The Luckiest Break In WWE History

Jesse Ventura used to often say The Honky Tonk Man was "better lucky than good", but 'The Rattlesnake' had bucketloads of both following the controversial SummerSlam clash.

Working his thirst to return into the storylines, the company casually shifted him away from the Harts and towards every authority figure that stood, logically, in his path. It was here that his antihero status was tested - but the fans chose Austin every time. Sgt Slaughter was introduced as a babyface commissioner then dropped on his head to a thunderous pop. Jim Ross was a beloved announcer who lay writhing in pain as Stone Cold soaked up the cheers. Jerry Lawler - the only true heel on Austin's path of rage at the time to take the Stunner - almost looked like an innocent victim as the 'Bionic Redneck' rolled on.

It left Vince McMahon as the only company administrator still willing to literally put his neck on the line for Austin, as he would in their iconic Madison Square Garden showdown. It's in this flaming hot segment where battle lines subtly being drawn by the company for months are finally visible to all. This was the intrinsic beauty of 'The Rattlesnake's raging against the corporate machine - he was just absolutely raging. He didn't betray his ethos any more than they did theirs, but the fans categorically chose which side they were on, and drove McMahon further to the darker corner before he screwed Bret Hart and confirmed his place there forever.

The IRL McMahon had his babyface, and simultaneously served as his meal ticket's kayfabe top heel. In a post-WrestleMania landscape seemingly short on so many wrestlers, Austin neck had indirectly resulted in limitless well as long as they were representing his war against Mr McMahon and the corporate world at large.