#3 The Attitude Era – Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mr. McMahon
The absolute no-brainer answer to Attitude Era’s defining feud is the one, that was arguably the game changer in the Monday Night War. The Attitude Era revolved around Stone Cold Steve Austin and he had several great feuds with legendary superstars like Owen Hart, The Undertaker, the many faces of Mick Foley, Hunter Hearst Helmsley and The Rock.
Yet, the one that eclipses them all, was Vince McMahon’s fiery crusade to unseat the rebellious redneck rattlesnake, from his throne atop the company.
The animosity between the two reached the point that McMahon decided to take matters into his own hands entering the squared circle as a competitor to face The Bionic Redneck on several occasions, including a memorable Steel Cage Match in February 1999.
Mr. McMahon provided the perfect foil for Austin. In McMahon, Austin had a rival that was everything Austin rallied so passionately against. McMahon represented stuffy suits, 9-to-5’s, political correctness and the idea that athletes should be role models for children to look up to.
He was corporate America, trying to mould his star employee into a marketable image. McMahon, simply put, represented the boss of every single WWE fan at the time. Meanwhile, Austin was a beer swilling, hellraising, antihero, concerned with only himself and making the CEO’s life an absolute living hell.
Fans lived vicariously through Austin, every time he thwarted McMahon.
