10 Things You Totally Forgot About WWE In 1997
6. WrestleMania 13 Main Event Was Always In Doubt
From 1996 to 1997, the industry had undergone massive changes.
In the short span of six months, the wrestling business saw the birth of the nWo, Austin 3:16, the Hulk Hogan turn heel, Bret Hart openly discussing contract negotiations, a babyface champion booed out of MSG on PPV, an angle featuring a gun on the USA network, the shift in power as WCW dominated WWF in ratings, the WWF debuts of Mankind and Brian Pillman, and many more changes.
Needless to say, there was a whirlwind of activity and even by early '97, Vince still had no idea what he was going to present at WrestleMania 13.
The rumour has always been that Shawn Michaels was supposed to return the favor from the year before and drop the title back to Bret. While that was what Bret believed to be the plan, Vince McMahon wasn't 100% sold on it.
On several occasions before Thursday Raw! Thursday Live! when Shawn lost his smile, Vince had gone back and forth regarding the main event of WrestleMania 13. Many scenarios were considered, including Bret/Shawn for the title, Undertaker/Sid for the title, Bret/Shawn in a non-title match and more.
So while legend says that the plan for 13 was always Bret/Shawn II until Shawn went home, the reality is that wasn't exactly the case. It had been considered, but Vince did not want to put the belt back on babyface Bret at that point. So we ended up with Sid vs. Undertaker for the WWE title in a lacklustre main event.