WWF One Night Only was a professional wrestling

Professional wrestling

Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 pay-per-view

Pay-per-view

Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...

 event produced by the World Wrestling Federation

World Wrestling Entertainment

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 (WWF) that took place on September 20, 1997 at the NEC Arena in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Background

One Night Only featured professional wrestling matches

Professional wrestling match types

Many types of matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, can be found in the form of performing art that is professional wrestling....

 involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines

Narrative thread

A narrative thread, or plot thread , refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry 'All knowing' sort of narration...

 that were played out on WWF Monday Night Raw

WWE RAW

WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

and other World Wrestling Federation television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain

Heel (professional wrestling)

In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...

 or a hero

Face (professional wrestling)

In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...

 as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.

The event featured eight matches, with two main events. In the first main event, The Undertaker challenged Bret Hart

Bret Hart

Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...

 for the WWF Championship

WWE Championship

The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...

 in a rematch from the previous month's SummerSlam

SummerSlam (1997)

SummerSlam was the tenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 3, 1997 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.-Background:...

 event, where the Undertaker had lost the title in controversial circumstances. To close the show, Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels

Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...

 challenged The British Bulldog

Davey Boy Smith

Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...

 for the WWF European Championship

WWE European Championship

The WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...

, as part of his ongoing feud with The Hart Foundation. The WWF Tag Team Championship was also defended on the card, with Los Boricuas

Los Boricuas

Los Boricuas was a Hispanic professional wrestling heel stable in the World Wrestling Federation in the late 1990s. The name was derived from a popular nickname for Puerto Rican people, as all the stable's members were from Puerto Rico.-History:...

  members Savio Vega

Savio Vega

Juan Rivera is a professional wrestler best known under the name Savio Vega. During the mid-late 1990s, he was an active wrestler in the World Wrestling Federation...

 and Miguel Pérez, Jr.

Miguel Pérez, Jr.

Miguel Perez, Jr. is a professional wrestler who competed as a member of the Los Boricuas stable led by Savio Vega from June 1997 to October 1998 in the World Wrestling Federation.-ECW and WWF:Pérez is the son of Miguel Pérez, Sr...

 challenging champions, The Headbangers

The Headbangers

The Headbangers is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Mosh and Thrasher, best known for their work in the World Wrestling Federation...

.

The event was available on pay-per-view in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, and later released on VHS

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was shown on Sky Box Office in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Reception

The WWF sold a full 11,000 tickets for the event. With restricted availability, the event, nonetheless, generated a 0.05 buy rate, equating to approximately 20,000 buys.

Results

#	Results	Stipulations	Times
1	Hunter Hearst Helmsley Triple H Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...  (with Chyna) defeated Dude Love Mick Foley Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...	Singles match	11:00
2	Tiger Ali Singh Gurjit Singh Gurjit Singh Hans is an Indo-Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Tiger Ali Singh. He is the son of legendary wrestler Tiger Jeet Singh.-Career:...  defeated Leif Cassidy Al Snow Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...	Singles match	06:00
3	The Headbangers The Headbangers The Headbangers is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Mosh and Thrasher, best known for their work in the World Wrestling Federation...  (Mosh Charles Warrington Charles Warrington is an American former professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Chaz and Mosh.-Career:Warrington began training under Larry Sharpe and Glen Ruth during the early 1990s, debuting in 1993...  and Thrasher Glen Ruth Glen Ruth is a former American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Thrasher.-Career:Ruth trained under Larry Sharpe and debuted in 1990 as The Spider. He later became Sharpe's assistant and trained wrestlers such as the Big Show and others at Sharpe's "Monster Factory"... ) (c) defeated Los Boricuas Los Boricuas Los Boricuas was a Hispanic professional wrestling heel stable in the World Wrestling Federation in the late 1990s. The name was derived from a popular nickname for Puerto Rican people, as all the stable's members were from Puerto Rico.-History:...  (Savio Vega Savio Vega Juan Rivera is a professional wrestler best known under the name Savio Vega. During the mid-late 1990s, he was an active wrestler in the World Wrestling Federation...  and Miguel Pérez, Jr. Miguel Pérez, Jr. Miguel Perez, Jr. is a professional wrestler who competed as a member of the Los Boricuas stable led by Savio Vega from June 1997 to October 1998 in the World Wrestling Federation.-ECW and WWF:Pérez is the son of Miguel Pérez, Sr... )	Tag team Tag team Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...  match for the WWF Tag Team Championship	14:00
4	The Patriot Del Wilkes Del Wilkes is a former American professional wrestler. Over the span of 14 years, he performed in various promotions such as American Wrestling Association, All Japan Pro Wrestling...  defeated Flash Funk 2 Cold Scorpio Charles Scaggs is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name 2 Cold Scorpio . Scaggs has competed in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment and Pro Wrestling Noah...	Singles match	09:00
5	The Legion of Doom Road Warriors The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...  (Hawk Road Warrior Hawk Michael James Hegstrand was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered as Road Warrior Hawk, one half of the tag team known as the Road Warriors or The Legion of Doom , with Road Warrior Animal.-Early life:While living in Chicago, Hegstrand met Joe Lauranaitis, who would be later...  and Animal Road Warrior Animal Joseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior... ) defeated The Godwinns The Godwinns The Godwinns was the best known gimmick of the professional wrestling tag team composed of Dennis Knight and Mark Canterbury that they used in the WWF. The team has used other gimmicks before they joined the WWF and had a gimmick change in the WWF shortly before disbanding...  (Henry Mark Canterbury Mark Canterbury is an American professional wrestler, best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Henry O. Godwinn.-Career:...  and Phineas Dennis Knight Dennis Knight is a retired American professional wrestler best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment as Phineas I. Godwinn and Mideon.-Career:... )	Tag team match	11:00
6	Vader defeated Owen Hart Owen Hart Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...	Singles match
7	Bret Hart Bret Hart Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...  (c) defeated The Undertaker by disqualification	Singles match for the WWF Championship WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...	28:00
8	Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...  (with Hunter Hearst Helmsley Triple H Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley... , Chyna and Rick Rude) defeated The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...  (c) (with Diana Hart Diana Hart Diana Joyce Hart-Smith is the youngest daughter of Canadian wrestling promoter Stu Hart and now his youngest living child. She is also the former wife of wrestler "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith and mother of former WWE superstar David Hart Smith. She was also the 1997 Mrs... -Smith)	Singles match for the WWF European Championship WWE European Championship The WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...	25:24