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SURVIVOR SERIES 1997
November 9, 1997
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Arena: Molson Center
Attendance: 20, 593
RESULTS:
â–º The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn & Road Dogg) & The Godwinns (Henry Godwinn & Phineas Godwinn) defeated The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher) & The New Blackjacks (Blackjack Windham & Blackjack Bradshaw) in a team elimination match.
Eliminations: Blackjack Bradshaw rolled up Henry Godwinn for the pin. Phineas Godwinn pinned Blackjack Windham following a clothesline. Billy Gunn pinned Headbanger Mosh. Headbanger Thrasher came off the top rope and covered Phineas Godwinn for the pin. Road Dogg rolled up Blackjack Bradshaw for the pin. Billy Gunn pinned Thrasher following a leg drop off the top rope to win the match for his team.
Survivors: The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn & Road Dogg)
â–º Jackyl & The Truth Commission (Sniper, Recon, & The Interrogator) defeated The Disciples of Apocalypse (Crush, Chainz, Skull, & 8-Ball) in a team elimination match.
Eliminations: The Interrogator pinned Chainz following a slam. Skull hit Jackyl with a sidewalk slam and made the pin. Skull pinned Recon following a clothesline. Sniper pinned Skull. The Interrogator pinned 8-Ball following a side slam. Crush pinned Sniper, but The Interrogator rebounded and pinned Crush following another side slam to win the match for his team.
Survivor: The Interrogator
â–º Team Canada: "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Doug Furnas, & Phil LaFon defeated Team USA: Vader, Goldust, "Marvelous" Marc Mero, & Steve Blackman in a team elimination match. Sable accompanied Marc Mero to ringside. It should be noted that only one member of Team Canada, Phil LaFon, is actually Canadian.
Eliminations: Steve Blackman was counted out after being attacked by Team Canada. Vader pinned Jim Neidhart following a big splash. A second big splash ended Phil LaFon’s night. Doug Furnas rolled up Marc Mero and grabbed a handful of tights to make the pin. Goldust walked out on the match and was counted out. Vader pinned Doug Furnas, but the British Bulldog rebounded and clocked Vader with the ring bell
Survivor: "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith
â–º Kane defeated Mankind following a tombstone piledriver. Paul Bearer accompanied Kane to ringside. This was Kane’s first pay-per-view match, though Glen Jacobs had wrestled on previous WWF pay-per-views as both Isaac Yankem D.D.S. and Diesel II. The entire match was wrestled under a red light.
â–º Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson, & The Legion of Doom (Hawk & Animal) defeated The Nation of Domination: Faarooq, Kama Mustafa, D’Lo Brown, & Rocky Maivia in a team elimination match.
Eliminations: Rocky Maivia quickly pinned Hawk. Ahmed Johnson pinned Faarooq following a Tiger Driver. Rocky Maivia pinned Ahmed Johnson. Animal rolled up Kama Mustafa for the pin. The New Age Outlaws interfered in the match and threw chalk in Animal’s face, causing him to get counted out. Ken Shamrock forced D-Lo Brown to submit to the ankle lock, and then made Rocky Maivia tap out to win the match for his team.
Survivor: Ken Shamrock
â–º "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeated Owen Hart in a short match to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. The match ended when Austin pinned Hart following a Stone Cold Stunner. Austin’s performance was still limited as a result of the neck injury he suffered from an Owen Hart piledriver at Summerslam.
â–º Shawn Michaels defeated Bret "Hitman" Hart to win the WWF Championship. Michaels hooked Hart in the Sharpshooter, and Vince McMahon called for the bell, though Hart never actually submitted.
CARD SUBJECT TO CHANGE: The Patriot was originally scheduled to compete as a member of Team USA, but tore a triceps muscle prior to the event and could not participate. Steve Blackman replaced him on the team.
NOTES: Jim Ross & Jerry "The King" Lawler did commentary for the event. Carlos Cabrera and Tito Santana did Spanish commentary. Jean Brassard, Raymond Rougeau, and Jacques Rougeau Sr. handled French commentary. Michael Cole & Dok Hendrix handled backstage interviews. Albert DeFrusia was the ring announcer....The subtitle for the pay-per-view was "Gang Rulz." Sunny noted on the Free-For-All that this was the first live WWF pay-per-view emanating from Canada. This likely came as a surprise to anyone who watched Wrestlemania VI, or In Your House 9: International Incident, or In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede, or… you get the idea. Sunny, for those keeping score, was still hot. This, of course, was that Survivor Series, the home of the infamous "Montreal Screwjob." In the wake of the mass exodus of talent from the WWF to WCW, Vince McMahon signed Bret Hart to a twenty year contract, a deal that would keep Hart employed with the WWF well past the end of his in ring career. McMahon later grew concerned about the financial burden the contract would create, and more generally about Hart’s future role in the company. Hart also had concerns; his were about the increasingly controversial storylines and racy nature of the WWF product. McMahon and Hart both agreed to invalidate the contract, and Hart was free to sign a big money deal with WCW. There was only one issue left to be resolved: Hart was the reigning WWF Champion, and he would need to lose the belt before leaving the company. McMahon wanted Hart to drop the belt to Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series, the last day Hart was contractually obligated to the WWF. Hart vetoed the idea, invoking the creative control clause in his contract that applied during his last days with the company, in part because he didn’t want to drop the championship to Michaels, but mostly because he didn’t want to lose the belt in Canada. Hart promised to appear on RAW the night after the pay-per-view and vacate the strap. This was during the height of the "Monday Night Wars," however, and McMahon was concerned that instead of appearing on RAW that night, Hart would end up live on WCW Monday Nitro carrying the WWF Championship belt. Fearing another WWF title would end up in a trash can, or worse, McMahon made the decision to change the finish of the match. Instead of a disqualification, the agreed upon finish, McMahon decided Michaels was going to win the WWF Championship. He, of course, neglected to tell Hart about the decision. In retrospect, it wasn’t the best kept secret. Not only did McMahon know the new finish, but so did Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco, Shawn Michaels (though he initially denied having knowledge of the plan), referee Earl Hebner, and most likely others. Even Vader and Hart’s brother-in-law "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith warned Hart to not allow himself to be put in a compromising position during the match. The match ended when Michaels locked Hart in the Sharpshooter and McMahon ordered the timekeeper to ring the bell. Michaels took the belt and quickly left ringside, while Hart showed McMahon how he felt about the double-cross by cursing and spitting at him as the show went off the air. Hart continued, destroying a television monitor and writing the letters W-C-W in the air. The controversy spilled into the backstage area, as the Undertaker compelled McMahon to go talk to Hart. That encounter ended with an uncharacteristically disheveled Vince McMahon staggering from Hart’s dressing room, apparently the victim of a stiff shot to the jaw. Hart debuted on WCW Monday Nitro in December, and Vince McMahon used the controversy to begin his transformation into the success Mr. McMahon character, starting with the "Bret Screwed Bret" interviews. The entire incident was later used as the basis for the Bret Hart documentary, "Wrestling With Shadows."
Buck Woodward: Funny, I don't remember this one. Did anything happen here that was worth remembering? Seriously, I couldn't tell you a damn thing that happened other than the main event.
Mike Johnson: This will end up being the night that every hardcore fan got their greatest dream. For one brief moment in time, wrestling was 100% real. That Bret vs. Michaels match was actually an awesome brawl before the screwjob happened. Hart unfortunately never got beyond that match as it shadowed the rest of his career. That's actually WCW's fault more than anyone else's, as they did nothing to pick up the ball and run with it.
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