5. Stone Cold Steve Austin Survives The Corporate Gauntlet (WrestleMania 15)
When Austin dropped the WWE Championship in a triple threat match at Breakdown '98, it would be six full months before he got the title back. Until then, he had to overcome a litany of obstacles thrown his way by Vince McMahon's Corporation. Among them, a firing in October (quickly rescinded), being screwed by Shane McMahon in a World title tournament, being bamboozled out of the '99 Royal Rumble match, and having a debuting Big Show sic'ed on him. Austin's quest to get his championship back took a few side roads, sometimes playing second fiddle to the Rock/Mankind title wars, but he'd retake the role of primary hero in time to battle Rock for the gold at WrestleMania. There, Austin survived one last-ditch bit of interference from McMahon to reclaim his belt, and, as is his habit, assaulted the boss afterward to pay off a well-told tale.
Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.
