This just in: wrestling is fake! But you already knew that, right? If you didn’t, it’s most likely because you still live in your mom’s basement playing with your current WWE action figures. Don’t worry, wrestling fans have them, but they don’t play with them; put them aside, come back to reality a bit. Why do fans watch wrestling? For entertainment value, that’s obvious, but others look for a great story. You’re always going to be stunned by sweet wrestling moves, hell we all are, but it’s those story moments and classic matches that keep the die hard wrestling fan going.

For classic matches, the 1990’s are not as substantial, compared to the 80’s and the 00’s. The matches selected as the best of the decade are certainly worthy, but many of them are more innovative for where they were taken by other superstars. For example, Michaels vs. Ramon at Wrestlemania X was not the first ladder match in wrestling’s history, but it was the most innovative at the time, opening up the possibilities for what could happen (WrestleMania 2000, TLC Match. Need I say more! Thought credit the cruiserweights for that match too, they sure as shit deserve a lot more than they got and still get.). Or how about WrestleMania 13, Austin vs. Bret Hart in a submission match. If that wasn’t the beginning of WWE’s hardcore roots, than I don’t know what was.

1997 was the breakthrough year that led to what would become the “Attitude Era” of the WWE. Some would say King of the Ring 1996 is where it really began, when the WWE ushered in “Austin 3:16” but it took a little while to build that character up. WrestleMania 13 did a lot to boost that character as well, but it was the stunner to Vince McMahon on September 22, 1997 that truly ushered in a time of change.

Before that moment in time, came June 8, 1997, and the annual King of the Ring PPV at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Two weeks prior to this extravaganza, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels were thrown together in a tag match against the then champs, Owen Hart and the British Bulldog. Well, long story short, Austin and Michaels won; Austin’s feud with The Hart Foundation (Don’t know them? Google It!) ended up driving a split between the two new tag champs. The following Raw is War saw the team defending against the Legion of Doom and in doing so also saw them fighting each other, leading to their match at King of the Ring.

As the match begins and Austin is the first out of the curtain, his fandom has exploded. His theme music made people excited for who they were about to see; theme music that hadn’t had impact since Hulk Hogan’s era in the WWE.  As he approaches the ring, McMahon plays dumb on commentary, “I don’t know why he has become such a favorite, but he has.” It’s times like these that makes me wonder why I watch wrestling; the WWE has a way of treating it’s fan’s like dumb asses at times, and it’s words like that that really make me want to drop somebody!

As Michaels comes to the ring, it’s clear that at the time he was in his fan girl days, like some twisted WWE version of a Backstreet Boys knock off. He’s authentic, but the pairing of these two competitors is far from what you’d expect of tag team champions and more of competitors fighting for the opportunities that they’re both capable of and deserve.

As the match begins, we’re first shown how aggressive Austin is, take a collar and elbow tie-up, to a quick headlock, rope run, and intense half shoulder block/half clothes line. This is followed up by a pair of fingers you’d give someone who may have shat on your coat (Did somebody shit on the coats?). In a strange turn of events, Michaels goes to assist a fan who had either fell over the barricade or had traveled in time, appearing at ring side (Zack to the Future!!!). Michaels goes to assist but is stopped by Austin, thrown back into the ring and a reversal of the opening set of moves is almost mirrored in perfect symmetry.

From there, I don’t want to spoil it for you, it’s a stellar match that every fan of these two competitors and of wrestling in general should watch. What ensues is one of the most evenly matched contests I can recall as a teen, and blows Austin vs. Michaels at WrestleMania XIV out of the water. Enjoy the link below, and remember the matches you may never have seen before and will never forget again.

Link to the full match: http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xjnhx_steve-austin-vs-hbk-kotr-97_sport<br /><a href=”http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjnhx_steve-austin-vs-hbk-kotr-97_sport&#8221; target=”_blank”>Steve Austin vs HBK – KOTR 97</a> <i>by <a href=”http://www.dailymotion.com/JoCrazy&#8221; target=”_blank”>JoCrazy</a></i>