The 1997 Royal Rumble was the last Rumble to take place before WWE's Attitude Era. It was the last Rumble before the Screwjob, before D-Generation X, and before we started smelling what The Rock was cooking. The show received mixed reviews from audiences.
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The card features a host of future WWE Hall of Famers who were still years away from their prime. It wasn't all bad since "Stone Cold" won the Rumble in the lead-up to his awesome match against Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. This list will examine the 5 best (and 5 worst) things about the 1997 Royal Rumble.
10 Best: Bret Hart
The 1997 Royal Rumble was the last Rumble to feature Bret Hart as an entrant. Hart entered the Rumble at number 21 and technically won the match. He eliminated Austin from the Rumble, but "Stone Cold" snuck back into the ring without the referees knowing he was thrown out. Hart stood out during the entire show and it set up his WrestleMania match against Austin.
9 Worst: Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs. Goldust
Triple H was still Hunter Hearst Helmsley during the 1997 Royal Rumble. It's clear from the beginning of the match against Goldust that he wasn't the great in-ring performer he would eventually become. It was a bad way to start the show since Helmsley and Goldust didn't exactly set the world on fire. Goldust also struggled as a babyface since his gimmick worked best in the "shades of grey area", between babyface and heel.
8 Best: British Bulldog's Promo
The British Bulldog entered the Royal Rumble at number 8 and lasted less than ten minutes in the match. The pre-taped promo involving Bulldog was better than his work in the ring. He arrived to the arena with a fanny pack and seemed prepared to make a major statement as to why he'd win the Rumble. Instead of giving a huge speech, Bulldog simply said he would win because he was "bizarre." It was a bizarre promo that was great comedic relief during the show.
7 Worst: Ahmed Johnson
Ahmed Johnson and Faarooq added to the midcard woes with their match at the Royal Rumble. The two had zero chemistry as opponents. Faarooq at least did his best, while Ahmed Johnson didn't move the bar at all. Everything he did in the match was unmotivated, even though he won the match with a lame DQ finish.
6 Best: The Table Slam
Although Ahmed Johnson had a bad match at the Rumble, the segment that followed the match was insane in all the best ways. After the match, Johnson chased Faarooq and got attacked by a guy in a suit. He ended up throwing the man onto the steps and then put him through the French announcer's table with an insane Pearl River Plunge that showed the true strength of Johnson.
5 Worst: Vader vs. The Undertaker
Vader and The Undertaker had much better matches against each other than their bout at the 1997 Royal Rumble. Everything about this match was off. It was way too slow and Vader looked winded through most of the bout.
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Paul Bearer helped Vader secure the victory since The Undertaker rarely lost clean in this era. The Undertaker Chokeslammed a referee in anger after the loss, which was the best moment of the entire segment.
4 Best: Steve Austin
Steve Austin won three Royal Rumble matches before he retired in 2003. His first Rumble win, in 1997, was one of the big launching points for Austin as a wrestling star. Although he won in a controversial way, Austin was booked massively strong and dominated the match. He lasted for over 45 minutes and eliminated one third of all the Rumble competitors.
3 Worst: The Main Event
The Royal Rumble match was not the main event of the 1997 event. The Rumble took place in San Antonio, Texas and one of the biggest draws of the evening was the return of hometown wrestler, Shawn Michaels, who was arguably the most over star in WWE at the time.
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The main event featured HBK battling Sycho Sid for the WWE Championship. Sid wasn't a great wrestler and his limited skillset was very evident during this match. It was a huge step down from their Survivor Series 1996 match, which took place a few months earlier.
2 Best: Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels was one of the hottest wrestlers on the planet going into his main event match at the 1997 Royal Rumble. His match with Sycho Sid wasn't good, but Michaels put on a decent performance even though he was battling the flu during the match. Michaels ultimately won the WWE Championship for the second time. He seemed to be the only wrestler on the entire show that was able to animate the crowd in attendance.
1 Worst: The Crowd
The 1997 Royal Rumble had a very low-energy audience. Although many of the matches weren't great, the San Antonio, Texas audience also did the wrestlers in attendance no favors. They weren't a hostile crowd but seemed to be uninterested in most of the talent. Other than the main event, the crowd didn't help establish an atmosphere that the Royal Rumble usually brings. It felt like a crowd of a few thousand even though the box office clocked 60,477 in attendance.
