With Mike Tyson enforcing from ring side, the WWF Championship fight began with both superstars dancing around each other, engaging in a few light punches before Shawn Michaels escaped the ring and ran back in to take advantage of Steve Austin, but was met with a standing clothesline. Austin followed up by pulling down Michaels' trunks revealing his rear. Michaels tried to run at Austin but was flipped over the top rope into Triple H and Chyna. As Triple H threw Austin through the crowd barrier, the referee ordered him and Chyna to leave ringside but Austin followed and fought with them up to the entrance way. Michaels caught up with him and hit Austin with a cymbal from the bandstage, before Irish whipping him into the dumpster. As the match resumed in the ring, Austin met Michaels high-risk manoeuvre with a clothesline and then ran him into the turnbuckle and picking him up for an inverted atomic drop. Michaels attempt to pick up some momentum saw him picked up and dropped onto the ropes but Michaels managed to push Stone Cold away as he attempted a stunner. When he tried to escape the ring though, Austin shoved him forcing the champion to fall upon the announce table. After Stone Cold slowed the match down with a sleeper, Michaels tried to pull his knee into the ring post but was instead pulled into it himself. Austin then tried to rush at Michaels but was back tossed into the crowd and struck with the ring bell. Michaels used the momentum to take advantage inside the ring, delivering a snapmare and then a low kick to the grounded Austin but as he took time to offend the audience Stone Cold briefly picked up some speed throwing Michaels out of the ring but just as quickly lost ground as his opponent repeatedly worked on Austin's left knee, throwing it into the ring post and then kicking and dropping onto it back inside the ring. When Austin tried to recover outside of the ring, he was met with a baseball slide launching him over the announce table and was instantly thrown back into the ring by Tyson where he soon suffered a figure four leg lock that Michaels illegally elevated using the second and third ring rope. Austin's eventual counter was stopped by a rope break. Austin then tried to reverse a standing sleeper hold by throwing Michaels back into the turnbuckle but unwittingly trapped referee Mike Chioda who fell unconscious. With both men on the floor, HBK recovered with a kip-up and landed a high-flying elbow drop, getting in position to taunt for his finisher. As Austin eventually stood up, he ducked the super kick, attempting a stunner on Michaels as he turned round only to be thrown into the ropes and met again with a Sweet Chin Music which he grabbed, spinning Michaels round and finishing with a Stone Cold stunner. Tyson jumped into the ring to make a quick three count and the new champion celebrated by tossing the enforcer an Austin 3:16 T-shirt. When Shawn Michaels stood up, he confronted Tyson about his turn but was met with a punch that instantly floored him, and draped with Austin T-shirt.