On show-opening duties as a well-established heel compared to his maiden 'Mania the prior year, Shawn Michaels was already morphing into the wrestling polymath he'd become known as a year later. His Intercontinental Title clash with Tatanka - in spite of the countout conclusion - was an enjoyable offering to open up the last WrestleMania from an extremely different generation.
The undefeated Native American had beaten 'HBK' twice in the build-up to this, but the WrestleMania finale was donated to the separate story started here between Shawn's former valet Sensational Sherri and his one-night "main squeeze" Luna Vachon.
Whilst the women kicked the sh*t out of each other on the floor, the men protected their records between the ropes, even if it marked a marginally unsatisfying end to their hostilities.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. 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
