WWE WrestleMania: What every main event should have been

WrestleMania XIV

Actual main event: Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin

What the main event should have been: Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin

As WrestleMania XIV rolled around, things had definitely changed in WWE. Needing to compete with WCW, Vince got bold and took things in a completely different direction from what we loved from The Golden Era and kicked off The Attitude Era. While there’s never been an official date for when it started, I’d say that the double-turn of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart kicked things off, and by the time Austin got to Boston to battle Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship, he had become WWE’s biggest attraction. With HBK heading out the door, there was only one match to have for the main event, and it’s the one we got.

Michaels was in a lot of pain after further injuring his back in a Casket Match against The Undertaker at the Royal Rumble, but he found a way to get to WrestleMania and while this was never going to be his greatest match, he made sure that people still got their money’s worth. With special enforcer Mike Tyson at ringside, Austin and HBK put on a very solid match. Even with the outcome never in doubt, it was still entertaining to watch this passing of the torch, even if Shawn wasn’t overly happy about.

The two told a good story in the ring, and Shawn was able to get 20 minutes out of his body before leaving WWE. His next match wouldn’t come for more than four years, but unlike someone else that wouldn’t drop the title on his way out of the company, Michaels took a Stunner and Tyson came in to count the 1-2-3. The Austin era had begun.