WWF Summerslam 1997 - August 1997

WWF Summerslam 1997 - August 3rd 1997 - East Rutherford, New Jersey

Matches

Mankind defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley {Cage Match} (8/10)

Goldust defeated Brian Pillman (7/10)

The Legion of Doom defeated the Godwinns (6/10)

British Bulldog defeated Ken Shamrock {WWF European Title} (6/10)

Los Boricuas defeated the Decyples of Acopalypse (6/10)

Steve Austin defeated Owen Hart {WWF Intercontinental Title} (7/10)

Bret Hart defeated the Undertaker {WWF World Heavyweight Title - Special Guest Ref: Shawn Michaels} (8/10)

Moments - Positives

The opening match was top notch and continued the great rivarly between HHH and Mankind. It was a very well fought match and truly great to watch. The main event was also a classic with a brilliant feud ending where HBK helps Bret Hart win the WWF title (supposedly inadvertingly). At this point HBK became a tweener and was on his way to setting up D-Generation X. The Austin / Hart match was also very solid and was the first major milestone for Austin as he won the WWF IC title.

Moments - Negatives

The big 8 man tag match between Los Boricuas and DOA was pretty poor and should have been much shorter. Austin's neck injury was also very difficult to watch as Owen Hart's piledriver goes wrong. Austin can barely hold up his head at the end of the match and its suprising that he still managed to pin him. A landmark match but one which ultimately cost Austin his career.

Overall Summary

A very solid Summerslam. Bret Hart won the WWF title as a heel and was very good at it. He certainly could have carried the WWF title as a heel for a very long time. The new direction for HBK and WWFs desire to have more than just heels and faces (blur the line between these two) clearly was working very well and some of the fruits of this labour can be seen at this PPV. A very good event and well worth the watch!

SCORE = 8.5