Post your feedback and any questions related to this event from July 1997.
Rewind-A-Wai #39 will be released on Friday with our review for members of the POST Wrestling Café.
WWF In Your House Canadian Stampede
Sunday, July 6, 1997
Calgary, Alberta
*Bret Hart, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart & Brian Pillman vs. Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Legion of Doom & Goldust
*The Undertaker vs. Vader for the WWF title
*The Great Sasuke vs. Taka Michinoku
*Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Mankind
Jesse from the 6
I actually hadn’t seen this show until I watched it when you guys reviewed it in 2011. All I can remember about the show’s main angle is not liking it as a child because I didn’t like anybody booing Bret Hart. How can Bret be a bad guy??
As an adult, I of course love this show. It makes me think, though: whenever fans like us discuss WWF in '97, we usually talk about the story lines glowingly (even if much of the in-ring action was underwhelming). Yet their ratings were in the toilet. Was '97 merely the hard work that the WWF had to put in to reap the rewards they did in '98 & '99? OR is it possible that most WWF/E fans are just . . . not that into wrestling? Ratings only went up with hos, castration stories, and beer baths.
In going to the WrestleMania tailgate this year, I was reminded that most WWE fans are not like us Post Marks. They do not view the product with the same critical eye. Furthermore, I remember Wai’s coverage of the Mixed-Match Challenge and how he pointed out that the numbers really only peaked during dance offs. Nobody cared about the wrestling.
So what do you think? Did WWF produce a product in '97 that only appeals to hardcore fans? Or did it simply take a long a time for their long-term and (relatively) complex story telling to reap rewards?
Take Care