1997_in_professional_wrestling

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1997 in professional wrestling

Professional wrestling-related events during the year of 1997

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

Quick Facts List of years in professional wrestling ...

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[1] [1]
"Royal Rumble 1997". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-02-04.

[2] [2]
"Final Four results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. 1997-02-16. Retrieved 2008-04-18.

[IYH15AlmanacPPV-3] [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.

[PWBATB97-4] [4]
"Bash at the Beach 1997". Pro Wrestling History. July 13, 1997. Retrieved September 1, 2015.

[PWHRoadWild97-5] [5]
"Road Wild 1997". Pro Wrestling History. August 9, 1997. Retrieved September 2, 2015.

[GZIYHinfo-6] [6]
"WWF Ground Zero: In Your House info/results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-12-13.

[7] [7]
"One Night Only". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-08-09.

[WWF9099Book-8] [8]
Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 2: WWF 1990 - 1999. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ASIN B00RWUNSRS.

[IYH19-9] [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] [10]
"Starrcade 1997". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2010-02-27.

[WIA-11] [11]
"Slammy Awards History". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2008-02-22.

[TWN4-12] [12]
"WWF Slammy Awards (1997)". TWNP News. Retrieved 2008-02-22.

[PWH4-13] [13]
"WWF Slammy Awards (1997)". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-02-22.

[Results-14] [14]
Results, Cagematch, 2023, retrieved 12 April 2023

[Perseus-15] [15]
#343 - Perseus, Comc.com, 1998, retrieved 12 April 2023

[16] [16]
Ruse, David (January 17, 2016). "Who is Tyler Bate? We profile the first WWE UK Champion". Sky Sports. Retrieved July 10, 2018.

[17] [17]
"Fritz Von Erich dead at 68". Slam! Sports. 1997-09-11. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved 2007-05-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[WWEbio-18] [18]
"WWE profile".

[Encyclopedia-19] [19]
Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.

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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

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
January 4	NJPW	Wrestling World	Tokyo, Japan	Shinya Hashimoto (c) defeated Riki Choshu in a Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
January 11	ECW	House Party	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Pitbull #1 defeated Shane Douglas (c) (with Francine) by count out in a Singles match
January 19	WWF	Royal Rumble	San Antonio, Texas, United States	Shawn Michaels (with José Lothario) defeated Sycho Sid (c) in a Singles match for the WWF Championship^[1]
January 25	WCW: nWo	Souled Out	Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States	Hollywood Hogan (nWo) (c) fought The Giant (WCW) to a no contest in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
January 31	ECW	Winter Blowout	Lake Grove, New York, United States	The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer defeated Raven and Stevie Richards in a tag team match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
February 1	ECW	Crossing the Line Again	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	The Pitbulls (Pitbull #1 and Pitbull #2) and Tommy Dreamer defeated The Triple Threat (Brian Lee, Chris Candido, and Shane Douglas) (with Francine) in a Six man tag team match
February 16	WWF	In Your House 13: Final Four	Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States	Bret Hart defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vader (with Paul Bearer) and The Undertaker in a Four Corners elimination match for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship^[2]
February 21	AAA	Rey de Reyes	Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico	Latin Lover defeated Heavy Metal, Héctor Garza and Octagón in a 1997 Rey de Reyes final
February 21-February 22	ECW	CyberSlam	Queens, New York/Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	February 21: The Eliminators (Perry Saturn and John Kronus) (c) defeated Sabu and Rob Van Dam in a Tables and Ladders match for the ECW World Tag Team Championship February 22: Sabu defeated Chris Candido in a Singles match
February 23	WCW	SuperBrawl VII	San Francisco, California, United States	Hollywood Hogan (c) (with Ted DiBiase and Vincent) defeated Roddy Piper in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
February 28	ECW	Mountain Top Madness	Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, United States	Sabu defeated Chris Candido in a Singles match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
March 15	ECW	Hostile City Showdown	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Raven (c) defeated Stevie Richards and Tommy Dreamer by pinfall in a Three way dance for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
March 16	WCW	Uncensored	North Charleston, South Carolina, United States	Team nWo (Hollywood Hogan, Randy Savage, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) (with Dennis Rodman) defeated Team Piper (Roddy Piper, Chris Benoit, Steve McMichael and Jeff Jarrett) and Team WCW (Lex Luger, The Giant and Scott Steiner) in a Triangle Elimination match
March 21	CMLL	Homenaje a Salvador Lutteroth	Mexico City, Mexico	Silver King defeated La Fiera in a Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas, Hair vs. Hair match
March 23	WWF	WrestleMania 13	Rosemont, Illinois, United States	The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid (c) in a No Disqualification match for the WWF Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
April 4	CMLL	International Gran Prix	Mexico City, Mexico	Steele defeated Rayo de Jalisco Jr. in a 1997 International Gran Prix final match
April 6	WCW	Spring Stampede	Tupelo, Mississippi, United States	Diamond Dallas Page (with Kimberly Page) defeated Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) in a No Disqualification match
April 12	N/A	Second Annual Eddie Gilbert Memorial Show	Cherry Hill, New Jersey, United States	Goldust defeated Derrick Domino in a Singles match
April 13	ECW	Barely Legal	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Terry Funk defeated Raven (c) in a Singles match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
April 18	CMLL	41. Aniversario de Arena México	Mexico City, Mexico	Steele defeated Rayo de Jalisco Jr. (c) in a Best two-out-of-three falls match for the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship
April 20	WWF	In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker	Rochester, New York, United States	Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Bret Hart by disqualification in a Singles match to determine the #1 contender to the WWF Championship
April 29	FMW	FMW 8th Anniversary Show	Yokohama, Japan	Megumi Kudo defeated Shark Tsuchiya (c) in a No Rope 200 Volt Double Hell Double Barbed Wire Barricade Double Landmine Crushed Glass Electrical Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the FMW Independent and WWA World Women's Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
May 8	FMW	Japanese Survival	Tokyo, Japan	Hido, The Great Nita and WING Kanemura vs. Fuyuki-gun (Gedo, Jado and Kodo Fuyuki)
May 10	ECW	Chapter 2	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Terry Funk (c) defeated Raven, The Sandman, and Stevie Richards by pinfall in a Four way dance for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
May 11	WWF	In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell	Richmond, Virginia, United States	The Undertaker (c) defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin in a Singles match for the WWF Championship^[3]
May 17	ECW	The Buffalo Invasion	Buffalo, New York, United States	Terry Funk (c) defeated Raven (with Chastity and Lupus), the Sandman, and Stevie Richards by pinfall in a Four way dance for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
May 18	WCW	Slamboree	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States	Ric Flair, Roddy Piper and Kevin Greene defeated The nWo (Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Syxx) in a Six-man tag team match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
June 6	N/A	Second Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show	Buffalo, New York, United States	The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) (c) defeated Lex Luger and The Giant in a tag team match for the WCW World Tag Team Championship
June 7	ECW	Wrestlepalooza	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	The Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn) (c) defeated The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) (with Joel Gertner, Sign Guy Dudley and Big Dick Dudley) in a tag team match for the ECW World Tag Team Championship
June 8	WWF	King of the Ring	Providence, Rhode Island, United States	The Undertaker (c) (with Paul Bearer) defeated Faarooq (with Crush, Clarence Mason, D'Lo Brown and Savio Vega) in a Singles match for the WWF Championship
June 13	AAA	Triplemanía V-A	Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico	Perro Aguayo, Tinieblas Jr. and Canek defeated Jake Roberts, Killer, and Gorgeous George III in a six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match
June 15	AAA	Triplemanía V-B	Naucalpan, Mexico	Perro Aguayo, Octagón, Cibernético and Canek defeated Jake Roberts, Gorgeous George III, El Cobarde Jr. and Fuerza Guerrera in an eight-man "Atómicos" tag team match
June 15	WCW	The Great American Bash	Moline, Illinois, United States	Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated Diamond Dallas Page (with Kimberly Page) in a Falls Count Anywhere match
June 28	ECW	Orgy of Violence	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Rob Van Dam and Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) defeated the Sandman and Tommy Dreamer (with Beulah McGillicutty) by pinfall in a tag team match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
July 5	CWA	Euro Catch Festival	Graz, Austria	Rambo (c) defeated Duke Droese in a Singles match for the CWA World Heavyweight Championship
July 6	WWF	In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede	Calgary, Alberta, Canada	The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Brian Pillman, The British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart and Owen Hart) defeated Ken Shamrock, Goldust, The Legion of Doom (Animal and Hawk) and Stone Cold Steve Austin in a Ten-man tag team match
July 13	WCW	Bash at the Beach	Daytona Beach, Florida, United States	Lex Luger and The Giant defeated Hollywood Hogan and Dennis Rodman (with Randy Savage) by submission in a tag team match^[4]
July 19	ECW	Heat Wave	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Jerry Lawler, Rob Van Dam, and Sabu wrestled Rick Rude, The Sandman, and Tommy Dreamer to a no contest in a Steel cage match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
August 2	FMW	Shiodome Legend	Tokyo, Japan	W*ING Kanemura defeated Masato Tanaka in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the right to face Atsushi Onita at Fall Spectacular
August 3	WWF	SummerSlam	East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States	Bret Hart defeated The Undertaker (c) in a Singles match for the WWF Championship with Shawn Michaels as special guest referee
August 9	ECW	Born to be Wired	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) defeated Terry Funk (c) by pinfall in a Barbed wire match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
August 9	WCW	Road Wild	Sturgis, South Dakota, United States	Hollywood Hogan defeated Lex Luger (c) in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship^[5]
August 15	WWC	WWC 24th Aniversario	Bayamón, Puerto Rico	Ray Gonzales (WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion) defeated Tom Brandi in a Singles match
August 17	ECW	Hardcore Heaven	Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States	Shane Douglas (with Francine) defeated Sabu (c) (with Bill Alfonso) and Terry Funk in a Three-way dance for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
September 7	WWF	Ground Zero: In Your House	Louisville, Kentucky, United States	Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker ended in a no contest in a Singles match^[6]
September 11	ECW	WrestleFest: 50 Years of Funk	Amarillo, Texas, United States	Bret Hart (with Bruce Hart) defeated Terry Funk (with Dory Funk Jr.) in a No Disqualification match
September 14	AAA	Verano de Escándalo	Tonalá, Jalisco, Mexico	Perro Aguayo, Perro Aguayo Jr. and Heavy Metal defeated Sangre Chicano, El Picudo and El Cobarde II in a Steel Cage Elimination Match, Lucha de Apuestas; as the last man in the cage, Cobarde II had his head shaved after the match.
September 14	WCW	Fall Brawl	Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States	The nWo (Buff Bagwell, Kevin Nash, Syxx and Konnan) defeated The Four Horsemen (Chris Benoit, Steve McMichael, Ric Flair and Curt Hennig) in a WarGames match
September 19	CMLL	CMLL 64th Anniversary Show	Mexico City, Mexico	Hijo del Santo defeated Negro Casas in a Lucha de Apuestas mask vs. hair match
September 20	ECW	As Good as It Gets	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	The Gangstanators (John Kronus and New Jack) defeated the Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) (c) (with Big Dick Dudley, Joel Gertner, and Sign Guy Dudley) by pinfall in a Tag team match for the ECW World Tag Team Championship
September 20	WWF	WWF One Night Only	Birmingham, England, United Kingdom	Shawn Michaels (with Chyna, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and Rick Rude) defeated The British Bulldog (c) in a Singles match for the WWF European Championship^[7]
September 28	FMW	Fall Spectacular	Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan	Atsushi Onita defeated W*ING Kanemura in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Steel Cage Time Bomb Death Match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
October 5	WWF	Badd Blood: In Your House	St. Louis, Missouri, United States	Shawn Michaels defeated The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match to determine the #1 contender to the WWF Championship at Survivor Series
October 12	N/A	Second Annual Ikki Kajiwara Memorial Show	Tokyo, Japan	Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Super Tiger (Tiger Mask I) fought to a no-contest in a Singles match with Antonio Inoki as special guest referee
October 26	WCW	Halloween Havoc	Paradise, Nevada, United States	Roddy Piper defeated Hollywood Hogan by submission in a Steel cage match
October 30	N/A	First Annual Plum Mariko Memorial Show	Tokyo, Japan	Cutie Suzuki and Dynamite Kansai defeated Mayumi Ozaki in a handicap match
October 31	ECW	Fright Fight	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	The Gangstanators (John Kronus and New Jack) defeated Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney and The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) in a Tag Team Three Way Elimination Match
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
November 8	ECW	Ultimate Jeopardy	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Taz and Tommy Dreamer (with Beulah McGillicutty) defeated Rob Van Dam and Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) by pinfall in a tag team match
November 9	WWF	Survivor Series	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Shawn Michaels "defeated" Bret Hart (c) by submission in a Singles match for the WWF Championship
November 23	WCW	World War 3	Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States	Scott Hall won by last eliminating The Giant in a 60-man World War 3 match for a future WCW World Heavyweight Championship match
November 30	ECW	November to Remember	Monaca, Pennsylvania, United States	Shane Douglas (with Francine) defeated Bam Bam Bigelow (c) in a Singles match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Date	Promotion(s)	Event	Location	Main Event
December 6	ECW	Better Than Ever	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	Rob Van Dam and Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) defeated Taz and Tommy Dreamer (with Beulah McGillicutty) by pinfall in a tag team match
December 7	WWF	D-Generation X: In Your House	Springfield, Massachusetts, United States	Ken Shamrock defeated Shawn Michaels (c) (with Chyna and Triple H) by disqualification in a Singles match for the WWF Championship^[8]^[9]
December 13	AAA	Guerra de Titanes	Madero, Mexico	Perro Aguayo Jr. defeated Picudo, match also included Heavy Metal and Sangre Chicana in a Steel cage Lucha de Apuestas "hair vs. hair" match
December 28	WCW	Starrcade	Washington, D.C., United States	Sting defeated Hollywood Hogan (c) by submission in a Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship^[10]
(c) – denotes defending champion(s)

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
Japan Grand Prix 1997	Kaoru Ito	August 10
Tag League The Best 1997	Kaoru Ito and Yumiko Hotta	December 21

Accomplishment	Winner	Date won	Notes
Champion Carnival 1997	Toshiaki Kawada	April 19
World's Strongest Determination League 1997	Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue	December 5

Date	Winner	Event/Show
FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Headhunters (A and B)
April 25	WING Alliance (WING 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

Date	Winner	Event/Show
IWGP Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Cho-Ten (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Masahiro Chono)
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

Date	Winner	Event/Show
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Último Dragón
January 4	Jushin Thunder Liger	Wrestling World 1997
July 6	El Samurai	Live event
August 10	Shinjiro Otani	The Four Heaven in Nagoya Dome

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WCW Women's Cruiserweight Championship
(Title created)
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

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

Tournaments	Winner	Date won
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

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

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

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

Date	Winner	Event/Show
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Raven
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

Date	Winner	Event/Show
ECW World Television Championship
Incoming champion – Shane Douglas
June 7	Taz	Wrestlepalooza

Date	Winner	Event/Show
ECW World Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Eliminators (Kronus and Saturn)
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

Date	Winner	Event/Show
FMW Double Championship
Incoming champion – The Gladiator
September 28	Masato Tanaka	Fall Spectacular

Date	Winner	Event/Show
FMW Women's Championship
Incoming champion – Megumi Kudo
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

1997_in_professional_wrestling

List of notable promotions

Calendar of notable shows

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Notable events

Tournaments and accomplishments

AAA

AJW

AJPW

WCW

WWF

Slammy Awards

Awards and honors

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame

Title changes

ECW

FMW

NJPW

WCW

WWF

Debuts

Births

Retirements

Deaths

See also

References

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Date	Winner	Event/Show
FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Taka Michinoku
June 29	El Satánico	House show
August 25	Taka Michinoku	House show
December 18	Vacant	N/A

Date	Winner	Event/Show
FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – Funk Masters of Wrestling (Hisakatsu Oya, Headhunter A and Headhunter B)
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

Date	Winner	Event/Show
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Shinya Hashimoto
August 31	Kensuke Sasaki	Final Power Hall in Yokohama

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Hollywood Hogan
August 4	Lex Luger	Nitro
August 9	Hollywood Hogan	Road Wild
December 28	Sting	Starrcade

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Incoming champion – Ultimate Dragon
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

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Eddie Guerrero
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

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WCW Women's Championship
Incoming champion – Akira Hokuto
June 15	Vacant	N/A
September 20	Devil Masami	N/A
September 20	Retired	N/A

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WCW World Television Championship
Incoming champion – Lord Steven Regal
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

Date	Winner	Event/Show
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Incoming champions – The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall)
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

Date	Winner	Event/Show	Note(s)
WWF World Heavyweight Championship
Incoming champion – Sycho Sid
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