King of the Ring 1997

King of the Ring 1997 was the fifth King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The event took place on June 8, 1997 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
The main event was a standard wrestling match for the WWF Championship. The Undertaker defeated Faarooq to retain the title. The undercard featured the 1997 King of the Ring tournament, won by Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Other matches featured on the undercard included Shawn Michaels versus Stone Cold Steve Austin, [[The Hart Foundation (Owen Hart, The British Bulldog, and Jim Neidhart) versus Sycho Sid and The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) in a six-man tag team match and Goldust versus Crush.
==Background==
King of the Ring featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on Raw is War—World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) television program. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.
The pay-per-view event featured the annual King of the Ring single elimination bracket tournament. The tournament started on the May 12, 1997 edition of Raw is War, with Ahmed Johnson defeating Hunter Hearst Helmsley in the first quarter-final match by disqualification. On the May 19 edition of Raw is War, Helmsley got another spot in the tournament because he was not properly instructed before his match with Johnson and thus threatened to sue WWF with legal action. He replaced the injured Vader, who was originally scheduled to wrestle Crush in the spot but had been injured in a No Holds Barred match against Ken Shamrock at In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell. Helmsley defeated Crush and regained his spot in the tournament. On the May 26 edition of Raw is War, Jerry Lawler defeated Goldust in the third quarter-final match. The final quarter-final match was held on June 2 edition of Raw is War, as Mankind defeated Savio Vega.
The predominant feud heading into the event was between The Undertaker and Faarooq over Undertaker's WWF Championship. On May 12 edition of Raw is War, Undertaker had nearly defeated Faarooq's stablemate Savio Vega in a non-title match until Faarooq interfered and attacked Undertaker. On May 31 edition of Shotgun Saturday Night, Faarooq, Crush and Vega defeated Undertaker, Mankind and Vader in a six-man tag team match. It would eventually lead to a title match between Undertaker and Faarooq at King of the Ring.
Another predominant rivalry heading into the event was between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels. On May 26 edition of Raw is War, Austin and Michaels defeated Owen Hart & The British Bulldog to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. However, after the title win, Austin went to fight Bret Hart and Michaels was attacked by the rest of The Hart Foundation, which created jealousy between the new champions. On June 2 edition of Raw is War, Austin and Michaels began fighting each other during a title defense against The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal). This led to a match between Austin and Michaels at King of the Ring to determine the captain of the team.
==Results==
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*Free for All: The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher) defeated Bart Gunn & Jesse Jammes (6:06)
*Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Chyna) defeated Ahmed Johnson in a King of the Ring Semi Final Match (7:42)
*Mankind defeated Jerry Lawler in a King of the Ring Semi Final Match (10:24)
*Goldust (w/Marlena) defeated Crush (w/Clarence Mason & D-Lo Brown) (9:56)
*The Hart Foundation (Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart & The British Bulldog) defeated The Legion of Doom & Sycho Sid in a Six Man Tag Team Match (13:37)
*Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/Chyna) defeated Mankind in the King of the Ring Final Match (19:26)
*Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels ended in a Double DQ (22:29)
*The Undertaker (c) (w/Paul Bearer) defeated Faarooq (w/Clarence Mason, Crush, D-Lo Brown & Savio Vega) to retain the WWF Championship (13:43)
==Tournament Brackets==
==Notes==
==Other on-screen talent==
;Commentators
*Vince McMahon
*Jim Ross
;Interviewers
*Dok Hendrix
*Todd Pettengill	
;Ring announcer
*Howard Finkel
;Referees
*Earl Hebner
*Jack Doan
*Mike Chioda
*Tim White
==See also==
*List of WWE pay-per-view events
*WWE Event History
*King of the Ring
==DVD Release==
* King of the Ring 1997 on DVD
==External links==
* on WWE Network
* King of the Ring 1997 at CAGEMATCH.net
* King of the Ring 1997 at Online World of Wrestling
Category:King of the Ring
Category:1997 pay-per-view events
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events
Category:Tournaments
Category:Professional wrestling tournaments
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment tournaments