Austin3164life 0 Report post Posted October 31, 2003 Steve Austin-1997 That was one of the best years in wrestling, in my lifetime at least. We saw the rise of the character of Stone Cold Steve Austin, and we also saw all of the black t-shirts emerge throughout arenas as the year wore on. Plus, Austin was having a sensational year in terms of in-ring quality. Royal Rumble Match(***1/2)- A match that is underrated due to the amount of "nobodys" there are, but Austin, as well as Foley, Bret, and Funk made this a great Rumble to watch. Austin vs. Bret vs. Undertaker vs. Vader (***3/4)- A very fun brawl, and excellent considering they changed the results midway through the match. Austin vs. Bret WM (*****)- My rating might apall some people, but I don't need to explain why this match is so great. Austin vs. Bret IYH(****)- Another excellent match in my HOMETOWN. I was there that night. Crowd was hot, and Austin and Bret lit it up, once more. Austin/HBK vs. Owen/Bulldog(****1/4)- Possibly the greatest match in Raw's history. Austin vs. HBK KOTR (***3/4)- Had some stupid spots in it, but it was a very fluid match, that was ruined with the idiotic ending. Team Austin vs. Hart Foundation CS (****)- Another great match to see, with amazing crowd heat. Austin is awesome in this match, garnering HUGE heel heat, as you can tell with the crowd chanting "Austin sucks!" at least 5-6 times throughout it. Austin vs. Owen SS (****1/4)- A very overlooked match due to the ending, but if Austin wasn't hurt at the end, this was on its way to becoming a ***** match. Austin played his role perfectly, and Owen did as well. An excellent match and an equally hot crowd. That was really the end of Austin's superb abilities in the ring, for a long while. Austin had a phenomenal year in 1997, and I think his best year overall, and thus, I feel the best year in pro-wrestling (WWF Main Event scene, WCW Crusierweight Scene, ECW Hardcore Matches). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites