One Night Only UK 1997

Commentary by Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, and Jim Ross.
One Night Only UK 1997 is built around British Bulldogs homecoming and defending his European title at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, England.
First match Triple H, managed by Chyna versus Dude Love aka Mick Foley. Rick Rude, however, is not present at this match. The action goes back and forth until Dude Love goes for Sweet shin music, however, Chyna places Triple H’s foot on the rope. Hunter Hearst Helmsley then hits Dude Love with the pedigree to score the victory.
Sunny then appears as the guest ring announcer for the matchup between Leif Cassidy (who is still wearing his New Rockers ring attire) against Tiger Ali Singh who is making his WWE PPV debut. Tiger Ali Singh is accompanied by his father wrestler Tiger Jeet Singh. As expected though, Tiger Ali Singh takes the win with his finishing move, The Tiger Bomb.
The third match is between the tag team champions The Headbangers, Mosh and Thrasher who defend their tag titles against 2 of the members of Los Boricuas, Savio Vega and Miguel Perez Jr. Savio and Miguel double team the Head Bangers repeatedly throughout the whole match behind the referees back. At the end, however, Mosh scores the win over Miguel Perez Jr. for his team to retain their tag team championships.
An interview with the British Bulldog by Jim Ross, that the British Bulldog is dedicating his match to his sister Tracy who battled through cancer.
The next match is between Flash Funk against The Patriot. Despite both being babyfaces, The Patriot is booed by the England crowd. However, both begin the match with a handshake. The Patriot does hit Flash Funk with The Patriot Missile but Flash Funk kicks out of the pin. However, The Patriot does put away Flash Funk with his finish move, the Uncle Slam.
The fifth match is a tag team match, between the Legion of Doom, Hawk and Animal against The Godwinns, Henry and Phineas. This is the third match between the two teams following Summerslam 1997 and In Your House 17 Ground Zero. At the end, Hawk and Animal deliver an impressive Dommsday Device on Phineas Godwinn.
Jim Ross then interviews Ken Shamrock who has been injured with a punctured lung by a spinebuster from Faarooq. The worlds most dangerous man Ken Shamrock is therefore unable to compete on the night at One Night Only. During the interview, Rockabye Billy appears and enters the ring. Rockabye Billy mocks Ken Shamrock’s injury and strikes Ken Shamrock. Ken Shamrock quickly retaliates and traps Rockabye Billy in an ankle lock.
The next match is between Vader and Owen Hart. Owen Hart walks down with the Canadian Flag and even though the crowd moments earlier booed Bret Hart during a video interview, the UK crowd actually cheered Owen during his entrance. Despite Vader’s continuous punishment to dominate, Owen Hart is resilient in absorbing all Vader’s offence. When Owe attempts a move off the top turnbuckle, Vader catches him and turns it into a slam which allows him to score with the pin.
The next match is for the WWE championship as Bret Hart defends his title against the man who he beat at Summerslam 1997, The Undertaker. After The Undertaker lost his title at the PPV due to guest referee Shawn Michaels inadvertently hitting him with a steel chair, the deadman is looking to regain his rightful title. The Undertaker starts off the match brawling with Bret Hart to the outside. He continues to beat Bret Hart back inside the ring where he Irish whips the champion into an exposed turnbuckle which was actually done by Bret himself. However, Bret manages to gain the upper hand and for the majority of the match works on weakening The Undertaker’s legs. Bret then grabs the ring announcer’s bell and attempts to strike The Undertaker. The Undertaker, however, manages to grab it from Bret and before he is about to return the favour, the referee pulls it away. The Undertaker is cheered by the UK crowd, and eventually towards the end picks up Bret Hart for the tombstone, but Bret manages to break out and slide out through the ropes. Unfortunately for Bret, he finds his head tangled between the top two ropes, and although the referees try to help Bret, The Undertaker takes the opportunity to take a few shots at Bret’s head. This leads to the referee disqualifying The Undertaker, as Owen Hart comes to rescue Bret. The Undertaker feeling he has been screwed again takes his anger out by attacking the referee and chokeslamming an official. The crowd begin to boo the deadman upon seeing this.
The main event of One Night Only 1997 is for the European championship as the British Bulldog defends his title in his own country against Shawn Michaels. British Bulldog makes his entrance with his sister Tracy and the crowd are firmly behind him. The British Bulldog’s wife is also in the audience, and Tracy sits next to her, along with his mum, dad, and brother. Shawn Michaels does seem to oversell the impact of the British Bulldog’s moves and attempts to use his speed to make the Bulldog look a little less incapable than usual. As with Shawn Michaels last PPV match against the Undertaker, Ravishing Rick Rude walks down to the ring, as Shawn Michael’s insurance man. Rick Rude interferes in the match breaking a pin count and attacking the British Bulldog behind the referees back. Later on, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna show up at ringside, thus stacking the odds against the British Bulldog. Rick Rude prevents the Bulldog from delivering a running power slam on Shawn Michaels. Later on, when the Bulldog tries to do this at ringside, his foot is trapped in between the guardrail. Rick Rude and Hunter Hearst Helmsley take advantage and attack the Bulldogs knee and Hunter hits the pedigree. Inside the ring, Shawn Michaels takes off the British Bulldog’s knee braces and throws it at Diana, the Bulldog’s wife. Shawn Michaels then puts the figure four on the British Bulldog. Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna then pull Shawn Michael’s arms to give more leverage to the move. Rick Rude punches British Bulldog in the head when he attempts to reverse the move. The referee then calls for the bell to end the match, and declares Shawn Michaels as the winner. Shawn Michaels, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and Chyna then beat the Bulldog down even more. When Diana enters the ring to attack Shawn she is grabbed by Chyna. Owen Hart and Bret Hart rush into the ring to make the save, as the future D-Generation X leave the ring. More importantly, Shawn Michaels becomes the first grand slam winner of the WWE.