Drowned In Sound Grapple Club [Wrestling-Centric]

Its one of the best wwf shows ever though because it doesn’t have any filler pmatches

I learnt from visiting Calgary this summer (just before Stampede, actually) and speaking to locals that, even today, the Hart Family are basically royalty in the city.

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if you ignore the pre-show match :wink: (which I am)

Yeaj i am too. Didnt realize it was pre show

Forogt about these post match hhh mankind shenanigans:D

So you say - and it’s probably true, but it sounds dreadful on paper :smiley:

I’m toying with getting stuck in, but not sure about:

  1. having the time to watch
  2. subscribing to yet another thing I’ll feel I’m not using enough.

Particularly as I’m still on my Switch honeymoon at the moment.

maybe @anon73286315 should offer out his network login :wink:

it’s deffo a lot better than it looks on paper. the atmosphere was incredible for it

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The hard cam constantly shaking during Vadar vs Taker because of how loud the crowd is:D and it only gets louder for the main event

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The Bret, Bulldog and Owen reaction in this ppv must be the loudest ever? Right?

Bret is simply stomping Austin and the building is shaking. Amazing sight to behold.

that or Linda getting out of the wheelchair

or goldberg trucking hogan for the title. although tbf, most of that pop was bobby heenan alone

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Canadian Stampede 1997 → Still a great PPV.

HHH Vs Mankind good opener, the post-match shenanigans that lasts the majority of the night also pretty great, always love seeing early encounters between 2 soon to be main eventers whilst they were tussling in the mid card. Not close to one of their greatest matches but solid opener.

Taka Michinoku Vs The Great Mata → Really good cruiserweight action, crowd are quiet at first but are audibly getting more and more into the match as time goes on. Very crisp and great work by 2 of the greatest Japanese wrestlers of all time. This was from an era before WWF treated light heavyweights as a joke.

Undertaker Vs Vader → Was originally meant to be Undertaker vs Ahmed Johnson, thankfully we got this instead, very good big guy fight. Forgot how fun Paul Bearer was to watch during this time period, so much charisma. This would’ve been a dream match in 1997 and whilst it’s not AMAZING it certainly delivers.

Ten Man Tag Main Event → Has to be watched for the crowd reactions alone, the match ts beautiful chaos, plays out like a blood feud between 10 guys and all hell breaks out. It’s truely one of the most unique main events in WWF history and is a classic.

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Feel like I’m going to be writing a very detailed review of this tonight :joy:

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Dunno if two weeks can be considered an “era” but otherwise good write-up :wink:

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two v accurate signs

scary moment in the first match when you get a glimpse of the commentators and theyre all dressed as cowboys. I’m seeing double… six JBLs!

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Later you get a ‘what is kayfabe?’ sign walking across during the main event

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I think the answer is the title of “miss calgary”

trips v mankind - good opener, obvs not their best but you can tell they’ve got great chemistry. that hiptoss into the stairs looked like it sucked to take (chyna’s clothesline was stiff as hell too). most brawls to the back are bollocks, just two guys holding each other’s hair while walking side by side, but this one felt really dynamic like a proper brawl. the gimmick of coming back out between the matches is great too, good stuff.

taka vs the great sasuke - reminder that taka was dope back then, and he’s still dope now. sasuke is a bit like ultimo dragon in that he’s obvs really good but can be a bit loosey goosey at times, whiffed some of those kicks by a good distance (nailed him with that one in the corner though, jesus). enjoyed vinny mac covering all his bases by pronouncing his name a different way every time. really good match though, you’d think vince would just use this as the blueprint for the LHW division but for some reason he could never get his head around it.

taker vs vader - speaking of things vince never figured out how to book, it’s vader time! agree with duck about how great paul bearer is here, everything he does in this match is gold. genuine lol when he just messes up taker’s hair. this isn’t going to appear on any best match ever list for either guy but it’s a decent big man brawl all the same.

ten man tag main event - the crowd makes this. if you watched it with the sound off, you’d give this match 3.5 max but the atmosphere takes it to another level. shamrock is blatantly still really green here but you can see the potential, wish he’d have stuck around a while. austin is clearly loving the whole thing, him in cuffs flipping off the crowd at the end is one of the great stone cold moments. bruce hart looks like such a fucking dweeb at ringside, was hoping frankie would start shooting on him. bret’s awesome ofc, everything he does is like the best possible version of that thing - the backbreaker, the turnbuckle bump, that swinging neck breaker, everything is just so fucking crisp. enjoyed that in the middle of this chaotic ten man clusterfuck, bret and austin sneak in a callback to one of their earlier singles matches. the little details like that are why they’re two of the best ever

overall, easily the best IYH ever and still one of the best WWF / E shows ever. great atmosphere throughout, good matches, doesn’t drag on too long. king is great on comms during this time, his later shitness makes you forget that sometimes but he really was great once.

tl;dr - this is good.

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