The 1997 Road Wild was the second

Road Wild Road Wild (originally known as Hog Wild) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that was held in the month of August from 1996 to 1999. It was a free event held in Sturgis, South Dako ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

(WCW) and the first to be produced under the Road Wild name. It took place on August 9, 1997 from the

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is a motorcycle rally held annually in Sturgis, South Dakota, and the surrounding Black Hills region of the United States. It began in 1938 by a group of Indian Motorcycle riders and was originally held for stunts ...

Sturgis, South Dakota Sturgis is a city in Meade County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 7,020 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Meade County and is named after Samuel D. Sturgis, a Union Army, Union general dur ...

. In the

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

Hollywood Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physique, and his trademark bl ...

defeated

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and gridiron football player. He is best known for his work with Jim Crocke ...

to win the

WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...

, which marked for the second straight year that Hogan won the title at the event. In other important matches on the undercard,

The Outsiders The Outsiders may refer to: Literature and stage * ''The Outsiders'' (novel), a 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton * ''The Outsiders'' (musical), a 2023 musical based on S. E. Hinton's novel * ''The Outsiders'' (play), a 1911 play by Charles Klein * ...

retained the

World Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...

against

The Steiner Brothers The Steiner Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Rick Steiner (real name Robert Rechsteiner) and Scott Steiner (real name Scott Rechsteiner). The brothers wrestled as amateurs at the University of Mich ...

Curt Hennig Curtis Michael Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003), better known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler. Considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time by peers, critics, and fans, he per ...

defeated

Diamond Dallas Page } Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), is an American fitness instructor, actor, and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Di ...

and

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

defeated

Syxx Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names ...

Storylines

The event featured wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed

villains A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Reception

Jack Bramma of 411mania rated the event 4 out of 10 stars and rated it a poor event, stating "It's hard not to feel like the entire show is an afterthought and a waste of time to everyone involved. Not one match other than Rey/Konnan manages to be even competently executed and that one is a bit of a drag because it's all psychology instead of lucha flips in the one place it would make sense. Instead, it's just every name on the roster going through the motions and the booking actively ubmariningLex as a marquee guy. The "spectacle" of the outdoor show is worth a look, I guess, but nothing is really good or even epically bad to justify hate watching. Take a pass."

Results

Benoit/McMichael vs. Jarrett/Malenko eliminations

References

Road Wild 1997 in South Dakota Events in South Dakota Professional wrestling shows in Sturgis, South Dakota August 1997 in the United States 1997 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events {{prowrestling-stub