12 Richest WWE Matches Of All Time
3. Shawn Michaels Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WrestleMania XIV)
Whilst not the most obvious payday for the wrestlers in question, WrestleMania XIV's iconic main event (and the Mike Tyson-heavy build-up that preceded it) transcended the wrestling industry for WWE at a time when the company couldn't have been better positioned to build upon it.
Exactly as the stars of the 'Rock 'N' Wrestling' connection had done for Hulk Hogan during the company's 1984 expansion, Tyson's appearance alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin as he celebrated his WWE Championship victory over Shawn Michaels was the mainstream endorsement needed to complete the near-perfect two-year ascension of 'The Rattlesnake' from bothersome midcarder to global megastar-in-waiting.
Arguably bigger than Hogan's crowning in 1984, Austin's was a push first born out of desperation that bloomed almost entirely because the performer in question had the will, confidence and nous to jockey for his position during the politically toxic times dominated by Shawn and his real-life adversary Bret Hart. With 'The Hitman' down south and 'HBK' on the shelf, the path cleared in the immediate aftermath to build on such an important occasion. The eye-watering 730,000 buys for the pay-per-view (up 151% from WrestleMania 13's 290,000) highlighted how many people were leaping onto the speeding bandwagon.