Royal Rumble 1997 1997-01-19

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Event
Royal Rumble 1997

Date
Sun 19th January 1997 (UTC)

Timestamp

Time

00:00:00 UTC

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League
WWE

Season
1997

Round
3

Status

Location

Video Highlights

Description

Royal Rumble (1997) was the tenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on January 19, 1997, from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The attendance of 60,525 is the highest recorded in the Royal Rumble's history.

The main event was between Shawn Michaels and Sid for the WWF Championship. The main matches on the undercard were the Royal Rumble match, which Stone Cold Steve Austin won after last eliminating Bret Hart, Vader versus The Undertaker, and Hunter Hearst Helmsley versus Goldust for the WWF Intercontinental Championship.

The feud between Goldust and Hunter Hearst Helmsley centered around Goldust's manager, Marlena. During the free broadcast prior to In Your House 12, Helmsley attempted to seduce Marlena. Goldust responded by attacking Helmsley during matches in the following weeks. The feud escalated on the December 30, 1996 episode of Monday Night Raw during a match between Goldust and Jerry Lawler. Helmsley came to the ring and tried to carry Marlena away. Marc Mero, who had dropped the WWF Intercontinental Championship to Helmsley, blocked Helmsley's path, but the distraction was enough to cause Goldust to be counted out.

On July 22, 1996, Faarooq Asad (later Faarooq) made his WWF debut by attacking Ahmed Johnson, the Intercontinental champion. He claimed that he attacked Johnson because Johnson was not "from the streets", as Faarooq claimed to be. Soon after the attack, Johnson was diagnosed with a legitimate kidney problem, so the WWF claimed that Faarooq's attack had hospitalized Johnson. Johnson was unable to compete for several months and was forced to vacate the Intercontinental Championship. When Johnson returned to the WWF, he interfered in several matches involving Faarooq's stable, the Nation of Domination. He attacked them with a two-by-four, which led to an angle in which Johnson was suspended for the attacks. By December, Johnson's injury had recovered sufficiently to allow him to resume wrestling, and a match was scheduled for the next pay-per-view, the Royal Rumble.

Vader and The Undertaker did not have a substantial buildup to their match at Royal Rumble 1997. Vader had joined other heel wrestlers to attack The Undertaker on several occasions, but there was no major storyline behind their match. The Undertaker had been involved in a feud with Paul Bearer that dated back to SummerSlam 1996, when Bearer had turned on The Undertaker. On the January 5, 1997 episode of WWF Superstars, The Undertaker attacked Vader's manager, Jim Cornette, leaving Vader without a manager at the Royal Rumble.

The feud between Sid and Shawn Michaels dated back to 1995, when Michaels had hired Sid as a ]. Sid interfered during the Michaels vs. Diesel main event at WrestleMania XI by distracting the referee, but the plan backfired when the referee was unable to count the pinfall after Michaels superkicked Diesel. On the following night's episode of Monday Night Raw, Michaels told Sid that he would not be needed in the case of a Michaels vs. Diesel rematch. Sid responded by turning on Michaels and powerbombing him three times. This attack led to a feud between Sid and Diesel, but Sid and Michaels were reunited as partners in an elimination match at Survivor Series 1995. During the match, Michaels accidentally kicked Sid in the face, which led to Sid being eliminated. Sid retaliated by powerbombing Michaels again. Once again, the feud was not developed, as Sid left the WWF. Sid returned to the WWF on the July 8, 1996 episode of Monday Night Raw when Michaels introduced him as a partner in a six-man match at In Your House 9. Sid helped Michaels several times in the coming months by saving him from attacks by other wrestlers. At In Your House 11, Sid defeated Vader to win a WWF Championship match against Michaels at Survivor Series 1996. During the match at Survivor Series, Sid attacked Jose Lothario, Michaels' manager, with a television camera. While Michaels was distracted, Sid hit him with the camera and powerbombed him to win the title. A rematch was later booked for Royal Rumble 1997.

Reports

Result List

Result Description
Free For All Match
La Parkita & Mascarita Sagrada Jr. defeat Mini Mankind & Mini Vader (4:29)

WWF Intercontinental Title Match
Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Curtis Hughes) (c) defeats Goldust (w/Marlena) (16:50)

Singles Match
Ahmed Johnson defeats Faarooq (w/Clarence Mason, Crush, D-Lo Brown, JC Ice & Wolfie D) by DQ (8:48)

Singles Match
Vader defeats The Undertaker (13:19)

Six Man Tag Team Match
Canek, Hector Garza & Perro Aguayo defeat Fuerza Guerrera, Heavy Metal & Jerry Estrada (10:56)

Royal Rumble Match
Steve Austin defeats Ahmed Johnson and Bart Gunn and Bret Hart and Cibernetico and Crush and Diesel and Faarooq and Flash Funk and Goldust and Henry O. Godwinn and Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Jake Roberts and Jerry Lawler and Jesse Jammes and Latin Lover and Mankind and Marc Mero and Mil Mascaras and Owen Hart and Phineas I. Godwinn and Pierroth and Razor Ramon and Rocky Maivia and Savio Vega and Terry Funk and The British Bulldog and The Sultan and The Undertaker and Vader (50:29)
- Ahmed Johnson eliminated Razor Ramon
- Ahmed Johnson eliminated sich selbst
- Phineas I. Godwinn eliminated Crush
- Steve Austin eliminated Phineas I. Godwinn
- Steve Austin eliminated Bart Gunn
- Steve Austin eliminated Jake Roberts
- The British Bulldog eliminated The Sultan
- Mil Mascaras and Pierroth eliminated Cibernetico
- Mil Mascaras eliminated Pierroth
- Mil Mascaras eliminated himself
- Goldust eliminated Hunter Hearst Helmsley
- Owen Hart eliminated Goldust
- Faarooq eliminated Latin Lover
- Faarooq eliminated himself
- Steve Austin eliminated Marc Mero and Owen Hart
- Steve Austin eliminated Savio Vega
- Steve Austin eliminated Jesse Jammes
- Bret Hart eliminated Jerry Lawler
- Vader eliminated Flash Funk
- The Undertaker eliminated Henry O. Godwinn
- Mankind eliminated Rocky Maivia
- Mankind eliminated Terry Funk
- The Undertaker eliminated Mankind
- Steve Austin eliminated The Undertaker and Vader
- Bret Hart eliminated Diesel
- Steve Austin eliminated Bret Hart

WWF World Heavyweight Title Match
Shawn Michaels (w/Jose Lothario) defeats Sycho Sid (c) (13:49) - TITLE CHANGE !!!

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