4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE WrestleMania 13
Blood On The Tracks.
When Vince McMahon launched WrestleMania, he did so at the exact right point with the exact right talent to capitalise exactly on what much of North America was beginning to fall in love with. It was one of the only times he didn't simply take advantage of an extremely happy accident. This one - perhaps the happiest in his company's history - ironically came as result of his Champion "losing his smile".
With Shawn Michaels out of the biggest show of the year with barely a month to spare, McMahon was forced to trust as much in his talent as his instincts. His instincts told him to get his title back on Sycho Sid. His talent - The Undertaker - told him it was time to take the reliable option. His instincts booked two megastar mechanics in a Submission Match. His talent - Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin - revolutionised an industry in a bloody war.
McMahon's first ever instinct was that in order to dominate the wrestling world, he had to create the perception that his organisation was that very world. His talent in 1997 believed in the vision again, even when trapped in the darkness before the dawn...
(Want more WrestleMania Ups & Downs? We got 'em: I, 2, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII)