WrestleMania XIV
Encyclopedia
WrestleMania XIV was the fourteenth annual WrestleMania
professional wrestling
pay-per-view
(PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which took place on March 29, 1998 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts
.
This pay-per-view event was notable for the involvement of boxer Mike Tyson
, who acted as a ring enforcer for the main event. The main event also saw the start of Steve Austin's
first WWF Championship
reign. His victory in the main event, against Shawn Michaels
(who performed despite a severe injury and would not compete again until SummerSlam 2002
), is often cited as the beginning of the Attitude Era
.
lost their Tag Team Championship to the New Age Outlaws
, they were assaulted by the Outlaws and D-Generation X
. At the Royal Rumble
they lost a championship match largely because Road Dogg handcuffed Hawk to the outside of the ring. Following this they suffered two defeats by the NWA
members Jeff Jarrett
and Barry Windham
and finally on the February 23 episode of Raw, they lost again to the New Age Outlaws when, despite having the match all but won, the non-legal Hawk did not leave the ring and while the referee was busy removing him, Animal was struck by the title belts and lost the match. Following the bout the two brawled all the way to the back and announced their dissolution, not appearing again until WrestleMania.
After the Montreal Screwjob
, Owen Hart
was the only member of the Hart family
to remain with the company, and after a temporary absence returned during In Your House: D-Generation X
to attack Shawn Michaels
. Following this he turned his attention to Hunter Hearst Hemlsley
and the European Championship
that Michaels had given to Helmsley as a Christmas present. After weeks of deterring a championship match by way of a fractured kneecap, Triple H finally acquiesced to a match on January 26's Raw is War
, only for the Artist Formerly Known as Goldust (who was dressing up from week to week in a bid for attention) to appear in Helmsley's place. After Hart won the match, WWF Commissioner Slaughter
declared the disguise so convincing that he upheld the decision and awarded the belt to Hart. On Raw, March 2, Hart defended the title against Mark Henry
, Chyna came to the ring and pushed Hart off the turnbuckle allowing Henry to lock on a bearhug
, but before he could submit she gave an obvious lowblow
to Henry, resulting in a disqualification in favour of Hart. The following week in a match against Barry Windham
, Hart landed awkwardly on his ankle suffering a (kayfabe
) injury. On a special Tuesday edition of Raw, March 17, the following week Hart joined the commentary team with a supportive case on his leg; while commentating Triple H came to the ringside and goaded him into an impromptu title defence despite his cast, during the match Chyna appeared and hit his ankle with a bat allowing Helmsley to win the title back.
Owing to his jealousy over the attention his wife and valet, Sable
, was garnering from the crowd, Marc Mero
sent tried to cover up her provocative clothing and eventually sent her to the back, replacing her with The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust who at the time was dressing up from week to week in his own bid of self-attention. Although the two worked well together, Goldust's valet Luna Vachon grew vocally disdainful of Sable, who was also being mocked by Mero and Goldust, causing Sable to eventually fight back. As the two women brawled, their partners tried to separate them but when Goldust grabbed Sable to restrain her, Mero attacked him. The two men had a match on Raw where both women were handcuffed to the ringposts in order to prevent their brawling, but as the referee was knocked down, Goldust stole the key and unchained Vachon who attacked Sable with make up
, painting her face. Goldust then challenged Mero and Sable to a mixed tag match at WrestleMania.
After successively beating members of the Nation of Domination
until Mark Henry
turned on him, Ken Shamrock
beat the Intercontinental Champion
Rocky Maivia despite being hit with a foreign object
; The Rock convinced the referee that it was in fact he who suffered an illegal attack and the referee reversed his decision. The following month at No Way Out of Texas: In Your House
, Shamrock capitalised on the in-fighting of the Nation, due to leadership disputes between Faarooq
and The Rock, by pinning the champion in a ten-man tag team match.
At the end of the inaugural Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood, just as The Undertaker looked to have won the match against Shawn Michaels
, the lights went out and a masked man came to the ring and delivered a tombstone piledriver to the shocked Undertaker. The masked man was revealed to be Kane
, Undertaker's (kayfabe) half-brother and, despite the animosity and the presence of Paul Bearer, Undertaker vowed never to fight his little brother. Before Undertaker's casket match with Michaels, D-Generation X
claimed Kane had joined them but in fact he came to the ring to assist Undertaker. The alliance was short lived, however, as during the Royal Rumble event
Kane came to the ring and locked Undertaker in his casket before setting it ablaze, presuming his brother dead. On the March 2 edition of Raw is War
, Kane's opponent, Steve Austin
, was taken out by DX and with nothing to do, Bearer ordered the time keeper to deliver a ten-bell salute
for The Undertaker's passing, before telling Kane to tombstone him. After he did, more bells were heard to ring, this time signalling Undertaker's theme music. The ringing continued much longer than normal, with Bearer denying the possibility of it being the Deadman. Eventually a sarcophagus
appeared on the top of the ramp and after lightning struck it, The Undertaker sat up before revealing that he had been through hell and talked to his parents to tell them that he would have to go back on his vow. The week before WrestleMania, Kane came to the ring and began to display similar supernatural powers as his brother, striking the TitanTron
with lightning, as well as the announce table, before striking a crew worker with lightning, setting him on fire; Undertaker was shown on the same episode speaking to his parents' gravestones, revealing it may have to take the damnation of his soul to reunite the troubled family.
In January, Steve Austin
won the Royal Rumble while Shawn Michaels
retained his WWF Championship
, both under the auspices of Mike Tyson
from the director's box. The following week on Raw is War
, Vince McMahon
revealed that Tyson would be the special guest referee for WrestleMania's main event until Austin appeared and gave the finger
to Tyson, offering him a fight and proclaiming the wrestling ring to be his, not Tyson's. At the ensuing press conference, McMahon announced that due to the explosive situation Tyson's role was being changed to that of ring enforcer. On February 2, in a scheduled match against Road Dogg
, D-Generation X
stormed the match and tied Austin in the ropes, shouting abuse in his face and rubbing the Championship belt in his face, taunting him with it until Cactus Jack
and Chainsaw Charlie
came to his aid. The following week Austin stole the belt from Michaels in the hope of baiting him in a singles match but the partnership of D-Generation X and New Age Outlaws
continued. This led to a "non-sanctioned" eight-man tag match at No Way Out of Texas: In Your House
, which Michaels declined to participate in and that Austin won by pinning Road Dogg. With WrestleMania drawing closer, on March 2 Tyson appeared once again to be interviewed only for Michaels to interrupt and challenge Tyson to a fight. After both entourages left the ring, the two grabbed at each other until Michaels ripped Tyson's shirt revealing a DX t-shirt showing the enforcer's degenerate alliance; later in the evening Austin came out to take place in a match against Kane
he saw Triple H
on the ramp and walked over to him, only to turn round into Sweet Chin Music which knocked him out, something that occurred again the following week. Also that week, a St. Patrick's Day Tuesday broadcast of Raw on March 17, Austin called out Vince McMahon and attacked him for describing Tyson as 'the baddest man on the planet' but McMahon would not be goaded into a fight, instead he forced Austin to fight Rocky Maivia the following episode just, before WrestleMania.
opened the show by singing America the Beautiful
before the broadcast went to air.
, with Sunny
as their new valet. Savio Vega
was first eliminated, meaning his tag team partner, Miguel Perez
, had to leave too. Kurrgan
illegally entered the ring to enact revenge on Sniper
and Recon
on behalf of The Jackyl
, Barry Windham also illegally entered to eliminate Chainz
, and so left his partner Bradshaw
. The final four teams lasted a while until Skull was eliminated by Phineas
. When The Godwinns were thrown out, they returned and attacked the LOD with slop buckets before leaving. New Midnight Express tried to keep Animal
out of the ring while double teaming Hawk
but once he re-entered the Legion simultaneously eliminated both Bob
and Bart, leaving them the last team standing.
The second bout was a Light Heavyweight Championship
match, with Taka Michinoku defending his title against Águila
; this would be the first and only time the championship was defended at WrestleMania, though its successor the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
would be. After throwing Taka out the ring and baseball sliding
into him, Águila hit an asai moonsault outside the ring, but was soon the victim of a springboard crossbody after Taka reversed a suplex
from the apron. Águila almost won the match with a moonsault crossbody into a pin but remained on the offensive with a frankensteiner. Taka tried to land the Michinoku Driver but as Aguila flipped out and attempted a hurricarana, Taka managed a powerbomb
reversal. He soon stopped a high flying dive with a dropkick before successfully executing a Michinoku Driver and picking up the win. After the match, both contestants shook each other's hand and celebrated together. Also, partway into the matchup, Jim Ross made a fleeting comment about the date of Taka's title win, December 7, the date of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, calling it "ironic enough". This incident went largely unnoticed, only causing a slight stir in the wrestling community.
Triple H
made his way to the ring with his theme played by the DX Band
. Before Owen Hart
came to the ring, Commissioner Slaughter
handcuffed himself to Chyna so that she would not interfere, despite her protestations. The match began with Hart pummelling Helmsley with fists before sliding out of the ring, when Triple H tried to jump from the apron he met with the crowd barrier. After an early powerbomb Hart attempted to lock in the sharpshooter
but Helmsley reversed it and started some offensive manoeuvres of his own, kicking Hart in the turnbuckle and delivering a suplex. Hart suffered a cut to the bridge of his nose from a boot to the face, after which Triple H began to work on Hart's damaged ankle, dropping his knee onto it and stretching it. After avoiding another kick to the face and pulling Helmsley's crotch onto the ring post, and managed to take advantage, reversing a powerbomb into the sharpshooter but Chyna, having to pull Sgt. Slaughter, pulled Triple H to the rope for the break. Chyna then threw white powder in Slaughter's face causing a worried Hart to check on him, as he turned round to face the ring, Chyna low-blowed him from outside allowing Triple H to successfully land the pedigree on him and take the win. After she was freed from the handcuffs, Chyna shoved Slaughter into the crowd.
Marc Mero
and Goldust began the match but Goldust soon tagged in Luna Vachon, requiring Sable
to be tagged in too. However, Vachon simple ran around the outside of the ring with Sable chasing her and tagged her partner back in. Wanting to get her hands on Vachon, Sable double teamed Goldust with a boot to the face after an Irish whip from Mero but could not get Vachon to enter the ring. An near pinfall came from a running crossbody from Mero and following this the two ran into each other, causing both men to crawl and tag in the women. Sable straddled Vachon and punched her round the face before kicking her in the mid-section and face in the turnbuckle and attacking Goldust, then running back to clothesline Vachon over the ropes. Vachon tagged Goldust in but before Sable would do the same, she struck him in the face, then letting Mero take over who had his TKO reversed into a DDT
. Mero too would reverse the Curtain Call allowing him the chance to try a moonsault pin to a standing Goldust. After Vachon struck a running Mero with his knee, Mero went to punch her but ducked out of the way as Goldust ran to her rescue, causing him to inadvertently knock her off the apron. Mero then executed the TKO but Luna interrupted the pin count, jumping on Mero's back resulting in Sable tagging in as Mero wandered around the ring with Vachon on his back. Sable tried pinning Goldust but the referee was distracted and as he finally began to count, Sable leapt off Goldust so the interfering Vachon would inadvertently bodysplash Goldust. Sable then performed a powerbomb and Mero's TKO to win the bout.
The Intercontinental title
fight began along the walkway with a brawl that saw Ken Shamrock
whipped into the steel steps before coming inside the ring. Rocky Maivia then delivered his People's Elbow but could not secure a three-count. Shamrock then rolled out of the ring and grabbed steel steps and when the referee tried to take it off him, he threw the referee into the corner; The Rock quickly grabbed the steps and hit Shamrock with it as the referee recovered. Shamrock pushed out of the pin count and quickly gained the advantage, delivering a belly to belly slam off an Irish whip and then securing his ankle lock in the center of the ring, making The Rock tap. The surrounding members of the Nation jumped into the ring but Shamrock quickly dispatched them all with suplexes, including the four hundred pound Henry, before reapplying the ankle lock to a bleeding Maivia. Faarooq
then ran down from the back and jumped onto the apron, only to look on at The Rock with a smile, before walking away. Eventually a number of referees and officials appeared trying to subdue Shamrock, after being surrounded he suplexed a referee and then an official before calming down as The Rock was wheeled away on a gurney. Howard Finkel then announced Shamrock had been disqualified for not breaking his ankle hold causing Shamrock to chase Rock and fight him on the Chris Warren band stage.
The Tag Team Championship match began with Billy Gunn
facing Chainsaw Charlie
and Road Dogg
exchanging blows with Cactus Jack
. Trying a Cactus Elbow on Road Dogg, Cactus missed and slammed himself into the dumpster. The Outlaws then focused on Charlie, using a back toss to drop him into the dumpster and as he attempted to climb out they simultaneously slammed the lid shut on the hardcore legends' heads. With Cactus and Charlie both in the dumpster, the Outlaws shut the lid down on them but Cactus managed to get back up while the Outlaws were celebrating and pushed Road Dogg down to the ground with a mandible claw, pulling him into the dumpster. Both teams took time to recover and began to brawl with weapons in the ring, Cactus Jack pulling out a ladder and climbing it opposite Billy Gunn, only to be pushed off straight into the dumpster outside the ring by a falling Chainsaw Charlie. Road Dogg pulled his partner out and the two focussed their efforts on Charlie, powerbombing him into the dumpster, however Cactus had managed to escape in the meantime. The fight found its way to the backstage area, with both Outlaws throwing Cactus into boxes and promotional toys but Jack replied with a chair shot to both of them and pulled Billy Gunn onto a wooden crate with a double-arm DDT. Charlie reappeared on a forklift
and elevated the wooden crate as Jack dragged Road Dogg onto it too. Charlie then drove the forklift above a backstage dumpster and dropped both opponents inside as Cactus Jack closed the lid to win the World Tag Team Championship.
, baseball record-holder Pete Rose
came to the ring as the special ring announcer. However, after insulting the home-town team and introducing Kane, the wrestler gave him a tombstone piledriver starting a tri-year tradition. The Undertaker was preceded by a league of torch-bearing
druids to the tune of O Fortuna
. The Undertaker cornered Kane and threw a flurry of punches into him, ducking and reversing Kane's attempts until Kane hit him with a clothesline that he instantly sat up from. Kane then set Undertaker up in a tree of woe to begin his assault of punches and Irish whips and then suplexing Undertaker onto the ropes and delivering a flying club to the neck from the turnbuckle. As Undertaker began to fight back, Kane threw him into the ropes but his brother retaliated by jumping onto his back, which was met a face-first electric chair. Paul Bearer kept the referee distracted while Kane landed the steel steps onto Undertaker, and repeated the effort a second time while his opponent was lying onto the steps, crushing him between. As the referee tried to keep Kane in check, Bearer slapped Undertaker while walking past him. Kane caught his brother running and delivered a chokeslam
but lifted his shoulders off the mat before the three count could be made, putting him into a sleeper hold that Undertaker eventually fought out of with a flurry of punches. Undertaker then dropped Kane on top of the ropes and punched him off the apron; he followed this with an over the top rope suicide dive that Kane managed to side step, sending Undertaker crashing through the Spanish announce table. As Undertaker made it back into the ring, Kane hit him with a flying lariat. Undertaker tried to give Kane the Tombstone Piledriver, but Kane managed to weigh himself backwards onto his own feet and deliver the tombstone himself. Undertaker kicked out and after landing his opponent with a clothesline, he chokeslammed Kane and then delivered a tombstone piledriver of his own; but Kane kicked out. It would eventually take three tombstones with a guillotine leg drop and flying clothesline in between to stop Kane kicking out and sitting up but as soon as the match was over Bearer attacked Undertaker and ordered Kane attack him, which he did with a chair shot to the head and then a tombstone piledriver onto the chair. After Kane and Bearer left, Undertaker sat up and left the ring.
With Mike Tyson
enforcing from ring side, the WWF Championship
fight began with both superstars dancing around each other, engaging in a few light punches before Shawn Michaels
escaped the ring and ran back in to take advantage of Steve Austin
, but was met with a standing clothesline. Austin followed up by pulling down Michaels' trunks revealing his rear. Michaels tried to run at Austin but was flipped over the top rope into Triple H
and Chyna. As Triple H threw Austin through the crowd barrier, the referee ordered him and Chyna to leave ringside but Austin followed and fought with them up to the entrance way. Michaels caught up with him and hit Austin with a cymbal from the band stage, before Irish whipping him into the dumpster. As the match resumed in the ring, Austin met Michaels high-risk maneuver with a clothesline and then ran him into the turnbuckle and picking him up for an inverted atomic drop. Michaels attempt to pick up some momentum saw him picked up and dropped onto the ropes but Michaels managed to push Stone Cold away as he attempted a stunner. When he tried to escape the ring though, Austin shoved him forcing the champion to fall upon the announce table. After Stone Cold slowed the match down with a sleeper, Michaels tried to pull his knee into the ring post but was instead pulled into it himself. Austin then tried to rush at Michaels but was back tossed into the crowd and struck with the ring bell. Michaels used the momentum to take advantage inside the ring, delivering a snapmare and then a low kick to the grounded Austin but as he took time to offend the audience
Stone Cold briefly picked up some speed throwing Michaels out of the ring but just as quickly lost ground as his opponent repeatedly worked on Austin's left knee, throwing it into the ring post and then kicking and dropping onto it back inside the ring. When Austin tried to recover outside of the ring, he was met with a baseball slide launching him over the announce table and was instantly thrown back into the ring by Tyson where he soon suffered a figure four leg lock that Michaels illegally elevated using the second and third ring rope. Austin's eventual counter was stopped by a rope break. Austin then tried to reverse a standing sleeper hold by throwing Michaels back into the turnbuckle but unwittingly trapped referee Mike Chioda who fell unconscious. With both men on the floor, HBK recovered with a kip-up and landed a high-flying elbow drop, getting in position to taunt for his finisher. As Austin eventually stood up, he ducked the super kick, attempting a stunner on Michaels as he turned round only to be thrown into the ropes and met again with a Sweet Chin Music which he grabbed, spinning Michaels round and finishing with a Stone Cold stunner. Tyson jumped into the ring to make a quick three count and the new champion celebrated by tossing the enforcer an Austin 3:16 t-shirt. When Shawn Michaels stood up, he confronted Tyson about his turn but was met with a punch that instantly floored him, and draped with Austin's t-shirt.
, took a four year hiatus from wrestling due to injuries sustained in the casket match against Undertaker at the Royal Rumble. He made several ostensible one-off appearances as a guest commentator during episodes of Raw in the summer of 1998, and eventually replacing Sgt. Slaughter as commissioner at the end of the year, holding onto the position for a year and a half. After what was supposed to be a one-time match four years later at SummerSlam (2002)
, Michaels and the now renamed World Wrestling Entertainment realized that his injuries had healed, and he made a full-time return to wrestling.
With Steve Austin winning the main event, the Attitude Era was fully ushered in. Although the scratch logo had started to replace the New Generation logo, it began to appear on ring aprons and promotional work during and after this event. The next night on Raw after WrestleMania the old WWF "winged eagle" world championship belt was retired, and a new belt design with a larger eagle and blue globe debuted (eventually being retired in 2002). The Attitude Era saw Austin's feud with Vince McMahon escalate and a month after, Raw is War beat WCW Monday Nitro
in the ratings war
for the first time in eighty-five weeks.
Shawn Michaels' loss was criticized by Triple H the following night on Raw, blaming him for overlooking Tyson's potential double-cross. He delivered a promo saying that he would now helm D-Generation X and turn it into an army and "the first thing you do is look to your blood. You look to your buddies. You look to your friends. You look to the Kliq," and introduced a returning Sean Waltman
, under the X-Pac persona, who had jumped ship from World Championship Wrestling
. Later in the evening it was revealed that Road Dogg
and Billy Gunn
were also part of the DX Army.
The ongoing saga between The Undertaker and Kane continued unabated. The following night Paul Bearer challenged Undertaker to a match at Unforgiven where the ring would be surrounded by fire and the first man to be set alight would lose, thus giving birth to the Inferno Match.
By winning the fifteen-team battle royal, LOD 2000 won the right to face the Tag Team Champions at Unforgiven. The champions by rights were Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie, however some legal wrangling from the New Age Outlaws saw the match held up on account of the wrong dumpster being used. The vacant titles were disputed in a steel cage match the following night, which the Outlaws won after interference from the newly formed DX, concreting their ties, and by handcuffing Charlie to the cage by his neck. Charlie returned to his Terry Funk persona whilst Cactus Jack became Dude Love again while the Outlaws became part of the DX Army achieving further success.
In a tag team match against Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman, The Rock promised to show Faarooq that the Nation was stronger and more connected than before. The promise was a sour one as during the match, Rock left Faarooq to suffer the wrath of Shamrock and Blackman and afterwards Faarooq demanded Rock come back out so the two could fight. When Rock returned and squared up to Faarooq, the other members of the Nation turned on him and The Rock proclaimed himself as the new leader.
Before Marc Mero's match with Taka Michinoku the next night, Vachon appeared and challenged Sable to a singles match just between the two of them which Sable promptly accepted. Vachon also announced that it was not to be a traditional wrestling match, because she wanted to humiliate her, and so it would be an evening gown match to be held at Unforgiven.
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut...
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which took place on March 29, 1998 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
This pay-per-view event was notable for the involvement of boxer Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
, who acted as a ring enforcer for the main event. The main event also saw the start of Steve Austin's
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
first WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
reign. His victory in the main event, against Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
(who performed despite a severe injury and would not compete again until SummerSlam 2002
SummerSlam (2002)
SummerSlam was the fifteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on August 25, 2002 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York....
), is often cited as the beginning of the Attitude Era
The Attitude Era
The Attitude Era was a period in World Wrestling Federation and professional wrestling history that began as a direct result of the Monday Night Wars, a television ratings conflict between the WWF and longtime rival promotion World Championship Wrestling that lasted from 1995 to 2001...
.
Background
After Legion of DoomRoad Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
lost their Tag Team Championship to the New Age Outlaws
New Age Outlaws
The New Age Outlaws, later known as the James Gang and the Voodoo Kin Mafia, were a professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Maryland Championship Wrestling consisting of B.G...
, they were assaulted by the Outlaws and D-Generation X
D-Generation X
D-Generation X was a professional wrestling stable in WWE . The group originated in the midst of the WWF's "Attitude Era" from 1997 to 2000...
. At the Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1998)
Royal Rumble was the eleventh annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 18, 1998 at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California....
they lost a championship match largely because Road Dogg handcuffed Hawk to the outside of the ring. Following this they suffered two defeats by the NWA
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
members Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
and Barry Windham
Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling ....
and finally on the February 23 episode of Raw, they lost again to the New Age Outlaws when, despite having the match all but won, the non-legal Hawk did not leave the ring and while the referee was busy removing him, Animal was struck by the title belts and lost the match. Following the bout the two brawled all the way to the back and announced their dissolution, not appearing again until WrestleMania.
After the Montreal Screwjob
Montreal Screwjob
The Montreal Screwjob was a controversial, purportedly real life professional wrestling event in which the owner of the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon, double-crossed the defending WWF Champion, Bret Hart, during the main event match of the professional wrestling pay-per-view event...
, Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
was the only member of the Hart family
Hart wrestling family
The Hart wrestling family is a Canadian family with a significant history within professional wrestling. The patriarch of the family is wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Stu Hart, amateur and professional wrestler, promoter and trainer, who not only owned and operated his own wrestling...
to remain with the company, and after a temporary absence returned during In Your House: D-Generation X
D-Generation X: In Your House
D-Generation X: In Your House was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation that took place on December 7, 1997 at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.-WWF Light Heavyweight Championship tournament:The tournament to determine the...
to attack Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
. Following this he turned his attention to Hunter Hearst Hemlsley
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
and the European Championship
WWE European Championship
The WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...
that Michaels had given to Helmsley as a Christmas present. After weeks of deterring a championship match by way of a fractured kneecap, Triple H finally acquiesced to a match on January 26's Raw is War
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, only for the Artist Formerly Known as Goldust (who was dressing up from week to week in a bid for attention) to appear in Helmsley's place. After Hart won the match, WWF Commissioner Slaughter
Sgt. Slaughter
Robert Remus , better known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is an American former WWE personality and semi-retired professional wrestler. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Slaughter had success in the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, and World Wrestling...
declared the disguise so convincing that he upheld the decision and awarded the belt to Hart. On Raw, March 2, Hart defended the title against Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
, Chyna came to the ring and pushed Hart off the turnbuckle allowing Henry to lock on a bearhug
Bear hug
In wrestling, a bear hug, also known as a bodylock, is a grappling clinch hold and stand-up grappling position where the arms are wrapped around the opponent, either around the opponent's chest, midsection, or thighs; sometimes with one or both of the opponents arms pinned to the opponent's body...
, but before he could submit she gave an obvious lowblow
Groin attack
A groin attack is an attempt to cause pain to the groin area of one's opponent. The technique can be quickly debilitating, due to the large number of sensitive nerve endings in the penis and testicles of males, as well as the highly innervated vulva of females. A sufficiently powerful blow may...
to Henry, resulting in a disqualification in favour of Hart. The following week in a match against Barry Windham
Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling ....
, Hart landed awkwardly on his ankle suffering a (kayfabe
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
) injury. On a special Tuesday edition of Raw, March 17, the following week Hart joined the commentary team with a supportive case on his leg; while commentating Triple H came to the ringside and goaded him into an impromptu title defence despite his cast, during the match Chyna appeared and hit his ankle with a bat allowing Helmsley to win the title back.
Owing to his jealousy over the attention his wife and valet, Sable
Rena Mero
Rena Marlette Mero Lesnar , better known as Sable, is an American model, actress, and former professional wrestler. She is primarily known for her stints in World Wrestling Entertainment....
, was garnering from the crowd, Marc Mero
Marc Mero
Marc Mero is an American retired amateur boxer and professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as Marc Mero and with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Johnny B. Badd...
sent tried to cover up her provocative clothing and eventually sent her to the back, replacing her with The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust who at the time was dressing up from week to week in his own bid of self-attention. Although the two worked well together, Goldust's valet Luna Vachon grew vocally disdainful of Sable, who was also being mocked by Mero and Goldust, causing Sable to eventually fight back. As the two women brawled, their partners tried to separate them but when Goldust grabbed Sable to restrain her, Mero attacked him. The two men had a match on Raw where both women were handcuffed to the ringposts in order to prevent their brawling, but as the referee was knocked down, Goldust stole the key and unchained Vachon who attacked Sable with make up
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
, painting her face. Goldust then challenged Mero and Sable to a mixed tag match at WrestleMania.
After successively beating members of the Nation of Domination
Nation of Domination
The Nation of Domination was a professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Federation from November 18, 1996 to November 28, 1998. The Rock was a 1 time Intercontinental Champion and D'Lo Brown was a 2 time European Champion while in the group.-United States Wrestling Association :The...
until Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
turned on him, Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
beat the Intercontinental Champion
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
Rocky Maivia despite being hit with a foreign object
Brass knuckles
Brass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...
; The Rock convinced the referee that it was in fact he who suffered an illegal attack and the referee reversed his decision. The following month at No Way Out of Texas: In Your House
No Way Out of Texas: In Your House
No Way Out was the twentieth pay-per-view event under the In Your House name produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on February 15, 1998 at the Compaq Center in Houston, Texas...
, Shamrock capitalised on the in-fighting of the Nation, due to leadership disputes between Faarooq
Ron Simmons
Ronald "Ron" Simmons is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and retired American football player. He is recognised as being the first Black world heavyweight champion in professional wrestling and the first of only two African Americans to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship,...
and The Rock, by pinning the champion in a ten-man tag team match.
At the end of the inaugural Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood, just as The Undertaker looked to have won the match against Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
, the lights went out and a masked man came to the ring and delivered a tombstone piledriver to the shocked Undertaker. The masked man was revealed to be Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
, Undertaker's (kayfabe) half-brother and, despite the animosity and the presence of Paul Bearer, Undertaker vowed never to fight his little brother. Before Undertaker's casket match with Michaels, D-Generation X
D-Generation X
D-Generation X was a professional wrestling stable in WWE . The group originated in the midst of the WWF's "Attitude Era" from 1997 to 2000...
claimed Kane had joined them but in fact he came to the ring to assist Undertaker. The alliance was short lived, however, as during the Royal Rumble event
Royal Rumble (1998)
Royal Rumble was the eleventh annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 18, 1998 at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California....
Kane came to the ring and locked Undertaker in his casket before setting it ablaze, presuming his brother dead. On the March 2 edition of Raw is War
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Kane's opponent, Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
, was taken out by DX and with nothing to do, Bearer ordered the time keeper to deliver a ten-bell salute
Ten-bell salute
In professional wrestling, a ten-bell salute is given to honor a wrestler that has died, especially when that wrestler is a current member of the promotion or a distinguished former member of the promotion...
for The Undertaker's passing, before telling Kane to tombstone him. After he did, more bells were heard to ring, this time signalling Undertaker's theme music. The ringing continued much longer than normal, with Bearer denying the possibility of it being the Deadman. Eventually a sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
appeared on the top of the ramp and after lightning struck it, The Undertaker sat up before revealing that he had been through hell and talked to his parents to tell them that he would have to go back on his vow. The week before WrestleMania, Kane came to the ring and began to display similar supernatural powers as his brother, striking the TitanTron
Jumbotron
A JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
with lightning, as well as the announce table, before striking a crew worker with lightning, setting him on fire; Undertaker was shown on the same episode speaking to his parents' gravestones, revealing it may have to take the damnation of his soul to reunite the troubled family.
In January, Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
won the Royal Rumble while Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
retained his WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
, both under the auspices of Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
from the director's box. The following week on Raw is War
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
revealed that Tyson would be the special guest referee for WrestleMania's main event until Austin appeared and gave the finger
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
to Tyson, offering him a fight and proclaiming the wrestling ring to be his, not Tyson's. At the ensuing press conference, McMahon announced that due to the explosive situation Tyson's role was being changed to that of ring enforcer. On February 2, in a scheduled match against Road Dogg
Brian Gerard James
Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
, D-Generation X
D-Generation X
D-Generation X was a professional wrestling stable in WWE . The group originated in the midst of the WWF's "Attitude Era" from 1997 to 2000...
stormed the match and tied Austin in the ropes, shouting abuse in his face and rubbing the Championship belt in his face, taunting him with it until Cactus Jack
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
and Chainsaw Charlie
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
came to his aid. The following week Austin stole the belt from Michaels in the hope of baiting him in a singles match but the partnership of D-Generation X and New Age Outlaws
New Age Outlaws
The New Age Outlaws, later known as the James Gang and the Voodoo Kin Mafia, were a professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Maryland Championship Wrestling consisting of B.G...
continued. This led to a "non-sanctioned" eight-man tag match at No Way Out of Texas: In Your House
No Way Out of Texas: In Your House
No Way Out was the twentieth pay-per-view event under the In Your House name produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on February 15, 1998 at the Compaq Center in Houston, Texas...
, which Michaels declined to participate in and that Austin won by pinning Road Dogg. With WrestleMania drawing closer, on March 2 Tyson appeared once again to be interviewed only for Michaels to interrupt and challenge Tyson to a fight. After both entourages left the ring, the two grabbed at each other until Michaels ripped Tyson's shirt revealing a DX t-shirt showing the enforcer's degenerate alliance; later in the evening Austin came out to take place in a match against Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
he saw Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
on the ramp and walked over to him, only to turn round into Sweet Chin Music which knocked him out, something that occurred again the following week. Also that week, a St. Patrick's Day Tuesday broadcast of Raw on March 17, Austin called out Vince McMahon and attacked him for describing Tyson as 'the baddest man on the planet' but McMahon would not be goaded into a fight, instead he forced Austin to fight Rocky Maivia the following episode just, before WrestleMania.
Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Jerry Lawler Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional... |
| Jim Ross Jim Ross James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand... |
|
| Carlos Cabrera Carlos Cabrera Carlos Rodrigo Cabrera is a former newsman and currently employed with WWE, where he is one half of the company's Spanish announce team in which he is the play-by-play announcer. His longtime broadcast partner was the former Ecuadorian professional wrestler Hugo Savinovich, who was the color... |
|
| Tito Santana Tito Santana Merced Solis better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation... |
|
| Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich is a former Ecuadorian professional wrestler, formerly employed with WWE, where he was one half of the Spanish announce team for the company's TV shows and pay-per-view events. He was a color commentator and partner of Carlos Cabrera and occasionally Marcelo Rodríguez. When he... |
|
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel Howard Finkel Howard Finkel is a professional wrestling ring announcer currently working with WWE in a variety of roles. Hired in 1975 by Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation, "The Fink" was the first person brought in to Vincent K... |
| Gennifer Flowers Gennifer Flowers Gennifer Flowers is a model and actress who allegedly had a sexual relationship with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Prior to Bill Clinton's presidency, she also posed nude for Penthouse magazine and was an actress in two films and one TV show... |
|
| Pete Rose Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989.... |
|
| Interviewer | Gennifer Flowers Gennifer Flowers Gennifer Flowers is a model and actress who allegedly had a sexual relationship with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Prior to Bill Clinton's presidency, she also posed nude for Penthouse magazine and was an actress in two films and one TV show... |
| Referee | Mike Chioda Mike Chioda Michael Joseph "Mike" Chioda, is a senior referee who is currently signed to WWE. While not refereeing, Chioda, as well as the other referees in WWE, help set up the arena before shows, constructing the ring and stage areas.-WWF:... |
| Jim Korderas Jim Korderas __FORCETOC__Demetrius Korderas , better known by his referee name, Jim "Jimmy" Korderas is a Canadian professional wrestling referee who worked for World Wrestling Entertainment for over 22 years.-Early career:... |
|
| Jack Doan Jack Doan John Michael "Jack" Doan is a veteran professional wrestling referee currently signed with WWE.-Career:Doan joined WWE in October 1991 as a truck driver. From there, he took robes from Superstars at ringside, played music at shows, worked as part of the ring crew, and continued to drive the... |
|
| Tim White Tim White (wrestling) Timothy Rhys White is a former professional wrestling referee. He worked with World Wrestling Entertainment as a producer on the SmackDown! brand... |
|
| Mike Tyson Mike Tyson Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old... |
Pre-show
Chris WarrenChris Warren (musician)
Christopher Warren is an American musician who has performed in numerous bands. He is currently the singer in...
opened the show by singing America the Beautiful
America the Beautiful
"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and the music composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward....
before the broadcast went to air.
Preliminary matches
The night began with the secret guests in the tag team battle royal being revealed as the united Legion of DoomRoad Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
, with Sunny
Tammy Lynn Sytch
Tamara "Tammy" Lynn Sytch is an American professional wrestling manager, personality,and occasional wrestler. She achieved her greatest success under the ring name Sunny within the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, and is widely considered as one of the first Divas...
as their new valet. Savio Vega
Savio Vega
Juan Rivera is a professional wrestler best known under the name Savio Vega. During the mid-late 1990s, he was an active wrestler in the World Wrestling Federation...
was first eliminated, meaning his tag team partner, Miguel Perez
Miguel Pérez, Jr.
Miguel Perez, Jr. is a professional wrestler who competed as a member of the Los Boricuas stable led by Savio Vega from June 1997 to October 1998 in the World Wrestling Federation.-ECW and WWF:Pérez is the son of Miguel Pérez, Sr...
, had to leave too. Kurrgan
Robert Maillet
Robert Maillet is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He is known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation, as a member of the Truth Commission and the Oddities, wrestling under the name Kurrgan....
illegally entered the ring to enact revenge on Sniper
Luc Poirier
Luc Poirier is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler, better known under the name Rambo.-Career:Poirier was trained by Edouard Carpentier and Gino Brito and debuted in 1982. In the early 1980s, he joined the Montreal-based International Wrestling Association as the hooded "Masked Marvel"...
and Recon
Barry Buchanan
Barry Buchanan is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances as Bull Buchanan and B-2 in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment.-National Championship Wrestling :...
on behalf of The Jackyl
Don Callis
Don Callis is a Canadian former professional wrestler and manager, known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as The Jackyl, and Extreme Championship Wrestling as color commentator Cyrus.-Early life:...
, Barry Windham also illegally entered to eliminate Chainz
Brian Lee
Brian Lee Harris is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Prime Time" Brian Lee...
, and so left his partner Bradshaw
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
. The final four teams lasted a while until Skull was eliminated by Phineas
Dennis Knight
Dennis Knight is a retired American professional wrestler best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment as Phineas I. Godwinn and Mideon.-Career:...
. When The Godwinns were thrown out, they returned and attacked the LOD with slop buckets before leaving. New Midnight Express tried to keep Animal
Road Warrior Animal
Joseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior...
out of the ring while double teaming Hawk
Road Warrior Hawk
Michael James Hegstrand was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered as Road Warrior Hawk, one half of the tag team known as the Road Warriors or The Legion of Doom , with Road Warrior Animal.-Early life:While living in Chicago, Hegstrand met Joe Lauranaitis, who would be later...
but once he re-entered the Legion simultaneously eliminated both Bob
Bob Holly
Robert "Bob" Howard better known by his ring name Bob "Hardcore" Holly, is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year stint with World Wrestling Entertainment ....
and Bart, leaving them the last team standing.
The second bout was a Light Heavyweight Championship
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
The World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 220 lbs.- History :...
match, with Taka Michinoku defending his title against Águila
Mr. Águila
José Seldano is a Mexican professional wrestler or luchador currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre...
; this would be the first and only time the championship was defended at WrestleMania, though its successor the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and was originally a World Championship Wrestling title. It was challenged by cruiserweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs...
would be. After throwing Taka out the ring and baseball sliding
Slide (baseball)
In baseball, a slide is when a player, acting as a baserunner, drops his body to the ground once he is very close to the base he is approaching and slides along the ground to reach the base....
into him, Águila hit an asai moonsault outside the ring, but was soon the victim of a springboard crossbody after Taka reversed a suplex
Suplex
A suplex is an offensive move used in professional sport wrestling . The move consists of one wrestler picking up his or her opponent off the ground and then using a large portion of his or her own body weight to drive the opponent down on the mat. Nearly all suplexes have the attacker going down...
from the apron. Águila almost won the match with a moonsault crossbody into a pin but remained on the offensive with a frankensteiner. Taka tried to land the Michinoku Driver but as Aguila flipped out and attempted a hurricarana, Taka managed a powerbomb
Powerbomb
A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted up and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a standing headscissors position...
reversal. He soon stopped a high flying dive with a dropkick before successfully executing a Michinoku Driver and picking up the win. After the match, both contestants shook each other's hand and celebrated together. Also, partway into the matchup, Jim Ross made a fleeting comment about the date of Taka's title win, December 7, the date of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, calling it "ironic enough". This incident went largely unnoticed, only causing a slight stir in the wrestling community.
Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
made his way to the ring with his theme played by the DX Band
Chris Warren (musician)
Christopher Warren is an American musician who has performed in numerous bands. He is currently the singer in...
. Before Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
came to the ring, Commissioner Slaughter
Sgt. Slaughter
Robert Remus , better known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is an American former WWE personality and semi-retired professional wrestler. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Slaughter had success in the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, and World Wrestling...
handcuffed himself to Chyna so that she would not interfere, despite her protestations. The match began with Hart pummelling Helmsley with fists before sliding out of the ring, when Triple H tried to jump from the apron he met with the crowd barrier. After an early powerbomb Hart attempted to lock in the sharpshooter
Sharpshooter (professional wrestling)
The Sharpshooter, originally named Sasori-gatame, Scorpion Hold in English, is a professional wrestling submission hold. The move is also known by several other names: cloverleaf leg-lace Boston crab, standing reverse figure-four leglock, and, the most commonly known alternative, Scorpion Deathlock...
but Helmsley reversed it and started some offensive manoeuvres of his own, kicking Hart in the turnbuckle and delivering a suplex. Hart suffered a cut to the bridge of his nose from a boot to the face, after which Triple H began to work on Hart's damaged ankle, dropping his knee onto it and stretching it. After avoiding another kick to the face and pulling Helmsley's crotch onto the ring post, and managed to take advantage, reversing a powerbomb into the sharpshooter but Chyna, having to pull Sgt. Slaughter, pulled Triple H to the rope for the break. Chyna then threw white powder in Slaughter's face causing a worried Hart to check on him, as he turned round to face the ring, Chyna low-blowed him from outside allowing Triple H to successfully land the pedigree on him and take the win. After she was freed from the handcuffs, Chyna shoved Slaughter into the crowd.
Marc Mero
Marc Mero
Marc Mero is an American retired amateur boxer and professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as Marc Mero and with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Johnny B. Badd...
and Goldust began the match but Goldust soon tagged in Luna Vachon, requiring Sable
Rena Mero
Rena Marlette Mero Lesnar , better known as Sable, is an American model, actress, and former professional wrestler. She is primarily known for her stints in World Wrestling Entertainment....
to be tagged in too. However, Vachon simple ran around the outside of the ring with Sable chasing her and tagged her partner back in. Wanting to get her hands on Vachon, Sable double teamed Goldust with a boot to the face after an Irish whip from Mero but could not get Vachon to enter the ring. An near pinfall came from a running crossbody from Mero and following this the two ran into each other, causing both men to crawl and tag in the women. Sable straddled Vachon and punched her round the face before kicking her in the mid-section and face in the turnbuckle and attacking Goldust, then running back to clothesline Vachon over the ropes. Vachon tagged Goldust in but before Sable would do the same, she struck him in the face, then letting Mero take over who had his TKO reversed into a DDT
DDT (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a front facelock, and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat...
. Mero too would reverse the Curtain Call allowing him the chance to try a moonsault pin to a standing Goldust. After Vachon struck a running Mero with his knee, Mero went to punch her but ducked out of the way as Goldust ran to her rescue, causing him to inadvertently knock her off the apron. Mero then executed the TKO but Luna interrupted the pin count, jumping on Mero's back resulting in Sable tagging in as Mero wandered around the ring with Vachon on his back. Sable tried pinning Goldust but the referee was distracted and as he finally began to count, Sable leapt off Goldust so the interfering Vachon would inadvertently bodysplash Goldust. Sable then performed a powerbomb and Mero's TKO to win the bout.
The Intercontinental title
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
fight began along the walkway with a brawl that saw Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...
whipped into the steel steps before coming inside the ring. Rocky Maivia then delivered his People's Elbow but could not secure a three-count. Shamrock then rolled out of the ring and grabbed steel steps and when the referee tried to take it off him, he threw the referee into the corner; The Rock quickly grabbed the steps and hit Shamrock with it as the referee recovered. Shamrock pushed out of the pin count and quickly gained the advantage, delivering a belly to belly slam off an Irish whip and then securing his ankle lock in the center of the ring, making The Rock tap. The surrounding members of the Nation jumped into the ring but Shamrock quickly dispatched them all with suplexes, including the four hundred pound Henry, before reapplying the ankle lock to a bleeding Maivia. Faarooq
Ron Simmons
Ronald "Ron" Simmons is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and retired American football player. He is recognised as being the first Black world heavyweight champion in professional wrestling and the first of only two African Americans to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship,...
then ran down from the back and jumped onto the apron, only to look on at The Rock with a smile, before walking away. Eventually a number of referees and officials appeared trying to subdue Shamrock, after being surrounded he suplexed a referee and then an official before calming down as The Rock was wheeled away on a gurney. Howard Finkel then announced Shamrock had been disqualified for not breaking his ankle hold causing Shamrock to chase Rock and fight him on the Chris Warren band stage.
The Tag Team Championship match began with Billy Gunn
Monty Sopp
Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James...
facing Chainsaw Charlie
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
and Road Dogg
Brian Gerard James
Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
exchanging blows with Cactus Jack
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
. Trying a Cactus Elbow on Road Dogg, Cactus missed and slammed himself into the dumpster. The Outlaws then focused on Charlie, using a back toss to drop him into the dumpster and as he attempted to climb out they simultaneously slammed the lid shut on the hardcore legends' heads. With Cactus and Charlie both in the dumpster, the Outlaws shut the lid down on them but Cactus managed to get back up while the Outlaws were celebrating and pushed Road Dogg down to the ground with a mandible claw, pulling him into the dumpster. Both teams took time to recover and began to brawl with weapons in the ring, Cactus Jack pulling out a ladder and climbing it opposite Billy Gunn, only to be pushed off straight into the dumpster outside the ring by a falling Chainsaw Charlie. Road Dogg pulled his partner out and the two focussed their efforts on Charlie, powerbombing him into the dumpster, however Cactus had managed to escape in the meantime. The fight found its way to the backstage area, with both Outlaws throwing Cactus into boxes and promotional toys but Jack replied with a chair shot to both of them and pulled Billy Gunn onto a wooden crate with a double-arm DDT. Charlie reappeared on a forklift
Forklift truck
A forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and transport materials. The modern forklift was developed in the 1920s by various companies including the transmission manufacturing company Clark and the hoist company Yale & Towne Manufacturing...
and elevated the wooden crate as Jack dragged Road Dogg onto it too. Charlie then drove the forklift above a backstage dumpster and dropped both opponents inside as Cactus Jack closed the lid to win the World Tag Team Championship.
Main event matches
Before The Undertaker's match with KaneKane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
, baseball record-holder Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
came to the ring as the special ring announcer. However, after insulting the home-town team and introducing Kane, the wrestler gave him a tombstone piledriver starting a tri-year tradition. The Undertaker was preceded by a league of torch-bearing
Torch
A torch is a fire source, usually a rod-shaped piece of wood with a rag soaked in pitch and/or some other flammable material wrapped around one end. Torches were often supported in sconces by brackets high up on walls, to throw light over corridors in stone structures such as castles or crypts...
druids to the tune of O Fortuna
O Fortuna
"O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the thirteenth century, part of the collection known as the Carmina Burana. It is a complaint about fate, and Fortuna, a goddess in Roman mythology and personification of luck....
. The Undertaker cornered Kane and threw a flurry of punches into him, ducking and reversing Kane's attempts until Kane hit him with a clothesline that he instantly sat up from. Kane then set Undertaker up in a tree of woe to begin his assault of punches and Irish whips and then suplexing Undertaker onto the ropes and delivering a flying club to the neck from the turnbuckle. As Undertaker began to fight back, Kane threw him into the ropes but his brother retaliated by jumping onto his back, which was met a face-first electric chair. Paul Bearer kept the referee distracted while Kane landed the steel steps onto Undertaker, and repeated the effort a second time while his opponent was lying onto the steps, crushing him between. As the referee tried to keep Kane in check, Bearer slapped Undertaker while walking past him. Kane caught his brother running and delivered a chokeslam
Chokeslam
A chokeslam refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on camera...
but lifted his shoulders off the mat before the three count could be made, putting him into a sleeper hold that Undertaker eventually fought out of with a flurry of punches. Undertaker then dropped Kane on top of the ropes and punched him off the apron; he followed this with an over the top rope suicide dive that Kane managed to side step, sending Undertaker crashing through the Spanish announce table. As Undertaker made it back into the ring, Kane hit him with a flying lariat. Undertaker tried to give Kane the Tombstone Piledriver, but Kane managed to weigh himself backwards onto his own feet and deliver the tombstone himself. Undertaker kicked out and after landing his opponent with a clothesline, he chokeslammed Kane and then delivered a tombstone piledriver of his own; but Kane kicked out. It would eventually take three tombstones with a guillotine leg drop and flying clothesline in between to stop Kane kicking out and sitting up but as soon as the match was over Bearer attacked Undertaker and ordered Kane attack him, which he did with a chair shot to the head and then a tombstone piledriver onto the chair. After Kane and Bearer left, Undertaker sat up and left the ring.
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
enforcing from ring side, the WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
fight began with both superstars dancing around each other, engaging in a few light punches before Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
escaped the ring and ran back in to take advantage of Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
, but was met with a standing clothesline. Austin followed up by pulling down Michaels' trunks revealing his rear. Michaels tried to run at Austin but was flipped over the top rope into Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
and Chyna. As Triple H threw Austin through the crowd barrier, the referee ordered him and Chyna to leave ringside but Austin followed and fought with them up to the entrance way. Michaels caught up with him and hit Austin with a cymbal from the band stage, before Irish whipping him into the dumpster. As the match resumed in the ring, Austin met Michaels high-risk maneuver with a clothesline and then ran him into the turnbuckle and picking him up for an inverted atomic drop. Michaels attempt to pick up some momentum saw him picked up and dropped onto the ropes but Michaels managed to push Stone Cold away as he attempted a stunner. When he tried to escape the ring though, Austin shoved him forcing the champion to fall upon the announce table. After Stone Cold slowed the match down with a sleeper, Michaels tried to pull his knee into the ring post but was instead pulled into it himself. Austin then tried to rush at Michaels but was back tossed into the crowd and struck with the ring bell. Michaels used the momentum to take advantage inside the ring, delivering a snapmare and then a low kick to the grounded Austin but as he took time to offend the audience
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
Stone Cold briefly picked up some speed throwing Michaels out of the ring but just as quickly lost ground as his opponent repeatedly worked on Austin's left knee, throwing it into the ring post and then kicking and dropping onto it back inside the ring. When Austin tried to recover outside of the ring, he was met with a baseball slide launching him over the announce table and was instantly thrown back into the ring by Tyson where he soon suffered a figure four leg lock that Michaels illegally elevated using the second and third ring rope. Austin's eventual counter was stopped by a rope break. Austin then tried to reverse a standing sleeper hold by throwing Michaels back into the turnbuckle but unwittingly trapped referee Mike Chioda who fell unconscious. With both men on the floor, HBK recovered with a kip-up and landed a high-flying elbow drop, getting in position to taunt for his finisher. As Austin eventually stood up, he ducked the super kick, attempting a stunner on Michaels as he turned round only to be thrown into the ropes and met again with a Sweet Chin Music which he grabbed, spinning Michaels round and finishing with a Stone Cold stunner. Tyson jumped into the ring to make a quick three count and the new champion celebrated by tossing the enforcer an Austin 3:16 t-shirt. When Shawn Michaels stood up, he confronted Tyson about his turn but was met with a punch that instantly floored him, and draped with Austin's t-shirt.
Aftermath
The result of main event heralded a changing of the guard in the World Wrestling Federation. Shawn Michaels, who had been a major superstar in the company for many years, having won his first WWF Championship at WrestleMania two years previouslyWrestleMania XII
-Other on-screen talent:-External links:**...
, took a four year hiatus from wrestling due to injuries sustained in the casket match against Undertaker at the Royal Rumble. He made several ostensible one-off appearances as a guest commentator during episodes of Raw in the summer of 1998, and eventually replacing Sgt. Slaughter as commissioner at the end of the year, holding onto the position for a year and a half. After what was supposed to be a one-time match four years later at SummerSlam (2002)
SummerSlam (2002)
SummerSlam was the fifteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on August 25, 2002 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York....
, Michaels and the now renamed World Wrestling Entertainment realized that his injuries had healed, and he made a full-time return to wrestling.
With Steve Austin winning the main event, the Attitude Era was fully ushered in. Although the scratch logo had started to replace the New Generation logo, it began to appear on ring aprons and promotional work during and after this event. The next night on Raw after WrestleMania the old WWF "winged eagle" world championship belt was retired, and a new belt design with a larger eagle and blue globe debuted (eventually being retired in 2002). The Attitude Era saw Austin's feud with Vince McMahon escalate and a month after, Raw is War beat WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
in the ratings war
Monday Night Wars
Monday Night Wars is the common term describing the period of mainstream televised American professional wrestling from September 4, 1995, to March 26, 2001. During this time, the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw went head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling's Monday Nitro in a...
for the first time in eighty-five weeks.
Shawn Michaels' loss was criticized by Triple H the following night on Raw, blaming him for overlooking Tyson's potential double-cross. He delivered a promo saying that he would now helm D-Generation X and turn it into an army and "the first thing you do is look to your blood. You look to your buddies. You look to your friends. You look to the Kliq," and introduced a returning Sean Waltman
Sean Waltman
Sean Michael Waltman is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE in their developmental program. He wrestled there under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac off and on from 1993–2002, World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Syxx, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ...
, under the X-Pac persona, who had jumped ship from World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
. Later in the evening it was revealed that Road Dogg
Brian Gerard James
Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
and Billy Gunn
Monty Sopp
Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James...
were also part of the DX Army.
The ongoing saga between The Undertaker and Kane continued unabated. The following night Paul Bearer challenged Undertaker to a match at Unforgiven where the ring would be surrounded by fire and the first man to be set alight would lose, thus giving birth to the Inferno Match.
By winning the fifteen-team battle royal, LOD 2000 won the right to face the Tag Team Champions at Unforgiven. The champions by rights were Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie, however some legal wrangling from the New Age Outlaws saw the match held up on account of the wrong dumpster being used. The vacant titles were disputed in a steel cage match the following night, which the Outlaws won after interference from the newly formed DX, concreting their ties, and by handcuffing Charlie to the cage by his neck. Charlie returned to his Terry Funk persona whilst Cactus Jack became Dude Love again while the Outlaws became part of the DX Army achieving further success.
In a tag team match against Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman, The Rock promised to show Faarooq that the Nation was stronger and more connected than before. The promise was a sour one as during the match, Rock left Faarooq to suffer the wrath of Shamrock and Blackman and afterwards Faarooq demanded Rock come back out so the two could fight. When Rock returned and squared up to Faarooq, the other members of the Nation turned on him and The Rock proclaimed himself as the new leader.
Before Marc Mero's match with Taka Michinoku the next night, Vachon appeared and challenged Sable to a singles match just between the two of them which Sable promptly accepted. Vachon also announced that it was not to be a traditional wrestling match, because she wanted to humiliate her, and so it would be an evening gown match to be held at Unforgiven.