[7.0] "Surprisely better than I remembered it being the first time I watched it. This had a huge big fight feel added by Mike Tyson presence but by itself it just felt like a huge deal. Shawn obviously came in fucked up from his back but they started off really hot before Shawn botched the turnbuckle spot he always does and that clearly rocks him as it takes him a while before hes able to get back into the match. Austin did well in being able to help Shawn get thru a 20 minute match. An entertaining brawl but clearly shouldve been much more unfortunate for HBK injury. Props to Shawn for putting on a show. 3.5/5"
[9.0] "This match I think was great and it got Steve austin the belt I truly think it Shawn wasn't hurt this match would have been an instant classic but he got hurt and what we got was great. ****1/2"
[5.0] "The first part of this match entirely comes down to Shawn Michaels selling, highlighted by his ass coming down. Almost immediately Triple H starts interfering and gets kicked out, barely a minute into the match. A pretty sloppy brawl outside the ring ensues, they climb back in the ring, and its just meat and potatoes with very few moves exchanged, just some punches and Austin throwing Shawn into turnbuckles. The crowd seemed red hot going into it, and 5 minutes in its just died down. A side note, but having photographers ring side for a big fight is awesome and needs to be brought back. Austin throws Shawn outside, its a little sloppy again, and Austin goes over the turnbuckle, then is hit with the ring bell. Were about 10 minutes in and I dont think theres been a wrestling move yet, or even a true lockup. Fans start chanting Holyfield at Tyson because nothing the guys are doing in the ring is all that interesting. In whats probably the most amount of actual action, Austin goes for his Lou Thesz Press, and somehow Michaels gets him out of that and ties him up in the ring post on the outside and attacks his knee in whats the first thing I can see resembling an actual story. Michaels gets thrown into the ring post, down for a 2 count, and then is able to go right back to working over Austins knee. Theres just not much here to sink your teeth into. As Stone Cold is recovering outside the ring, Shawn Michaels does a nice baseball slide, and then Tyson throws Stone Cold back in the ring by giving him the worst wedgie Ive ever seen. Shawn goes back to working on the knee in a figure four. A little bit more back and forth, but really its just him throwing Shawn into the turnbuckles, punching him, and kicking him, and maybe a back body drop here and there. Shawn kips up but the camera misses it, heads up to the top rope for an elbow drop. He starts tuning up the band for Sweet Chin Music, Austin ducks it, goes for the stunner, gets reversed, ducks the sweet chin music again, and hits a stunner - Tyson comes into the ring for a quick 3 count in whats a totally underwhelming turn. This is just an underwhelming main event. Its good that they just went with Stone Cold and didnt do any stupid swerves, but a totally underwhelming wrestlemania main event match. 5/10"
[7.0] "Ein ordentlicher Main Event, der klar zum Ziel hat Stone Cold zum Main Eventer zu machen. Das hat man auch erreicht, da es am Ende keine Zweifel gab und die Fans Austin auch ohne Ende abgefeiert haben. Match selber war ein netter Brawl mit guter Stimmung."
[7.0] "i mean this match has been very over hyped for a very very long time. I understand HBK was in a bad spot with his back and couldnt do much but this match honestly not anything special. Its a good brawl a good way to crown stone cold and a little passing of the torch since hbk is going away for a few years but idk it just doesnt hit for me. And the ending just came so abruptly honestly the finish just happened out of no where and i also didnt like tyson counting the pin imo."
[5.0] "Another brawl focused match, with HBK obviously hurt through all the match and Stone Cold trying his best, it was something that could havae been just perfect, but it was snot the moment to do so, making this a fine match, but beeing on the main event gave it too much spotlight."
[8.0] "Well it's a much different match compared to their technical masterpiece at King of the Ring. Austin is after the neck injury, Michaels is probably on shit ton of painkillers and as a result it's not as fast as their previous encounter. It's still fantastic though, mainly because of how hot the whole thing was. There's some lack of DQ shenanigans, but you could argue that the referee wouldn't want to end such a huge main event in this fasion. They brawl in and out of the ring, the crowd is obviously into Stone Cold and his aggression is on full display here and it's so entertaining that Michaels doesn't have to do many huge bumps that he got everybody used to. Simple things get big reactions, both workers know when to slow things down and when to pick up the pace and the finish is iconic, even though Tyson could have counted to three a little slower."
[5.0] "This match is an encapsulation to what WWF was moving towards throughout the end of the 1990s, and it's an interesting match to look back on with Austin's changes as a wrestler, as well as Shawn's last WWF match until his '02 return in WWE. Shawn is probably all kinds of fucked up prior to this match, wouldn't want to be in his head prior to this one. It's... messy! Really the big interest is the inclusion of Tyson (which is why they got such a big ratings hike with his feud with Austin, leading to a big PPV buyrate.) And not that great at times. It's a WWF brawl, but not as good as the other ones that've been done. The finish was really messy and it kind of removes the potential for Austin's pop to be much bigger with the Tyson fast count."
[7.0] "Could have been better, and I know I'm being overly picky, but Tyson's fast counting kinda killed the moment. Still a good match and a good moment, but man, the crowd almost didn't know what was happening he counted so fast. Had he not been as over as he was it could have completely killed the moment."
[7.0] "I feel like it can be hard to accurately rate this match, and its quite visible just how much pain HBK is in the enter time. Everything on display is mechanically perfect but the match features little in the way of actual spots. Still, both mens performances are commendable, HBKs especially is Herculean. Watch this match for the historical significance, but maybe temper your expectations."
[7.0] "Welcome to Stone Cold University. Fair play to Shawn for working this with a fucked up back because he was bumping. He did look kinda out of it at points so I can forgive the leg work and the lack of selling from it as he was probably catching his breath. Austin looked great, fun counter sequence into the Stunner and Tyson did the turn afterwards. The referee ignoring all the blatant DQ's from interference and weapons was weird but kinda funny - ***1/2"
[8.0] ""The Austin Era has begun! " And it sure was, this is one of those historical matches that helped the World Wrestling Federation to be what it is today. Is it a sluggish, slow at times, and with both men carrying injuries? Sure. But the final sequence of the match and the contribution of Mike Tyson making Steve Austin look like a legend in the making helped a lot to establish this match as the main event that changed everything, and kicked off the Attitude Era with a bang. I suggest you to watch it. PS: Those taped fists sure helped a lot to make Shawn Michaels cooperate."
[8.0] "Considering the injuries that both men were fighting, this was a very very good match, the Dx Band playing Michaels out was very cool, the match was fun if briefly a bit sluggish, the finish with a failed Sweet Chin Music and then a stunner was really good. A main event worthy match for sure."
[7.0] "It's a well known story these days that people backstage were worried that Michaels was going to try and dick with the finish. As match time approached, The Undertaker sat at the Gorilla position with taped fists waiting to see how things played out. Everything went as booked and Taker stood up, and walked off without incident. Shawn messed up his back at the Rumble and has been sidelined for weeks and is now out there trying to do one last J-O-B and he must have been whacked up on pain killers to try numb his back. Mike Tyson is the special enforcer at ringside and is with DX. Shawn makes his way to ringside and makes a comment about dedicating this match to Earl. Shawn's back is really bad here. Both guys control back and forth. The referee goes down after getting smashed in the corner. Very nice finish. Shawn goes for the super kick, Austin ducks, Austin tries a stunner, Shawn shoves him off and tries another super kick, Austin catches the leg spins him around and gives him a stunner. Tyson runs in to make a fast three count, Austin scores the pin and we have a new champion. Shawn confronts Tyson for putting on an Austin t-shirt, and gets decked. This would be Shawn's last WWF match until 2002. The Austin/Attitude era has begun. Despite Shawn's injury and probably Austins recent injuries, the match went off without a hitch and Shawn did the right thing on the way out."
[8.0] "This would go on to be Shawn Michaels last match for a bit and he went out with one hell of a performance. The two brawl around on the outside for a bit which was good up until they get back inside the ring. Austin had a solid control segment and Michaels selling was good, he even takes a back body drop bump on the outside which is crazy considering the condition his back was in. Michaels control segment started after he hit Austin with the bell and featured him working on Austin's leg which was easily the best portion of this match, Austin's selling was ok. The finishing stretch was nice with the two countering each other finishers until Austin finally lands the stunner after the 2nd attempt and Tyson counts for the win.****"
[7.0] "Gutes Wrestlingmatch mit vielen Brawlelementen und einer großen historischen Signifikanz. Am Anfang des Matches herrscht noch viel Chaos, Chyna und HHH werden vom Schiri aus der Halle verbannt und Michaels hat noch den mit dem DX-Shirt an der Seite stehenden Mike Tyson. Danach wurde etwas langsamer gearbeitet, die Spannung bleibt hoch und man wartet auf etwas Großes. Das Ende war gut inszeniert und Tyson hilft letztendlich doch Austin. Dieser ist jetzt WWF Champion und somit beginnt die Ära von Stone Cold Steve Austin, während Michaels hier sein letztes Match für eine lange Zeit gewrestelt hat(***1/2)."
[7.0] "Given that both men were working with major injuries, this was far better than it had any right to be, and it's a shame they never had the truly great match they could have had if the timing had been right. Like their previous big match, this involved a finish with referee-based nonsense, although it wasn't as bad as in that one. A pretty solid match for what looked at the time to be the end of Michaels' career - as it was it would be over 4 years until he made his comeback, and Austin would be a few matches from retirement by that point."
[8.0] "Shawn Michaels wrestling with the very back injury that ended his career for quite a few years is one of the great feats in professional wrestling history. Steve Austin solidifying his place as the new face of North American professional wrestling is right up there with it. Acknowledging all of this, the wrestling match itself was fantastic. The storytelling was Grade A, with Michaels refusing to let go of the top spot and Austin trying desperately to pry it from him. We can obviously imagine what could have been had Michaels not been injured, but I loved this match either way. 4 stars, 8 out of 10."
[7.0] "Pretty good match between the two. Not HBK's best match at all but his back was completely screwed at this point. Really awesome to see Austin finally win the WWF Title. Crowd was super into it at the end and were electric with the wrap-up angles to turn Tyson face"
[5.0] "Der Main Event war schon relativ intensiv und spannend geführt, wrestlerisch allerdings sogar für Austin eher untere Kategorie. Das sonst sehr berühmte Selling von HBK hat mir hier ebenfalls nicht so gut gefallen. Das Ende kam dann viel viel zu schnell und mit einem Fastcount von Tyson? Das entsprach hier einfach nicht meinem Geschmack!"
[6.0] "This is neither man's best match, but they both put in a good performance and churn out an enjoyable match given the circumstances. The crowd is fully invested in Austin's rise to the top the Tyson stuff adds a lot of drama. They work around Shawn's hurt back by starting the match off with some stalling before having a brawl around the arena. Shawn even eats a back body drop from the ring to the floor, an insane move to take when your back is literally broken! The match quality takes a dip once they get back in the ring as it becomes apparent that HBK can't wrestle at the pace that he's used to. After a ref bump, the enforcer Mike Tyson to count Austin's pin. This is the moment the Attitude Era began. Just imagine how good this could have been if neither man was injured!"
[6.0] "I thought this served it's purpose well enough. All that really needed to happen was for Stone Cold to get his big Mania title win and look great doing it, and that's what happened. The fact that they happened to have a pretty good, if forgettable (except for the Tyson stuff), match was nice too. ***"
[8.0] "For how badly injured Shawn was and how limited Austin was with his neck issues, it's quite frankly amazing that they were able to put out this great a match. It would have been interesting to see how this would have played out if both men were healthy: it might have been an all time classic. But what we got was fine, they worked around the limitations well and made this a very watchable main event that gave the fans what they wanted: Austin as champion."
[6.0] "THE AUSTIN ERA HAS BEGUN! Wow this match was very underwhelming. How did these two legends manage to not pull off a classic. In their defense, Michaels was injured and didn? t seem all in. I have a feeling that if this match happened five years later it would? ve been great! However, this did kickstart the legend that is Stone Cold Steve Austin which, in my opinion, saved the company. ***1/2"
[6.0] "Not a bad match whatsoever, but incredibly disappointing considering the caliber of talent in the ring. There was some solid, but not great, in ring work throughout, but that was a little slow and prodding, which is understandable though unfortunate due to Michaels's back injury going into the match. What really took away from this match for me though was the pointless constant interference, whether that be from HHH and Chyna before they were ejected or meddling from Mike Tyson. This spilled over into the ending, where some relatively well built drama is completely sacrificed to shoot a betrayal angle with Mike Tyson. I'm sure a good few at the time loved this match, especially the more casual fans who would actually enjoy the stuff with Tyson, but I found this match hard to get into, though it had a few redeeming qualities. ***1/4"
[2.0] "Yea this is Shawn Michaels 2nd worst Mania match behind only the Vince match, Tyson being in this was pointless, Austins offense and selling was bad as always"
[8.0] "The only way you could tell how banged up both guys were is the fact that they didn't do even more than they did, but they did a hell of a lot. I think this match was excellent by any measure and I really enjoyed it!"
[5.0] "A very solid match under the circumstances but I'm not a big fan of the match. HBK was good in the match, loved his offence and selling in the mathc. The vicious attacks on Austin's leg was great too. Austin was disappointing though. His selling was non-existent and his offence was really dull and the crowd didn't respond too well either. **3/4"
[8.0] "Great main event, the match had a big fight feel with Tyson involved and it paid off beautifully. Considering Michaels' serious back pain going in, he doesn't show signs of it anywhere in this match again just showing how great of a performer he was. Great blend of fast paced brawling and methodical working to let the crowd breathe leading up to that brilliant climax, an intense series of counters between Michaels and Austin leading to the trademark Stunner to put Michaels away for good. Tyson does the count which is a great shocking moment and it isn't too much of an issue considering he doesn't get involved at all throughout the match apart from throwing both men back into the ring; it helps the focus stay on the wrestlers which is a good thing. The post-match angle is f**king amazing too and puts Austin over as the absolute star he was becoming. ***3/4"
[8.0] "good match all around. I really liked the entrances and thought it was cool how you saw them backstage beforehand. I liked "this is for you Earl". I also liked how DX had a live performance for their entrance. It made the match seem big. Michaels was acting like a cowardly heel. He'd get a hit in and then run outside the ring away from Austin. A good spot early on where Austin backdrops Michaels to the outside onto Helmsley. I liked how Mike Chioda sent Helmsley and Chyna to the back after interfering. I liked how they fought by the entrance way. Austin has control for a bit and there are some good spots I liked. One being when Austin pushed Michaels face first from the apron to the announce table. Another when Michaels tried to attack Austin's leg using the post and then Austin pulled Michaels and hit his head on the post. I liked how you can see the pain of Michaels as he grimaced because of his hurt back. Michaels attacked Austin's knee well using the ring post. There was some good leg work done to Austin. An example being Michaels using the figure four. I liked how he would hold onto the ropes. The finish is really great how he hit the stunner after a second attempt in a row."
[8.0] "Dieses Match gehört - natürlich wegen der Beteiligung Mike Tysons - zu den sehr berühmten und bekannten Wrestlingmatches. Darüberhinaus ist es aber in gewisserweise auch ein Meilenstein für die WWE-Geschichte. Steve Austin kommt zum langerwarteten Titel-Durchbruch und selten hat sich die Entscheidung für einen Titelträger richtiger angefühlt. Der Mann ist sowas von over. Dazu läutet der Titelverlust HBKs langsam seine lange Auszeit ein, ebenfalls ein Meilenstein. Von der Bedeutung her steht dieses Match also ganz oben, an einer Wegscheide mitten in der Attitude Era. Das Match selbst ist mehr als solide, aber nicht hochklassig. HBK ist einfach nicht mehr in der Lage Austin und sich selbst zu einem absoluten Top-Match zu ziehen. Dennoch ist es ordentlich aufgebaut und enthält schöne Sequenzen. Die Crowd ist heiß und der Austin-Unterstützer Jim Ross in Hochform. Viele seiner Kommentare aus diesem Match schaffen es später immer wieder in Trailer und Zusammenschnitte. Insgesamt aufgerundete ****."
[4.0] "Sorely disappointing match that even HBK and Austin themselves regret to this day. The only good part is the end with Austin hitting the stunner and starting his reign as the new face of the World Wrestling Federation. However, everything before that was a total bore. You could tell Michaels heart wasn't into it and that he was just going through the motions out there. This isn't the worst Wrestlemania main event of all time, but it's definitely the most disappointing in my book."
[8.0] "Zunächst vorab - ich bin 1998 kein Tyson-Fan gewesen. Natürlich bringt der Medienhype die WWF in die Schlagzeilen, mir persönlich hat das Getue um Tyson ein wenig den Protagonisten des Main-Events der wichtigsten Wrestlingveranstaltung des Jahres das Rampenlicht gestohlen. Abseits dieser Personalie stellt dieses Match den langersehnten ersten Titelgewinn Austins dar - was sich aus zwei Gründen überfällig anfühlt - die Fans WOLLEN ihn, wie sie lange keinen Mann zum Champion haben wollten und, zweitens, Michaels kann auch nicht mehr anders - bei aller Begeisterung sorge ich mich lange Zeit um seine Rückenverletzung, die ihm sichtlich zu schaffen macht. Trotzdem oder gerade darum ist das hier eine höchst anständige Partie, welche wohl noch zwei Klassen besser sein könnte, wenn Michaels nicht besagte Rückenverletzung plagen würde und Austin beim Summerslam zuvor nicht Owens folgenschweren Piledriver hätte einstecken müssen. Ein schnittiges Match als schwermütiger Wachwechsel."
[8.0] "This match is a grower. Glad to see it get some more praise over the years. HBK had some guts to go through the 2nd half of the match with a messed up back. Legendary finish as well."
[9.0] "I personally love this match. A gutsy performance by Shawn after the turnbuckle shot to his back he in way more pain. He still delivers like he usally does at wrestlemania. Could it have been better if his back wasn't so messed up sure, but he started the attitude era and on this day passed the torch and the WWF championship to Austin ****1/4"
[9.0] "A very gutsy performance by Michaels, working this match really injured & still putting on an awesome performance. I truly enjoyed watching him work the heat on Austin, it was my favorite thing about this, the brawling was good too & so was Austin on control. All in all a very tight, great package of 'rasslin. ****"
[10.0] "Im Gegensatz zu dem was uns noch beim King of the Ring zugemutet wurde, haben hier beide, sogar ein Verletzter Michaels, alles abgerufen was Sie drauf hatten! Natürlich war ja auch Medienpräsenz wegen Mike Tyson riesig, der ja auch den Kampf irgendwie entschieden hat. Zwar gefielen die Ausgänge nicht, ich war NIE ein Austin Fan, der (vorläufige) Weggang von Michaels, positiv war ja, dass sich die WWE wieder erholte gegenüber der WCW. Dennoch ein Top-Match!"
[7.0] "Shawn Michaels is injured during the fight but tries to cover it. The match is enjoyable, full of good action and the fans were on Stone Cold side. I only don't appreciate Mike Tyson's fast count. ***1/2"
[8.0] "Michaels vs. Austin war gut. Bigmatch Feeling hier wieder sehr krass vorhanden, die Emotionen kommen hier sehr gut rüber und es ist wahnsinnig spannend. Die Schlussphase ist gut gelungen mit dem für die Attitude Era gewöhnlichen Triple Finisher Counter Finish, hätte aber noch 1-2 Minuten länger sein können (*** 3/4)."
[8.0] "This was a pretty good Wrestlemania main event. Not the greatest but up there in the upper echelon of them. Having Tyson involved helped up the ante of the match and helped it mean even more than it already did."
[7.0] "Wenn man bedenkt, dass Austin ausser Punches eigentlich kaum was zeigt, war das Match erstaunlich gut. Shawn Michaels ist sichtbar nicht 100% fit und ist trotzdem so verdammt gut. Man merkt allerdings, das hier ist eben WWF '98 und das bedeutet es gibt viel Brawling und Chaos zu Beginn. Speziell die zweite Hälfte des Matches in der Michaels Austins Knie zerstört war aber sehr schön anzusehen und das Ende war natürlich historisch."
[5.0] "Ich habe einen riesen Respekt vor Shawn Michaels dafür, dass er dieses Match durchgezogen hat. Nach jedem Move kann man die Schmerzen in Shawns Gesicht ablesen. Selbst eine einfache Snapmare bereitet ihm höllische Schmerzen. Dennoch hält er dieses Match durch Ansetzte in Sachen Psychologie und Matchstuktur am laufen. Leider ist dies einfach durch seine stark eingegrenzte Offensive nicht immer möglich und so müssen sie oft zum Attitude-Era Main Event Style greifen, der die nächsten Jahre prägen wird. Die Finish-Sequenz ist dann das Highlight des Matches. Insgesamt ein solider Auftritt, geprägt von einem schwer verletzen Michaels, der alles dafür gibt, das sein "letztes" Match kein totaler Flop wird. **3/4"
[8.0] "Es ist kein großartiges Match, aber dieses Match hat mit dem Tyson turn die attitude Era und die Austin 3:16 Era eingeläutet. Historisch wichtiges Match."
[6.0] "Mehr als sechs Punkte sehe ich hier nicht, denn ich konnte bei diesem Aufeinandertreffen keine "besonderen Qualitäten" ausmachen. Routiniert vorgeführt von zwei Männern, die absolut ihr Handwerk verstanden haben, aber da haben beide ganz andere Matches rausgehauen. Mike Tyson in seiner Rolle ist, damals wie heute, legendär weil er schlichtweg gar nichts zum Match beiträgt. Da er zusätzlich vollkommen blass d. h. weitestgehend charismafrei, körperlich nicht beeindruckend und wie irgendein x-beliebiger Run-of-the-Mill-Heini rüberkommt, der sich am Ring zum Affen macht, ist auch heute noch beeindruckend. Nie zuvor und danach war vielleicht ein großer Promi im Wrestlingkontext weniger sein Geld wert, als es hier der Fall war. Heute ein lieber netter Kerl, der mehr im Kopf hat als viele ihm zutrauen, aber damals war Mike Tyson scheinbar genau wie er sich gegeben hat: Ein grober unpolierter Typ, der neben den herausragenden sportlichen Leistungen so ziemlich alles fehlte, was ihn davon ab herausragen ließ. Das Shawn Michaels sein Kaugummi sichtbar weiterkaut, nachdem er von Tyson niedergestreckt wurde, vergällt selbst Tysons einzigen bemerkenswerten Eingriff. Auch davon ab: Das war nichts Besonderes, auch wenn Michaels nach dem Match für viele Jahre als aktiver Wrestler eine Pause eingelegt hat."
[4.0] "This match never "clicked" for me. I blame it mainly on the dead crowd, but I also thought that HBK and Austin didn't have great chemistry. The match was also structured in a way to really avoid any big bumps (beside one of Austin), which also really hurt the contest. ***"
[9.0] "This is a highly, highly underrated match. Had Shawn been healthy they probably would have gotten to five stars. Still the unbelievable performance of Shawn with a back that was massed up beyond all recognition is one of the all time great performances in wrestling history. It’s a historic match, because it kicked off the attitude era and gave Austin his first title, but it should be remembered for the performance of the Showstopper. ****"
[7.0] "Aufgrund der Verletzung von HBK war es kein Übermatch, aber immer noch mehr als ansehnlich. Beide haben mich gut unterhalten, was man vorallem HBK sehr hoch anrechnen muss. Die Matchstory mit der Beinbearbeitung war auch gut und das Finish glaubhaft. Mit dem Turn von Mike Tyson hatte man dann noch einen weiteren Feelgood-Moment für das ohnehin schon begeisterte Publikum. Insgesamt eine runde Sache."
[7.0] "Das ganze Drumherum verdient 10 Punkte, der Kampf konnte jedoch, gerade durch die Verletzung von HBK, nur bedingt überzeugen. Dennoch ein Meilenstein in der WWE Geschichte."
[8.0] "Beeindruckend was hier Michaels aus seinem geschundenen Körper herausholt und wie er die Aktionen von Austin sellt. Ich find es war ein feiner Brawl, der natürlich von der reinen historischen Bedeutung überschattet wird. "The Austin Era has begun! ""
[7.0] "Knapp das MotN von Wrestlemania XIV und für diese Leistung muss man v. a. HBK loben. Klar kein überragendes Match, aber immer noch toll und aufgrund den Verletzungen war an diesem Abend nicht mehr möglich. Tysons Turn war fast offensichtlich, weil er draußen nicht eingriff, ich hätte mir gewünscht, dass er neutral bleibt und den Pin am Ende nicht übertrieben schnell, sondern normal gezählt hätte. Aber ich schätze, das ist nicht seine Art. Jedenfalls gebe ich dem trotz der Handicaps immer noch tollen Match ***1/4 und 7 Punkte."
[8.0] "Die beiden Kontrahenten holen hier trotz ihrer Verletzungs-Geschichten das Beste raus, was geht und schaffen es somit doch einen würdigen WM-Main Event aufzustellen. Dies ist natürlich vor allem Michaels, dessen Rückenverletzung hier ja noch akuter ist, hoch anzurechnen. Klar war das Match vom KotR im Vorjahr technisch besser und die ganz spektakulären Bumps, die er sonst in einem WM-ME sicher gebracht hätte, konnte HBK hier nicht auspacken, aber das machten die beiden mit Intensität wieder wett. Einzig das Finish mit der zweimal abgewehrten SCM kommt etwas hastig daher. Hier hätte man vielleicht noch eine Minute und den ein oder anderen Near Fall einbauen können. Wertung von mir: ***1/2 und (aufgerundete) 8 Punkte."
[7.0] "Man hat schon gemerkt das beide in einem doch recht ramponierten Zustand in dieses Match gingen. Dennoch bleibt festzuhalten, das beide das beste daraus machen wollten, was ihnen im großen und ganzen auch gelang."
[7.0] "Da Austin aufgrund der Nackenprobleme seinen Stil ändern musste und Michaels es nach dem Stunt beim Rumble mit dem Rücken hatte, was man ihm hier auch deutlich anmerkt, war es im Grunde klar, dass beide kein Match wie beim KotR im Vorjahr zeigen konnten. Dafür zeigen sie einen soliden Brawl. Tyson enttäuscht, da er bis auf das Ende lediglich nur draußen rumhängt und debil das DX-Zeichen macht. Na ja... der Intellegenteste war er ja offenbar noch nie. Das Match selber bedeutete nicht nur den ersten Titelgewinn Austins, sodern auch seinen entgültigen Durchbruch an der Spitze der WWE, von wo er augenommen von seiner Pause bis zu seinem Karrierende 2003 auch nicht mehr wegzuholen war."
[7.0] "Wie schon gesagt, schlechter als das Match vom King of the Ring aus dem Vorjahr, deshalb auch ein Punkt weniger. Dass sich Michaels hier den Rücken verletzt, ist zwar schlecht für das Match, aber das ändert nichts an der Punktzahl."
[8.0] "Shawn, monatelang verletzt, bestreitet sein vorerst letztes Match für die WWE. Natürlcih kann er hier nicht alles zeigen, was er gerne zeigen würde, aber dank der Austin-Atmosphäre wars doch sehr sehenswert."
[7.0] "Recht nettes Match, welches aber noch viel Spielraum nach oben ließ - was natürlich an dem schmerzenden Rücken von HBK lag. Schade, ohne diese Verletzung wäre eine Menge mehr möglich gewesen."
[8.0] "Wäre HBK im Vollbesitz seiner Kräfte gewesen und hätte sich hier nicht so durch sein letztes Match für die nächsten 4 1/2 Jahre kämpfen müssen, wären 10 Punkte drin gewesen! Außerdem der unwiderrufliche Beginn der Austin Era und Jim Ross mit dem immer noch legendären "Tyson, Tyson, Tyson" Zitat! Das alles macht es zum 8 Punkte Match!"
