WWE in the 1990s: 10 iconic, era-defining photos and the stories behind them

#8 Shawn's swansong

Shawn Michaels bowed out of the WWF in 1998 after this effort against Stone Cold Steve Austin.

If, earlier, we noted Bret Hart as the ultimate wrestler of the 1990s then, surely, the moniker of 'greatest entertainer' of the decade has to go to Shawn Michaels.

The Heartbreak Kid is, today, a celebrated, decorated two-time Hall of Famer and comfortably agreed upon as one of the greatest of all time. Much of what earned him that reputation came between 1990 and 1998, a period in which he would both establish himself in WWE, and bow out - at least for a while.

The third entry in our collection was taken just before what would be his last match of the 1990s, and at the time believed to be his final match, period. With countless classics behind him, this outing against Stone Cold Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XIV certainly won't go down in the 'Vintage Michaels' category, but it was a pivotal moment in so much as it crowned Austin as WWE Champion and truly ushered in the Attitude Era that Michaels had done so much to start.

Michaels' back issues and overall health meant he was, by his own standards, in a state of decline by the time he reached this 1998 battle with the Texas Rattlesnake. Afterward, he would go on to take a break from the ring that, miraculuously, he returned from after just short of 4 and a half years away.