WWE In Your House 13 – Final Four (February 1997) Review

The 13th WWE In Your House event was called Final Four. It followed the controversial 1997 Royal Rumble match that saw Steve Austin win even though he was eliminated, but the referees never saw it.

Austin would go back in the ring to eliminate The Undertaker, Vader and Bret Hart, so that meant those four guys would wrestle in the main event of this show.

There was also a lot of controversy going into it because WWE Champion Shawn Michaels did his famous “lost my smile” speech on the Thursday Raw Thursday episode (blame a dog show) prior to Final Four, which meant that Shawn was forfeiting the WWE Championship. The story was that Shawn had a knee injury where it was feared that he may never wrestle again. That initial diagnosis was off because Michaels ended up being back in the ring in about three months. This was around the time when his friendship with Bret Hart was starting to fracture because the rumored WrestleMania 13 main event was supposed to be Michaels dropping the WWE Title to Bret just like Bret dropped it to Shawn the year before. Instead, Shawn didn’t wrestle at WrestleMania 13 due to the knee injury (and losing his smile), so a lot of the things that WWE had planned ended up getting changed. There are some people (that don’t like Shawn) that think it was a case of Shawn not wanting to put over Bret, which might have been true, but we’ll never really know. This match was originally going to be for a WWE Championship shot at WrestleMania and instead became a match with the WWE Championship on the line. Confusing? Yeah. It sure was confusing at the time for those of us watching WWE programming on a regular basis.

The original poster for the show had Shawn Michaels, Sycho Sid, Bret Hart and Steve Austin on the cover with those four in the Final Four match, but once again those plans changed. If you look for it on WWE Network, they have the image of Sid and Michaels on there even though they didn’t wrestle on the show.

That was the plan when Bret Hart was going to win the Royal Rumble, so when Vince McMahon changed it to Austin’s Rumble win, this show had to change as well.

In Your House 13: Final Four did 120,000 PPV buys, which wasn’t great by any means, but it was about average for what In Your House PPVs did.

Here’s the synopsis on WWE Network:

“The Rock defends the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Triple H. The Nation of Domination battles Goldust, Flash Funk and Bart Gunn. Marc Mero vs Leif Cassidy. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Bret Hart and Vader battle in a Four Corners Elimination Match for the vacant WWE Championship.” PG (L, V)

Here’s what the VHS looked like:

WWE In Your House 13: Final Four
UTC Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee
February 16, 1997

The opening video package focused on the WWE Championship situation. The voiceover guy during this period was awesome.

The announce team of Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler were at ringside to call the action. Sometimes Vince McMahon was there in this era, but he wasn’t on this show. He was running the show from backstage.

Marc Mero entered with the lovely Sable, who was in black leather. The Spanish and French announce teams were at ringside as well. The graphic for Mero said “The Wildman” instead of his name, so WWE was pushing the Wildman name a lot.

“Wildman” Marc Mero (w/Sable) vs. Leif Cassidy

Pre-match notes: Mero was the face while Cassidy was the heel. Cassidy would have more success later in his career as Al Snow.

Mero grounded Cassidy with an armbar, then he sent Cassidy to the mat repeatedly and Cassidy went to the floor. Cassidy tripped up Mero leading to an attempt of a move against the ropes, Sable kicked Cassidy and Mero jumped off the apron with a double axehandle. Back in the ring, Mero hit a leg drop for two. Cassidy got some offense with a couple of dropkicks and kicks to the left leg. Cassidy with a spinning leg lock on the left leg along with a move where he slammed the left knee into the mat. Thank you for the ringside shots of Sable as Cassidy continued to wrench on the left leg. Cassidy was twisting Mero’s left leg for about two minutes when Mero finally got to the rope to break the hold. Cassidy wrenched on the left leg again. This was getting boring. Mero broke free with an enziguri kick to the shoulder and then a roll through into a pin attempt for two. Cassidy drove the knee of Mero into his thigh and then Cassidy slapped on the Figure Four Leglock submission with Mero managing to get to the bottom rope with Sable pushing the rope towards Mero. Cassidy went after Sable on the floor, Sable with a slap to the face and Mero hit a cross body block on the floor. Back in the ring, Mero sent Cassidy face first into the mat, then a whip into the turnbuckle and Mero hit the Samoan Drop. Mero went up top and hit the Wild Thing (Shooting Star Press) off the top for the pinfall win at 9:32.

Winner by pinfall: Marc Mero

Analysis: *1/2 This was a boring match with the crowd not getting into it that much. If it was a few minutes shorter it would have helped. They were technically sound wrestlers, but it was a poor choice for an opener since it wasn’t exciting enough for the fans to get into it. The crowd didn’t care. Mero winning was obvious since he was the bigger name at this point while Cassidy never really got going with that name.

Post match, Mero celebrated the win with Sable while the crowd was mostly dead quiet for them. There was barely a reaction to this.

The Honky Tonk Man went into the ring with his guitar for…nothing. He was not shown again after this, so I guess it was for the local crowd. I’m not complaining.

There was a replay shown of Shawn Michaels vacating the WWE Title on Thursday Raw Thursday. They showed a few minutes of the speech including Shawn talking about the knee injury and how he had to find his smile because he lost it.

Sycho Sid was interviewed backstage about his WWE Title shot on the next edition of Raw. Sid said that it’s time to take back what is his because he’s the master and ruler of the world. There was a closeup of his eyes to show he was a crazy man.

Oh Flash, you’re so funky. That’s the start of the Flash Funk (2 Cold Scorpio) theme song as Funk made his entrance with two dancers. Bart Gunn was next. Goldust was the third man on the team with Marlena. This was during this babyface run of his career.

The Nation of Domination trio of Faarooq, Crush and Savio Vega were joined by a group of people including rappers. One of the guys in a suit was D-Lo Brown at a point when he hadn’t debuted on the main roster yet.

Flash Funk, Bart Gunn and Goldust (w/Marlena) vs. Nation of Domination (Faarooq, Savio Vega and Crush)

Pre-match notes: The trio of Funk, Gunn and Goldust were faces while Nation of Domination were heels.

Goldust attacked Faarooq with punches, then Funk and Gunn attacked as well, so the heels bailed to the floor. Funk went up top with a leap onto the three NOD guys on the floor. Back in the ring, Faarooq hit a spinebuster to counter a leaping attack from Funk. Vega tagged in, Funk with a clothesline and a hurricanrana off the top got two as Crush made the save. Funk with a dropkick on Vega to send him in out of the ring. Bart launched Funk over the top onto NOD, who caught him and then Faarooq hit a clothesline on Funk as the heels took over. Vega with a back body drop on Funk. Crush with a belly to belly slam and Faarooq was back in with a punch to knock down Funk. Faarooq jumped on Funk’s back a few times until Funk countered by getting the knees up. Vega was back in, the referee was occupied with Goldust and Crush hit a spike piledriver (with Vega) on Funk for a two count. Funk did a sweet counter to a double clothesline leading to a leaping clothesline of his own with the fans popping for that. Bart got the tag with two clotheslines, a punch on Crush and a powerslam for a two count as Vega broke up the pin. All six guys were in the ring with Funk kicking Crush in the head and Bart jumped off the top with a bulldog on Faarooq. There was chaos all around the ring as Crush hit a leg drop to Bart’s head and that was enough for Faarooq to cover Bart to win the match at 6:43.

Winner by pinfall: Nation of Domination (Faarooq, Savio Vega and Crush)

Analysis: *1/4 A random tag team match that wasn’t very good. The Nation of Domination had a strong presence about them, but in terms of matches, they were not known for having wrestling classics. Funk stood out with his athleticism with the crowd responding well to him. I liked the finish because at least the heels cheated to win. That’s how it should end.

The great “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was interviewed in the locker room by Dok Hendrix, who noted that Austin doesn’t have a victory against any of his three opponents. Austin noted that he won the Royal Rumble against all three guys. Austin claimed that the office like Dok, Gorilla Monsoon and Vince McMahon have a conspiracy against him with Austin saying it’s part of the politics that have held him back for seven years. Austin said he’ll win the Final Four today and he will be the WWE Champion.

Analysis: I was such a huge fan of Austin in this era, especially after the King of the Ring 1996 win. He was must-see TV for sure.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley was in the ring as we saw highlights from Thursday Raw Thursday when Rocky Maivia beat Hunter to win the Intercontinental Title for the first time.

Intercontinental Championship: Rocky Maivia vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

Pre-match notes: Rocky was the babyface rookie IC Champion that debuted at Survivor Series 1996 a few months earlier. Hunter Hearst Helmsley was the heel former champion. They would go on to wrestle many times over the next few years in many high-profile matches. This was their first PPV singles match against eachother.

Hunter with a drop toe hold leading to some slaps to the back of the head. Rocky with an armdrag leading to a dropkick and armdrag again along with some head slaps from Rocky along with a harder slap to the face. Rocky with an armbar with JR going over all of Rocky’s credentials about how he’s third generation and was a former Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman. Hunter sent Rocky out of the ring leading to a sliding dropkick into the barricade. Hunter with a body slam on the floor leading to some “Rocky” chants to support Maivia. Hunter with a slingshot into the bottom rope followed by a suplex and a knee drop. Hunter did a chinlock that also saw him put his feet on the middle ropes for leverage, so when referee Earl Hebner saw it, he kicked Hunter’s feet off the ropes. Rocky was running into the ropes with Hunter hitting the patented jumping knee strike. Rocky came back with an inside cradle for a two count. Hunter with a backbreaker for two leading to another chinlock and some “Rocky” chants. Rocky got some momentum going with a cross body block for two, but then Hunter held onto the ropes to avoid a dropkick. Hunter with a knee drop attempt, Rocky moved and Hunter hit the canvas. Rocky blocked a kick, but then Hunter spun him around leading to a clothesline. Rocky with an inverted atomic drop, then a whip into the turnbuckle and a powerslam. Rocky went up top, which he didn’t much in his career and he hit a cross body block for a two count. Hunter sent Rocky into the turnbuckle leading to a pin attempt with his feet on the ropes for two. Rock bounced off the ropes leading to the floatover DDT that didn’t connect at all, but Hunter sold it anyway. There was a slip there, so it didn’t look good. Rock would use that move a lot in his career. Hunter got a thumb to the eye, then a knee to the face and Hunter hit a neckbreaker. Goldust walked out to ringside and rubbed his ass to distract Hunter. Rocky capitalized with a bridging German Suplex (more like a belly to back suplex) for the pinfall at 12:30.

Winner by pinfall: Rocky Maivia

Analysis: **1/4 It was just an average match with Rocky being very early in his career and Hunter was still early in his career too. The company was really high on Rocky, but he was still green and it showed in some of the things he did. Hunter’s offense looked good with some moves that he would go on to use a lot over the next 20+ years. I think Goldust’s appearance towards the end was just done to give Hunter an out for losing since he was feuding with Goldust and Rocky capitalized to get the win.

Post match, Rocky celebrated the win with his title as he walked to the back. The fans were behind him here, but that would change in the months that followed.

Analysis: When these two guys would have matches three years after this, they would have matches that were at least double this rating, which shows how much they improved.

Goldust was joined by Marlena at ringside with JR nothing that Goldust didn’t touch Hunter, so that’s why there was no disqualification. Goldust went on the apron and then the camera panned over to show a woman choking Terri in a headlock. It was the debut of Chyna. A couple of security guys pulled Chyna off with the announcers wondering what that was. Goldust went over to Marlena and held her in his arms. Marlena sold it by coughing. Goldust carried Marlena to the back.

Analysis: There’s the debut of Chyna, who would become an ally of Hunter Hearst Helmsley. At this time Chyna was unknown, but she would obviously be a big star in the company over the next four years.

Vader was interviewed backstage by Kevin Kelly with Paul Bearer with him. Vader talked trash about his three opponents. Bearer said Vader has already destroyed Undertaker, Bret Hart and Steve Austin and tonight, you’re looking at the new WWE Champion. Vader said it’s “Vader Time” to end it.

The team of Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon were in the ring. Owen Hart and British Bulldog were up next as the Tag Team Champions. They had Clarence Mason with them.

WWE Tag Team Championships: Owen Hart and British Bulldog (w/Clarence Mason) vs. Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon

Pre-match notes: The brothers in law team of Owen and Bulldog were the heel champions. Furans and Lafon were new in the company as a babyface tag team.

Furnas with a hiptoss leading to an arm drag. Lafon and Owen exchanged about four nearfalls to no reaction from the crowd. Lafon tripped up Owen leading to a kneebar submission. Bulldog tagged in with Lafon hitting a sunset flip with Lafon coming back with a spinning heel kick for two. Owen with a cheap shot knee to the back that the referee didn’t see and Owen was in there for his team with an eye rake while Bulldog did some illegal choking. Owen with a cross body block off the turnbuckle that Lafon turned into a two count. Owen with a gutwrench suplex followed by a backbreaker for two. Bulldog and Owen hit a double team clothesline on Lafon. There was a sunset flip for two after Owen delayed the referee and Bulldog hit a clothesline. Owen was back in with a stomp to the ribs along with a jump onto the left knee leading to Owen wrenching the knee. Bulldog held up Lafon for a delayed vertical suplex while Owen hit a cross body block off the top for a two count. Nice nearfall there. The fans were barely reacting to anything as Lafon got a two count on an inside cradle. Owen and Davey argued about a communication error, Lafon sent them headfirst into eachother, Bulldog tripped Lafon and Owen hit a spin kick on Bulldog by mistake because Lafon moved. Lafon pinned Bulldog for two with Bulldog getting his foot on the ropes even though Owen was the legal man. Owen slapped Bulldog, so Bulldog hit a clothesline and Lafon hit a splash off the top on Owen for two as Bulldog broke up the pin. Furnas with a dropkick for two on Owen followed by a belly to belly suplex for two. Double team back body drop on Owen got a two count. Lafon with a Northern Lights suplex for two. Furnas with a hurricanrana into a pin for two with Bulldog breaking it up. Furnas with a clothesline to Owen’s back, Lafon with a DDT and Furnas with a leg drop for two. Great nearfall there. Owen with an enziguri kick to break free. Bulldog with a clothesline on Lafon, who came back with a sunset flip for two as Owen made the save. Lafon and Furnas shoved the champs into eachother and Furnas hit a dropkick on Owen as Lafon got a two count on Bulldog. Bulldog sent Lafon into the turnbuckle. Bulldog lifted Lafon and Owen hit Lafon with the Slammy Award in the back for the DQ finish as Bulldog hit his running Powerslam. It was a DQ at 10:31.

Winners by disqualification: Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon (Owen Hart and British Bulldog remain champions)

Analysis: *** A competitive match between two good teams with Owen/Davey being an excellent heel duo while Furnas/Lafon were technically sound, but lacking in terms of charisma. The fans just weren’t into the match that much even though it was a technically sound tag team match. I wish they would have come up with a better finish because what they did there wasn’t interesting at all.

Bulldog thought he won, but the referee Jack Doan informed him that Owen got the team disqualified. Owen told Bulldog it didn’t matter because they still had the titles. Bulldog complained while Owen kept telling him that it doesn’t matter that they got disqualified. Bulldog was frustrated with Owen and dropped the Slammy Award on the mat, which broke it in two. Those are really cheap! Bulldog threatened Clarence Mason a bit as well. They left with their titles while Lawler had a funny line about Owen willing to forget Bulldog even after Bulldog broke the Slammy Award. Bulldog kept on saying that he had him beat.

Analysis: The problems between Owen and Davey would happen once in a while although they mostly stayed together for the rest of the year especially after the Hart Foundation stable was formed about one month after this.

The Undertaker was interviewed by Dok Hendrix with Taker saying that he has rediscovered his edge. Taker said that this spells doom for Vader, Austin and The Hitman. Taker said the WWE Title will be his by hook or by crook and if you get in his way, he’ll annihilate you. Taker said he’s got a score to settle with Vader and you can rest assured that will happen in just a few minutes. Taker said “Rest in Peace” to end it.

They showed highlights from the Royal Rumble when Bret Hart eliminated Steve Austin, but the referees were on the other side of the ring dealing with other things and didn’t see it. Austin eliminated Vader and Undertaker while Bret Hart eliminated fake Diesel. Austin flipped Bret out to eliminate him to win the match.

The WWE President Gorilla Monsoon was in the ring with the WWE Title as Howard Finkel did the introductions for the main event. Vader was up first manager Paul Bearer. The next man was up “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at a point where he was still a heel, but he was definitely a rising star. Austin and Vader gave eachother middle finger salutes with JR apologizing for that.

The Undertaker was next as he made his entrance to a pretty big pop from the crowd. It was the traditional slow walk to the ring, but this was a smaller building, so it didn’t take that long for him to get to the ring.

Bret “Hitman” Hart was interviewed backstage by Kevin Kelly. Bret said that the other three guys are tough, but he’s got experience, heart and he doesn’t want any excuses. The way he looks at it – may the best man win. That’s him. Hart made his entrance to a huge pop because this was at a time when he was a main event babyface for nearly five years. He was very popular with the crowd.

The rules for the match looked like this:

WWE Championship Final Four Match: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin vs. Vader (w/Paul Bearer) vs. The Undertaker

Pre-match notes: The WWE Title was vacant. Hart and Undertaker were the faces while Austin and Vader were heels. Vader was the oldest man in the match at 42 years of age, Bret was 39, Austin was 32 and Undertaker was 31 at the time.

The only way to win the match is by pinfall, submission or throwing somebody over the top to the floor like in a battle royal or Royal Rumble setting. There were no disqualifications or countouts. There is referee Earl Hebner in the ring while referee Mike Chioda was on the floor.

The wrestlers paired off with Austin battling Bret and Taker hit a running clothesline on Vader. Taker worked over Austin with an arm wringer leading to a rope walk into the forearm to the back. Vader with a belly to belly suplex on Taker and a punch knocked Taker out of the ring under the top rope with Vader following him on the floor. Vader with a chair, Taker ducked it and Austin whipped Hart into the turnbuckle for Bret’s sternum first bump. Vader picked up the chair and Taker kicked the chair in his face, which busted open Vader’s face hardway, so he was bleeding everywhere. It could have been a blade job too if Vader did it very quickly. Taker whipped Vader into the steel steps while Hart hit a backbreaker. Austin countered a sleeper by Bret with a jawbreaker for two. Taker hit a Chokeslam on Vader with Taker getting some impressive height on that. Austin hit a neckbreaker that was almost like a Stunner and they didn’t even show the two count after that because they showed Vader knocking Bret down. Vader hit a low blow punch to Bret. Austin with a neckbreaker on Taker for two while Vader hit Bret with two chair shots to the back. The blood around Vader’s left eye was a bloody mess. Austin had Taker on the floor where he teased a piledriver, but Taker hit a back body drop on the floor. Back in the ring, Bret with a clothesline on Vader, who left the ring again. Taker suplexed Bret from the apron into the ring. Austin whipped Vader into the steel steps. Vader whipped Austin into the security railing. Austin whipped Vader towards the steps, but Vader avoided them and crashed onto a guy by the announce table. Austin attacked Vader with the WWE Title, but Vader fought back with punches and Vader’s eye was a bloody mess. Vader pulled Bret out of the ring while Taker knocked Austin down when he was on the turnbuckle. Taker with a leg drop to the midsection of Austin. Hart tossed Vader over a barricade in the aisle, so they went brawling into the crowd for a bit. Taker was in control of Austin in the ring while Vader whipped Hart into the steel steps. Taker tried to eliminate Austin, but Austin did an eye poke and a top rope clothesline for two as Sycho Sid was shown watching on a TV backstage. Vader slapped on his own version of a Sharpshooter on Bret on the floor, but it was brief as Austin kicked at Bret.

There was action on the floor with Bret and Taker working over Austin while Vader was taking a break in the ring. Taker with a punch to the eye of Vader. Back in the ring, Austin hit the Thesz Press leading to punches on the bloody left eye of Vader, but then Vader came back with a body smash on Austin. Taker choked Vader on the mat while Bret jumped on Austin’s back. Vader with a clothesline on Taker while Bret hit a piledriver on Austin for two. Vader went up top, jumped off with a moonsault and Taker moved, so Vader hit the mat. Vader left the ring with Taker, who choked Vader with some cables. Vader was choking Taker with some cables while Austin tried to eliminate Hart, but he couldn’t do it. Vader got a nearfall on Taker while Hart kicked and punched Austin repeatedly leading to an elbow drop off the middle ropes for a two count. Austin got a rollup on Bret for two. JR took a shot at WCW saying these aren’t over the hill wrestlers as Vader went after Bret, so Bret kicked him in the groin. Meanwhile, Austin sent Taker’s left leg into the ring post and Bret hit a side Russian legsweep on Vader. Austin nearly eliminated Austin over the top to the floor, but Austin held on. Austin nearly eliminated Taker, who managed to hold on. Taker sent Austin over the top to the apron with Austin grabbing at his left knee. I believe Austin was telling Bret that he hurt his knee there because Austin hurt his knee in this match and would start wearing a knee brace after this. Bret lifted up Austin on his shoulders and dumped over him over the top to the floor with Austin continuing to favor the left leg. That was the first elimination after 18 minutes. The fans cheered for that.

Steve Austin eliminated by Bret Hart

Analysis: There was a rumor about this match that Austin was going to win and they changed it due to the left knee injury, but that rumor is not true. The match went as planned. That spot was likely improvised after Austin hurt his knee.

Taker whipped Vader into the turnbuckle leading to a corner splash. Taker was punching Taker, which led to Vader hitting a chop block to Taker’s leg to take the big man down with Taker rolling to the floor. Vader took off his bloody red mask as we got to see more of the bloody left side of Vader’s face. Vader with a suplex on Bret in the blood-stained ring as we saw a shot of Bearer hitting Taker with the urn. Vader went up top after Bret, but Bret stopped him there and Bret hit a superplex on Vader, which was very impressive for a 400-pound guy like Vader. I don’t know Vader could see straight with all that blood going into his eye and around his eye on the left side. Bret slapped on a Sharpshooter submission on Vader, but there was Taker with a clothesline to Bret’s back to eliminate him. Steve Austin ran out to ringside to go after Bret with Austin favoring his left knee. Vader was working over Taker, he went to the middle ropes and Vader was about to do a Vader Bomb, but Taker popped up and punched Vader in the groin to send him over the top to the floor. The crowd loved that. Awesome bump by Vader!

Vader eliminated by The Undertaker

Austin was still attacking Bret, so Taker clotheslined Austin to get rid of him. Taker hit a Chokeslam on Bret where he went to the mat as well while Austin was still at ringside. Taker picked up Bret, Austin pulled Bret’s leg into the top rope and Taker punched Austin on the apron. Bret rolled up Taker and sat on top for a two count. Taker knocked Austin off the apron, so Bret hit a clothesline on Taker to eliminate him with Taker landing on his feet. The match went 24:06.

The Undertaker eliminated by Bret Hart

Winner AND NEW WWE Champion: Bret Hart

Analysis: ****1/4 This match was great. While it was a bit chaotic at times, I enjoyed it a lot. This was not an easy match to do with four guys in the match where you can lose in a few different ways. The pacing was really fast early on, so you can tell Vader was getting tired and so were some of the others, but they still put on a tremendous match. Vader was incredible in this match with what was one of his best matches in WWE, Bret was awesome as always, Austin was the centerpiece of the match in a lot of ways and Taker delivered as well. They just worked very well together. The last five minutes, when they started doing the eliminations, were a lot of fun and I thought all of it was booked well. The crowd was really into it too. I assume that Austin’s elimination was likely going to be different, but his knee was hurting so much that he and Bret had to improvise. It’s a unique match that WWE hadn’t done before, nor have they done anything like it since then, so I think that’s what I like about it so much.

Bret Hart celebrated with the WWE Title while Undertaker walked to the back to try to go after Austin. It was Bret’s fourth time winning the WWE Championship.

There was a commercial plugging that WrestleMania 13 was coming to Coliseum Video on May 6.

Bret’s celebration continued as Sycho Sid made his entrance. Sid got in the ring for a staredown with Bret since they had a WWE Title match on Raw the next night. Sid was talking to Bret as the show came to an end during that staredown.

Analysis: The next night on Raw, Bret Hart lost the WWE Title to Sycho Sid thanks mainly to the actions of Steve Austin. After Austin hit Bret with a chair shot that the referee never saw, Sid hit Hart with a Powerbomb to win the WWE Title.

This event had a runtime of 1:43:21 on WWE Network. That’s on the short side because on a two-hour show they usually run about ten minutes longer than that.

Here’s the WrestleMania 13 Review if you want to read about what happened at the next PPV.

As for Vader’s bloody face, apparently WWE really liked it because they put it on Raw magazine. I’m pretty sure I was subscribing to Raw magazine at this point. Maybe it was later in 1997. Anyway, it was a very bloody cover for the magazine.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Show rating (out of 10): 6

It’s a one-match show with the main event carrying it after great performances from Bret Hart, Steve Austin, The Undertaker and a very bloody Vader. Those four men had one of the best and most unique WWF/E Title matches ever. The Tag Team Title match was pretty good too although the finish was poor. Since those two matches take up most of the second half of the two hour show, it means the bad stuff isn’t that bad because it goes by so quickly. The other matches were just decent at best. There were some historically important things since it was the first-ever Rock vs. Triple H match on pay-per-view (one of the best rivalries ever) and Chyna’s debut as well, so at least that’s newsworthy too.

FIVE STARS

1. Bret Hart
2. Steve Austin
3. Vader
4. The Undertaker
5. Owen Hart/British Bulldog

OPINIONS

Best Match: Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker vs. Vader (****1/4)

Worst Match: Nation of Domination (Faarooq, Savio Vega and Crush) vs. Flash Funk, Bart Gunn and Goldust (w/Marlena) (*1/4)

Most Memorable Moment: Bret Hart wins the WWF/E Title for the fourth time.

That’s all for me. Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here. Thanks for reading.

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My contact info is below.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter @johnreport