Royal Rumble 1997 Royal Rumble 1997 was the tenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay - per - view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) . It took place on January 19 , 1997 from the Alamodome in San Antonio , Texas . The main event was between Shawn Michaels and Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship . The main matches on the undercard were the Royal Rumble match , which Stone Cold Steve Austin won after last eliminating Bret Hart , Vader versus The Undertaker , and Hunter Hearst Helmsley versus Goldust for the WWF Intercontinental Championship . Background . The feud between Goldust and Hunter Hearst - Helmsley centered around Goldust ' s manager , Marlena . During the free broadcast prior to , Helmsley attempted to seduce Marlena . Goldust responded by attacking Helmsley during matches in the following weeks . The feud escalated on the December 30 , 1996 episode of " Monday Night Raw " during a match between Goldust and Jerry Lawler . Helmsley came to the ring and tried to carry Marlena away . Marc Mero , who had dropped the WWF Intercontinental Championship to Helmsley , blocked Helmsley ' s path , but the distraction was enough to cause Goldust to be counted out . On July 22 , 1996 , Faarooq Asad ( later Faarooq ) made his WWF debut by attacking Ahmed Johnson , the Intercontinental champion . He claimed that he attacked Johnson because Johnson was not " from the streets " , as Faarooq claimed to be . Soon after the attack , Johnson was diagnosed with a legitimate kidney problem , so the WWF claimed that Faarooq ' s attack had hospitalized Johnson . Johnson was unable to compete for several months and was forced to vacate the Intercontinental Championship . When Johnson returned to the WWF , he interfered in several matches involving Faarooq ' s stable , the Nation of Domination . He attacked them with a two - by - four , which led to an angle in which Johnson was suspended for the attacks . By December , Johnson ' s injury had recovered sufficiently to allow him to resume wrestling , and a match was scheduled for the next pay - per - view , the Royal Rumble . Vader and The Undertaker did not have a substantial buildup to their match at Royal Rumble 1997 . Vader had joined other heel wrestlers to attack The Undertaker on several occasions , but there was no major storyline behind their match . The Undertaker had been involved in a feud with Paul Bearer that dated back to SummerSlam 1996 , when Bearer had turned on The Undertaker . On the January 5 , 1997 episode of " WWF Superstars " , The Undertaker attacked Vader ' s manager , Jim Cornette , leaving Vader without a manager at the Royal Rumble . The feud between Sycho Sid and Shawn Michaels dated back to 1995 . The storyline saw Michaels hire Sid to be in his corner during the Michaels vs . Diesel main event at WrestleMania XI . Sid interfered in the match by distracting the referee , but the plan backfired when the referee was unable to count the pinfall after Michaels superkick ed Diesel . On the following night ' s episode of " Monday Night Raw " , Michaels told Sid that he would not be needed in the case of a Michaels vs . Diesel rematch . Sid responded by turning on Michaels and powerbomb ing him three times . This attack led to a feud between Sid and Diesel , but Sid and Michaels were reunited as partners in an elimination match at Survivor Series 1995 . During the match , Michaels accidentally kicked Sid in the face , which led to Sid being eliminated . Sid retaliated by powerbombing Michaels again . Once again , the feud was not developed , as Sid left the WWF . Sid returned to the WWF on the July 8 , 1996 episode of " Monday Night Raw " when Michaels introduced him as a partner in a six - man match at . Sid helped Michaels several times in the coming months by saving him from attacks by other wrestlers . At , Sid defeated Vader to win a WWF Championship match against Michaels at Survivor Series 1996 . During the match at Survivor Series , Sid attacked Jose Lothario , Michaels ' manager , with a television camera . While Michaels was distracted , Sid hit him with the camera and powerbombed him to win the title . A rematch was later booked for Royal Rumble 1997 . Event . The first match that aired was an Intercontinental Championship match between Goldust and the champion , Hunter Hearst Helmsley . Before the match began , Goldust attacked Helmsley up the aisle , but they then returned to the ring where they continued to brawl back and forth . Later into the match , Helmsley would attempt to hit Goldust with the Intercontinental Championship belt , however , Goldust countered and grabbed the belt and hit Helmsley with it , and as Goldust attempted to pin Helmsley , Mr . Hughes , who was at ringside as bodyguard for Helmsley , pulled Helmsley out of the ring . Hughes then continued his distraction on Goldust , which led to Helmsley deliviring a Pedigree and pinning Goldust for the win , thus Helmsley retained the Intercontinental Championship . The next match was the encounter of Faarooq and Ahmed Johnson . Johnson won the match after members of the Nation of Domination , who were at ringside , interfered on Faarooq ' s behalf . The third match was the encounter of The Undertaker and Vader . Undertaker gained control early into the match , however , Vader gained control after Paul Bearer , who was at ringside in Vader ' s corner , hit Undertaker with an urn . The Undertaker did not retaliate , as Vader hit a Vaderbomb on him , which gained a successful pinfall for the win . The next match was a six - man tag team match between the team of Héctor Garza , Perro Aguayo , and El Canek against the team of Jerry Estrada , Heavy Metal , and Fuerza Guerrera . A slow paced match between the two teams , as they exchange control of the match back and forth . Late into the match , the two teams brawled outside of the ring , as Aguayo hit Metal with a diving double foot stomp off the top rope , which gained a successful pinfall , thus Garza , Aguayo and Canek won the match . The fourth , and final , match on the undercard was the Royal Rumble match . The match began with Ahmed Johnson and Crush , where the rivalry with Johnson and Faarooq continued , as Johnson eliminated himself after Faarooq came down the aisle to chase him . The final five wrestlers were The Undertaker , Vader , Bret Hart , " Diesel " , and Stone Cold Steve Austin . The first of those wrestlers to be tossed over the top rope was Austin , who entered the Rumble fifth and who was thrown out by Hart . However , the officials were occupied trying to separate Terry Funk and Mankind , who were brawling with each other outside the ring , and thus no one saw Austin ' s elimination . Meanwhile , Vader and Undertaker began brawling with each other as a continuation of their feud and Hart began fighting with " Diesel " as Austin reentered the ring . Austin dumped both Undertaker and Vader out of the ring , while Hart eliminated " Diesel " . As Hart was celebrating , thinking he had won , Austin came in from behind and tossed him over the top rope . Since Austin was still considered to be in the match and was the only man left in the ring , the officials declared him the winner . With ten eliminations , Austin tied with Hulk Hogan for the most eliminations in single Royal Rumble match alongside Kane in the record until Roman Reigns topped them all with 12 in 2014 . The main event was a WWF Championship match between Shawn Michaels and Sycho Sid . Sid dominated most of the match and works over on Michaels ' s back early into the match , however Michaels retaliated by hitting a flying elbow drop on Sid . Michaels then attempts to deliver a Sweet Chin Music to Sid , however , he counters by tossing Michaels over the top rope onto ringside . As Sid threw Michaels back into the ring , Michaels accidentally hit referee Earl Hebner . Sid then delivered a Chokeslam and attempted to pin him , however , as the first referee was down , a second referee came out to count the pin , which got a two count . Sid then attacked the second referee , which allowed Michaels to hit Sid with a camera and delivered Sweet Chin Music , as the original referee slowly counted the successful pinfall , thus Michaels won the WWF Championship . Aftermath . Shawn Michaels later vacated the WWF Championship on the " Thursday Raw Thursday " special . Due to this and the controversial situation over the Royal Rumble ending , Steve Austin , Bret Hart , The Undertaker , and Vader were pitted against each other at in a Four Corners match for the WWF Championship , which saw Hart win the vacant WWF title . The next night on " Raw " , Austin interfered in a WWF title match between Hart and Sycho Sid . As a results of Austin ' s interference , Hart lost the belt , which resulted in Hart ' s short - lived title reign . On the March 17 edition of " Raw " , Hart and Sid faced off in a Steel Cage match for the WWF title . Sid won after interference by both Stone Cold and Undertaker . At WrestleMania 13 , Undertaker defeated Sid for the WWF title , while Hart and Austin battled each other in a Submission match with Ken Shamrock as the special referee . Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations . A new entrant came out approximately every 90 seconds . Austin was eliminated by Bret Hart , but sneaked back into the ring while officials were distracted by a brawl between Mankind and Terry Funk on the other side of the ring .