1997 in professional wrestling

1997 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

List of years in professional wrestling

List of notable promotions

These promotions held notable shows in 1997.

Promotion Name Abbreviation Notes
Catch Wrestling Association CWA
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre CMLL
Extreme Championship Wrestling ECW
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling FMW
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide AAA The "AAA" abbreviation has been used since the mid-1990s and had previously stood for the promotion's original name Asistencia Asesoría y Administración.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling NJPW
World Championship Wrestling WCW
World Wrestling Council WWC
World Wrestling Federation WWF

Calendar of notable shows

January
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
January 4 NJPW Wrestling World Tokyo, Japan
January 11 ECW House Party Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
January 19 WWF Royal Rumble San Antonio, Texas, United States [1]
January 25 WCW Souled Out Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States
January 31 ECW Winter Blowout Lake Grove, New York, United States

February
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
February 1 ECW Crossing the Line Again Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
February 16 WWF In Your House 13: Final Four Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States [2]
February 21 AAA Rey de Reyes Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico
February 21-February 22 ECW CyberSlam Queens, New York/Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
February 23 WCW SuperBrawl VII San Francisco, California, United States
February 28 ECW Mountain Top Madness Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, United States

March
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
March 15 ECW Hostile City Showdown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
March 16 WCW Uncensored North Charleston, South Carolina, United States
March 21 CMLL Homenaje a Salvador Lutteroth Mexico City, Mexico
March 23 WWF WrestleMania 13 Rosemont, Illinois, United States

April
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
April 4 CMLL International Gran Prix Mexico City, Mexico
April 6 WCW Spring Stampede Tupelo, Mississippi, United States
April 12 N/A Second Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Show Cherry Hill, New Jersey, United States
April 13 ECW Barely Legal Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
April 18 CMLL 41. Aniversario de Arena México Mexico City, Mexico
April 20 WWF In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker Rochester, New York, United States
April 29 FMW FMW 8th Anniversary Show Yokohama, Japan

May
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
May 8 FMW Japanese Survival Tokyo, Japan
May 10 ECW Chapter 2 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
May 11 WWF In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell Richmond, Virginia, United States [3]
May 17 ECW The Buffalo Invasion Buffalo, New York, United States
May 18 WCW Slamboree Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

June
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
June 7 ECW Wrestlepalooza Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
June 8 WWF King of the Ring Providence, Rhode Island, United States
June 6 N/A Second Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show Buffalo, New York, United States
June 13 AAA Triplemanía V-A Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
June 15 AAA Triplemanía V-B Naucalpan, Mexico
June 15 WCW The Great American Bash Moline, Illinois, United States
June 28 ECW Orgy of Violence Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

July
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
July 5 CWA Euro Catch Festival Graz, Austria
July 6 WWF In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede Calgary, Alberta, Canada
July 13 WCW Bash at the Beach Daytona Beach, Florida, United States [4]
July 19 ECW Heat Wave Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

August
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
August 2 FMW Shiodome Legend Tokyo, Japan
August 3 WWF SummerSlam East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States
August 9 ECW Born to be Wired Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
August 9 WCW Road Wild Sturgis, South Dakota, United States [5]
August 15 WWC WWC 24th Aniversario Bayamón, Puerto Rico
August 17 ECW Hardcore Heaven Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

September
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
September 7 WWF Ground Zero: In Your House Louisville, Kentucky, United States [6]
September 11 ECW WrestleFest: 50 Years of Funk Amarillo, Texas, United States
September 14 AAA Verano de Escándalo Tonalá, Jalisco, Mexico
September 14 WCW Fall Brawl Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
September 19 CMLL CMLL 64th Anniversary Show Mexico City, Mexico
September 20 ECW As Good as It Gets Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
September 20 WWF WWF One Night Only Birmingham, England, United Kingdom [7]
September 28 FMW Fall Spectacular Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan

October
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
October 5 WWF Badd Blood: In Your House St. Louis, Missouri, United States
October 12 N/A Second Annual Ikki Kajiwara Memorial Show Tokyo, Japan
October 26 WCW Halloween Havoc Paradise, Nevada, United States
October 30 N/A First Annual Plum Mariko Memorial Show Tokyo, Japan
October 31 ECW Fright Fight Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

November
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
November 8 ECW Ultimate Jeopardy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
November 9 WWF Survivor Series Montreal, Quebec, Canada
November 23 WCW World War 3 Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States
November 30 ECW November to Remember Monaca, Pennsylvania, United States

December
Date Promotion(s) Event Location Main Event
December 6 ECW Better Than Ever Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
December 7 WWF D-Generation X: In Your House Springfield, Massachusetts, United States [8][9]
December 13 AAA Guerra de Titanes Madero, Mexico
December 28 WCW Starrcade Washington, D.C., United States [10]

Notable events

Tournaments and accomplishments

AAA
Tournaments Winner Date won Notes
Rey de Reyes Octagón February 21

WCW
Tournaments Winner Date won Notes
WCW Women's Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Toshie Uematsu April 7
World War 3 Scott Hall November 23

WWF
Tournaments Winner Date won Notes
Royal Rumble Stone Cold Steve Austin January 19
WWF European Championship Tournament The British Bulldog February 26
Kuwait Cup Tiger Ali Singh April 13
King of the Ring Hunter Hearst Helmsley June 8
WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dude Love July 14
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship Tournament Taka Michinoku December 7

Slammy Awards
Main article: Slammy Award
Poll Winner[11][12][13]
New Sensation Rocky Maivia
Best Dressed Sable
Best Tattoo The Undertaker
Match of the Year Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII
Best Hair Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Loose Screw Mankind
Best Bow Tie Owen Hart
Best Entrance Music The Undertaker
Best Finisher Shawn Michaels – Sweet Chin Music
Best Couple Goldust and Marlena
Freedom of Speech Stone Cold Steve Austin
Star of the Highest Magnitude The Undertaker
Lifetime Achievement Award Arnold Skaaland
Miss Slammy Sable

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Main article: List of Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards
Category Winner
PWI Wrestler of the Year Lex Luger
PWI Tag Team of the Year The Outsiders
(Scott Hall and Kevin Nash)
PWI Match of the Year Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WrestleMania 13)
PWI Feud of the Year Diamond Dallas Page vs. Randy Savage
PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year Sting
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year Bret Hart
PWI Comeback of the Year Bret Hart
PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year Ken Shamrock
PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year Terry Funk
PWI Rookie of the Year Prince Iaukea
PWI Lifetime Achievement Arn Anderson
PWI Editor's Award Bill Alfonso

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
Main article: List of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
Category Winner
Wrestler of the Year Mitsuharu Misawa
Most Outstanding Mitsuharu Misawa
Best Box Office Draw Hulk Hogan
Feud of the Year Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Hart Foundation
Tag Team of the Year Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama
Most Improved Tatsuhito Takaiwa
Best on Interviews Stone Cold Steve Austin

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
Main article: Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
Inductee
Édouard Carpentier
El Hijo del Santo
Toshiaki Kawada
Jimmy Lennon
William Muldoon

Title changes

ECW
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Raven
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 13 Terry Funk Barely Legal
August 9 Sabu Born to be Wired
August 17 Shane Douglas Hardcore Heaven
October 16 Bam Bam Bigelow Live event
November 30 Shane Douglas November to Remember
ECW World Television Championship
Incoming champion – Shane Douglas
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
June 7 Taz Wrestlepalooza
ECW World Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Eliminators (Kronus and Saturn)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 15 The Dudley Boyz
(Buh Buh Ray and D-Von Dudley)		 Hostile City Showdown
April 13 The Eliminators
(Kronus and Saturn)		 Barely Legal
June 20 The Dudley Boyz
(Buh Buh Ray and D-Von Dudley)		 Hardcore TV #218
July 19 The Gangstas
(Mustapha Saed and New Jack)		 Heat Wave (1997)/Hardcore TV #222
August 17 The Dudley Boyz
(Buh Buh Ray and D-Von Dudley)		 Hardcore Heaven
September 20 The Gangstanators
(Kronus and New Jack)		 As Good as it Gets
October 18 The Full Blooded Italians
(Little Guido and Tracy Smothers)		 Hardcore TV #236
December 5 The Can-Am Express
(Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon)		 Live event
December 6 Chris Candido and Lance Storm Better than Ever

FMW
FMW Double Championship
Incoming champion – The Gladiator
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
September 28 Masato Tanaka Fall Spectacular
FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Headhunters (A and B)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 25 W*ING Alliance
(W*ING Kanemura and Hido)		 Fighting Creation Tour
August 21 Funk Masters of Wrestling
(Mr. Gannosuke and Hisakatsu Oya)		 Super Dynamism Tour
October 19 ZEN
(Atsushi Onita and Yukihiro Kanemura)		 Power Splash Tour
November Vacant N/A
November 28 ZEN/Team No Respect
(Mr. Gannosuke and Yukihiro Kanemura)		 Scramble Survivor Tour
FMW Women's Championship
Incoming champion – Megumi Kudo
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 21 Shark Tsuchiya Winning Road tour
April 29 Megumi Kudo 8th Anniversary Show
June 13 Vacant King of Fight tour
September 28 Shark Tsuchiya Fall Spectacular
September 28 Retired N/A
FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Taka Michinoku
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
June 29 El Satánico House show
August 25 Taka Michinoku House show
December 18 Vacant N/A
FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Funk Masters of Wrestling (Hisakatsu Oya, Headhunter A and Headhunter B)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 21 Fuyuki-Gun
(Kodo Fuyuki, Jado and Gedo)		 FMW
July 8 Vacant N/A
August 5 Funk Masters of Wrestling
(The Gladiator, Hisakatsu Oya and Mr. Gannosuke)		 FMW
August 31 Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka and Koji Nakagawa FMW
October 14 ZEN
(Atsushi Onita, Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Hido)		 FMW
December 20 Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka and Hisakatsu Oya Super Extreme Wrestling War tour

NJPW
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Shinya Hashimoto
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
August 31 Kensuke Sasaki Final Power Hall in Yokohama
IWGP Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Cho-Ten (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Masahiro Chono)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 4 Kengo Kimura and Tatsumi Fujinami Wrestling World 1997
April 12 Kensuke Sasaki and Riki Choshu Battle Formation 1997
May 3 The Bull Powers
(Manabu Nakanishi and Satoshi Kojima)		 Strong Style Evolution in Osaka Dome
August 10 Kazuo Yamazaki and Kensuke Sasaki The Four Heaven in Nagoya Dome
October 19 Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono nWo Typhoon 1997
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Último Dragón
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 4 Jushin Thunder Liger Wrestling World 1997
July 6 El Samurai Live event
August 10 Shinjiro Otani The Four Heaven in Nagoya Dome

WCW
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Hollywood Hogan
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
August 4 Lex Luger Nitro
August 9 Hollywood Hogan Road Wild
December 28 Sting Starrcade
WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Incoming champion – Ultimate Dragon
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 21 Dean Malenko Clash of the Champions XXXIV
February 23 Syxx SuperBrawl VII
June 28 Chris Jericho Saturday Nitro
July 28 Alex Wright Nitro
August 12 Chris Jericho Saturday Night
September 14 Eddie Guerrero Fall Brawl
October 26 Rey Misterio Jr. Halloween Havoc
November 10 Eddie Guerrero Nitro
December 29 Ultimate Dragon Nitro
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Eddie Guerrero
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
March 16 Dean Malenko Uncensored
June 9 Jeff Jarrett Nitro
August 21 Steve McMichael Clash of the Champions XXXV
September 15 Curt Hennig Nitro
December 28 Diamond Dallas Page Starrcade
WCW Women's Championship
Incoming champion – Akira Hokuto
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
June 15 Vacant N/A
September 20 Devil Masami N/A
September 20 Retired N/A
WCW Women's Cruiserweight Championship
(Title created)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
April 7 Toshie Uematsu WCW Main Event
July 19 Yoshiko Tamura The Dream & Future ~ 2nd Jr. All Stars
September 20 Sugar Sato GAEA Double Destiny
WCW World Television Championship
Incoming champion – Lord Steven Regal
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February 17 Prince Iaukea Nitro
April 7 Ultimate Dragon Nitro
May 18 Lord Steven Regal Slamboree
July 22 Ultimate Dragon Nitro
August 21 Alex Wright Clash of the Champions XXXV
September 22 Disco Inferno Nitro
November 3 Perry Saturn Nitro
December 8 Disco Inferno Nitro
December 29 Booker T Nitro
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 25 The Steiner Brothers
(Rick and Scott Steiner)		 Souled Out
January 27 The Outsiders
(Kevin Nash and Scott Hall)		 Nitro
February 23 Lex Luger and The Giant SuperBrawl VII
February 24 The Outsiders
(Kevin Nash and Scott Hall)		 Nitro
October 13 The Steiner Brothers
(Rick and Scott Steiner)		 Nitro

WWF
WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Sycho Sid
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
January 19 Shawn Michaels Royal Rumble
February 13 Vacant Raw Forfeited the title due to a knee injury
February 16 Bret Hart In Your House 13: Final Four This was a four-way elimination match for the vacant title also involving Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Vader.
February 17 Sycho Sid Raw
March 23 The Undertaker WrestleMania 13
August 3 Bret Hart SummerSlam Shawn Michaels was the guest referee.
November 9 Shawn Michaels Survivor Series Montreal screwjob
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Incoming champion – Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February 13 Rocky Maivia Raw
April 28 Owen Hart Raw Is War
August 3 Stone Cold Steve Austin SummerSlam
September 8 Vacant Raw Is War Vacated due to a neck injury that Stone Cold Steve Austin suffered in winning the title
October 5 Owen Hart Badd Blood: In Your House Defeated Faarooq in a tournament final
November 9 Stone Cold Steve Austin Survivor Series
December 8 The Rock Raw Is War Austin handed the championship belt to The Rock, who was formerly known as Rocky Maivia
WWF European Championship
(Title created)
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
February 26 The British Bulldog Raw Aired on tape delay on March 3. Defeated Owen Hart in a tournament final to become first champion
September 20 Shawn Michaels WWF One Night Only
December 11 Triple H Raw Is War Aired on tape delay on December 22.
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – N/A
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
December 7 Taka Michinoku D-Generation X: In Your House The title was previously defended in Universal Wrestling Association (1981–1995) and Michinoku Pro Wrestling (1995–1997) in a partnership with the WWF, but the title was returned exclusively to the WWF in 1997. Michinoku defeated Brian Christopher in a tournament final to become recognized as the first WWF Light Heavyweight Champion under WWF's banner; they do not recognize any previous champions.
WWF Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Owen Hart and the British Bulldog
Date Winner Event/Show Note(s)
May 26 Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels Raw Is War
July 14 Vacant Raw Is War Vacated after Shawn Michaels got into a backstage fight with Bret Hart.
July 14 Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dude Love Raw Is War
September 7 Vacant Ground Zero: In Your House Vacated after Stone Cold Steve Austin sustained an injury.
September 7 The Headbangers
(Mosh and Thrasher)		 Ground Zero: In Your House Won in four way elimination match involving The Legion of Doom, Owen Hart and the British Bulldog and The Godwinns
October 5 The Godwinns
(Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn)		 Badd Blood: In Your House
October 7 The Legion of Doom
(Animal and Hawk)		 Raw Is War Aired on tape delay on October 13.
November 24 The New Age Outlaws
(Billy Gunn and Road Dogg)		 Raw Is War

Births

Retirements

Deaths

See also

References
  1. "Royal Rumble 1997". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  2. "Final Four results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. 1997-02-16. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  3. "Historical Cards: In Your House 15 (May 11, 1997. Richmond, Virginia)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 151. 2007 Edition.
  4. "Bash at the Beach 1997". Pro Wrestling History. July 13, 1997. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  5. "Road Wild 1997". Pro Wrestling History. August 9, 1997. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  6. "WWF Ground Zero: In Your House info/results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  7. "One Night Only". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  8. Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 2: WWF 1990 - 1999. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ASIN B00RWUNSRS.
  9. "Historical Cards: D-Generation-X In Your House (December 7, 1997. St. Louis, Missouri)". PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. p. 154. 2007 Edition.
  10. "Starrcade 1997". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
  11. "Slammy Awards History". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  12. "WWF Slammy Awards (1997)". TWNP News. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  13. "WWF Slammy Awards (1997)". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  14. Ruse, David (January 17, 2016). "Who is Tyler Bate? We profile the first WWE UK Champion". Sky Sports. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  15. "Fritz Von Erich dead at 68". Slam! Sports. 1997-09-11. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  16. "WWE profile".
  17. Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
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