Background in the
Chicago suburb of
Rosemont, Illinois.
WrestleMania is considered the
World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) flagship
professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in
1985. It has become the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of the WWF's original four pay-per-views, which includes
Royal Rumble,
SummerSlam, and
Survivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four", and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along with
King of the Ring. WrestleMania 13 was scheduled to be held on March 23, 1997, at the
Rosemont Horizon in the
Chicago suburb of
Rosemont, Illinois. The event was
presented by
PlayStation. This was the second WrestleMania in the
Chicago metropolitan area, after
WrestleMania 2 in 1986.
Storylines The main
feud heading into WrestleMania 13 was between
The Undertaker and
Sycho Sid, with the two battling over the
WWF Championship. At
In Your House 13 in February,
Bret Hart last eliminated The Undertaker in the
Final Four match to win the vacant WWF Championship. Their rivalry continued as Hart and Austin were the final two participants in the
1997 Royal Rumble match. Hart had originally eliminated Austin from the match, but Austin's elimination was considered unofficial because the
referees did not see it, as they were busy attending to a brawl between eliminated wrestlers
Mankind and
Terry Funk. Austin would eventually eliminate Hart from the match, thus becoming the official winner, albeit controversially. As a result, both Hart and Austin were named as participants in a
Four Corners Elimination match for the vacant
WWF Championship at
In Your House: Final Four, which Hart won. The next night on
Monday Night Raw, however, Austin cost Hart the WWF Championship against Sycho Sid when Hart had applied the
Sharpshooter on Sid, allowing Austin to nail Hart with a
steel chair, followed by Sid
powerbombing Hart for the win. Hart and Austin were then booked to wrestle in a submission match at WrestleMania. Along the way, Hart was granted a shot at the WWF Championship against Sycho Sid in a
steel cage match on the March 17 edition of
Raw Is War, with the winner defending the title against their respective opponent at WrestleMania 13. Hart almost had the match won, until Undertaker interfered and helped Sid in getting the victory. One of the main
undercard matches was a
Chicago Street Fight featuring
Ahmed Johnson and
Legion of Doom (
Hawk and
Animal) against
Nation of Domination (
Faarooq,
Crush and
Savio Vega). Johnson was attacked by a newcomer named
Faarooq Asad, a
Roman gladiator on the July 22, 1996 edition of
Monday Night Raw during a match for the
WWF Tag Team Championship. Ahmed was scheduled to defend his
Intercontinental Championship against Faarooq at
SummerSlam 1996, but
legitimate kidney problems forced him to vacate the Intercontinental Championship. In
storyline, it was explained that Faarooq's attack had caused Ahmed's kidney problem. Ahmed returned from his injury in early 1997 and continued his feud with Faarooq, who had since formed The
Nation of Domination in Ahmed's absence. Ahmed then joined forces with the Legion of Doom and the trio were scheduled to wrestle the Nation of Domination in a Chicago Street Fight at WrestleMania 13. ==Event==