10 WrestleMania Main Events That Changed The Direction Of WWE

by Andrew Pollard

1. Shawn Michaels vs "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - WrestleMania 14

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin is arguably the biggest name of all time when it comes to professional wrestling. Taking it on financial and viewing numbers, Austin was largely responsible for the wrestling boom known as the Attitude Era. Those who saw "Stunning" Steve Austin back in his WCW days knew that this wrestler was a talent, but nobody ever put Stunning Steve down as a future Wrestlemania main eventer. Via a detour to ECW, it was Austin's 1996 King of the Ring promo that made him stand out as a truly special performer. That promo and a great feud with Bret Hart, along with back-to-back Royal Rumble wins, found Austin at the point where he was to face Shaw Michaels for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania 14. As we know by now, Austin gave Michaels the stunner and pinned him 1-2-3. Not only did this signify Austin's first WWF Title win, this match is seen as the ushering in of the Attitude Era, a time that fans still to this day regularly cry out for. As well as Austin cementing his place at the top of the WWF table, this would be a huge part in setting up the most successful days of the pro wrestling industry. Michaels would also retire due to injury, and Austin would soon be joined in the main event by the likes of The Rock, HHH, and Mick Foley, with Kane and The Undertaker still around, and the likes of Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit on the horizon. So with Wrestlemania now coming up, do you believe that Roman Reigns will be handed the ball to run with? And what Wrestlemania main event/title matches signified a great moment of change for you?
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.