1. Shawn Michaels Main Events WrestleMania 14 With A Broken Back
WrestleMania 14 was a very important night in the history of the WWF. This was the occasion that would crown a brand new Champion in Stone Cold Steve Austin, ushering in a new era of main event attitude. Vince McMahon even employed Mike Tyson to add extra fanfare to the show, everything looked perfectly set up for success. Except for the fact that WWF Champion Shawn Michaels had a very serious back injury. HBK had herniated two discs and crushed a further disc in his back when taking a bump on to Undertaker's casket at Royal Rumble 1998. He was left in considerable pain and requiring surgery that would see him out of action for at least a year. The WWF needed Michaels to drop the belt to Austin firstly, the success of the company's future depended on a hot start for their biggest wrestler. The Undertaker emphatically made this point to HBK, taping his fists and warning him not to screw around with Austin. Michaels sucked it up and put the injury to the back of his mind. He performed admirably at Mania 14, putting Austin over as the next big superstar. When you consider that he had a broken back at the time, watching Michaels take flips into the turnbuckle is proof of his own physical toughness.
