20 Years On From WWE In Your House: Canadian Stampede's Main Event: Where Are They Now?

2. Stone Cold Steve Austin

Steve Austin Bret Hard Goldust
WWE

Though the famous Canadian Stampede belonged to the mammoth Hart Family, it also did a sensational job in protecting Stone Cold Steve Austin as the company's next bankable headliner.

Despite taking the deciding fall against Owen Hart to build to their aforementioned Intercontinental Title clash at August's SummerSlam '97, Austin was a relentless mad man in his efforts all the same, flailing wildly at everybody that came near him in a believable rendering of his dive behind enemy lines.

Ahead of his ascension to the top of the card months later, it was irrefutably as hot as the crowd had ever been for the rising star. He was unquestionably the top babyface in North America at this point, which allowed him to be a despicable heel once again after crossing the border. But the fans were undeniably wired to see him all the same, and the white hot atmosphere he generated inside the Calgary Saddledome was only topped by the hero he stood across from.

The chaos in this contest for foreshadow his entire run as WWE's top draw between 1998-2000. Regardless of injuries or other setbacks, he ploughed forward through innumerable on-screen odds and finally gave Vince McMahon the tonic to Hulkamania he'd been looking for since his golden goose's 1993 departure.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett