WWF 1997: No Owen 3:16?

August 3 , 1997: Summerslam. In match between Owen Hart and Steve Austin, a botched piledriver leads to a serious neck injury for Stone Cold.

In a dark match, Hunter Hearst Helmsley pins Aldo Montoya in a Dark Match. The future Triple H is being punished for his participation in the Madison Square Garden Incident aka The Kliq Curtain Call a month earlier. Helmsley and Shawn Michaels broke kayfabe to have a group hug with Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) and Diesel (Kevin Nash) who were leaving WWF for WCW. Michaels went largely unpunished because of his main event status, but Helmsley was largely de-pushed until the formation of D-X. Helmsley was allegedly booked to win KotR '96 but thanks to the Curtain Call plans were changed and Austin won instead.

What if Helmsley had still won King Of The Ring in 1996? Would HHH have been as successful or would his push have come too early? What about Austin?

And if Helmsley goes unpunished he probably didn't participate in the Curtain Call. Maybe it was just a missed flight or a bad cold. Or maybe he didn't want to risk the very punishment he would end up receiving? Would such a decision have sat well with Shawn Michaels or would it have damaged their real life friendship?

First card	Summerslam PPV on August 3, 1997
Weekly Shows	Monday Night RAW (2 hours - live) Superstars (1 hour - taped/syndicated)
Pre-PPV Show	Free For All is a 30 minute countdown show before each PPV which usually includes one match.
Monthly PPVs	Royal Rumble (Jan), Wrestlemania (March/April), King Of The Ring (June), Summerslam (Aug), Survivor Series (Nov). All other months have a In Your House PPV.

Champions As Of August 2, 1997
WWF Title	The Undertaker
WWF Intercontinental Title	Owen Hart
WWF European Title	British Bulldog
WWF Tag Team Titles	Steve Austin & Dude Love

WWF Roster As of August 3, 1997
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin D-Lo Brown The British Bulldog Leif Cassidy Brian Christopher Farooq Goldust Bret Hart Owen Hart Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/ Chyna Mark Henry Bob Holly Jesse James Ahmed Johnson Mankind / Dude Love Rocky Maivia (returning this month from injury) Marc Mero w/ Sable Taka Michinoku Kama Mustafa Jim Neidhart The Patriot Rockabilly (Billy Gunn) w/ The Honky Tonk Man Brian Pillman Scott Putski Ken Shamrock The Sultan (masked Fatu) w/ The Sheik Scott Taylor The Undertaker	D-X - Shawn Michaels & Hunter Hearst Helmsley (w/ Chyna & Rick Rude) The Godwinns - Henry & Phineas The Headbangers - Mosh & Trasher The Legion of Doom - Hawk & Animal Owen Hart & The Brtish Bulldog
	Los Boricuas: Savio Vega, Jesus Castillo, Jose Estrada Jr., Miguel Perez Jr. Disciples Of Apocalypse: Crush, Chainz (Brian Lee), Skull & 8-Ball (Harris Twins) The Hart Foundation: Bret Hart, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, Brian Pillman The Nation of Domination: Farooq, D-Lo Brown, Kama Mustafa The Truth Commission: Interrogator (Kurrgan), Recon, Sniper
	President: Gorilla Monsoon Commissioner: Sgt. Slaughter (debuts on RAW on August 4) Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Vince McMahon Interviewers: Michael Cole, Todd Pettengill Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel Referees: Earl Hebner, Mike Chioda, Tim White, Jim Korderas Miscellaneous: Dok Hendrix, Sunny

WWF also ran occasional Minis matches during this time. The WWF Lightweight Title would be introduced later in the year. Kane would debut later in the year too.