With WCW eeking out a win over WWE in June 1997 but taking a loss in July due to In Your House 16, could WCW Road Wild 1997 get the company back on track? Road Wild has always been one of my favorite WCW PPVs due to the outdoors setting however, it always had a pretty meh crowd. That was because these weren’t folks who came for a wrestling show they were just there since it was Sturgis.
The Best of WCW Road Wild 1997
Rey Mysterio Jr taking on Konnan was a match that was going to be good on paper. Although his style changed over time, Konnan really impressed me when looking at his 1996 year in the company. Mysterio was amazing as always and these two always gelled in the ring. The match was a Mexican deathmatch and part of K-Dawg’s campaign against the luchadors.
This match was also the only one where everyone involved seemed like they were into doing the event in general. It wasn’t that everyone was phoning it in but it was like no one wanted to be at this particular show. Alex Wright defending his Cruiserweight title against Jericho was above average. What hurts this match is that Jericho wasn’t an interesting face at this time and Alex Wright was just a dancing fool.
Mind you, there wasn’t much gimmick development for cruisers at this time in WCW. It was mostly a large division of contenders and the only guys who stood out did so purely because of how good they were in the ring.
Flair taking on Syxx was a pretty good bout as well. The Nature Boy does extremely well against guys outside of the WCW main event and gives them enough to work with since his own stuff typically works regardless of the opponent. That said, there is really nothing special about this match outside that it was enjoyable but it doesn’t have the most investment going into it.
DDP taking on Hennig was similar to Flair vs. Syxx: nothing to write home about as far as a story but the action was good and enjoyable. It wasn’t a boring match at all as DDP was his usual enthusiastic, hardworking self while Hennig gave Page a ton selling-wise.
The Rest
Harlem Heat taking on Vicious and Delicious was a pretty decent match. Buff Bagwell and Scott Norton made for a really good team that should’ve been a regular part of the new World order’s attack force in WCW. It took some time for WCW to pair them but they would never be a regular tag presence in the company. Another reason the team worked is that it kind of mirrored Harlem Heat’s dynamic.
The tag team elimination bout saw The Four Horsemen team of Chris Benoit and Steve McMichael take on future Horseman Dean Malenko and former Horseman associate Jeff Jarrett. Overall, it was a mid match. For some reason, Mongo decided to pick this match to bring his A-game. Mind you, his A-game wasn’t even the other guys’ B-game but he hustled in this one and his performance was noticeably better.
Like most matches under “The Rest”, it’s not a must-watch thing. There was a long-term build for the Mongo-Jarrett storyline with Benoit and Malenko as overly talented, overperforming extras. Savage vs. The Giant was a textbook mid match. Nothing to see here. As a matter of fact, if this was on Nitro it would’ve been a better match since the crowd would’ve been into it at least.
The Steiner Brothers challenged The Outsiders for the WCW Tag Titles in another decent-enough match on Road Wild ’97. It was right in the middle but again, nothing to rave about. I will say, you could say it was a bit on the lengthy side but it was a title match. If anything, it was too long for the kind of crowd they had in attendance.
In the main event, Hollywood Hogan defeats Lex Luger for the WCW World Title. I would’ve probably enjoyed this match any other PPV but it was time to wrap this show up after Hennig and DDP.
It wasn’t an awful or bad match, it was just the atmosphere and the lead-in matches didn’t have a ton of fan investment—and that’s not the fault of the wrestlers at all.
WCW Road Wild 1997 Verdict: Bronze Medal (2.4/5)
Road Wild has always been a weird PPV for me. I love outdoor shows but the crowd just dents all the matches. Not only that but the venue seemed to impact the enthusiasm of the wrestlers in their matches. Stakes, the crowd, match quality and match importance because of the story in the previous week all contribute to each show.
Heading into WCW Road Wild 1997, there was definitely build-up to many of the matches but this show just causes all of that to jump a curb and kill some momentum. As for getting back on track and taking this one from WWE, WCW achieved that as SummerSlam ’97 just…wasn’t it for the most part. It wasn’t a clean or good victory for WCW but a victory nonetheless.
I’ll give the match of the evening to Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Konnan but Jericho vs. Alex Wright was pretty damn enjoyable as well.
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