WWF Intercontinental Championship Tournament – 1997

September 8 – October 5, 1997

– Quarter-Finals

Cincinnati, OH – September 8, 1997
Raw is War:
Owen Hart (w/ Bret Hart & Davey Boy Smith) defeated Goldust via disqualification at 2:09 after suffering a number of low blows; after the match, Steve Austin chased the Hart Foundation from the ring Muncie, IN – September 9, 1997
Raw – 9/15/97:
Brian Pillman (w/ Marlena) defeated Dude Love via disqualification at 4:46 when Dustin Rhodes, who had been barred from the arena by Sgt. Slaughter, jumped out of the crowd and attacked Pillman until he was held back by referees and officials, with Pillman then escorting Marlena backstage; prior to the bout, Ross interviewed Marlena at ringside during which she said she missed her daughter and her family; Dude Love was preparing to hit the Sweet Shin Music when Rhodes interfered Muncie, IN – September 9, 1997
Raw – 9/15/97:
Ken Shamrock pinned Farooq at 2:43 with a belly to belly suplex; during the contest, Shamrock began bleeding from the mouth following a spinebuster; after the match, Farooq dropped Shamrock with the Dominator and the remainder of the Nation joined in attacking Shamrock until the Legion of Doom made the save; moments later, it was announced Shamrock & LOD would face the Nation at In Your House Badd Blood New York City, NY – Madison Square Garden – September 22, 1997
Raw:
Ahmed Johnson pinned Rocky Miavia at 4:58 with the Pearl River Plunge; Farooq, D-Lo Brown, & Kama escorted Rocky to the ring but were ordered backstage by Sgt. Slaughter before the match began; prior to Ahmed’s introduction, it was announced Ken Shamrock was injured and would be replaced in the tournament by Farooq; during the match, Capt. Lou Albano briefly appeared at ringside; Ahmed appeared to injure his hand during the contest (Ahmed’s TV return match after a several month absence)

– Semi-Finals

– Ken Shamrock was taken out of the tournament due to injuries and replaced with Farooq. New York City, NY – Madison Square Garden – September 22, 1997
Raw:
Owen Hart defeated Brian Pillman (w/ Marlena) via disqualification at 7:12 when Goldust interfered, punched Owen in the face, and then went after Pillman until he was held back by referees, with Pillman then escorting Marlena backstage; prior to the match, Pillman came out with his arm in a sling and said he broke his arm while he was making Marlena squeal like a pig; moments later, Sgt. Slaughter came out and – after proving the injury was a fake – threatened Owen and Pillman with never again wrestling in the WWF unless they had their scheduled match; moments later, the commentary team announced that Marlena and Goldust would renew their wedding vows during the Oct. 6 Raw from Kansas city; after the bout, Owen cut an in-ring promo dedicating his win to his brother Bret, with Steve Austin then coming out and attacking Hart until he was held back by police; moments later, Vince McMahon left the broadcast booth and grabbed the mic to calm Austin down and prevent him from going to jail; Austin told McMahon he appreciated that and then dropped McMahon with the Stunner, with Austin then being placed in handcufs as officials and referees checked on McMahon Albany, NY – Pepsi Arena – September 23, 1997
Raw – 9/29/97:
Farooq (w/ Kama, D-Lo Brown, & Rocky Miavia) defeated Ahmed Johnson (w/ Ken Shamrock & the Legion of Doom) via disqualification at 2:28 when Ahmed twice hit Farooq with the steel ring steps on the floor before punching referee Mike Chioda; Ahmed wore a heavily wrapped bandage around his right hand after it was sliced open by an exposed nail during his match with Rocky Miavia at Madison Square Garden; after the bout, Shamrock & the LOD cleared the ring of the Nation

– Finals

In Your House “Badd Blood” – St. Louis, MO – Kiel Center – October 5, 1997
Owen Hart pinned Farooq at 7:15 after Steve Austin interfered and hit Farooq in the head with the title belt as the referee and Sgt. Slaughter were distracted by Jim Neidhart, who came ringside moments earlier; Austin sat ringside for the contest to present the new champion with the belt but ended up as the guest timekeeper and did uninvited guest commentary for all three commentary crews