WWE: The Top 15 Greatest Moments In WrestleMania History

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8. Stone Cold Steve Austin Defeats Shawn Michaels: WrestleMania 14

By the year 1998, the pro wrestling business was embarking on its most popular era to date.  Between WCW and the WWE both gaining steam, the wrestling business was reaching an unprecedented level of popularity.

And the leader of the new era in the WWE was set to be The Texas Rattlesnake, Stone Cold Steve Austin.  Austin was gaining a lot of momentum with his gimmick he had been perfecting over the past year and a half or so and was set to battle Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 14 in 1998 with the baddest man on the planet looming ringside, Mike Tyson.

The amount of publicity this gave the WWE was huge, especially heading into the biggest show of the year.  Austin and an injured Michaels put on a very good main event match at WrestleMania 14 and in the end, Austin finally got over the hump and hit HBK with a championship-winning stunner after Tyson, who appeared to be with Michaels and DX, counted a quick three for Stone Cold.

This was Austin’s first WWE Championship win in his career and as Jim Ross said on commentary after the match, the Austin era has begun.  HBK wouldn’t wrestle again for over four years with a back injury, but Stone Cold helped take the WWE and the wrestling business to a new level in the months and years to follow.

The coronation of a rattlesnake changed the WWE forever and it was, and still is, one of the greatest moments in WrestleMania history.