then Vader fights back, and the two wrestlers are equally matched. Finally the Undertaker wins the match with a tombstone and retains the WWF Championship title.

The Canadian country music group Farmer's Daughter comes out to sing the Canadian national anthem. The crowd is clearly moved by the performance, but the singing didn't impress me. Is that the best Canada has to offer?

Howard Finkel (also wearing a cowboy hat) introduces Stu and Helen Hart as the patriarch and matriarch of the Hart family. On the right is Ralph Klein, the premier of the province of Alberta.

Match 4. 10-man tag team match, the Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, Brian Pillman) vs the unnamed American team (Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, Hawk, Animal)

Before the match begins, Dok Hendrix interviews the American team. It's noticeable that Steve Austin refuses to talk and storms off. He's obviously not happy at having to share the ring with partners.

One of the problems of having so many wrestlers in a match is that it takes ages to get them all to the ring. I timed it: 8 minutes 58 seconds from the first entrance till the start of the match. I've never seen Steve Austin be booed so much as today. The Canadians love Bret Hart, so they automatically hate his nemesis Steve Austin.

Only one of the Hart Foundation, British Bulldog, isn't Canadian, so he wins over the crowd by being accompanied by his beautiful wife Diana.

Before the match starts there's a showdown between Steve Austin and Bret Hart. I can't read his lips, but I know what he's saying. He's not interested in the tag team match, he just wants to fight with Bret.

Incidentally, there are cameras at ringside filming a documentary about Bret Hart.

These two wrestlers begin with a brutal brawl. The crowd cheers whenever Bret hits Steve, and they boo whenever Steve hits back. 

It's difficult for my review to do justice to the following 24-minute battle. It wasn't wrestling, it was brawling. Both sides were cheating, entering the ring without tags or attacking each other outside the ring. At one point Bret Hart hit Steve Austin with a fire extinguisher. The referee Earl Hebner had no control over the match. He should have taken the day off. Here are a few pictures to capture the atmosphere:

Steve Austin pulls Brian Pillman's pants down so that Hawk can hit him.

Bret Hart is confused by Ken Shamrock's unorthodox style.

 Steve Austin pulls 82-year-old Stu Hart off his seat to attack him. Stu's other sons who're sitting behind the railing leap to his defence.

Eventually Owen Hart pins Steve Austin.

The brawling continues with Stu Hart's other sons in the ring.

The fight calms down, but then Steve Austin returns and attacks everyone in sight. He's led out of the arena in handcuffs.

Bret Hart celebrates in the middle of his family. Stu Hart is obviously very weak. He can't even raise his arm without assistance.

And this is my favourite photo of the evening. Owen Hart celebrates the Canadian victory with his son.

This was a very good PPV, even though the America vs Canada rivalry was exaggerated.

WWF 1997.06.30 - Monday Night Raw

Location: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Des Moines, Iowa

Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross

This event was broadcast live.

1. Ken Shamrock vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley

The show opens immediately with the entrance of Ken Shamrock to the ring. Hunter Hearst Helmsley says that it doesn't matter if Ken calls himself the World's Most Dangerous Man, because he's accompanied by the World's Most Dangerous Woman.

Triple H is referring to Joanie Laurer, who's better known as Chyna. She's a monster of a woman who makes me tremble all the way down to my groin.

For most of the match Ken Shamrock has the advantage. Triple H risks disqualification by pushing the referee Earl Hebner out of the way. When Ken is thrown out of the ring, Chyna picks him up and throws him against the steel stairs.

The fight continues, but then Mankind walks down the ramp towards the ring. Triple H watches him, threatening him, not realising that Ken Shamrock is still behind him. Ken pins Triple H.

Chyna will have her revenge.

We finally see the commentators. This threesome is the best commentator team in the history of wrestling.

Sunny announces a competition to win a million dollars at Summerslam, which is due to take place on 3rd August 1997. The contest details aren't revealed yet.

Whatever the contest is, I don't want a million dollars. I'd rather win a date with Sunny.

2. Legion of Doom vs Nation of Domination (Faarook and D-Lo Brown)

Before the match the Legion of Doom is interviewed by Michael Cole. This is his first appearance on a WWF show before he eventually went on to become a commentator. Today, 26 years later, he's still a regular commentator for the weekly WWE shows.

This is the first semi-final of the tournament to decide the new tag team champions. The fight is evenly matched until the Godwinns intervene. Hawk is attempting to pin D-Lo Brown, but Phineas Godwinn enters the ring behind the referee's back and hits him over the head with his slop bucket. Then Faarooq pins Hawk.

The Legion of Doom chases the Godwinns out of the arena. Faarooq calls Vince McMahon into the ring. Faarooq says he deserves to be the number one contender for the WWF championship, but he hasn't been given a title shot, because he's a black man. Vince asks whether the former Nation member Crush should be given a title shot, which just makes Faarooq angry. Savio Vega appears on the ramp and says that he wants to fight Faarooq. Faarook tells him to bring it on, but Savio runs to the ring with three other wrestlers, all dressed in white. Yet another gang? Before they can start to fight, the Disciples of Apocalypse ride to the ring on their motorbikes. They enter the ring, and all eleven wrestlers are hitting each other while the ring officials try to pull them apart.

I don't know the names of most of these wrestlers.

After everyone has left the ring, Michael Cole stands backstage to interview Savio Vega. He looks smart, even without a tie.

Savio Vega tells Michael that his three fellow wrestlers are all from Puerto Rico, and they're called Los Boriquas. The race card was played a lot in the final days of the WWF. Today the WWE is more politically correct. But I still don't know the names of the wrestlers.

3. Brian Christopher vs Scott Putski

This is a light heavyweight match, in which both wrestlers are under 215 lbs (97.5 kilograms).

Jim Ross asks Jerry Lawler whether Brian Christopher is his son. Jerry refuses to answer, but just look at his face. It's the face of a proud father.

The two wrestlers are evenly matched, until Jerry intervenes. He grabs Scott's legs, which allows Brian to pin him. The referees should try to maintain more control.

4. Brian Pillman vs Mankind

Mankind comes out and gives Jim Ross a present. Is it Christmas already? It's a rubber hand dressed up to look like a mandible claw. Brian Pillman attacks Mankind from behind and shoves the rubber hand into his mouth. The two wrestlers are brawlers, showing very little finesse. Brian risks disqualification by hitting Mankind over the head, also knocking the referee.

Triple H and Chyna stand on the ramp watching the match. When it seems like Mankind is about to win, they run to the ring. Mankind applies the mandible claw to Triple H. Brian Pillman takes his shoe off and hits Mankind on the head. Triple H tries to hit Mankind over the head with a chair, but he misses and hits Brian. Mankind chases Triple H and Chyna out of the arena. The referee counts him out, making Brian Pillman the victor.

Paul Bearer comes out to tell everyone the secret with which he's been blackmailing the Undertaker. It took place 20 years ago. Paul worked for a mortician. The family lived upstairs, and the dead bodies were stored downstairs. The mortician and his wife had two sons. One was a red-haired boy who grew up to be the Undertaker. The other was a younger boy called Kane who idolised his big brother. Kane was a sweet little boy, but the Undertaker had an evil look in his eyes. One day Paul arrived and found the funeral home had been burnt down. Everyone was dead, except for the Undertaker, who was hiding in the bushes. Paul accuses the Undertaker of murdering his family.

Sable shows off the million dollars to be won at Summerslam. There's something sexy about girls and money. What I didn't notice before is that the suitcase is shaped like a coffin.

5. Headbangers vs Owen Hart & British Bulldog

This is the second semi-final of the tournament to decide the new tag team champions. Despite a lot of cheating by the Headbangers, Owen Hart manages to pin Thrasher. Then Jim Cornette appears on the ramp and says he's brought a new tag team into the WWF. I don't know who they are, but they sure are fat. 400 lbs at least. Bulldog and Owen disappear fast, leaving the Headbangers to fight the new arrivals.

The Undertaker replies to Paul Bearer's accusations. He remembers the day well. He and Kane were playing with matches in the funeral home. When his father saw them he scolded the Undertaker as the older boy who should have known better. The Undertaker left, but when he turned round he saw Kane was still playing with embalming fluids. He should have told his brother that the liquid was highly flammable. Hours later he returned home and found the house in flames. His family was dead. The Undertaker says he wasn't a murderer, but he still blames himself for what happened.

6. Vader vs Rockabilly

Rockabilly comes to the ring accompanied by Honky Tonk Man. Vader comes to the ring accompanied by Paul Bearer. Rockabilly hits Vader on the back with his guitar, but he's unphased. They've hardly begun to fight when the Undertaker runs out. First he attacks Vader. Then he turns his attention to Paul and threatens to kill him if he doesn't tell everyone the truth. Paul shouts that Kane is still alive. Vader hits the Undertaker, which gives Paul the opportunity to flee.

I couldn't tell who won the match. The bell wasn't rung. When the Undertaker came to the ring, Rockabilly and Honky Tonk Man slipped away without anyone noticing.

7. Steve Austin vs Jim Neidhart

They're two tough fighters. Neither has a clear advantage. After about eight minutes Bret Hart enters the ring and attacks Steve. The referee disqualifies Jim, but the brawling continues. Bret tries to break Steve's leg by putting him in a figure four leglock around the ring post. Mankind comes out and puts the mandible claw in Bret's mouth. Brian Pillman comes out and attacks Mankind. Owen Hart hits Mankind over the head with a chair. At this point the show ends. That's a shame. I wanted to see what happens next.