All language subtitles for WWE Rivals - Season 2 - EP-10 - Stone Cold VS. Shawn Michaels

- "The Heartbreak Kid"
Shawn Michaels.

- Shawn Michaels would
be like the Michael Jordan

of professional wrestling.

Stone Cold does what he wants,
when he wants.

- We were two
very strong characters.

They wanted to see him
absolutely murder me.

This is it.

This is it, Austin.

- Mike Tyson will be with us.

- To have Tyson as part of this
promotion was a natural fit.

- Whoa, here we go.

- Here we go, Tyson and Austin.

- We were fighting our ass off.

- Having Mike, it was a game
changer

- Fleet Center in Boston is sold
out for the March 29th event.

- The World Wrestling --
Champion.

- I'm not going out there.

You'll be lucky if I make it to
WrestleMania

- Shawn obviously is
off the rails to some degree.

- There's a lot of ego involved
because I mean everybody

takes pride in being number one.

- I'm going to make
this rough on everybody.

- Austin, Michaels, Tyson.

The -- on, and that's the bottom
line because Stone Cold said so.

- This rivalry has just
escalated into a war.

- When two legends collide,
their rivalry stays pinned

in our minds forever.

This is where we break down the
legendary stories behind the

greatest rivalries of all time.

I'm Freddie Prinze Jr,
and this is WWE Rivals.

- Your ass belongs to
"Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

- So it's 1997, and the rivalry
we're going to discuss today,

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin
versus Shawn Michaels.

- Shawn Michaels was truly
in my estimations at that time

the best in the business.

- You will not ever in your
lives see a man more

charismatic, more flamboyant,
or more talented than

"The Heartbreak Kid"
Shawn Michaels.

- Unbelievable.

- Shawn was better
than everybody else.

He was that good.

- And he gets right back up.

How does that man do it?

- I think from
a performance level,

I was a guy that was innovative.

- Shawn Michaels would be
like the Michael Jordan

of professional wrestling.

- He's the greatest athlete
in WWE history.

- Do absolutely anything,
any style, anytime, anywhere

to perfection with anyone.

- The showstopper, the main
event, the icon, Shawn Michaels.

I was the top guy at that time.

I was a very, very good bad guy.

I had real life heat.

- As a human being back then, I
have no use for him whatsoever.

It was just his demeanor all
around.

- Shawn was a --, like straight
up -- to most people,

so he had a lot of heat
with a lot of people.

- Quite frankly Shawn does get
described as an -- back in the

day, and he just seemed to have
not just a lot of confidence,

but a little bit of arrogance on
top of that confidence.

He was a cocky guy.

- We are D-Generation X.

You make the rules
and we will break them.

Yes.

- I think that the DX version of
Shawn Michaels was more true

to the person that
Shawn was at the time.

- DX respects absolutely nobody.

DX first began, it was Hunter,
myself, and Chyna just wanting

to push the envelope a little
bit more

- Mooning, crotch chopping,
telling people to suck it.

What we were doing was
resonating.

- I love everything DX did,
all their antics.

- We're going to sit down here
and we're going to play

a little strip poker.

- I did the suck it chop many,
many times in grade school.

Didn't know what it meant
but still did it.

- Oh.

D-Generation X are
the most controversial entity.

- 1998 is going to be the year
of D-Generation X,

and absolutely nobody
is going crash our party.

- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
doesn't care

who is in the ring with.

- I am the toughest SOB in the
WWE and can't nobody stop me.

Man, I was over the edge,
I was aggressive.

Stone Cold does what he wants,
when he wants.

- The rebel attitude.

He was doing what everybody
wishes they could do and saying

what everybody wishes
they could say.

- If anybody wants to see Vince
McMahon get his ass whipped

give me a hell yeah.

[crowd yells "Hell yeah"]

- Stone Cold represented what
you wanted to say

to all your teachers,
"You got to listen to me."

I just wanted to flip them off
and give them a stunner you know

- You can kiss my ass.

- Whoa.

- Oh, God.

- Man, this dude can do
whatever he wants, man.

I love it because you wanted
to be the guy who's able

to flip his boss off.

- And that's the bottom line
because Stone Cold said so.

- We have the ultimate anti-hero
in "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

This guy said and did whatever
he wanted, whenever he wanted.

- He was different, he was edgy.

Every single person watching
WWE wanted to live vicariously

through Steve Austin.

[crowd chants "Austin"]

- When Steve got hot,
any building in the world

you put his name on,
we sold out.

That was the hottest guy
I've certainly ever seen

in the business.

- Stone Cold was at the top of
the card and for good reason.

I mean, he was just that good.

- What an ovation for the
Texas Rattlesnake, Stone Cold.

- We're dealing with
a real burgeoning superstar.

Now, he just needs to get
to the top of the mountain,

and the guy on that mountain is
Shawn Michaels.

- There he is the
incomparable WWE Champion.

Yes, he has bravado.

- We were two very
strong characters.

Stone Cold was just take no
nonsense ass kicker,

and of course my guy was the
epitome of somebody you wanted

to see get his ass kicked.

- It was a natural progression
for those two to finally

come together.

- No more Mr. nice guy
until after this Rumble.

Jim, someone told me
the other day at the airport,

"Steve, if you think you
can win the Rumble,

give me a hell yeah."

I give a, oh, hell yeah.

- This is going to take us to
the Royal Rumble,

and that was the moment
the rivalry started.

- Elimination occurs when a
superstar is thrown over the top

rope and both feet
must touch the floor.

- 29 other WWE Superstars
who have the exact same goal

in mind, which is headlining and
main eventing WrestleMania.

- Look out.

He's from behind.

- Austin came from the crowd.

- Winning the Royal Rumble
automatic ticket

to WrestleMania.

- Stone Cold Stunner,
and the Rock is gone.

Stone Cold, Stone Cold, Stone
Cold is going to WrestleMania.

- Kind of a culmination of me
spinning off and getting as hot

as I was, and the fans really
gravitated towards me.

It was a natural thing.

- Stone Cold will meet the WWE
Champion at WrestleMania XIV.

- Certainly knew at the time
like, "Yes, that's the next guy

who needs to have a run with
this championship."

- The proverbial brass ring was
his to grab except one person

stood in the way,
the Heartbreak Kid.

- Shawn was the best of his time
and Steve was the best

of what was to come.

- On the same night that Steve
Austin punched his ticket to

WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels was
defending his WWE Championship

against the Undertaker in the
Undertaker's match,

a casket match.

- To win this match, one man
must place his opponent

in the casket and shut the lid.

- I'm going to take
a back drop out of the ring

but over the casket.

- I threw him over the top and
I think he was trying

to clear the big casket.

- Missed it.

- Michaels back dropped on that
big old wooden casket.

- And I didn't quite clear it,
so my back

caught the edge of it.

You know,
you hear a little donk.

- The edge of that casket right
on the lower back

of Shawn Michaels.

- And it hurts a little bit, but
everything in there

hurts a little bit.

- Oh

- A dynamic elbow drop
right off the top.

- Honestly, I didn't know
how bad it was.

- He got caught.

- He got him, he got him.

- Michaels with a knockout
blow on the Undertaker.

- I didn't think much of it.

Went and finished the match.

- And the lid is shut.

- Shawn wins.

- You know, you crawl in bed,
sleep for however long,

and then when I got up,
I just couldn't move.

So, call an ambulance.

[sirens blaring]

By the time the ambulance gets
there, I've made it probably

about, I don't know,
20 feet from my bedroom.

But, I just rolled off the bed
and I was army crawling

on the floor trying
to make it there.

You know, they got me up
on the stretcher and

all that kind of stuff.

Apparently, I had burst
the disc.

They just said I was going
to need surgery right away.

Then, of course, it gets all
very dramatic, and it's over,

and this, that, and the other,
or you can't wrestle again.

- Stone Cold will meet the WWE
Champion at WrestleMania XIV.

- Stone Cold wins the Rumble.

When you hear "Stone Cold" Steve
Austin and Shawn Michaels are

going to headline WrestleMania,
that's a match for the ages,

so that's good.

The bad is Shawn Michaels
gets hurt.

- The edge of that casket right
on the lower back

of Shawn Michaels.

- This is a dream matchup
and right at that time,

Shawn gets hurt and it's just
heartbreaking.

It's Shakespearian.

It's so tragic.

- If you've ever had a back
injury, you know how bad that

can be and how bad
that can hold you back.

I mean, your back is everything
in this business.

- Sitting up, getting pinned,
kicking out.

I mean, the most basic of basic
things in a professional

wrestling match you will
be so limited by.

- Shawn was in the prime of his
career, and to all of a sudden

look at it and have several
doctors tell you,

"You're never going
to wrestle again."

- You take all that in
and then it's like, "Hold on.

If I can do therapy and all that
kind of stuff, I can get through

a match at WrestleMania."

You know, of course the doctors
were like, I mean

"Technically, I guess you could,
but I wouldn't recommend it.

I mean you know it can be
really dangerous."

- Hello again everybody and
welcome to WWE Raw.

- I give Vince a call and it's
like, "If I can just maybe come

in for TVs and let me just do
therapy on this thing,

I can get to WrestleMania."

- He was in no condition to
perform in the ring the night

after the Rumble, but he wanted
to be on Raw that night.

- Last night, I went to bed.

Tossed and I turned.

- Shawn needed to take time off,
but it was also just a lot going

on up here with Shawn.

- There is only one more
mountain for

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin
to climb.

Not only is "The Heartbreak Kid"
Shawn Michaels at the top

of that mountain,
he owns that mountain.

- This was a guy who was
legitimately bitter about not

being smack in the
center of the spotlight.

- Here's the thing.

When you're the top guy and
you're carrying the company,

and they're depending on you,
that's a big responsibility.

On top of that, there's a lot of
ego involved because I mean

everybody takes pride
in being number one.

I just know that the guy
probably wasn't the best state

of mind business-wise, and he
wasn't real enthusiastic about

passing the torch to myself.

- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin,
the Heartbreak Kid lays down

for absolutely nobody.

It's like technically that's the
right guy, but when you're

getting replaced,
it's never fun.

- You have to protect Shawn
along the way to this match just

in the hopes that he'll heal up
so that he can do the magic

that Shawn Michaels does.

- Interestingly, at the same
time that the Michaels-Austin

rivalry was taking place, both
WWE and WCW were locked

in a death match
for television ratings.

- The nWo is the reason for
the success of Monday Nitro.

- At that stage, no one really
knew who was going to win.

- Mike Tyson will be with us
where we hope to make

a huge announcement.

- Mike Tyson brings a lot of
eyeballs from boxing and

mainstream media to what we do.

- And there he is, "Iron" Mike
Tyson is in Fresno.

- When he came in the door,
I was like, "Okay."

We're a group that couldn't be
beat Just something for you to

think about.

Maybe, you know.

- I'd like to do that.

- If you can fit it into your
schedule, we-

I don't recall them ever letting
me know upfront what

we were going to do with that.

- "Iron" Mike was "Iron" Mike.

You watched him and you still
recall the ferociousness,

the dominance that he reigned
over the sport of boxing.

And of course, some
of it is infamous.

When you bite Evander
Holyfield's ear, I mean,

there's little to nothing that
you won't do.

And so that means anything's
up for grabs.

So, when you watch Mike Tyson,
you want to say,

"Okay, was he hungry?"

- The baddest man on the planet,
ladies and gentlemen,

"Iron" Mike Tyson.

- Mike Tyson in a WWE ring.

- Let's hope it's not the last
time we see Mike Tyson

in a WWE ring.

- I'm a wrestling guy.

I've been watching wrestling
since the '70s,

since Bruno Sammartino.

- Bruno Sammartino.

Man, I go way back
from the '70s.

I'm just proud to be involved
in this, you know.

So, it's like a dream come true.

- But "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
ain't having it.

- Mike Tyson is standing in
Stone Cold's ring,

and business is damn sure
about to pick up.

- Something's about to pop off.

That's what we say
in the neighborhood.

- I ain't going to shake your
damn hand because I ain't out

here to make friends with you.

I respect what you've done in
the boxing world, but -- son,

when you step in
this ring, you're messing with

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin and
that's something you don't do.

- It's the craziest thing
ever, because at the time, Mike

Tyson was the craziest thing
ever in boxing and

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin was
the craziest thing in wrestling.

So to see these two worlds
collide on Raw was crazy.

- What I'm telling you is I want
a piece of Mike Tyson's ass.

- Whoa.

- Who the hell says that?

- Nobody.

- Who the hell says they
want a piece of Mike Tyson?

- Right now you got your little
beady eyes locked on the eyes of

the world's toughest
son of a bitch.

- You see the only person I've
ever seen not back down made

Steve the baddest man
on the planet.

- Do I think you could
beat my ass?

Hell, no.

Do I think I can beat your ass?

Why, hell yeah.

I don't know how good your
hearing is, but if you don't

understand what I'm saying, I
always got a little bit of sign

language, so here's to you.

- Whoa.

- Mike Tyson is standing
in Stone Cold's

- Have Tyson as part of this
promotion was a natural fit.

There was an electricity and
there was friction that people

felt was real, and they wanted
these two to collide.

- Whoa.

Here we go.

- Here we go, Tyson and Austin,
Tyson and Austin.

All hell has broken loose.

- Look at this.

- Let's just be honest.

Jim Ross yelling, "Tyson and
Austin, Tyson and Austin."

It's one of the greatest moments
in WWE history.

- We just had a good time.

We were fighting our ass off,
having a ball.

- Tyson wants Austin.

Austin wants Tyson.

- There was the big crazy brawl
and Vince is yelling.

[yelling]

- This is pandemonium
in the WWE.

- Mike Tyson has gotten the go
ahead to get back into the ring.

Only this time,
it's the wrestling ring.

- Iron Mike Tyson is back
in the fight.

This time in a wrestling mat.

- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
stepped into the ring, yelled

at Tyson, and things got ugly.

- That was one of the greatest
scenes in wrestling history.

- Every local news channel.

- Every local news channel
had that.

Everybody in the country,
everybody in the world knew

who Stone Cold and Mike Tyson
were at that point.

- It wasn't a great time.

Let's just say that.

- [laughs]

From the WCW's perspective.

- Because I was in WCW, okay?

You know, we was on a great run
at that point in time,

and then all of a sudden,
the pendulum, you know, shifted.

- It was the most effective use
of an outside celebrity ever.

I credit the WWE beating WCW in
the Monday Night Wars in a lot

of ways to that Mike Tyson run.

- Became watercooler talk
brought many people to the

business of pro wrestling and
we thrived because of it.

- Look, everybody knows that the
WWE is always about going beyond

just the wrestling business.

That's exactly what Mike did.

It was a game changer.

- Mike Tyson will be
in effect the enforcer.

He will be on the outside
of the ring in somewhat

of a guest referee capacity.

With Mike there,
it'll draw more attention to the

athleticism and the showmanship
of the athletes in the World

Wrestling -- and more
attention to the World Wrestling

-- in general.

- The story evolves, Mike Tyson
becomes the special enforcer.

He's going to assist
in helping the referee.

- When it comes down to it,
Steve, it's going to be

you and me.

I don't need any help.

I didn't get where I got-

- I'm glad to hear that.

- -if I need a bunch of help.

It's going to be you and me.

- Mike, I know you're going to
be there, don't you worry.

- Yes.
Just remember that.

- Those three are going to be
in the ring at WrestleMania.

We thought this is going
to be amazing.

Don't know what's going
to happen.

Have no idea.

Don't care.

You're going to see a car wreck
and it's going to be beautiful

somehow, we know that.

- End result is going to be
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin's

going to open up a can of whoop
ass and Shawn Michaels is going

to eat it one way or anohter.

- You know something?

If I chose to make an ass
out of the toughest SOB,

I can do that anytime I want.

[crosstalk]

- It was just chaos.

- Good morning,
the Fleet Center.

WrestleMania XIV tickets?

Okay, if you like to purchase
tickets through us,

you would either go through
Ticket Master

or you have to come
to the box office in person.

- Yeah, WrestleMania baby.

- I've been here since 10:00 PM
because I want to see Stone Cold

whip Tyson's ass.

- I got up at the crack
of dawn for this.

- Boston 3:16.

- Tyson's going down.

- Folks, the Fleet Center in
Boston is sold out for

the Match 29th event.

There ain't a ticket left.

- Right here.
Woo.

- They were gobbled up
in less than 2 minutes,

90 seconds to be exact.

- I got two ringside.

Hey, Vince.

I'm going to WrestleMania.

- We had seen tension starting
to bubble over between Mike

Tyson and "Stone Cold" Steve
Austin, but then one Monday

night, Shawn Michaels comes to
the ring.

- Here we go, JR.

- I am calling
your ass out right now.

You get your people out of here,
I'll get my people out of here,

and you and me will handle
this man-to-man.

- Michaels has got-
well, he's got some courage.

He's right in Tyson's face.

[D-Generation X's music plays]

- Wait a minute.

- What?

- What the hell?

What in the hell is this?

- For Mike Tyson now
to be with one of your

hottest groups was gold.

- Mike Tyson is the newest
member of

D-Generation X it appears.

- And it was also something that
the audience never expected

in a million years.

It also stacked the deck against
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

- Mike Tyson with the-- doing
all of this.

It was cool.

- I still get this.

Take a picture like this, Mike.

I love it.

- How in the hell can Tyson be
the enforcer at WrestleMania?

- Now the enforcer isn't going
to be fair, we feel.

Now, he's a part of this faction
of DX, which stacks the deck

even more against
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

- Those were the things that
were really good and

enjoyable about that time.

Right now in the moment, you're
out there with Mike Tyson.

What's going to happen if
Stone Cold gets in your way?

- I'm going to knock
him the -- out.

[laughing]

- When it comes down
to at its foundation

is good versus evil.

- A trip by Michaels, and
Michaels and Helmsley

dragging Austin outside.

- Throughout the weeks,
they do things where they tie

Steve up in the ropes.

- We all wanted to see Stone
Cold finally get to the top of

the mountain, but now Stone Cold
has to deal with Shawn Michaels,

and apparently Mike Tyson
is fighting on the side

of Shawn as well.

- Your ass belongs to
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

WrestleMania XIV, March 29th.

Austin, Michaels, Tyson, the --
on, and that's the bottom line

because Stone Cold said so.

- Shawn Michaels has apparently
reinjured his back while

training just a few days ago
in San Antonio.

- Shawn had gotten injured at
the Royal Rumble, and the word

was he would be in no shape to
wrestle until WrestleMania.

- When best meets best, when
Stone Cold meets the Heartbreak

Kid, I want you to be at your
best because an ass whipping is

always the same no matter how
good of shape you're in.

- I think it was stop and go
from Royal Rumble all the way to

Mania as to whether or not Shawn
would actually make it.

There were different instances
and different times where Shawn

would threaten he wasn't going
to make it because of his back.

- Working day-to-day
was miserable.

You can't do anything
to get comfortable.

You can't stand, you can't sit,
you can't sleep.

There just weren't
a lot of times that

I wasn't in a miserable state.

- He was angry and bitter about
it, drugs and alcohol didn't

help that, so it was a tough
place for him.

- The closer it got,
the worse it got.

This Sunday, Stone Cold, the
Heartbreak Kid is going to turn

your lights out
for the last time.

- We want to thank everybody
for coming out to the

D-Generation X public workout.

- Yeah.

- The build up to this match,
they're holding open workouts

like boxing or UFC,
which I thought was so cool.

- The public workout was
designed as a photo op between

myself, Shawn, and Mike Tyson.

- I think they figured,
I don't know, 1,500, 2,000

people would come.

We're in the limo.

We come driving up and it's like
10,000 people out there.

It is a mob scene.

- Shawn Michaels the World
Wrestling -- Champion.

- It was a mad house,
it was insanity.

I don't know that the city was
prepared for as many people

as showed up, so security
was an issue for sure.

- The World Wrestling --
is doing you the honor by

bringing you the greatest event
in Sports Entertainment history.

So we're out there cutting a
promo, and all of a sudden just

somewhere out of the blue, boom.

- As he was cutting the promo,
somebody threw a battery

at him and hit him in the face.

- --, and then I turned around.

I just start leaving the ring.

- That would piss anybody off,
but when you're wound up as

tight as Shawn, in a bad a
place as Shawn was,

it really ticks you off.

- I'm out of here.

Hunter's like, "What?"

- Shawn obviously is off the
rails to some degree at this

point and time in his life.

- Let's not have anything thrown
if you want to hear from DX and

the World Wrestling --
Champion.

- Shawn turned around and went
back to the limousine,

and refused to come out of the
limousine and refused to go out

and do what we needed him to do.

- I'm in the limo and
Shane McMahon's in there.

Shane drove with us and,
"You got to go back out there."

"I'm not going out there.

You guys can kiss my --.

You're going to be lucky
if I make it to WrestleMania."

- So I went to the limo, and
I pleaded with Shawn and

I begged Shawn
to please, please do this.

And he was like,
"There's no security out there.

I'm not doing it."

Blah, blah, blah.

Said, "Okay."

- What are you going to do to
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin

if he gets in our face?

- Now, Stone Cold,
I want to see what my--

[Stone Cold's music plays]

- Before you know it, right at
the time that Shawn was supposed

to head in the ring, I felt a
kick in the back of my head as

Shawn had leaped over me to get
into the ring and actually do

what he was supposed to do.

- I come running out of the
limo, run up there, put the

boots to him, tie him in the
ropes, do the kiss on the head.

- It all added to his aura of
this arrogant -- who just needed

to get put in his place.

- At the end of the day, he did
everything he was asked to do.

- I was a young, immature,
drug addict,

so I was absolutely
freaking livid.

The reason that it always makes
it hard is because you know

the truth, and the truth is,
Steve was the next big thing.

- You're looking at the next WWE
Champion right here,

and that's the bottom line
because Stone Cold said so.

- It was just a tough
pill to swallow.

Where I was at the time I did
not have the ability

to handle that well.

- It wasn't always easy
being Shawn's friend.

It wasn't always easy just
being around him all the time.

It really was a situation of
kind of having each others back

through thick and thin.

In many ways,
we are very similar.

- [stammers]

Right.

- Shawn was moody,
Shawn was very difficult

to deal with at the time.

- You know that's what drugs
do to you, you're very moody

and you can be
up one second and down the next.

- Shawn had a lot of
substance issues at the time.

Pulling into a hotel, Shawn
being completely passed out

in the car, drooling on himself,
pushed him to his room

and then, you know,
took care of it.

- I don't know what would've
happened if he wasn't

there to sort of babysit.

Where are we going to go?

I don't even know where to go.

- He could have you know washed
his hands and said,

"Look, dude,
this is going too far.

I'm not going to stick by you.

You can go do all this
on your own.

If you get your backside handed
to you, you get your

backside handed to you."

He never did that.

He stuck by me.

- If it wasn't for Triple H,
I don't know if he would've

made half the functions that he
needed to get to to make

that match happen in the ring.

- Shawn was battling back issues
and Shawn was second-guessing

everything because Shawn
was also looking at the reality

that he may never wrestle again
after WrestleMania.

- I was on fire, you know, and I
was blowing past everybody.

He had been there pulling the
wagon, working his ass off.

He took a lot of pride
in his job.

You know all of a sudden here
comes a fresh horse

and we're going to put the
saddle on this horse.

He didn't like it that much.

- The one thing I'm going to do,
because it sucks, is I'm going

to make this rough on everybody.

I am going to make sure
everybody knows that this

is a huge pain in the ass for
me, and I'm going to be a huge

pain in the ass to everybody.

- The greatest pay-per-view
extravaganza ever,

WrestleMania XIV.

- It's WrestleMania, Stone Cold,
Shawn Michaels, and Mike Tyson

is there as
our special enforcer.

- Most people did not want
to talk to me that day.

I think Steve may be came
in once and I've never done

a WrestleMania with that
little information.

I put him in a really crappy
spot, I mean, it was tough.

- The only way I can describe
Shawn's behavior prior to

WrestleMania XIV is kind
of strange but only strange

in the sense that
I wasn't around him.

- It wasn't him really
that I was angry at.

- He's the greatest
WWE Champion of all time, folks.

- In my mind,
I was being discarded.

You know what I mean?

[Stone Cold's music plays]

- Can you feel the emotion that
we're all experiencing here as

the WWE Championship
is about to be put on the line?

The number one contender for the
WWE title "Stone Cold" Steve

Austin must overcome the
greatest WWE Champion

of all time and-

- "The Baddest Man on
the Planet" "Iron" Mike Tyson.

He looks in great shape too.

- Again, how can
he be impartial?

- You always knew whenever
Shawn stepped up to bat,

he was going to hit a home run.

- From high above.

Oh.

Unbelievable.

Unbelievable.

- Always made sure that
no matter where he was on

WrestleMania, his match
was the one to beat.

- Nobody has ever
outperformed Shawn Michaels

in a big-match situation.

It don't get no
bigger than this.

- And I think that aggravated
him more than probably anything.

He couldn't give you what
he wanted to give you because

his body wouldn't let him.

- This is it.

- The World Wrestling --
title.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin
against Shawn Michaels.

- Shawn Michaels is dealing
with a legitimate back injury.

Working injured and working
hurt are two different things.

- He wanted to be the guy, and
he was the guy, and then he got

injured right before what could
have been one of the

greatest matches of all time.

- To know the type of style
Shawn Michaels is capable

of doing, the Shawn Michaels
that we know, the showstopper,

the entertainer, the best
entertainer in the business

that's ever seen.

We don't know that until the
match goes on and happens.

- Nobody has ever, ever
outperformed Shawn Michaels

in a big-match situation.

And folks, it don't get
no bigger than this.

- Where I found my joy was
inside the ropes,

and that was always
the best time to me.

Everything to me came down
to my performance.

- Folks, I've been doing
this a long time.

I never felt this intensity.

- Shawn's best in the world
when the bell rings,

even if he is in a bad place.

- You can tell because
of who he is.

He was pushing through 100%.

- Look out.

- Oh, my God.

What velocity.

- The biggest thing was
my lack of mobility.

Again, my brain working, tick,
tick, tick like that,

and my body not
responding to it.

- I think Shawn is hurt.

I think he's hurt bad.

- It is ridiculously
disheartening when your mind

and your heart wants
to do something,

but your body just
won't let you.

- Shawn Michaels is obviously
in pain, gutting it out here.

- To watch him and think and
know that he pretty much

has a broken back to see
what he did that night.

- The WWE champion using every
ounce of strength

and energy that he's got.

and Shawn Michaels
somehow kips up.

My God, can you believe
this man?

- Can't help but have a
incredible amount

of respect for that.

- Michaels, now, he's injured.

And the elbow.

- The match is reaching
that crescendo.

- Oh, wait.

Uh oh.
Referee Mike Chioda.

- The referee gets taken out.

There's only one man
who can step in and fill

the shoes of the referee
in this match.

And you know, it's Mike Tyson.

Mike Tyson has to go
from enforcer to referee.

- Mike Tyson has got
to do something now.

- You firmly believed that he
was down with DX

and that he would cost
Steve Austin the championship.

That's how it felt.

That's what it seemed
like was going to happen.

- Austin ducked it.

Austin going for the stunner
and Michaels countered.

Michaels going for another kick.

Austin.

- He got it.

- The stunner.

Mike Tyson in.

Austin is the champion.

Stone Cold, Stone Cold.

The Austin era has begun.

- To finally be the world
champion, it felt right.

- Stone Cold's eight-year
journey has been culminated

with WWE Gold.

- Mike holds your arm up
in the air,

it ain't going nowhere

because Mike's holding
your arm up in the air.

- This is the start of the next
chapter for WWE because we never

really actually had a champion
like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

- It felt that was the passing
of the torch from one era to the

next, and now it was Steve's
ball to run with.

- We've got a new WWE Champion.

Mike Tyson holding up the 3:16,
and I don't think Shawn Michaels

can believe what he's seeing.

Michaels said, "No, Mike, you
were supposed to be with me."

- Shawn looks at Tyson like,
"What the hell did you just do?

You were supposed
to be one of us."

- Oh, Michaels insulting Tyson.

Michaels standing up to the
baddest man on the planet.

- If you're going to go out,
go out with style,

go out in with a blaze of glory.

- A right hand.

Down goes Michaels.

- We kind of went over it in the
back.

I just remember telling him,
"I'm going to go like this."

and he moved so fast.

He was like, whew, whew.

- A right hand, Tyson, Tyson.

Down goes Michaels.

- Betrayal.

[laughs]

Betrayal.

- Mike Tyson has knocked
out Shawn Michaels.

- Ladies and gentlemen, will you
ever forget WrestleMania XIV?

- For Shawn to still get up and
do what he had to do with Mike

Tyson, knowing that this might
be the last time I ever do this.

Oh, man.

- A right hand.

Down goes Michaels.

- At the end of the match, as we
see Shawn Michaels, Triple H,

Chyna, all of DX embracing,
it's almost like

it's one last goodbye.

There's an eerie feeling that
tomorrow is going to look

very different for all of DX.

- The idea of not going out
on your own terms and then

realizing that there's
absolutely nothing

on the other side.

I grabbed my stuff and I'm
leaving and as

I'm getting escorted out,
I hear talking or whatever.

"What's going on there?"

Oh that's a press conference,

Steve and Mike and Vince
are all in there.

Shawn Michaels says,
"I don't lay down for anybody."

I didn't ask him to lay down.

I hit him with the stunner.

One, two, three.

He was looking up at the lights,
so I beat him.

- Me and him knew
what we were going to do.

We were going
to take this title.

We fooled the D-Generation X
all the time.

- As the two of them were
talking, I looked out the back

door and I saw a very injured
Shawn Michaels limp by.

- And shane comes running
up to me, "Stop."

I once again cursed him,
and then turned around

and kicked the door.

I have no idea what I was going
to do other than make a scene.

- Yes, it's -- up.

It's selfish and it's stupid,
but that's where

he was at that time.

- Any time that you have the new
guard come in and the old guard

leaving, it's a tough moment.

- All the focus now was on
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

[crowd cheers]

- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

- Austin went on to be the guy.

And Steve Austin went on to be
the face of the company

for several years.

Basically, solidify his place
in the history books.

- Austin driving that monster
truck right in here

to the arena.

Listen to the ovation.

- The era of
Steve Austin really,

really changed the face of WWE.

All of a sudden, we became the
hottest TV show in the world.

And Steve Austin was the driving
force behind WWE being on top.

- Can you imagine
the lost opportunity?

We have the Attitude Era and we
have Stone Cold

stay incredibly hot.

Then you have The Rock get hot.

Can you imagine if we had
Shawn Michaels during that time?

- Well, talk about this because
it's a short-lived rivalry.

A lot of the rivalry, a lot of
the discussion around

it is we only got one match.

- [chuckles]
Yes.

Steve had so many
matches with The Rock.

He would have had that many
or more with Shawn.

Shawn would've had
that many with The Rock.

I mean, the lost opportunity for
the world of wrestling

is immeasurable.

- You can certainly have
a lot of what-ifs.

Time, wisdom, maturity,
and all those things.

Take me to a different place
just because of where

my life went to.

- Shawn Michaels took several
years off and got his stuff

together, if you will.

- His last match, March 29th,
1998 at WrestleMania.

- He got a whole second run
of a career, but he also had

lost all of the negative baggage
to where now he was

just a pleasure to be around.

[laughter]

- He's dumping it on my head
while we're talking.

I'm like-

- He seemed like
a completely different person.

A changed man.

At least maybe his mind was
rested and he wasn't so cocky.

- Just as Shawn is healed up,
like two ships in the night,

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin is
the one that's saying goodbye.

And ironically, Shawn's first
WrestleMania back in WWE

is Steve Austin's last
WrestleMania in the WWE.

- Austin saluting these fans
here at WrestleMania.

- After I retired,
and he was retired,

we went hunting a few times.

- It was kind of a new venture
for him, it was something that

I'd been doing my whole life,
gave us something to actually

talk about because we didn't
have too much in common.

- He'll call every now and then
and be like, "How you feeling?

How are you still walking
and stuff?"

[laughs]

[Stone Cold's music plays]

[crowd cheers]

- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

This is an incredible moment.

- After years go by, Stone Cold
and Shawn Michaels get one more

WrestleMania moment together.

- My childhood hero Shawn
Michaels, "Stone Cold" Steve

Austin in there with us.

- [laughs]

HB-Schizzle.

- He's a sexy boy.

- That in it of itself is like,
how did we get to this point?

- Oh, no.
Stunner.

- Goodnight.

- Guys, what an
incredible moment.

- You get to see Shawn Michaels
and Austin have a moment

together in the ring.

- When you work with an
egomaniac like this in the Hall

of Fame, you can't
even call your entrance.

Your ass belongs to
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

[crowd cheers]

- Shawn and Austin is a classic
rivalry, but I don't think it's

the rivalry that we expected.

- Tyson and Austin.

Tyson and Austin.

- Shawn was legitimately going
through something terrible.

Steve was on the hottest run of
his life.

And they're in each other's way.

- This is as close
as you ever will get.

Steve was the perfect guy
that they wanted to see

him to absolutely murder me.

- He got him.

The stunner.

Austin is the champion

- That rivalry is
what made Steve

Austin the number
one guy in WWE.

- The Austin era has begun.

- All the pieces of the
puzzle said,

here's your -- champion
right here.