WrestleMania 13

I was at this Wrestlemania live in Chicago. As most wrestling fans know this was set to be the long awaited rematch between Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels from the previous years Wrestlemania. Shawn pulled out of the match some time earlier claiming a "career ending" knee injury. This may have been some kind of "blessing in disguise" as in it's place we had Steve Austin taking the place of Michaels,and one of the greatest matches in Wrestlemania history (if not THE greatest)ensued in a Austin/Hart submission match,with UFC veteran Ken Shamrock as special guest referee.

What was most interesting about this match was the infamous "double turn" of both participants. Hart was the baby face,or good guy heading into this bout,with Austin as heel,or bad guy. By the end of this match the roles had been reversed which is something not easily done over the course of one match.

While Austin's popularity was on the rise prior to this match,it was this night that he really cemented himself as a big time,main event guy.

Aside from this match there wasn't a whole lot else going on here,at least nothing of note,other than The Undertaker winning his second WWF title from Sid Vicious,with some assistance from Bret Hart.

Definitely worth viewing strictly for the Austin/Hart match,which really is one of the greatest matches in this events history.

In my opinion 1997 was one of the WWF's best years. So much happened during 1997. The Undertaker had some great matches. Ditto Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. The New Hart Foundation feuded with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Stars such as Mankind and Ahmed Johnson improved throughout the year and the tag team scene was phenomenal.

In the main event Sycho Sid battled the Undertaker. These two had wrestled in mediocre matches during late 1991/early 1992 but this match was brilliant and exceeded my expectations.

Bret Hart had an entertaining scrap with Stone Cold Steve Austin in a match refereed by Ken Shamrock. Great match but I've never understood why Bret was booed after the match.

Goldust and Hunter Hearst Helmsley had a good match too and performed above their usual standards.

There were many other great matches as well. One of my favourites pitted Davey Boy Smith and the late Owen Hart VS Vader and Mankind in a mega match.

This was a great event. For some reason even the mediocre wrestlers gave 110% and put on a good show for the fans. This event was the way things should be all the time.

This was a two match card. Fortunately one match changed the WWF which turned the promotion into the most sucessful period in wrestling at that time. Everything on the undercard barring the decent tag match between Hart/Smith vs Vader/Foley was so/so. The submission match between Hart-Austin is one of the greatest matches of all time. This was than followed by the street fight between NOD and LOD/Ahmed. The main event Sid Vs the Undertaker was alright, it wasn't the best and it shouldn't have been the main event. The main event should have been Austin & Hart, atleast check out Wrestlemania 13 for that submission match, you want be disappointed.

There seems to be some schools of thought in which WrestleMania 13 is the worst one the WWE ever produced. While I won't go quite that far, I will say that it is very "flat" all the way through and only saved by one iconic clash.

There is certainly some talent present at this WrestleMania, with characters such as Rocky Maivia (later "The Rock"), HHH (still in the "royalty" gig), Mankind, and Owen Hart. For the most part, though, none of the matches involving these individuals draw any excitement from viewers or fans. The card construction seems rather mathematical, in a sense, instead of excitement-based.

The finale, Psycho Sid vs. Undertaker, is a good example of this. The match itself isn't bad, but the pairing is odd and uninspired. One can tell from the opening bell (if not far before) that this combination is only present because they are both big men with big names thrown together. No heat behind the rivalry whatsoever.

The only thing that saves this card from being close to a complete disaster is the epic Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin submission match. Truly one of the greats in the history of WrestleManias. The legend of Austin continues to grow, while Hart really starts the heel turn that would ultimately spell his WWE end. This clash probably adds a full two stars to my ranking of WM 13 for how well-done and important it is to the grand scheme of things.

WM 13 will always be in sort of a weird place, sandwiched between two iconic WrestleManias until the end of time. It maybe isn't as bad as you remember it, but only because Hart/Austin really is "that good".

Gee, where do I start? The only two good matches were the Chicago Street Fight and Bret/Austin. Everything else blew. Hell, The Free For All match was better then most of the card! The Rock/Sultan match was so boring that I would of rather had a root canal

NOT RECOMMENDED.