Wrestlemania 14: A Retrospective Look

[Dagger Dias]

This thread is part of a series of threads looking back on the previous Wrestlemania events, one by one, up until Wrestlemania 30 which is just a little more than a month away. We are almost halfway through, with this being the 14th of 29 topics in the thread series. Every couple of days I will post another topic until all 29 have been covered in time for the big day in April.

We are discussing Wrestlemania 14 this time around....!

Wrestlemania 14 was held on March 29, 1998. It took place at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts. There were 19,028 fans in attendance. Let's take a look at the results of this event:



1. L.O.D. 2000 (Hawk and Animal) (with Sunny) won by last eliminating The New Midnight Express (Bombastic Bob and Bodacious Bart) (with Jim Cornette) in a 15-team battle royal to determine the number one contenders to the WWF Tag Team Championship (08:19)

2. Taka Michinoku (c) defeated Aguila in a singles match to retain the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (05:47)

3. Triple H (c) (with Chyna) defeated Owen Hart in a singles match to retain the WWF European Championship (11:27)

4. Marc Mero and Sable defeated The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust and Luna in a mixed tag team match (09:05)

5. The Rock (c) (with Kama Mustafa, Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown) defeated Ken Shamrock by disqualification in a singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship (If the Rock gets disqualified, he will lose the title to Ken Shamrock) (04:49)

6. Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie defeated The New Age Outlaws (c) (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) in a dumpster match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship (10:00)

7. The Undertaker defeated Kane (with Paul Bearer) in a singles match (16:48)

8. Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Shawn Michaels (c) (with Triple H and Chyna) in a singles match to win the WWF Championship with Mike Tyson as the special outside enforcer (20:01)



Now, here are some discussion questions concerning the event:

What was your favorite match on this show, and why did you like it the most? What about the worst match of this show, why did you like it the least?

If you could change a few things about Wrestlemania 14, what would it be and why?

You may only use wrestlers who were available at the roster at that time or make changes that could have realistically taken place in March 1998. Please keep in mind the situations going into the show such as who could actually have been pushed into a title match, or what songs existed back then if you wanted to change the show's theme music, and so forth.

You may only discuss Wrestlemania 14 in this thread. The other Wrestlemania events will be getting their own retrospective threads shortly, any posts regarding other events will be considered spam and you risk getting an infraction.

Discuss!

 

[The Brain]

This was one of the better manias and after a lackluster build the year before the excitement of WrestleMania was back big time in 1998. My favorite match was Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin in the main event. This felt like a big main event especially with the inclusion of Mike Tyson. The match itself wasn't the classic it should have been considering the wrestlers involved but that's forgivable since both guys were battling serious injuries at the time. It was still a very good match even though it wasn't the great match it could have been.

My least favorite match was Taka Michinoki vs. Aguila. The WWF had just introduced the light heavyweight title a few months earlier and Taka was their main guy in that division. The problem was they didn't bother to build anyone else up. Aguila was nobody to WWF fans and would have been easily interchangeable with any other luchador we didn't know. If WWF didn't care enough about their new division to create worthy challengers why should I care about their title match at mania?

One change I would have made would be the IC title match. It should have been The Rock defending against Faarooq. There was a power struggle between Rock and Faarooq for a few months and it was about to explode going into mania. The tease of the fallout was nicely done and the match between the two should have taken place at mania. It seemed so obvious and I was very disappointed when Ken Shamrock was announced as Rock's opponent. Shamrock could have just wrestled Jeff Jarrett who was left off the card.

 

[Wald]

Yeah I'd go with what Brain said as well to be honest. Undertaker vs Kane was probably the match I was most excited for as I genuinely didn't know which way that would go at that stage, Kane just seemed absolutely unstoppable to me. It's funny looking back on old Wrestlemanias and seeing times where the Streak could genuinely not have happened due to a reasonable booking call. This match could easily have been booked to put Kane over to set up a rematch at King of the Ring or Summerslam.

One other change I'd make is to cut the length of the HBK vs Austin match. This was around the time where the internet started playing a big factor in how I viewed wrestling. I remember being part of an efed at the time (took Billy Gunn to the title with my online promo skills ) and the rumour was that HBK was badly banged up. We all knew Austin still wasn't right either so I remember that match being painful to watch as I expected one of the two to break down at any second.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Wrestlemania XIV is one of my Top 5 Wrestlemanias and while the event didn't exactly have a 5 Star Classic what this event had was the amazing build up for almost every match in the card and there wasn't a bad match in this event.

If you look at the 5 of the 8 matches in this PPV, all had at least had 4 months worth of build ups. Heck Undertaker and Kane storyline started right after Wrestlemania 13. It's amazing how much effort was put into these feuds and you hope modern WM matches would get this kind of build up.

As mentioned there weren't any 5 Star Matches I could say all the matches were entertaining. Austin/Michaels/Tyson was a good match up, not great (I think HBK had the figure four on Austin for half that match), but it still was solid where it counted (Tyson's presence, Austin winning, and few bursts of energy).

Taker and Kane was also good, Taker won but he was manhandled by Kane so both looked great here. And Taker's entrance was probably my favorite WM entrance of all time.

The IC Title and Tag Team Titles were fun matches. I loved the beating The Rock endured from Shamrock, all that build up, for a 5 min match but Shamrock goes berserk and his win is reversed. I loved it and all the post match happenings.

The Mixed Tag Team Match was, actually to be honest I didn't even know this match was taking place. And I was watching RAW every week at the time so I have no idea how I never heard of this match until the event. Still it was ok, actually my least favorite match but not one we can classify as bad.

Now for the questions

What was your favorite match on this show, and why did you like it the most? What about the worst match of this show, why did you like it the least?

Favorite: Probably a toss up between Taker/Undertaker and Austin/Michaels. Both good matches. See my reasons above.

Worst Match: Mixed Tag Team Match, I wouldn't call it worst just the least favorite and it just didn't interest me that match.

If you could change a few things about Wrestlemania 14, what would it be and why?

Two things

1. Change Taka Michinoku's opponent to Brian Christopher. With Christopher taunting Taka after Taka won the Light Heavyweight Title I am not sure why Christopher wasn't the challenger at WM14. I know Christopher would team up with Scott Taylor at the Tag Team Battle Royale but they were non factors and could have started teaming up after WM. Storyline wise it just made sense for Taka and Christopher to have their feud end here.

2. I wouldn't have Owen job to Triple H here. It's so strange but Owen never actually got one over Triple H in their entire feud and Owen was made to look like a joke. I was actually pissed when Owen lost here especially how he won and lost the European Title (he won it by beating Goldust even though Triple H was Champion so Sgt Slaughter just handed the title to Owen and he lost it on RAW in what you could call almost a non-match). If they didn't want Triple H to job, I would have settled for a DQ finish. And just have Triple H win it at Unforgiven at the next PPV.

It's funny looking back on old Wrestlemanias and seeing times where the Streak could genuinely not have happened due to a reasonable booking call. This match could easily have been booked to put Kane over to set up a rematch at King of the Ring or Summerslam.

I never doubted that Undertaker would win here. The reason being is that it's Taker that had a comeback and the way it was setup I was all but certain Undertaker would win here since he always wins when he returns.

 

[classymikec]

Personally I would have gone for (and hindsight is a wonderful thing)...

1. L.O.D. winning the battle royal, last eliminating the Godwinns - bit of history there and the New Midnight Express was a non starter. Despite WWF's attempts they were never going to get a tag team re-hash over (see the New Rockers) so why not keep two established teams in the frame.

2. Ken Shamrock defeats Jeff Jarrett (w/ Jim Cornette) for the NWA Heavyweight Title - Jeff Jarrett was only used in a lame Gennifer Flowers bit but could have put a decent match on with Shamrock. Given that they bought in Dan Severn as part of the NWA storyline not long after they could have tied it all in and given Severn a bit more purpose when he arrived.

Alternatively have Shamrock face Kurrgan. They had a square off in the Rumble and despite how awful Kurrgan was in the ring they were still trying to bill him as a monster. Shamrock was a good enough wrestler to get a passable match out of Kurrgan and would have been boosted by going over here

3. Taka Michinoku (c) defeats Brian Christopher (w/ Scott Taylor) for the Light Heavyweight Title - they'd been building those two up as the stars of the division for months, you could have even included Jerry Lawler interfering to add some star power

4. Triple H (c) (with Chyna) defeats Owen Hart for the WWF European Championship - logical booking with everything that went on with DX/the Kliq and the Harts, although if you don't include the politics Owen going over would have been a better outcome

5. Marc Mero and Sable defeats The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust and Luna in a mixed tag team match - at the time they had to have Sable on the card (the first proper diva - Sunny rarely got in the ring) and her going over makes sense. Maybe a turn on Mero at Mania, after him getting annoyed at her going over, would have boosted things

5. The Rock (c) defeats Faarooq in a singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship - I'd have the Nation acting as if they were torn before turning on Faarooq and costing him the match on the show, with Shamrock coming out to make the save afterwards. The outcome of what actually happened with Rock/Shamrock was awful.

6. Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie defeat The New Age Outlaws (c) in a dumpster match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship - put the belts on Foley/Funk for one night, let the Outlaws win them back in the same way that they did the next night, but God knows avoid the lame "stripped of the titles" outcome that followed. Foley/Funk deserved more than that

7. The Undertaker defeats Kane (with Paul Bearer) - they'd built this up for six months so it had to happen. Part of me would have Kane win (and really get him over) but in hindsight the streak is one of the best things that WWE have built so anything else would be obtuse.

8. Stone Cold Steve Austin defeats Shawn Michaels (c) (with Triple H and Chyna) in a singles match to win the WWF Championship with Mike Tyson as the special outside enforcer - as if you can have anything else.

In a perfect world Bret would still have been around, he'd be facing HBK in a grudge match for number one contendership and Austin would be facing someone else, maybe even Owen, for the title (Austin would have bought in buy rates versus any competent wrestler and after Summerslam there was history there - have Bret screw HBK out of the title). In that case I'd also have HHH face someone else - presumably in this fantasy world Bulldog would still be with the company, or if Vader was fit then have him face him and gain some credibility against an established star.

An alternative would have been a triple threat match with Bret, Shawn and Austin and Austin going over, however triple threats weren't common in those days. But for the roster and the situation at the time this was the perfect match and the right people and despite both men's limitations after injury this was the best possible way to pass Austin the torch

 

[Pedigree1]

Slight Changes i would have made to WM14 would have been the Rock vs Farooq for the IC title. Ken Shamrock was someone by that time had no business being in the WWF. There was a powerstruggle in the NOD at that time,maybe Farooq was jealous of the rock?? Those two battling it out at WM,would have been a epic match.

Im in the minority i would have had Farooq go over the rock at WM. Farooq is a damn good wrestler,and a workhorse. Albeit,he did deserve a title run even a short one with the IC title. The ME while not a classic,it did show how gritty and gutsy one HBK was. Granted SCSA,was beat up at that time as well,his neck issues were no secret,but i dont think anyone had any idea,how bad HBK was hurt going into that match.

Tyson was a nice insert into that match,made it interesting. It felt like a handicap match knowing any moment Tyson could help out DX,knocking out SCSA but alas,he was on Cold Stone's side the whole time. The Taker vs Kane match,was a great one. IMO a very underrated match between the two behemoths of their time and it took 3 tombstones to put down Kane for exactly a three count. Thats the Kane we all miss,a indestructible monster not the Kane we have been seeing these past years..

I actually think the Taker vs Kane match was the match of the night,IMO. A very good WM IMO

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

Good card highlighted by the Mania match with the best build ever (Taker/Kane) as well as Austin winning the title for the first time and beginning WWE's second huge wave following the Hulkamania era. I give Taker/Kane the best match/favorite match honors as the story was just too good.

Now as for changes I laid out my fantasy booking that would have taken me to this point with Shawn not faking injury in 97 and Montreal not going down as it did. As it relates to this card my main event would have been Bret v Austin and it would be their third singles bout following the original at Survivor Series 96 and their Submission Match which in this scenario I moved from Mania 13 to SummerSlam 97. As for how it affects the rest of the card, I would of built towards the breaking up of DX at Mania 14 by having Shawn accidently costing HHH the Euro title to Owen on a post Rumble Raw. This would lead to a match between the two for control of DX. HHH beats Shawn at Mania and the next night introduced his new group as he did in real life.

So I would have a triple main event of:

Bret v Austin for the WWF Title

Taker vs Kane

Shawn vs HHH for control of DX

I would still keep the tag title match and have the IC title match be Rock vs Farooq with control of the Nation at stake. Throw in a Shamrock vs Owen match for the Euro title and keep the light heavyweight title match as well as the mixed tag match and that would be my card.

 

[dd23beatlesfan1]

This is one of the best Wrestlemanias of all-time. I believe I had it ranked No. 3 when I ranked all the Wrestlemanias a few years ago, it was that good. It had two classic matches with Taker/Kane and Austin/Michaels. And mostly everyone was booked well on the show. And most of the matches had good build to them, like Owen/Triple H.

I've seen some of the changes people have made, and while they make sense and would have been fine, to me I don't really think this Wrestlemania needed changed at all.

The Tag Team Battle Royal to kick off the show was just fine with the right winners, as LOD were still the biggest team in that match. And putting Sunny with them was exciting even though it didn't last.

As for the Light Heavyweight Match, Brian Christopher was probably a more logical choice as at least the crowd knew who he was and they had a feud going, but Aguila was more exciting in the ring, and I think WWE's idea was just to have an exciting match, much like the WCW cruiserweight matches. Plus, Vince has never really seen the appeal of light heavyweight wrestlers, so obviously it wasn't going to get much build up or attention. For the WWE, it was as good as it could be. Brian Christopher would've been a good change, but again, I don't think absolutely necessary to improve the card any. It was fine the way it was.

Triple H and Owen was probably the third best match on the card (not a surprise) and had the most build to it other than the two main event matches. Very good match. I agree I would've loved to have seen Owen go over, but in hindsight with Triple H re-igniting D-X the following night, it wouldn't have looked good for Triple H to complain about Shawn dropping the ball (aka: losing) if he would've lost too. So it was better for Triple H to win and look strong so he could credibly take over D-X. It was the right call.

Sable was as red hot as as almost anyone in the wrestling business at that point (except for Stone Cold obviously), so having her and Mero take on Goldust and Luna was the logical move and booked great. Yes, Sable wasn't as good a wrestler as Luna and didn't care about the business near as much, but Sable was just too red hot to not go over. This was perfect booking, which would lead to the break up of Mero and Sable and for her to go on her own. Nothing to change here either.

The other big change people have brought up is the I-C title match with The Rock and Ken Shamrock, by taking Shamrock out and putting Faarooq instead. I'll agree that it was a logical choice, considering it was a pretty good mid-card feud/storyline with the Rock ousting Faarooq from the Nation and taking over himself, but personally speaking, I was far more interested in seeing Shamrock wrestle for the title over Faarooq. Plus, the WWE was trying to push Shamrock, and while Faarooq was on the way down so to speak, so it made sense. Plus, it's easy to forget, but Shamrock was probably the biggest babyface in the mid-card at the time, while the Rock was the biggest heel, so it makes logical sense to put the two together for the I-C title at Wrestlemania. Having a heel vs. heel match just wasn't gonna happen. And yeah, I don't think Faarooq even being ousted the way he was would've made him a big time babyface, as the crowd liked the Rock as a heel more anyway. So once again, I wouldn't change this. Rock/Shamrock stays. The one change I would make is make the match much longer. Being under 5 minutes was a great disservice to both. This match should've been at least 12 minutes. The Rock wasn't up to his peak as a worker yet, and Shamrock wasn't Bret Hart level, but the two were both good at this point and could've put on a much better match if they had been given more time. That's the one change I would make.

The Tag Team title match stays as is. The New Age Outlaws were red-hot as the heel champions, and Mick Foley and Terry Funk teaming up was a dream team so to speak for hardcrore wrestling fans (of both the style of hardcore and just wrestling in general), so yep it stays.

Undertaker and Kane. One of the best feuds in history with their epic first showdown. Why change it?

Austin and HBK. Perfect as is. Yes it wasn't the best match they had, but considering HBK was in as bad a shape as he probably ever was, and Austin wasn't in too great of shape either, they did the best they could, and it was still a classic match, kind of somewhat like Savage/Dibiase from Wrestlemania IV. Both matches weren't the best they'd have with one another, but because it was Wrestlemania and it the ending for both matches featured a superstar finally reaching the top, both are considered classic matches more for their ending and the moment, rather than the workrate in the match so to speak.

So yeah, this is one of the most perfectly booked Wrestlemanias of all-time. Another thing that makes one of the very best is that this is one of the few Wrestlemanias where when you watched it, you truly felt like a revolution in the wrestling business was taking place as you were watching it. And I'm not just saying that in retrospect, I'm saying that as a 13 year old watching it at my cousin's house back in 1998 as it happened live. While I was watching it, I felt like a huge change was in the air, like nothing was ever gonna be the same again. And as we know, it wasn't. Sure most Wrestlemania's feel epic and dramatic, but very few felt completely revolutionary, like nothing was ever gonna be the same. I'd say Wrestlemania 1, Wrestlemania X-7, and maybe Wrestlemania 21 were a few of the others that felt like this.

If I could possibly change one thing about Wrestlemania XIV, it would probably be having Bret Hart and Stone Cold as the main event instead of HBK and Stone Cold. And the argument against that is that Bret wouldn't have fit with Mike Tyson near as well as HBK did, and I don't feel that's the case. It wouldn't be the same thing obviously, but it would've worked too. Instead of having Bret align with Mike Tyson against Stone Cold, I'd have Bret have tension with Mike Tyson too. Maybe the week after the Stone Cold/Tyson confrontation, do the exact same thing with Bret and Mike Tyson, which would've doubled the mainstream attention WWE got, as Mike would've had confrontations with two wrestlers, not just one. That way you have Stone Cold vs. Bret, with the Hart Foundation backing Bret, and Mike Tyson as the referee who has issues with both competitors, and you don't know he's gonna side with, or if he'll attack both, or just call it down the middle. It'd be completely chaotic, which would've only made it more interesting, and considering Bret was still in phenomenal shape unlike Michaels, it would've been a much better match, and more epic. Bret would still put Stone Cold over, just like HBK did, and you can even have the same ending with Mike doing the fast count ultimately siding with Stone Cold. Bret gets mad at Mike after the match, and Mike TKO's Bret, and Stone Cold celebrates with Jim Ross shouting "Stone Cold, Stone Cold, Stone Cold!!!"

As for where that would've left Michaels? Michaels would've still had his feud with Taker, have the Rumble match where he gets his back injury, and instead of having to tough it out for one last match with Stone Cold at Mania, let him retire right after the Royal Rumble so he can begin his four year recovery.

Then as Stone Cold becomes the top dog, Bret can be a tweener or go back to being a babyface and eventually becoming an ally of Stone Cold against the Corporation, and then with the influx of great technical wrestlers/workers in 99/00 he can have great wrestling matches with them, and then retiring in the early 00's.

But with what WWE had, Wrestlemania XIV is one of the most perfect Wrestlemania events ever. And doesn't really need any changes in my view.

 

[MCMG]

This was a pretty good Mania. The dumpster match might seem like a waste of Mick Foley but I really enjoyed it. It seems like a stupid gimmick match but it worked and was entertaining. Triple H vs Hart is great, as expected. The other matches are pretty solid.

The Taker/Kane feud was awesome. The match, less so. I loved what they did making Kane look like an absolute monster but the overall quality of the match isn't that high.

The main-event is obviously outstanding. The passing of the torch that allowed Austin to become a star. The Tyson thing is pretty awesome too. He was a massive star and the moment of him and Austin is awesome.

There isn't much I would change. I'm not too sure about Rocky vs Shamrock; considering the situation with Faarooq. They could have done The Rock vs Faarooq instead which would have been better. However, I'm not sure sure where that would leave Shamrock.

 

[Wolf Pac]

This is one of my favourite Wrestlemania's and I don't think it needs any changing either, but if Montreal hadn't happened I would've changed the main event to Bret vs. Austin also. It would've been a better match and it would've made a great redemption story, Austin finally beating Bret. And I think the build up with Tyson would have worked just fine with Bret involved, maybe even be better. You don't really need to change anything in the build up, just have Tyson join The Hart Foundation instead of DX. The American fans really hated The Hart Foundation, and Tyson joining the Canadians could have drawn a lot more heat for him from the fans. And the pop he'd receive for turning on the Foundation and knocking out Bret could've been a lot more bigger than when he knocked out Shawn.

Also with Bret still in the company, I imagine Bulldog and Neidhart would still be there too and they would be available for Wrestlemania, which could've made the PPV a bit better.

1) Tag Team Battle Royal

2) Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila for the WWF Light Heavyweight Title

3) Triple H (w/ Chyna) vs. Owen Hart (w/ Jim Neidhart) for the WWF European Title

4) Marc Mero & Sable vs. Goldust & Luna

5) The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock for the WWF Intercontinental Title (Rock vs. Faarooq wouldn't have been as good, so I think it's best they saved it for Over The Edge)

6) Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie vs. The New Age Outlaws in a Dumpster Match for the WWF Tag Team Titles

7) The British Bulldog vs. Shawn Michaels (they could rematch and settle their feud from One Night Only, with Bulldog going over this time)

8) The Undertaker vs. Kane

9) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart for the WWF Title with Mike Tyson as the Special Outside Enforcer

 

[MMK]

If you could change a few things about Wrestlemania 14, what would it be and why?

TAG TITLES BATTLE ROYAL: Road Warriors win
I would have NEVER used the awful LOD 2000 gimmick. If they wanted to breathe new life into the LOD, then drop the Leigon of Doom name and use the traditional ROAD WARRIORS name. Give them the old black and gold attire they wore in the NWA instead of making Animal wear those silly short shorts and those ridiculous helmets.

INFERNO MATCH
Undertaker vs Kane
I'm fine with these two facing each other, but why was the Inferno match saved for the next months ppv? Why not do that match at Mania? Especially since during the buildup to this match Kane set Undertaker on fire while he was locked in the casket at the Royal Rumble. A standard singles match with two big men is almost always a disappointment. They needed a gimmick match to give it the epic feel they were aiming for. The Inferno match should have been at Wrestlemania instead of the following month. Perhaps they were worried the Inferno match wouldn't go as planned and it was deemed to high risk for Mania, but clearly it could have easily been pulled off as they did it successfully just a few weeks later.

The rest of the card (Triple H vs Owen Hart, Rock vs Shamrock, New Age Outlaws vs Old Age Outlaws, Stone Cold vs Shawn Micheals) shouldn't be changed at all.

 

[LODemolition]

While WM14 is one of my favorites, I agree with most peoples' sentiment that there wasn't really a standout match. There was a standout moment of course with Austin winning his first WWF Championship and Tyson knocking out Michaels. The Taker/Kane feud was amazing and although I enjoyed the Tag Team Title match, I thought they should've made up for past mistakes and finally put LOD over as new tag champs at a Mania (they never took part in a Tag Team Title match at a WrestleMania). I also agree with what most said about Faarooq contending for the IC Title and Brian Christopher contending for the LHW Title. So with that said, this would've been my card.

1. Light Heavyweight Championship: Taka Michinoku (c) vs Brian Christopher*

2. Cactus Jack* vs. Goldust

3. European Title: Triple H* (c) vs. Owen Hart

4. Ken Shamrock* vs. Mark Henry

5. IC Title: The Rock* (c) vs. Faarooq

6. Tag Team Title: New Age Outlaws (c) vs. LOD 2000*

7. The Undertaker* vs. Kane

8. WWF Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin*

 

[Judah's Lion]

Mania 14 was a fantastic Mania, both at the time it happened and even in hindsight when we tend to be more judgmental. there are some slight changes that I'd make just for fun, but it doesn't take away from the fact that this Mania was revolutionary.

spoiler alert: I'm about to quote a bunch of previous posters and plug their responses shamelessly... lots of good ones replied before I did.

Brain: Rock vs. Farooq for the IC Title should have definitely happened here. it was brewing for months. Rock/Shamrock had already happened at the Rumble and if you wanted to do more at the Rumble, add some of what happened at this Mania at the end of their Rumble contest instead of a rematch that lasted less than 5 minutes. but Rock/Farooq was a no-brainer and would have been fun to get on the big stage.

Pedigree: speaking of Rock vs. Farooq, I'd have Farooq go over and get a little run with the IC Title. it was well-earned.

Classy Mike: 3 great ideas here...
LOD winning the Tag Team Battle Royal, as they did, but by last defeating the Godwinns as there already was some history there. that would have been more fitting.
Shamrock vs. Jarrett for the NWA Title would have been much better. these two actually have quite a bit of history (in hindsight, looking back from the year 2014, not so much in 1998, but they did have a kind of natural chemistry) and could have put together a feud for the big stage. if I remember correctly, Jarrett was in the 98 Rumble as a representative of the NWA and attacked Owen Hart on his way to the ring. have Jarrett attack Shamrock instead. ready-made feud and Mania match. insert Dan "the Beast" Severn to be in Shamrock's corner and have him turn on Shamrock if you want. or just have a match. either way, this would have been something to do with Shamrock and Jarrett who would've otherwise been left off this fantasy card.
Taka vs. Brian Christopher should have happened. they did have history. and again with Classy Mike, I'd do the interference with Jerry Lawler to add some star power.

Fabulous Rogeau's: some really great ideas also. unfortunately, unless you re-book history, i.e. the Montreal Screwjob, Austin/Hart in a rematch, this time for the World Title and Triple H/HBK doesn't happen. but I do like those ideas.

MMK: Taker vs. Kane in an Inferno Match. I always felt this gimmick match should have debuted at Mania in this feud. it was built up so well and felt so obvious since Kane lit Taker's casket on fire with him inside at the Rumble. so have the gimmick debut here instead of a month or so later.

sorry to rip all you guys off. but I did like those ideas. so here's my final fantasy card:

1. WWE Title: HBK vs. Austin with Mike Tyson as the guest enforcer.
2. IC Title: Rock vs. Farooq. Farooq wins the title here and drops it to Rock at a later date. maybe even the next night on Raw when the Nation sides with Rock. I'd say give Farooq a longer run, but Rock and Triple H had such a great feud going all the way to SummerSlam that it'd be a shame to rewrite that part of history.
3. European Title: Triple H over Owen Hart. I can't remember exactly the finish of this match as we saw it happen, but have Triple H pin Owen after interference from Chyna to keep that storyline going as it did that year.
4. Tag Team Titles: Cactus Jack/Chainsaw Charlie vs. New Age Outlaws in a Dumpster Match. Outlaws drop the titles here.
5. Light Heavyweight Title: Taka vs. Brian Christopher. Jerry Lawler interferes and Christopher walks away with the title.
6. LOD wins the open Tag Team Battle Royal by last eliminating the Godwinns.
7. Taker vs. Kane in an Inferno Match. maybe make this like the "Ring of Fire Match" that we saw at SummerSlam this past year in which the object is not to light your opponent on fire but rather the ring is surrounded by fire and pinfalls are still the goal. I liked Kane needing 3 Tombstones to finally stay down, so I don't wanna change that ending.
8. Jarrett vs. Shamrock for the NWA Title.
9. Marc Mero/Sable vs. Goldust/Luna goes exactly as is.

so I've added one match to the 8 that we did get and swapped a few matches up, but I still love this Mania. truly revolutionary.

 

[jameyt2003]

This is my favorite WrestleMania. This show exemplifies the benefit of spontaneity in pro wrestling. This was at a time when pro wrestling was so popular and wasn't taken as serious by these new fans. This benefitted WWF much more than WCW because the WWF was a more attractive product. So while this PPV may not contain a lot of match quality, it does broadcast itself in a very innovative way for the time.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

This is perhaps the one I will cop flak for the most... mainly cos I don't think it's remotely a good overall show and barely registers in the top 10 Manias... but it's the one that "did it's job" in launching what came afterwards.

The focus of this show was 5 people in this order... Austin, Tyson, Taker, Kane & Vince... No Shawn? Shawn was gone...done...totally and utterly out of the picture... the only notable thing about him at this Mania is this is the one they FORCED him to show up and job the belt having failed miserably to get him to job titles previously. He lost his smile a year before... finally we saw HBK put someone over properly so he got the bums rush and justly so.

This show was about Austin primarily and launching him to the world at large. Recently I made the point that WWE had managed mainstream UK news coverage twice in a week with the Rumble and Punk... the last time they made positive coverage of such type was Tyson being involved with Austin in the "worked shoot" they had going on. Did they make the best use of Iron Mike? No way... best thing was eliminating Shawn from the equation - Would Austin v Tyson have worked with the title at stake...absolutely with the right training. Tyson's eventual role was a disappointment and predictable, it was only Austin's amazing popularity that made it seem insignificant. Perhaps Vince had seen this too many times when he did those Ali/Inoki matches but this screamed out for Tyson v Austin as the main event title or no...

If they'd gone that way, they had the match to make the title important again in Kane v Taker. Kane lost but was made to look like an absolute beast and it was arguably be best thing Mark Calloway has ever done at Mania... forget all the 5 star matches in the streak... this was the one time he ever used his position to "make" someone at Mania, even in them losing to him. He should have done it since but clearly never will. No one saw Glen Jacobs being "that guy" when Issac Yankem disappeared from our screens and Fake Diesel bought JR's farm... but Kane was right and was made a character that has endured for 15 years that night... Just imagine what Taker could do for a Barrett or even a Bryan if they could get past this stupid streak.

The rest of the show was somewhat forgettable and was arguably the first time they were planning stuff for the night after rather than the show itself... The whole DX reformation/Outlaws getting back the titles for example. I remember heading to the first "Revenge" tour right after this and seeing the Outlaws, XPac and the like and just thinking...They should have done all this at Mania and binned Shawn completely.

Much is made of the Lightheavy match in the comments so far... It was what it was! A fledgling step on the road to what later became the WWE's talent pool... Aguila was Papi Chulo...A.k.a Essa Rios who was Lita's first "charge"... those espousing Brian Christopher are missing the point that they didn't have the name cruisers, WCW did, Rios didn't work, neither did Taka, Scotty or anyone else at that time but it did it's job in making fans and more importantly talent over in WCW realise they could be in a cruiser title match at Mania and within 18 months WWE were signing the real cruiser talents like Jericho, Dean Malenko etc... How many guys like Helms, Chavo, Jericho and the like gained hope from that match being on the card and doubled their efforts to get noticed? not in WCW cos they didn't care, but they all wanted out and most got there and had decent shots.

The Tag Match was what it was, a hardcore ECW match made a little disappointing for the stupid Chainsaw Charlie thing... It's Terry Funk, we KNOW it it and you even are using that name in the commentary... why not just give the guy the dignity of using his own name and winning a WWE title under it just once? Oh that's right cos he was the WCW/NWA champ too... as clever as Vince was getting, he could still be really dumb sometimes...

Trips V Owen was again pointless in many ways and filler... Why not have X-Pac show up at Mania to help him or as the "ref" only to join DX (in the angle Tyson ended up with?)

LOD returning was a mark out moment... I liked the idea of the new gear, I liked the idea of them and Sunny... but it needed one more "big team" to really work... The Midnights/Godwinns etc were not it... Steiners would have said no but I think at the time they could have easily brought back Demolition or a similar team just to add impact.

Mixed Tags suck more than Terri Runnels and Rena Lesnar combined... but Sable was part of the show by then so I guess it was unavoidable. All this match did was show how out of his depth Mero was in the WWF... He was nowhere near a bad talent, but they just had no clue how to use him and he had no clue how to be anyone but Johnny B. Badd.

Like I said controversial cos pretty much the show sucked... the saving grace for me was Shamrock v Rock, this was the first time he did the "Rock is Cooking" promo end on PPV camera with whoever the talk show bird was and immediately I took notice, that was the time he "switched" over into something special in my head... I always liked the look and his skills but that sealed the deal. By the end of the night I was a convert.

Ironically Shamrock blew his tag match with Owen on the tour I saw by falling on his face while leaping the rope on the hot tag...so any cred he gained here was quickly lost but the match on the night was fun...

So how do you improve it?

You know that no-one from WCW is really jumping at this time bar Waltman and Jarrett soon after... ECW is doing well enough that it's guys are gonna remain loyal with Barely Legal....add to that the major miss of Pillman who even if he was barely wrestling by that point could have been a great part of any Tyson/Austin situation.

With previous threads I have had a path I have rebooked along... with this I would have continued but gone some slightly different roads cos I know that there are some "fixed points"... Bret would have inevitably gone and so would Shawn... Rude who has been a big fixture is now at the end of his career, Pillman who was a major player is inevitably at the end of either career or life, the demons wouldn't have stayed away forever.

So I'd go with:-

Tag Battle Royale - Add Bill Eadie and Barry Darsow to the mix along with LOD in their full Demoliton gimmicks, LOD last eliminate them. Why? Nice nod of nostalgia and fitting the "out with the old"/Evolution of the LOD gimmick.

Light Heavy - Here is where I steal someone (bearing in mind Vince was funding ECW even then), and bring Jerry Lynn over early as the best Cruiser there is for a spell, he and Taka tear up the joint. Lynn holds the belt for a spell until I can get Chulo into his Rios gimmick and try and sweet talk Jericho into jumping.

Tag Titles - As is but with Funk under his own name and gimmick, again ECW funding made this match happen.

Owen v Trips - 1-2-3 Kid as referee, turns and joins DX.

Shamrock v Rock v Pillman - Pillman goes in as champion and vows to retire if he loses, which he "does" to Shamrock but the decision is reversed.... he is quickly Rock Bottomed and pinned again leading to a feud between these two motormouths.

Goldust v Mero v Val Venis - I'd throw Val in there and make this a precursor to Money in The Bank but with an IC title shot at stake... have Luna, Sable and Ryan Shamrock (not under that name though) all involved and Val come out on top so to speak when Val kisses Sable, he loses it and she low blows him, joining Val's "harem".

Kane v Taker for the WWF Title - as is bar for the belt but I consider a Kane win very seriously indeed. In my eyes the streak isn't a factor as he has previously lost so Kane gets the title to continue his monster push, putting Taker down with 3 tombstones.

Stone Cold v Mike Tyson - Grudge Match/Street Fight... Of course I am paying Tyson a fortune to lose this and put Austin over, I accept that... It's an epic brawl with Tyson accompanied by The Nation and trained by Ron Simmons. Austin wins when Tyson makes a mistake with a missed haymaker that Austin turns into the Stunner... The show ends with Austin and Tyson sharing beers...

Why was this show about Vince? Because this proved he could get an A-Lister in, in spite of WCW's moneybags attitude and produce a decent show that served as a reinvention. It took a lot of balls to do it, to be paying Tyson what he did and be planning to do so while pleading poverty to Bret... To finally stand up to Shawn and end his stupid grip on the title and to put a guy like Austin front and centre just 6 months after a career threatening neck injury. This was The Vince Mania perhaps more than the others, cos his company hadn't died, the world hadn't caved in cos he screwed Bret...and from this point on he was gonna make sure we all knew it.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

This was a fun WrestleMania but not the best one or one of the best, if anything I think I enjoyed a lot more of WrestleMania 13 the year before. This was essentially a one match show with Austin vs. an injured Shawn Michaels. The main event could have been a lot better as those two had an insanely better match the year before. I really liked to Tyson's performance here and the punch and swerve was really well thought.

One thing I know is that you were on Austin's train. His attitude going to this match, from the feud with The Rock until his all "I've a target" at the Rumble was great stuff. His moments with Mike Tyson is regarded as one of the best moments on Raw and you could feel the tension there. Shawn Michaels of course did what he had to do, but he somehow lacked build for this match and the outcome was obvious miles away - however I would like to see Austin delivering the Stunner to Tyson instead of what happened, but it was great nonetheless.

The Undertaker v. Kane, yes it's an iconic moment seeing the two brothers square off and what not, but the match was really bad. The build was okay, with Undertaker not wanting to face his brother until he's forced too and it would provide some good television after WrestleMania, but I wasn't really into it. It's a very important moment and I get that, but that's it mostly because of how the characters turned out to be so much bigger.

HHH v. Owen was a great way to end the feud. Chyna was involved of course, but that was a good match. Triple H is a good worker and people should not deny that. I enjoyed it. The Rock v. Shamrock needed a lot more time because that was pure crap for Rock that was getting some good reactions from the crowd at the time. It was also a crappy finish and those two could have tore the house down as the opener. You also have the New Age Outlaws and Foley and Funk, something like the true start of the "hardcrappy wrestling". Foley and Funk could have gone out there and have a legit great wrestling match, but the build didn't ask for that and I get that - that Raw moment is great with NAO putting them in the dumpster and the title change was good for what it was.

Now the gem in this match - the mixed match. I was really, REALLY into it. Sable was hot by god and Luna was a good worker. I don't know but at this time Marc Mero could have gone babyface and it would have been a good run for him. The crowd was pumped and I really enjoyed the build for an undercard match - it was really a shame they split that couple of Mero and Sable. Watching the Sable Bomb was a moment that really surprised me given Sable's size. The LOD 2000 was okay I guess.

What I would have changed:
The light heavyweight title didn't need to be on the card, nobody cared for the match and if it had to be the match should have been Taka Michinoku v. Grand Master Sexay or whatever gimmick he was using at the time.

Given that Terry Funk and Foley completely stole the show with their showing on Raw in a great hardcore match (still talked about today) I would have made them go on one on. It would give some needed momentum to Foley, specially since he would be the one to challenge for Austin's championship the next month. Beating a veteran is always a good rub and this could have been Foley's WrestleMania Moment.

The Rock v. Faarooq should have happened here. It was the only thing that made sense to me. They built it for months and they never gave us the real pay off. What happened was a disgrace and Shamrock could have been a great partner for Blackman to challenge The New Age Outlaws. The rest of the card I'm okay with - Undertaker v. Kane was very good, I don't see anybody better storyline wise nor would I like to see, Kane at this time was a very very entertaining character and kudos to Jim Cornette for that.

 

[Wolf Pac]

The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock for the WWF Intercontinental Title (Rock vs. Faarooq wouldn't have been as good, so I think it's best they saved it for Over The Edge)

Scratch this. I'd go with everybody else and change the IC Title match to Rock vs. Faarooq and have Shamrock vs. Jarrett on both my fantasy card and on the real card. I'll admit when I wrote this that I had forgotten about both matches and just assumed Shamrock vs. Rock was the better match, but after watching both matches again today, Rock vs. Faarooq would've been the better match to book at Wrestlemania.

 

[The Warlord]

A good Wrestlemania that could have been great if it wasn't for certain obvious setbacks. The storyline leading up to the main event was "Booking 101" at it's finest. Absolutely perfect. Still...two of my all time favorite entrances in the main event, so much attitude and emotion just spilling out through the TV screen. Awesome.

Favorite match was of course the main event. Wouldn't have changed anything about this card....although Rock/HHH (IC vs Euro title match) would have added another big time match....but their time was coming soon enough so it doesn't really matter.

Would have been nice to have a healthy Michaels...but in a way, him being hurt only added to the drama and storyline...especially for the smarks.

I remember Kevin Nash in a shoot interview saying he watched this Wrestlemania live....and when he went to Nitro the next night he looked at Kevin Sullivan and they both knew WCW's time on top was numbered.

 

[dd23beatlesfan1]

There are two points that have been brought up in this thread that have just boggled my mind.

The first is numerous comments about the Taker/Kane match being great in hype and build but poor in execution, aka: it wasn't a good match. I just don't understand that. To me up until Wrestlemania 24 with Edge, it was by far the greatest match that Taker had ever had at Wrestlemania (yes, better than the first Taker/HHH match at X-7). In fact, I'd go as far as to say that it's quite possibly the greatest big man vs. big man wrestling match I've ever seen. Now, granted I haven't watched it in quite some time, but from what I remember, the workrate was outstanding, and it was one of the first times where I can remember (other than Savage/Warrior from WM7) where they kicked out of each other's finishers, a spot that would come to dominate the main event wrestling matches during the Attitude Era, (and the style that would help make the HBK/Taker WM matches so legendary). It was an outstanding match. I can see people not saying it was one of the greatest matches ever, but it certainly didn't suck (their second match at WM XX, however wasn't that great). I'm almost wondering if people didn't watch that match and just simply assumed it wasn't good because two big guys were facing each other. It was a great match, easily in the top 30 of Wrestlemania matches.

The second one is the outrageous post from RobTaylor about having Taker and Kane being for the WWF Title and Austin and Tyson having a grudge match as the main event. That's insane. I will grant that having Austin and Tyson having a match would've gotten insane media attention, but that's about the only good thing about it. One, Tyson was not gonna put Austin over. Keep in mind this was 1998, where Tyson was still a hot commodity in the boxing world and was just coming off his matches with Evander Holyfield which were the most infamous things going on in sports at the time. As big a wrestling fan as he was, he wasn't going to come in and lose to a pro wrestler. That would've killed his reputation in the sporting world. And with that being said, how dumb would it be for Austin, who was the hottest thing in wrestling since Hulk Hogan in the mid 80's to lose to Mike Tyson. That would've killed his run and effectively put a stop to the hot run that the WWF was about to go on. So in short, you can't really have a winner in that match. And with no winner, no match, making it an insane booking choice to go with.

Two, why in God's name would you not have Austin rise to the top and win the title? Again, Austin was as hot as anyone had ever been in the WWF. It was the most logical and easiest booking choice maybe in history to have Austin win the title and rise to the top at Mania. That's what this show was about. This is what was needed. If this wouldn't have happened, the WWF may very well have died. Austin had to win the title. Would you have had Hulk Hogan in early 1984 as Hulkamania was about to run wild instead put him in a grudge match against some celebrity (Mr. T as a heel maybe?), and have Snuka and Muraco go for the WWF title instead? Cause that's about the same thing as having the title match involve two guys in a feud that had nothing to do with the title and then wasting your biggest new star in a decade in a grudge match with a celebrity.

I get it that you hate Shawn Michaels, and as a fan I would've definitely preferred for Bret to stay with the company and get involved in the Tyson/Austin feud and put Austin over at Wrestlemania, with Shawn retiring and getting his four year break. But I think you're letting you obvious dislike for Shawn Michaels cloud your judgment on how to book Wrestlemania XIV. As interesting as it would be, and as big of mainstream attention as they would've gotten, you just can't book an Austin/Tyson match. There'd be no way to have a clear cut winner, and thus it just makes no sense.

And even having Taker and Kane be for the title simply is unnecessary. Their feud wasn't about titles and being the top guy in the company. It was about revenge and Kane trying to get redemption against Taker for the "wrongs" he committed in their childhood and how Taker ruined Kane's life. Talk about a grudge match. Taker and Kane was your grudge match.

You've had some pretty entertaining and even outrageous booking changes, but this one definitely takes the cake.

Austin/Tyson instead of Austin rising to the top and ushering in the most popular era in the WWF's history. Wow. That's all I can say.

 

[MMK]

This is perhaps the one I will cop flak for the most... mainly cos I don't think it's remotely a good overall show and barely registers in the top 10 Manias... but it's the one that "did it's job" in launching what came afterwards.

In many ways it's very similar to the first Wrestlemania. Like you said, it did its job of launching the attitude era much in the same way the first Mania launched the rock n wrestling era. However, both cards were very mediocre. Neither one had a standout excellent wrestling match.

In fact, even though I very much enjoyed the attitude era, one thing it was lacking was classic wrestling matches. They had lots of great moments, but not very many great matches during that period. This is most likely because storylines and "OMG" moments were a higher priority during the Monday Night Wars with WCW, which led to less emphasis on great wrestling. Most of the great wrestling matches in WWF during that period usually involved a Cell or Ladder. Not very many great technical wrestling matches. Most of those took place in the WCW cruiserweight division, although even those lacked in greatness because WCW never knew how to properly build and finish a feud at a heavily hyped PPV. While I can think of several great WCW wrestlers and matches, it's hard to distinguish when and where the matches took place because WCW booking was so chaotic.

 

[WWFan79]

Overall, this was a very energetic and hype Wrestlemania. You could feel the rejuvenation of the whole event and Wrestlemania Franchise, the crowd, and wrestlers. It felt big.

Of course the impact Mike Tyson had on the mainstream attention it got seems to have forgotten. The best single $3 mil. (or whatever the figure was) that Vince ever spent. I though Rock vs Shamrock was awesome. Rock was a legit heel here where you wanted him to get his butt whooped. Even though he got over, he got his butt whooped so everybody went home happy as Shamrock still looked like a killer after.

I thought ring rust from Taker was very apparent as well as he shrunk size, and he was gassed big time. Reminded me of Lawrence Taylor after the Bam Bam match. Just watch Taker and he was wheezing, could barely get Kane up in the tombstone. And even after the pin, he legitimately collapsed out of fatigue.

The Stone Cold era coming was quite apparent. But given Shawn's history, and that he never put anyone over cleanly, there was still a mystery as to what would happen.

Wrestlemanias 9-13 were generally pretty dull and tame compared to the ones before and after.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There are two points that have been brought up in this thread that have just boggled my mind.

The first is numerous comments about the Taker/Kane match being great in hype and build but poor in execution, aka: it wasn't a good match. I just don't understand that. To me up until Wrestlemania 24 with Edge, it was by far the greatest match that Taker had ever had at Wrestlemania (yes, better than the first Taker/HHH match at X-7). In fact, I'd go as far as to say that it's quite possibly the greatest big man vs. big man wrestling match I've ever seen. Now, granted I haven't watched it in quite some time, but from what I remember, the workrate was outstanding, and it was one of the first times where I can remember (other than Savage/Warrior from WM7) where they kicked out of each other's finishers, a spot that would come to dominate the main event wrestling matches during the Attitude Era, (and the style that would help make the HBK/Taker WM matches so legendary). It was an outstanding match. I can see people not saying it was one of the greatest matches ever, but it certainly didn't suck (their second match at WM XX, however wasn't that great). I'm almost wondering if people didn't watch that match and just simply assumed it wasn't good because two big guys were facing each other. It was a great match, easily in the top 30 of Wrestlemania matches.

The second one is the outrageous post from RobTaylor about having Taker and Kane being for the WWF Title and Austin and Tyson having a grudge match as the main event. That's insane. I will grant that having Austin and Tyson having a match would've gotten insane media attention, but that's about the only good thing about it. One, Tyson was not gonna put Austin over. Keep in mind this was 1998, where Tyson was still a hot commodity in the boxing world and was just coming off his matches with Evander Holyfield which were the most infamous things going on in sports at the time. As big a wrestling fan as he was, he wasn't going to come in and lose to a pro wrestler. That would've killed his reputation in the sporting world. And with that being said, how dumb would it be for Austin, who was the hottest thing in wrestling since Hulk Hogan in the mid 80's to lose to Mike Tyson. That would've killed his run and effectively put a stop to the hot run that the WWF was about to go on. So in short, you can't really have a winner in that match. And with no winner, no match, making it an insane booking choice to go with.

Two, why in God's name would you not have Austin rise to the top and win the title? Again, Austin was as hot as anyone had ever been in the WWF. It was the most logical and easiest booking choice maybe in history to have Austin win the title and rise to the top at Mania. That's what this show was about. This is what was needed. If this wouldn't have happened, the WWF may very well have died. Austin had to win the title. Would you have had Hulk Hogan in early 1984 as Hulkamania was about to run wild instead put him in a grudge match against some celebrity (Mr. T as a heel maybe?), and have Snuka and Muraco go for the WWF title instead? Cause that's about the same thing as having the title match involve two guys in a feud that had nothing to do with the title and then wasting your biggest new star in a decade in a grudge match with a celebrity.

I get it that you hate Shawn Michaels, and as a fan I would've definitely preferred for Bret to stay with the company and get involved in the Tyson/Austin feud and put Austin over at Wrestlemania, with Shawn retiring and getting his four year break. But I think you're letting you obvious dislike for Shawn Michaels cloud your judgment on how to book Wrestlemania XIV. As interesting as it would be, and as big of mainstream attention as they would've gotten, you just can't book an Austin/Tyson match. There'd be no way to have a clear cut winner, and thus it just makes no sense.

And even having Taker and Kane be for the title simply is unnecessary. Their feud wasn't about titles and being the top guy in the company. It was about revenge and Kane trying to get redemption against Taker for the "wrongs" he committed in their childhood and how Taker ruined Kane's life. Talk about a grudge match. Taker and Kane was your grudge match.

You've had some pretty entertaining and even outrageous booking changes, but this one definitely takes the cake.

Austin/Tyson instead of Austin rising to the top and ushering in the most popular era in the WWF's history. Wow. That's all I can say.

Why is it outrageous to actually USE the guy you are paying 3 million for for one night correctly rather than as a referee in a match where one guy is gone anyway after and as admitted on his recent DVD had gone out of his way to sabotage it? I am not a fan of Shawn as a human being but at this time the ONLY reason he was there was to ensure he jobbed out clean as he had a history of not doing so... Austin didn't NEED that kind of favour and Shawn again admits he regrets how it all happened in the DVD. So get rid of it.

Austin winning the title wasn't necessary here, being in the ring with Tyson would have given him as much if not more push and built from the year before's "didn't pass out angle". Sure Tyson gets some kind of win but Austin ends with a Stunner... Tyson had NO cred as a boxer left at that time and it was a serious consideration for him to actually make the switch to wrestling if the money was right.

Taker V Kane was a grudge match but it missed something. Taker winning the title from Shawn just prior would have raised the stakes just that little bit higher for the match and a Kane win as I booked would have given Austin an "insurmountable" opponent to overcome when he finally did lift the title rather than a surly and injured Shawn. Sure it all goes back a month or two... Mr. McMahon could still be trying to stop Austin "getting hurt by Kane" and sure there is no streak... but Austin would have come out far better from this scenario and with Tyson now a wrestler on a Lesnar style contract some very interesting matchups could take place.

 

[Elchicano15]

This was a real good Mania. The attitude era was in full swing and the card was pretty good. I think the only thing I would change is put Brian Christopher in the lightweight championship match against Taka. I wasn't sure who Aguila was so I would have put him in the battle royal at the beginning.

Match of the night for me was actually Undertaker vs Kane. I really liked the build up to their feud and the back and forth match they had. It left your fan at the time see Taker go against his biggest challenge.

Of course Stone Cold winning the title was a wrestlemania moment after Tyson decided to side with Stone Cold. Awesome Mania and awesome build going into the event.

 

[klunderbunker]

Wrestlemania 14 is a great example of how knowing what's coming isn't always a bad thing. Everyone and their mother knew what was coming at the end of the night and it still worked to perfection. THis is the definition of passing the torch as SHawn just couldn't do it anymore with his back and Austin was ready. One other key thing: they didn't hotshot the title onto Austin, making his first title win that much more special. WWE could learn that today.