WrestleMania 13 was the thirteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The event was held on March 23, 1997 at the Rosemont Horizon in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois.

The main event was a no disqualification match between The Undertaker and Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship, which Undertaker won following interference from Bret Hart. The main matches on the undercard were Bret Hart versus Steve Austin in a submission match,Legion of Doom and Ahmed Johnson versus Nation of Domination in a Chicago Street Fight.

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, Bret Hart last eliminated The Undertaker in a Four Corners Elimination match to win the vacant WWF Championship. Hart's reign, however, lasted only one day as he lost the title the next night on Raw to Sycho Sid after interference by Steve Austin. Due to being the runner-up to the title at Final Four, Undertaker was made the number one contender and was booked to challenge Sycho Sid for the title at WrestleMania. However, on the March 17 edition of Raw, Sid defended the title against Hart in a steel cage match, with the winner defending his title at WrestleMania. During the match, both Undertaker and Austin interfered. Undertaker came out to help Sid because he wanted to wrestle Sid for the title while Austin helped Hart because he wanted to make his scheduled no disqualification submission match with Hart a title match. Sid won the match and retained his title and as a result, Sid vs. Undertaker remained the main event of WrestleMania.

Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson, later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor, producer, and retired professional wrestler. Austin wrestled for several well-known wrestling promotions such as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and most famously, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Described by WWE (formerly the WWF) chairman Vince McMahon as the most profitable wrestler in the company's history, he gained significant mainstream popularity in the WWF during the mid-to-late 1990s as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, a disrespectful, beer-drinking antihero who routinely defied McMahon, his boss. This defiance was often shown by Austin flipping off McMahon and incapacitating him with the Stone Cold Stunner, his finishing move. McMahon inducted Austin into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.

Austin held twenty championships throughout his professional wrestling career, and is a six-time WWF Champion as well as the fifth Triple Crown Champion. He was also the winner of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, as well as the 1997, 1998 and 2001 Royal Rumbles. He was forced to retire from in ring competition in early 2003 due to a series of knee and neck injuries sustained throughout his career. Throughout the rest of 2003 and 2004, he was featured as the Co-General Manager and "Sheriff" of Raw. Since 2005, he has continued to make occasional appearances. In 2011, Steve Austin returned to WWE to host the reality series Tough Enough.

Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is a retired professional wrestler, and an American television host. He is currently signed to WWE, where he has served as an ambassador for the company since December 2010. Hickenbottom consistently wrestled for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1988 until his first retirement in 1998, due to injury. He appeared in non-wrestling roles from 1998 to 2000, and resumed his in-ring career in 2002, retiring in 2010. He also hosts the show MacMillan River Adventures, airing on the Outdoor Channel.

Hickenbottom began his wrestling career with Mid-South Wrestling, now known as Universal Wrestling Federation, and American Wrestling Association (AWA). During his time with AWA, he performed in partnership with Marty Jannetty, as The Midnight Rockers; winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice. Hickenbottom and Jannetty briefly signed with World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1987, while in contract with AWA. They returned to AWA, only to go back to the WWF in 1988.