The trauma, chaos and carnage of 1997 stands in direct contrast with Vince McMahon's organisation in 2018, particularly their virtually impenetrable public perception.
Though only a story of one night gone incredibly bad for WWE, it's a cautionary tale 20 years on. Should such an event happen today, the instant reactions via drunken videos posted on Twitter would make for sobering viewing. Shawn Michaels' spiritual reawakening in 2002 removed the likelihood of such a thing ever happening again - few performers would have had the gall (and to a certain extent, guts) to stand up to both a crowd and McMahon himself for making such a bold decision, regardless of the rowdiness. Their jobs as WWE Superstars depend as much on protecting the image of the company as they do protecting themselves.
Even 'HBK' himself - should he take what must be an eye-wateringly large amount of money to return - would be too well behaved to ever trigger such a scene.
WWE.com
For better and worse, nobody will have the power to stop a show again, not even a Hall Of Famer with that very act in his nickname.
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
