10 Greatest WWE Pay-Per-Views Of The '90s

7. WrestleMania XIV

Steve Austin SummerSlam 1998
WWE.com

As mentioned earlier, WrestleMania 13 was far from the biggest show of the year in 1997. Despite the Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin instant classic, the typical "WrestleMania feel" was absent in the lead up to the event just one year prior to WrestleMania XIV. Shawn Michaels was suddenly sidelined with a knee injury, throwing the original plans all off kilter, and Sycho Sid reached the WrestleMania main event for the second time in his career.

One year later and the WWF's entire landscape had changed.

Sid and Bret were no longer with the company and Shawn was also preparing to depart following 1998's WrestleMania, clearing the way for the star of WrestleMania 13, Stone Cold Steve Austin, to take the top spot. In addition, Vince McMahon hired Mike Tyson as the main event's special enforcer.

If Mike Tyson capping off the changing of the guard wasn't enough to make this a great event, WrestleMania XIV was also the first meeting between brothers The Undertaker and Kane. While The Undertaker eventually came away victorious, it took three Tombstones for the Deadman to get the win.

Other memorable occurrences at this event were Sable's in-ring debut, The Rock dropping his first, "Smell what I'm cookin',", and Pete Rose making his first of three consecutive WrestleMania appearances.

Contributor
Contributor

A former stuntman for Paramount Pictures, Matt enjoys sports, water skiing, driving fast, the beach, professional wrestling, technology, and scotch. At the same time, whenever possible. Having attended many famous (and infamous) shows including WrestleMania XV, In Your House: Mind Games, and the 1995 King of the Ring, Matt has been a lifelong professional sports and wrestling fan. Matt's been mentioned in numerous wrestling podcasts including the Steve Austin Show: Unleashed, Talk Is Jericho, and Something To Wrestle With Bruce Prichard. As a former countywide performer, Matt has been referred to as Mr. 300 for his amazing accomplishments in the world of amateur bowling. He is also the only man on record to have pitched back-to-back no hitters in the Veterans Stadium Wiffle Ball League of 2003.