10 Best Years To Be A WWE Fan

5. 1998

The Rock Triple H
wwe.com

Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs Mr McMahon was everything.

Irrepressible (and vital considering how well it masked a wafer thin roster), the feud was the "cure for the common show" Vince McMahon had alluded to months earlier. It was the counter to WCW's stranglehold of the Monday Night wrestling ratings battle. It was he solution to the problem McMahon had with finding the "next Hulk Hogan".

It was the making of the version of WWE that still exists today.

All the experimentation with Monday Night Raw in 1997 was set dressing for the rise of 'The Rattlesnake', emerging from the fire and fury of the Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels internal conflict to find his fortune working with neither of them ever again by April. As time moved forward, it only became apparent how little his rise needed them any longer. From the moment he shoved Mike Tyson just 24 hours removed from a Royal Rumble win, he was white hot with virtually all underneath him glowing red in his presence.

D-Generation X recovered under the leadership of Triple H as a babyface banter group. Mankind was a one man Wizard Of Oz plot, his heart and courage growing with every envelope-pushing bump. The Rock got so g*ddamn good so g*ddamn quick that McMahon went from having zero proven money-drawing megastars to two in as many years.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett