The Main Events of Wrestlemania 13

[#heel420]

The main events of Wrestlemania 13 were Undertaker Vs. WWF Champion Sycho Sid Vicious and Bret Hart Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Now The WWF Title was the proverbial hot potato in early 1997. Shawn Michaels beat Sid for the title at the Royal Rumble. Michaels vacated the title on Thursday Raw Thursday not long after he won it. At the In Your House: Final Four pay per view in February Bret Hart defeated Steve Austin, Undertaker & Vader to claim the title. Sid beat Bret for the belt the very next night. Then The Undertaker won the Championship at Wrestlemania.

This brings me to my questions. Does anybody know of the original plans for the main event of WM13? And if Shawn never "lost his smile" what do you think the top of the card would have looked like?

 

[lil bitch Kid]

The original plan was for Shawn to put Bret over for the title. At the end of the day, for the E, things ended up FAR better. HBK did just fine in the end. Taker got the strap at the big show, even though rumors persist that Sid crapped hi shorts right before the tombstone. Ultimately the only person truly hurt by this was Bret.

 

[Swarles Barkley]

even though rumors persist that Sid crapped hi shorts right before the tombstone.

These rumours are false. I heard Taker tell the story initially when he was on Off the Record on TSN about 10-15 years ago (it might have been during WWF Week on OTR during the week of WrestleMania X-8, which was in Toronto). He said he had a match with Sid at a house show and he crapped himself. It wasn't at Mania.

AS for the OP's question, the main event was supposed to be a rematch between Bret and Shawn with HBK dropping the belt to Bret. Other than that, I don't know what other matches were planned. I wonder if Taker vs. Austin would have been on the card or if Sid would have still faced Taker. That makes me wonder just who Austin may have fought had Bret been with Shawn and Taker with Sid. Worked out better for Steve Austin that Shawn "lost his smile." The match with Bret was the turning point for him.

 

[JJ15776]

The rumor is Shawn Michaels was supposed to put over Bret Hart. Had Shawn not "lost his smile" (aka legitimately injured his knee, funny how people forget that) the main events probably would've looked like this:

Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Bret Hart for the WWE Championship
Undertaker vs. Sycho Sid
Ken Shamrock vs. Steve Austin

Obviously the show would've been better if this was the card, but things turned out fine in the long run.

 

[Nate DaMac]

The rumor is Shawn Michaels was supposed to put over Bret Hart. Had Shawn not "lost his smile" (aka legitimately injured his knee, funny how people forget that) the main events probably would've looked like this:

Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Bret Hart for the WWE Championship
Undertaker vs. Sycho Sid
Ken Shamrock vs. Steve Austin

Obviously the show would've been better if this was the card, but things turned out fine in the long run.

The card would have been better? Hart vs. Austin is one of Wrestlemania's best matches of all time, much better than anything I've seen Hart and Michaels do together. I'd much rather keep the card the same then switch it to this shit you're suggesting.

 

[MaverickMeyer]

Original plan was for Shawn to drop the belt to Bret in a WM 12 rematch, where I believe Bret would have dropped it back either at SummerSlam 97 or WM 14

 

[Judah's Lion]

The card would have been better? Hart vs. Austin is one of Wrestlemania's best matches of all time, much better than anything I've seen Hart and Michaels do together.

agree and disagree here. Hart/Austin at Mania 13 is one of the best matches of all time, Mania related or not. it was totally epic on a number of levels and was very influential setting up the Attitude Era with the double switch as Austin turned heel to face and Hart turned face to heel. Austin passing out with blood running down his face is one of the most iconic images in the history of Mania and for sure the career of Stone Cold.

that said, Hart/HBK have put on some clinics of their own. the year prior in fact at Mania 12 in an Iron Man Match. that's also one of the best matches of all time, Mania related or not. and it was HBK's first WHC run as the "boyhood dream" came true. great wrestling with a great story. they fought a couple of times in the few years leading to that match also and were very good. one was the very first ladder match in WWE for the IC Title and it was good. they also fought at Survivor Series, again with Hart holding the title, i think circa 91-92? also an excellent match.

so i wouldn't say that HBK/Hart in a rematch for the title would have sucked or that the entire show would have suffered if the original plan (which i've heard a number of times was for HBK to drop the title back to Hart) did in fact happen.

however, i am glad for the way things turned out long-term...
1. Taker reclaimed the world title after a rip-off first run. he held the title till Summerslam, which was reasonable.
2. Hart/Austin put on a clinic, pulled the double switch, and both did some of the best work of their careers in the following year.
3. Taker/Hart were set up for Summerslam which saw HBK return as the special guest referee. HBK nailed Taker with the chair, costing him the title.
4. due to the events of Summerslam, HBK and Taker began an intense feud that led to the first ever Hell in a Cell match, and on a side note, the debut of Kane.
5. HBK/Hart fought for the world title at Survivor Series in the now infamous Montreal Screw Job.
6. HBK/Taker continued their feud that culminated with a Casket Match at the Royal Rumble. HBK retained as Kane turned on Taker -- meanwhile, Austin won the Rumble Match.
7. Mania 14 sees Taker finally face his brother Kane and defeat him. also, HBK drops the world title to Austin, ushering in the Austin Era and starting the greatest rivalry of all time in Austin/McMahon.

so given the evidence of the events from Mania 13 to Mania 14, you'd have to say that things worked out well. maybe better than originally planned.

 

[boozinjedi]

The main event for WM13 was a match thast should've happened 5 years sooner!!
By the time WM13 rolled around you called already tell that injuries were starting to take their toll on Sid,Had they fought at WM8 when they both were still on great shape...the streak probably would've stopped at 1!!

 

[theHeadliner]

If Michaels didn't forfeit the belt, he should have went over Bret again. He was Vince's new guy, it was obvious... I've heard Shawn claim "the finish wasn't gonna be put Bret over, and that was gonna piss him off even more." That's a word for word quote from his RF shoot, but who knows how full of shit he was. To me, him getting saved by the bell at the Iron Man Match could be considered weak, and then losing it immediately back to Bret, when Michaels put him over constantly when he was on the rise, which played into Bret's success, wouldn't be as good of a business decision. On a side note, I don't get why Michaels was such a prick. He came from a strong military family, you think he would have had discipline, honor, and character..

 

[smarty_jannetty]

Austin v Undertaker could have worked well, with Austin losing but looking good in defeat, although I am glad he had the match with Bret. By Steve's own admission, this is the match that started his proper main event push in WWE

 

[BrianIngham]

Glad I came upon this article...I've actually been working on a book for ECW Press all about the history of WrestleMania. I've had the honor of getting to sit down with multiple former talents as well as former members of Creative who have thankfully spoken openly and honestly about everything. I'm very excited about this project and hope to do more interviews in the near future. Anyways, gratuitous book plug aside..

The original plan once HBK won the title at WM12 was for him to drop the title back to Bret at WrestleMania 13 once Bret returned from shooting Lonesome Dove. As time went on, those plans changed. Vince decided that he did want Hart to face HBK, but not for the title. He wanted Sid to be champ and face Taker, and wanted HBK/Hart to face each other in a Ladder Match w/ HBK's hair on the line. Bret was scheduled to win this match, and shave HBK bald! Imagine that!

 

[BrianIngham]

Feb 3rd 1997, Vince & Hart sat down to go over what exactly he wanted to do with Hart. He told Bret that at a Thursday TV taping in Lowell, Bret would screw Shawn out of the title in a match against Sid. Later that month, at In Your House, Shawn would return the favor during the Fatal Fourway, screwing Bret out of the title. Vince felt that HBK/Hart for the title was too predictable and wanted to change it….Shawn’s injury wasn’t known of until Feb 13th. The Fatal Fourway was planned all along, as was the Taker/Sid championship match.

 

[theHeadliner]

Feb 3rd 1997, Vince & Hart sat down to go over what exactly he wanted to do with Hart. He told Bret that at a Thursday TV taping in Lowell, Bret would screw Shawn out of the title in a match against Sid. Later that month, at In Your House, Shawn would return the favor during the Fatal Fourway, screwing Bret out of the title. Vince felt that HBK/Hart for the title was too predictable and wanted to change it….Shawn’s injury wasn’t known of until Feb 13th. The Fatal Fourway was planned all along, as was the Taker/Sid championship match.

That's from Bret's book... I also read where the finish was supposed to be Bret catches Shawn's foot and "snaps" his ankle, beating him, then he comes back after time off and chases Bret. I think that was Bret's idea and never OK'd by Vince. He documented everything he and Vince said and not once did Vince tell Bret he was beating Shawn at WM13 in his book. If he had that kind of evidence, I think he would have used it.

 

[BrianIngham]

It's in Bret's book, and it's been told to me personally. I'm hoping to have interview posted too once I can actually get my site up and running...need to hire someone, don't know what I'm doing.

 

[BrianIngham]

Speaking of, if anyone on here is good with building a site, let me know. I would definetly love the help getting things set up, uploading videos/interviews, etc. Haven't done much research on the matter, so any help would be very appreciated. Could pay, but not much. Thanks!

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

WWF did a great job in late 96 and early 97 of mixing their main event talnt with each other. At the time the pool consisted of:

Bret Hart
Shawn Michaels
Undertaker
Sid
Stone Cold
Vader
Mankind (a case can be made for him)

Each wrestler on this list was involved with multiple wrestlers on the list so WWF could have gone in any direction with WrestleMania. I think that's part of the reason why there are so many different stories as to original plans for the card. Since there were so many options, cases can be made for any combination of matches.

 

[HBsam31]

Bret and Shawn for the title at Mania 13 would have been great, but I think things turned out for the best. We got Austin/Hart submission match with the great double turn, and Taker finally got a real chance to carry the title. That main event was not very good, but Taker deserved the belt at that time. It's funny how things turn out for the best sometimes.

 

[theHeadliner]

In their Rivalries DVD, Shawn said they asked if he wanted to have a match with Bret and he said no, that he didn't want to work with him, saying "are we moving forward or going back," and out of resentment mostly. He didn't feel Bret supported him in the same way Shawn supported Bret when he was on top of the card, and he felt Bret was working him over by trashing him in everything with personal jabs, even though some of it was drug-fueld paranoia on Shawn's part. He claimed that he was asked to "work" with Bret, not drop the belt, in the RF shoot, OTR, and his book.