The incredible conclusion to WrestleMania XIV was just another 1998 moment made perfect by one of Jim Ross' iconic calls. "The Austin Era has begun" was the sort of line 'Good Ol JR' was always excellent at deploying at exactly the right time. His storytelling did as much - sometimes more - as the wrestlers themselves when it came to getting over the chaos and carnage of the day.
It was for that reason Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock insisted upon his presence for their WrestleMania XV headliner. 'The Rattlesnake' knew his close friend would do much to flesh out the lashings of daftness that defined the time and at least make their brawl feel like the main event on a 'Show Of Shows' full-to-bursting with weirdly similar scraps.
The best of the rest of the Attitude Era were ready to cap off a tumultuous decade of WrestleMania's with the most barmy of the lot - even if it meant sacrificing in-ring quality almost entirely. Typically, it fell to one man to save the show on that front, but we'll get to his unenviable task a little later.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he 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 on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
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 music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
