WrestleMania title shot: Defeated Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV Despite having won the Royal Rumble the previous year, it was Stone Cold Steve Austins 1998 Rumble win that really launched him into the stratosphere. But the end of 1997, Austin clearly was the big, rising star of the future, and it was only a matter of time before he would be wearing the WWF Championship. The Rumble match itself wasnt all that great, but it was the fact that Austin was on the right trajectory at the perfect time that made this work. Fans were clamoring for his eventual victory, which happened at WrestleMania XIV against Shawn Michaels (in what would be his last match for four-plus years). Austins title win at Mania kicked off a new era in WWF, which would in turn lead to the company finally ending WCWs year-and-a-half dominance in the ratings a few weeks later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4JvBl1javM So a Rumble victory leading to a title win at WrestleMania that launched a new era that carried WWF to unmatched heights? And it helped topple the promotions competition in the Monday Night War? Its hard to imagine something topping that.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.
