This week on Rewind-A-Wai, we will be reviewing WWF’s One Night Only show from September 1997 in Birmingham, England.
This was chosen by Espresso Executive Producer @Pickles0303.
Leave us any feedback for this week’s show, which will be released this Friday.
This was the year I got into wrestling and this show holds a special place in my heart because I’m from England. I didn’t know much about wrestling at the time but I knew this was a big deal with it being a UK only PPV and British Bulldog being on the show. When you look back now this is used as an example of how hard Shawn was to deal with as he really didn’t need this win at all. I also feel like Davey Boy never got what he deserved as I think he was more than deserving of a WWF title run. Regardless of all that, this show still means a lot to me and I’m looking forward to your guys review of it.
Jesse from the 6
As a child, these UK shows were very confusing to me. They weren’t promoted like proper PPVs on North American television, so I could never tell if these shows were cannon or not. Did this air live on PPV in the U.S.? If so, what did Americans think during that heel-heel main event with Davey Boy playing a face?
Also, do you know why they chose the European Title to headline over the WWF Title? Maybe it was an homage to SummerSlam '92, but it was a weird main event with Shawn going over. Then again, if the World Title match were to have main-evented, they would have needed a better finish. WTH was that?
Or is the simple answer here that Shawn demanded to go on last?
I know I’m not breaking any news here, but damn was Bret Hart good. Not just his in-ring work, but his oft-maligned promos and his storytelling were also superb. When Bret turned heel, he didn’t just flip a switch and start insulting the local sports team. All of his character’s actions and beliefs made perfect sense. And when Vince asked Bret if he cared whether or not the British fans cheered him, he pauses and says, “Yeah, I care”. It was so refreshing to hear a character say that after 15 years of John Cena and Roman Reigns saying they don’t care what the “WWE Universe” does. How does that make them compelling characters?
Also, “This capacity crowd” is way better than “the WWE Universe”.
Take Care