Posted in: The Classic Paper Review The Classic Paper Review - Vol XVIII – Survivor Series 1997
By Mazza
Jun 1, 2009 - 1:09:54 PM
Vol XVIII – Survivor Series 1997
Welcome Ladies and Gentleman, it is Monday once again and you should know by now that my name is Mazza and this is The Classic Paper Review. We are at that time of the year where the Wrestlemania aftermath has finished but the big summer feuds are yet to start showing signs of life. It is somewhat of a filler period for the WWE so I think kudos has to be given on Judgment Day being a pretty decent event. Overall I am less hopeful for Extreme Rules at the moment but I do think that Edge and Jeff have the chance to pull out a match of the year candidate.
Whilst pondering which PPV to review this week, I asked myself a question. The question was to name one of the under card matches on the most infamous PPV of all times, Survivor Series 1997. I could not find an answer and it struck me that it was time to take a look at what is probably the most talked about event in wrestling history to see just how good the wrestling was. Obviously I could not tackle the event that gave us “The Montreal Screwjob” without discussing the moment but I thought it would be fun to have a couple of friends (of mine, not each other) help me out. They may well be familiar names to you but that is enough about them, this is still my column and it is time to get to the review.
THE FACTS
As usual, all facts and figures are from Wikipedia.
The Event: Survivor Series 1997
The Date: 9 November 1997
The Place: Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
The Attendance: 20,593
After losing the WWF Championship to Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 12, Bret Hart took seven months off. During this time, despite lucrative offers from WCW, he eventually decided to return to the WWF, signing a twenty year contract. A year later however and McMahon regretted the decision. WCW were firmly ahead of Vince in the ratings war and with the WWF experiencing financial difficulties, eventually it came about that Bret would join WCW. The problem was that he was the WWF Champion and obviously Vince could not run the risk of Bret leaving with his title. Vince wanted Bret to drop the title to Shawn at Survivor Series but Hart did not want to lose the title in his home country of Canada. It was eventually agreed that there would be a DQ finish with DX and The Harts getting involved and The Hitman would hand over the title the next night on Raw.
Back in the kafaybe world, the story wrote itself. Bret and Shawn had been rivals since what seemed like the beginning of time and this would finally be the rematch to their Wrestlemania 12 epic. Bret was portraying an anti-American at the time which drew a lot of heat in the US and Michaels was part of the anti-establishment stable and highly popular Degeneration-X. The hatred between the two men had reached a crescendo in the lead up to the event.
Bret had formed a stable of fellow Canadians consisting of his brother Owen, brothers-in-law, The British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart as well as Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon. Owen would defend his Intercontinental title against Stone Cold Steve Austin. The situation between the two men was very personal following Owen injuring Austin’s neck with a piledriver. At Survivor Series, Austin would be looking for revenge and Owen would be looking to finish off the job.
The rest of Hart’s group would represent Canada in a match against Team USA. The American team consisted of Vader, Goldust and Marc Mero. On an episode of Raw prior to the event, a “fan” by the name of Steve Blackman would enter the ring to save Vader from a four-on-one beating at the hands of the Canadians. He was later arrested but bailed out by Vader and Blackman became the fourth member of Team USA.
GANG RULZ
The show starts off with Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler discussing the main event. The King interestingly says “Each one of these guys refuses to lose and that’s what it’s all about tonight. Somebody’s going to lose”.
The New Age Outlaws and The Godwinns defeated The Headbangers and The New Blackjacks in 15:27 in a Four-on-Four Survivor Series Elimination Match
If you can’t remember the New Blackjacks, it was the team of Barry Wyndham and Bradshaw. The Outlaws were a relatively new pairing at the time and Road Dogg tries to get some heat by disrespecting the Canadians. It doesn’t really seem to work, maybe the French speaking crowd could not understand him. The early stages of the match see Bradshaw (sporting a rather epic ‘tash) control and the Outlaws refusing to tag-in, leaving the Godwinns to do the work and Bradshaw eliminates Henry Godwinn with a role up from an abdominal stretch. Wyndham then works over Phineas but the man who will become Mideon hits a clothesline out of nowhere and eliminates the veteran. The Headbangers now get some action as Mosh comes in to a good reaction from the so-far-quiet crowd. Billy then comes in to some nice heat which he and the Road Dogg milk for all it’s worth. The action is pretty run-of-the-mill until Mosh goes for a bulldog. Billy counters by slamming the Headbanger face first into the mat to get the three-count. Thrasher and Phineas now get it on and the action goes back and forth before Thrasher gets the fall with a stage dive. Bradshaw then comes in and dominates the Road Dogg however a distraction from Gunn allows James to role up the Blackjack for the elimination. An irate Bradshaw makes his mark by hitting big clotheslines on both Outlaws before going to the back. Thrasher tries to rally against The Road Dogg and he reverses a pumphandle slam attempt to make a cover. Unfortunately for him he did not see that the blind tag was made and Billy hits a Fameasser from the top and the Outlaws are the survivors. This match pretty much followed the standard Survivor Series formula of lots of tags and constantly evolving action. You could see however that there was something about the Outlaws that would push them to the top of the tag team division. CPR Rating: 7 (Coefficient 1)
The Truth Commission defeated The Disciples of Apocalypse in 9:59 in a Four-on-Four Survivor Series Elimination Match
Ah, remember the Truth Commission? Me neither. Apparently they were a stable based on the South African paramilitary group, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. They were made up of leader Jackyl, Sniper, Recon (Bull Buchanan) and future Oddities member (and freaky looking giant) The Interrogator, Kurrgan. The DOA were a spin-off from the Nation of Domination. Crush left the popular group and formed his own biker stable consisting of Chainz (Brian Lee) and Skull and 8-Ball (The Harris Brothers). The match starts off with Chainz making a valiant effort to cut down The Interrogator but he is quickly eliminated by a sidewalk slam. The Commission continue to dominate until the smaller Jackyl comes in and gets eliminated following a sidewalk slam from one of the twins (Wiki says 8-Ball). Jackyl heads over to join the King and JR on commentary. With Kurrgan on the outside, the DOA take control and a twin switcheroo sees Recon eliminated by (again, according to Wiki) Skull. Skull then takes charge of Sniper but interference from The Interrogator allows Sniper to hit a bulldog for the elimination. 8-Ball and Crush continue to work on Sniper until The Interrogator gets tagged in and immediately eliminates 8-Ball with, you guessed it, a sidewalk slam. Crush manages to eliminate Sniper with a powerslam but walks into Kurrgan and the match’s fourth sidewalk slam and The Interrogator is the sole survivor. This match was not pretty but was fortunately short and not awful for what it was. The WWF did a good job of pushing Kurrgan as a monster but unfortunately they never really used it for anything useful. CPR Rating: 6 (Coefficient 1)
Team Canada (The British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon) defeated Team USA (Vader, Goldust, Marc Mero and Steve Blackman) (With Sable) in 17:47 in a Four-on-Four Survivor Series Elimination Match
Kurt Angle’s music plays and I get all excited until I realise that I am a couple of years too early. Team USA comes out to major heat and are followed by Team Canada to a huge pop. Mero and Bulldog start out with some banter. Mero flaunts his star spangled bandana and Bulldog pretends to wipe his arse with it. Mero gets the early advantage and tags in Vader but Bulldog shows his power by suplexing the big man and tagging in the only Canadian born man in the match, Lafon. There is a nice sequence between Lafon and Blackman before the action breaks down. Both teams brawl on the outside but Lafon sneaks in and Blackman gets counted out. Back in the ring however, the numbers are soon evened up as Vader eliminates Neidhart with a big splash. The match goes to the outside once again but Vader picks up where he left off in the ring by eliminating Lafon with a splash from the second rope. Vader goes on to take control of Furnas before tagging Mero in. Once more we have back and forth action but eventually Furnas levels the playing field once more by rolling up Mero for the three-count.
Vader goes onto to battle it out with Bulldog but when Vader goes to for the tag, Goldust refuses. Furnas and Bulldog then proceed to double team Vader and Goldust continuously refuses to tag in. Vader eventually forces the tag with a slap to the face of “The Bizarre One” but Goldust walks to the back and gets counted out. Vader evens up the numbers with a Vader Bomb to Furnas but as the refs, attend to him, Bulldog nails Vader with a bell to pick up the win for his team. Ironically, a Brit is the sole survivor of Team USA versus Team Canada. This was a very good match with a real mixture of styles. The crowd interaction was also great in moving the match along. CPR Rating: 8.5 (Coefficient 2)
Kane (With Paul Bearer) defeated Mankind in 9:29
When Kane first entered the WWF as Undertaker’s long lost brother, he was really pushed as a monster before entering into a feud with his older sibling. This would be his first official match in the WWF and he would cross paths with Mick Foley, who would bring his Mankind persona for this battle. Mankind wastes no time and comes to meet Kane in the entranceway. Kane takes control, throwing Foley into the steps. They eventually get back in the ring and the bell rings. During the match the lights stay out and there is a red glow across the arena as they go to the outside again and once more Foley is introduced to the ring steps. The pace is slow, controlled and hard hitting with the Big Red Machine in control. Foley finally gets some offence in with the help of the steps and a chair and following a piledriver to Kane, he locks in the Mandible Claw on Paul Bearer. Kane recovers however and lands a chokeslam that sends Foley from the apron, through the announce table. The brawl continues on the outside and Mankind once again levels the playing field with a DDT on the floor. He then lands an elbow from the apron but as he goes for a second, Kane gets up and throws him to the floor. Foley tries to recover but gets caught in a Tombstone and that’s all she wrote. This was a pretty good brawl here and a strong debut for the Big Red Machine. The lighting was surprisingly a nice touch although a little hard on the eyes at time. A bravo to both men, particularly Kane who was coming off some awful gimmicks. CPR Rating: 8.5 (Coefficient 1)
The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal), Ahmed Johnson and Ken Shamrock defeated The Nation of Domination (The Rock, Faarooq, Kama Mustafa and D'Lo Brown) in 20:44 in a Four-on-Four Survivor Series Elimination Match
The final elimination match of the night would pit the group that would become the foil to DX, The Nation of Domination against the tag team champions, The Legion of Doom, Ken Shamrock and the man who had many problems with the Nation, Ahmed Johnson. The match starts out with Hawk dominating and no-selling D’Lo’s offence and soon the Rock comes in. A distraction from behind on Hawk allows Maivia to his a Rock Bottom for the first elimination and the Rock gets a whole lot of heat. Ahmed Johnson comes in and The Rock quickly tags out to Kama (The Godfather). The Nation take control of Ahmed and distract the ref to hit double/triple team him in the corner. Out of nowhere however, Ahmed hits a Pearl River Plunge on Faarooq to make it three-on-three. The Nation’s leader however refuses to leave the ringside area and grabs Ahmed’s foot, assisting the Rock in eliminating him. Johnson and Faarooq fight to the back as Animal and Shamrock control and Animal rolls-up Kama to even it up once more. The Nation take charge from here as they double team Shamrock but when D’Lo misses a moonsault, Shamrock can make the tag to Animal. The New Age Outlaws then come down to ringside wearing LOD’s shoulder pads and their faces painted. Animal goes after them and gets counted out in the process.
The Nation then try to finish of Shamrock but The World’s Most Dangerous Man snaps and eliminates D’Lo with an Ankle Lock. The Rock grabs a chair and levels Shamrock with it as the officials tend to D’Lo. The Rock goes for the cover but Shamrock kicks out at two. The Rock stays in control and gets another close call with a People’s Elbow. Shamrock gets back in contention with a suplex and hurricanrana and snaps once more. He puts The Rock in the Ankle Lock and Maivia has no choice but to tap. Again this was a very solid Survivor Series match-up with a nice mixture of styles. Shamrock was in the midst of a big push and you could tell there was a big future for The Rock. CPR Rating: 8 (Coefficient 2)
Steve Austin defeated Owen Hart (with Team Canada) in 4:04 to win the Intercontinental Championship
Despite going against one of Canada’s favourite sons, Austin comes out to a big reaction but this is eclipsed when Owen comes out. Hart comes to the ring with Team Canada and takes a long time to get into the ring. He is wearing a T-shirt that says “Owen 3:16” on the front and “I just broke your neck” on the back.
He throws the shirt at Austin who proceeds to rip it up. Neidhart tries a sneak attack but is met with a Stunner but this allows Owen to jump Stone Cold as the bell rings. It is nothing but a brawl as the Canadian crowd shout “break his neck”. Owen tries to oblige with a piledriver which is reversed by Austin. Team Canada are sent to the back and Owen tries to follow but Stone Cold drags him back to the ring. The fight carries on at the ringside area and Owen chokes Austin with some cables and asks the ref to call a disqualification. Stone Cold regains control in the ring after a poke to the eyes and lands a Stunner to become the new Intercontinental Champion. After the match, Furnas and Lafon run to the ring but both taste Stunners. This was a good few minutes of action that I think could have been great given a little more time. This could have been a brawl that would have gone down in history with a few more minutes. CPR Rating: 7 (Coefficient 2)
Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart in 12:11 to win the WWF Championship
We see Michaels walking to the ring with DX in the backstage area but he comes through the curtain alone to a chorus of boos from the crowd. Not enough heat for Shawn though so he proceeds to hump the Canadian flag. We then see The Hitman walking through the backstage area with DaveyBoy and Neidhart and he also comes out alone to a wall of noise. It is not all love as some of the fans already knew that Bret was leaving for WCW. From the start you can see that it is personal as both men brawl to the outside with the Hitman in control. The fight spills into the partisan crowd and a whole host of officials, including Vince, make their way to ringside. Michaels takes control by the announce tables and chokes Bret with an American flag before going into the fans once more. The match continues to go back and forth on the outside with officials getting taken out by both men. With Bret in control in the entrance way, McMahon tries to convince him to take the action back to the ring.
This finally happens and it is at this point where I realise the match had not started as the timekeeper rings the bell. Bret starts out by chocking Shawn with the flag of Quebec. Shawn manages to turn the tide with his signature flying forearm and flip up before returning the favour with the flag. With Michaels in control, he decides to take his time and incite the crowd a little. They go back to the outside where HBK uses the ring steps and a flag pole as weapons. Shawn then utilises a front face lock to wear down the champ but Bret counters and starts to work on the legs. He eventually locks in the figure-four around the ring post and then locks the original version of the move in the ring. Michaels manages to reverse it but Bret stays in control of the match. Bret gets a couple of two-counts going through his move-set before going to the second rope. As he comes down, Shawn pulls Earl Hebner in the way and the ref goes down. Michaels rakes Bret in the face and locks in the Sharpshooter. Suddenly Hebner is on his feet and calling for the bell.
Sexy Boy plays and we see Vince at ringside. Bret spits at him and Shawn looks angry and confused as he stomps to the back with Hunter and Gerald Briscoe. I remember watching this live wondering just what the hell was going on. Obviously as time has gone on, more and more facts have been revealed but there was a real “what the fuck” feeling at the time. The action before the match officially started was absolutely tremendous and the match itself was nothing to be sneezed at before the abrupt finish. Despite all the heat there was between these two men, they really knew how to put on a show. CPR Rating: 8.5 (Coefficient 3)
THE VERDICT
Overall I have given Survivor Series 1997 a CPR Rating of 78%. It was a strong event and having four traditional match ups certainly helped the feeling that it was a Survivor Series. The Owen-Austin match up could have really been helped with a bit longer and may have helped the event to be remembered for the right reasons. The main-event was well on its way to becoming an all-time classic before the swerve but I had to take away some points because of the ending.
THE SCREWJOB
Well, here we are, time to discuss the Screwjob. The reason why I have asked a couple of guests a long this week is because I am far to objective when it comes to this subject. I believe that Bret, Shawn and Vince all have to shoulder a proportion of the blame for the events which actually resulted in the incident and even as a huge Hunter mark, I know that he also played his part in the shenanigans. I told you my view was pretty boring so without further ado, please welcome to the CPR… Ah fuck it! Let them introduce themselves.
Montreal? Great job ‘Plan is here! Who is he? Not only LOP’s latest Main Pager but the greatest Bret Hart mark currently in existence! And why? Cos he’s a real wrestling god, that’s why! So fire away Mazza, let’s get to business.
My name is Degenerate, and I am a Shawn-o-holic. You may remember me from my column Struggle for Power. I am here today to defend the good name of Shawn Michaels.
If I just let these two argue amongst themselves, this could get out of control pretty quickly so I have decided to keep order by asking them a series of questions.
Was Bret Hart right to insist on dropping the title on his terms?
What? How DARE you even ask a question like this? No, he didn't have any right whatsoever to even suggest - or even think - that he shouldn't drop the title because he was in Canada. I don't have a WWE contract with me right now, of course, but I'm pretty sure that between all the legalese in there, it should say that the boss has the final say in what goes on in HIS show. If he says prior to the event that you're dropping the title, you drop the title - no ifs, ands or buts. It is professional wrestling after all - I should place some emphasis on the 'professional' part. Seems like once Bret crosses the border up north, the Canadian Border guards confiscated his professionalism.
Yes. Unreservedly yes. As he has stated in so many words in his autobiography, “Hitman”, any guy leaving a company would want to leave with the best interests of his character in mind; any guy. Shawn would have done. Hell, Shawn broke kayfabe just to say goodbye to his bum buddies! Bret had wrestled loyally for the WWE for many, many years and had put up with some serious crap booking at times over the years. Wrestlemania IX and his reign between Survivor Series 95 and Wrestlemania XII both spring immediately to mind. Bret had every right to want to leave with his character looking strong and given the crap Vince fed him on a regularly basis throughout his career Vince had a right to listen to Bret and more importantly to trust him. So yes. Unreservedly yes.
I am not even going to get involved with this, let’s move onto the next question.
With Vince seemingly backed into a corner, do you think he handled the situation correctly?
When Vince is backed into any corner he makes idiotic, rash decisions. He says he couldn’t trust Bret to not take the belt over to Nitro and drop it in a bin. Really? Not trust him? What the fuck changed in November of 1997 after fifteen years of implicit trust a nigh father/son relationship? Fuck all changed is what! Vince is an out-of-touch nutter at the best of times and here he was just being god damn paranoid. The least he could have done is had the balls to warn Bret that if he didn’t want to do business Vince McMahon would resort to desperate measures. Instead he acts like a complete and utter coward; secret meetings, smug interviews and an arrogant cock of a champion I find to be despicable and repulsive at best. At worst? I wouldn’t want to cuss so much on a public website.
Of course he did. He did what he had to do for the well-being of his company. His current champion was leaving to another company and wasn't contractually obligated to appear in any more of their TV shows. So to avoid even worse humiliation than Vince had in 1995, when his Women's Champion belt was displayed on WCW Nitro and thrown into a trash can, the belt needed to be on someone awesome who was under contract to them. It's really, really simple, but not for someone like good ol' Bret. He had to further complicate things for Vince, so Vince did what he had to simply do - take away the championship from someone who was jumping ship, and put it on someone who was still going to be on the ship. It was a messy way to do it, but he did what needed to be done, period.
It is getting slightly hot in here ladies and gents, I think it may be time to send the kids to bed.
Who should take the most responsibility for the Screw Job? In other words, who screwed Bret?
Like I've already mentioned, Bret whined, bitched and moaned about dropping the belt, unlike any good professional wrestler would've done. He declined to do that simple task. Had he done his job like he was supposed to, none of this would have happened, and we would only be talking about the 1997 Survivor Series Pay-Per-View whenever talking about the start of the glorious title reigns by Shawn Michaels instead of a screwjob. So in reality, Bret was the only one who could've prevented all of this from happening. So, as Vince has been saying for 12 years, Bret screwed Bret. A hundred years can pass by, and the answer will be the same.
Shawn screwed Bret. Vince was the instigator but Shawn fucking Michaels was a paranoid, egotistical, self-absorbed, cowardly, pissy little hypocrite so obsessed with being in the spotlight he’d resort to openly referring to the entire wrestling business as a work in a promo on Bret. It happened on Raw once. The whole thing is transcribed in Bret’s autobiography. Vince can be said to be responsible for the Screw Job in the short term but Shawn would have jumped at any chance afforded to him to fuck over his biggest competition in the company and its real star and its real talent and we all know that. Shawn screwed Bret and he’d been doing it for years! Think he’s found his god damn smile yet? The liar never lost it.
Easy Plan, easy! Still got a couple more questions and we don’t need you stroking out.
If things didn't happen the way they did, do you think we would have seen Bret return to the WWE once they were in control of the Monday Night Wars and if so, how would it have played out?
Probably, but I doubt it would have been in an on-screen role. Bret has always made it known his loyalties were to the WWE; it’s where his career was bred. I suspect he would have had more a backstage role, been present on the booking team or creative meetings or maybe even a road agent. Lest we forget, by the time the WWE took control of the Wars and bought out WCW Goldberg had already concussed Bret so he wouldn’t have been able to wrestle anyway. If Bret was never screwed I’m almost certain he would have returned home…though lord knows just how the situation between him and Michaels would have gone down on Michaels’ return in 2002. Interesting to say the least right there. I sense a column coming on Mazza….
Let's assume that Bret dropped the WWE Championship (again, like he was SUPPOSED to) and he never got injured in WCW. I think that eventually Vince would have resigned him again after WCW folded. Let's face it, although Bret will NEVER be as awesome as HBK, there are still silly marks - like that Brit who's around here - who worship the ground Bret walks on and will pay money for anything by him. If there's money to be made, Vince will try to exploit it, even if the exploited person is a whiner.
Let’s stay clear of personally comments, Deg. Actually forget that, Eric Bischoff did say that controversy creates cash. Here is the final question.
After all these years, is it time for Shawn and Bret to kiss and make up?
We all know that Shawn is a changed man now compared to his way of life in 1997. You can see it in his green eyes. Bret, on the other hand, still seems like the same ol' Bret who didn't want to drop the title twelve years ago. I'm sure that if Bret Hart wanted to kiss and make up, Shawn Michaels would forgive and forget. But what if Shawn took the initiative and looked up Bret to make up? He recently said in a TV interview a few months ago that if HBK called him and apologized, he would forgive him. However, look at this quote from that same interview: "If you asked me that up until probably about a year ago I'd have probably said something different. But I've cooled off a bit now." Wait, so you're telling me that in 2008 - eleven years after the incident - he STILL held a grudge against HBK? I'm still not sure Bret would really forgive Shawn, even if he called. Bret, dude, you gotta learn how to let go, really. It's not healthy.
Shawn can kiss Bret’s feet and know he isn’t man enough to deserve it! I do think they should shake hands and put the past behind them; I love the idea of Bret inducting Shawn into the Hall of Fame and let’s face it, now Bret’s in there this is the one final step needed for him to get over the bitterness he deservedly holds. Bret has nothing to apologise for so it will have to be all Shawn and if he does, I hope for the dream situation of Bret going to the Hall of Fame and telling the out-right truth about Shawn in the induction just like Shawn supposedly says he wants. Having said that Shawn must know this is highly unlikely to happen…so is he just saying it to get more attention? A leopard never changes its spots, not even when it runs into the divine. All credit to Shawn for turning his mess of a life around; doesn’t mean it justifies what he did to Bret or that I need to like him. Him apologising would be mighty fine but as far as I care, he can go screw himself and love it; we all know he would.
Well there you have it people, a nice unbiased look at the Montreal Screwjob. A big thanks to Plan and Degenerate for pulling through at such short notice and not totally flaming the holy hell out of each other on my clock. If you have any feedback for these guys, send it my way and I shall be sure to pass it onto them.
Once more we have come to the end but never fear, I will be back soon with another edition of the The Classic Paper Review. The UK versus USA tournament is ready to kick off in the Columns Forums and joining JoeyShinobi, Sheepster and myself on Team UK will be JohnnyBoomerang, Cicero and MyLeeCyrus. Congrats to those guys for making what will be the winning team. As always, if you have any suggestions for PPVs or feedback you can email me here or drop by my feedback thread in the forums. Thank you all for reading and here are a few of the columns doing the rounds in the Columns Forum:
