List of WrestleMania XIV Behind-the-Scenes and Production Facts

Undertaker Had Fists Wrapped Ready to Confront Michaels

Taker Positioned in Gorilla Position to Ensure Michaels Did the Honors

Behind the scenes at WrestleMania XIV, The Undertaker — aware of Michaels' alleged political resistance to dropping the championship to Austin — had wrapped his fists and positioned himself in the Gorilla Position (the staging area immediately behind the entrance curtain) prepared to physically confront Michaels if he refused to do the job. Multiple sources confirm that Undertaker's presence was deliberate and that Michaels was aware of it. The image of the Dead Man — already in his full in-ring character — standing silently in Gorilla Position with wrapped hands is one of professional wrestling's most extraordinary backstage stories.

Michaels Allegedly Politicked Against Dropping the Title

Behind-the-Scenes Resistance — Austin's Account

According to Steve Austin's account on The Steve Austin Show podcast, Shawn Michaels had been making serious political attempts to avoid dropping the championship at WM14 — 'he had a real bad attitude on him and didn't feel like dropping the strap.' Michaels himself later acknowledged his behaviour: 'The animosity was never you... it was at the situation, it was at Vince; the career is over, I'm dropping the title, it was palpable that this was going to be big... there was absolutely nothing good going on with me, so I was a dick to everybody.' An open workout in Boston during the WM14 build week saw Michaels struck by a thrown battery, which almost caused him to walk out entirely.

Austin Rated the Match 'The Drizzling Shits' — Vince Said It Was Fine

Austin's Harsh Private Assessment — McMahon's Pragmatic Response

Steve Austin explicitly stated on his podcast that he told Vince McMahon the Austin vs. Michaels main event was 'the drizzling shits' — an extremely harsh private assessment of a match that was publicly presented as a landmark championship bout. McMahon's response was pragmatic: he assured Austin it was fine, that they had accomplished what they needed to. The exchange captures the gap between WM14's internal quality assessment and its external cultural significance — the match succeeded commercially and narratively despite failing to reach either man's personal athletic standard.

Tyson Was Paid Millions Despite Boxing Licence Suspension

Disgraced Champion Still Had Enormous Commercial Value

Mike Tyson's boxing licence had been suspended indefinitely by the Nevada State Athletic Commission since June 1997 — eleven days after he bit Evander Holyfield's ears during their heavyweight title rematch. Despite being effectively banned from competitive boxing, Tyson remained one of the most globally recognisable people on Earth and was paid millions by WWF for his WM14 involvement. His licence was eventually restored in October 1998 — seven months after WrestleMania XIV.

DX Band's National Anthem — Most Booed WM Musical Performance

Boston Crowd's Furious Reaction to 'New Age' Anthem

The D-Generation X Band performed a 'new age' rendition of 'America the Beautiful' and 'The Star-Spangled Banner' to open WrestleMania XIV — and was met with ferocious booing from the Boston crowd that the Wrestleview reviewer described as 'truly one of the worst musical performances of all-time.' The performance was edited out of subsequent WWE Network releases of the event. The booing of the national anthem — a reflection of the DX brand's heel character — became one of WM14's most-discussed pre-match moments.

WCW Was Still Winning the Ratings War on the Night of WM14

WWF Victory in Monday Night Wars Came Two Weeks After WM14 — Not Before

Despite the common misconception that WM14 represented the moment WWF began winning the Monday Night Wars, WCW was still winning the weekly television ratings battle on the night of March 29, 1998. WWF had not won a single weekly ratings comparison since June 10, 1996 — an 83-consecutive-week losing streak. WM14's buy rate improvement and Austin's championship win began the momentum that ended WCW's streak on April 13, 1998 — but the ratings victory came after WM14, not on the night itself.