10 Things You Need To Know About The Dawn Of WWE's Attitude Era

2. "Tyson And Austin! Tyson And Austin!"

Steve Austin WrestleMania 13
WWE.com

By the time Mike Tyson and Steve Austin participated in one of the most legendary angles in wrestling history, Austin was a full-on sensation in wrestling. This propelled him to heights greater than that.

Though the transition into the Attitude Era was a gradual and deliberate (if almost reluctant) process, the stars aligned to make it so. Austin had suffered a near career-ender of a neck injury and modified his style in order to work around it, giving rise to the crazed arena-wide brawls so popular in 1998 and beyond.

Austin often appeared more in angles than matches in late 1997 and early 1998 for the sake of his neck. This was far and away the best. This was also the visible genesis point in that it crystallised the mainstream success of the new approach. "Let me make it short and sweet," Austin began as he interrupted Tyson's arrival onto the road to WrestleMania XIV. "What I'm tellin' you is I want a piece of Mike Tyson's ass." Cue bird flip, wild lunging pushes, and wilder attempts to prise the two men away from one another.

Tyson's name was uttered first, and Austin's second - "Tyson and Austin!" Tyson and Austin!". This was another deliberate move by a company; when the mainstream media ran the footage, the word "Austin!" was the last indelible impression.

Everything about the angle was cultivated perfectly. McMahon in the months and years previous had been frogmarched into change, but here he was the harbinger of it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!