Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin had enough of a match to usher in WWE's second golden era (and more on that later) with their fiery main event, but both men have retrospectively assessed it as a disappointment due to the injuries both were carrying from literal bumps along the way.
Austin hadn't (and wouldn't) recover from a piledriver dished out by Owen Hart the prior summer, whilst the agony Shawn Michaels still felt from a January casket match clip was etched on his face throughout the contest.
You'll wince not with manipulated bliss but genuine horror in how Michaels "sells" late on - emotionally and physically he literally can no longer stand, and yet for one of the only times is actually about to do the right thing and take a fall. Ghoulishly, it karmically balanced much of the supposed malcontent he'd caused leading up to such a moment. Watching him attone years after his 2002 return instead just transfers his agony into you.
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
