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Review of Timeline WWE 1997 with Jim Cornette

Posted: Sep 8th 2011 By: mikeiles

1997 was what many that cover professional wrestling to be the year everything changed. ECW held its first PPV. WCW was killing it in the ratings wars. WWF was heading to the ?Attitude Era? and Jim Cornette was involved in several areas of the promotion. What a better person to be brought for Timeline: History of the WWE series.

Before I get into the details, I shall say this THE BEST in the series and that is hard to say with legends and stars like ?Superstar? Billy Graham, ?Hacksaw? Jim Duggan, Rikishi, Don Muraco, Greg Valentine, Honky Tonk Man & Ivory already in the books. If you have never seen a single edition of the series (first off where have you been), host/producer Sean Oliver (with help from www.thehistoryofwwe.com) brings in a pertinent member of the WWE for that particular year and they go January to December (Graham went through 1977-78) covering the major issues.

1997 in WWF was still being written by Vince McMahon with assistance from Jim Cornette, Bruce Prichard, Pat Patterson & others. Vince Russo was still working on WWF Magazine, Jim Ross ran talent relation and Stephanie McMahon was still in school. The In Your House PPV series was still in use. The roster featured several current and soon-to-be hall of fame members like Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, HHH, the Rock, Undertaker, Kane, Legion of Doom, Sunny, Brian Pillman and Owen Hart among others. Mr. Cornette has the best prop anyone ever could bring to the table, his travel books from 1997. According to him, WWE road agents/producers carry a ledger style book that helps keep track of the house show & PPV cards, the attendance/gate figures/ticket prices. These books take the common fan or the biggest smark inside the room they will never sit in, Vince McMahon?s booking room.

Clocking in at around 3 hours and 10 minutes over 2 DVD?s, Mr. Cornette goes through the following items and then some: the debut of Shotgun Saturday Night, Royal Rumble 1997 in the Alamodome, WrestleMania 13 in the Rosemont Horizon, the explosion of ?Stone Cold? Steve Austin plus his injury in an accident with Owen Hart, the growth of the Rock, the birth of the Nation of Domination, the debuts of Kane, Chyna, Marc Mero, Sable, the Patriot & Dude Love, the passing of Brian Pillman, Vader smacking around a Kuwaiti newscaster, Rockabilly & the Road Dogg, the working relationship with Paul Heyman & ECW that led to Cornette appearing in the ECW Arena, the transition from taped to all live Raw is War, the rebirth of the Hart Foundation that saw the group become heels in America and babyfaces around the world that included the IYH Calgary Stampede PPV, Summerslam 1997, the birth of D-Genrration X, the creation of the Hell in the Cell and all the drama of Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart including Michaels ?losing his smile?, the June 9th backstage fight (Cornette witnessed the aftermath) that of course eventually lead to the infamous ?Montreal Screwjob.? Mr. Cornette gives details how Vince Russo went from writing the WWF Magazine to being part of the on-screen creative process & how Russo nearly killed the Undertaker/Kane feud 2 weeks out of the gate. When Cornette addresses the King of the Ring event he takes fans back to the May 19, 1996 MSG ?Curtain Call? only how Cornette could.

I will repeat myself; this is the best DVD in this already excellent series. I have no idea how Sean and Anthony will top this short of getting legendary names for the other years they will cover in the coming years. Having watched this I feel smarter and learned more about the business than in my previous 10 years covering the sport/business. When you visit www.KayfabeCommentaries.com you will find the following upcoming releases: September 20th Wrestling?s Most..Awful Angle, October 11th Timeline History of ECW with Shane Douglas covering 1994.