Steve Austins and Shawn Michaels feud started off under simple circumstances, but it quickly became the talk of the mainstream with the addition of a household name. At Royal Rumble 1998, Steve Austin won the Royal Rumble match earning him a WrestleMania title shot at WWF Champion, Shawn Michaels. The next night on Raw, Vince McMahon brought out Iron Mike Tyson for a special guest appearance, and Stone Cold wasnt too happy about Tysons Baddest man on the planet nickname. The two got into a fight which made headlines around the world, and crossed over into the mainstream consciousness. Tyson was subsequently announced as the special enforcer for WrestleMania, a shrewd move by Vince McMahon as at the time Tyson was banned from boxing, but fans were definitely willing to pay to see what he did. Things got worse for Stone Cold when Tyson appeared to join Michaels faction, D-Generation X. Steve Austin went into WrestleMania XIV with the odds stacked against him, and the eyes of the world on him. In the end, it was Tysons three-count that won Stone Cold the WWF Championship for the first time, prompting Jim Ross to exclaim The Austin era has begun! Tyson then removed his D-X shirt to proudly display a Stone Cold shirt as he drank with The Rattlesnake. Theres a persistent rumour around this match that implies that Michaels/Austin rivalry was more than just what was shown on screen. The backstage gossip suggests that Michaels was unwilling to lose the championship to Austin, and it took The Undertaker to convince him to do the right thing. Apparently The Undertaker was still angry about the Montreal Screwjob and threatened to beat Michaels up if anything similar happened at WrestleMania.
