Why Bret Hart Vs Stone Cold Steve Austin Is A True WrestleMania Masterpiece
- Thomas Hall
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
As hard as it might be to believe, we are now in the fifth decade of the history of WrestleMania. That is the kind of time that allows for quite the legacy, some of which have more than stood up throughout the decades. It is rare to find a match that has that kind of legacy and impact, as there are only so many which come close to being so successful. This week we are looking at the match which might have done it best.
The Attitude Era is still fondly remembered almost thirty years later and while a lot of that is due to rose colored glasses, there are still more than a few good things that you might remember. It was a time of change for the company and wrestling in general, but there were still a few names who were serving as a bridge between the two eras. The match we’re looking today was all about that bridge, and how two men wanted to see the bridge burned, albeit from different sides.
Bret Hart Vs Stone Cold Was Not The Main Event Of WrestleMania 13
While the official main event of WrestleMania 13 was Sycho Sid losing the WWF Title to The Undertaker, the real main event of the show was a submission match between Steve Austin and Bret Hart. This was the feud that was carrying the company around this time as Hart was the face of the previous generation and stood for everything good and fair about wrestling. That’s all well and good most of the time, but the late 1990s were not the most normal times.
On the other side of Hart’s traditionalist approach, you had Austin, who absolutely did not care about what came before him and had no respect for tradition or what Hart had done on the way here. Eventually the two of them had a match at Survivor Series 1996, with Hart escaping with a win after a heck of a showdown. Normally that would be it, but Austin was nothing like the other people Hart had faced over the years.
After the match, Austin would continue to torment Hart and even cost him the Royal Rumble and the WWF Title. This did not work for Hart, who started questioning everything about what had gotten him here. Instead of being respected and getting by on his abilities alone, he was fighting someone who treated Hart like trash. That was not going to work on either side and it was time for them to have a real fight.
MORE FROM THOMAS HALL: 9 Underrated WrestleMania Matches Thomas Hall Wants You To Watch
That led us to March 23, 1997 at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois when the two of them met in what was all but guaranteed to be one heck of a fight. The two wound up beating the living daylights out of each other in what was one of the most brutal, violent matches in WWE history. No, there weren’t as many weapons as usual (save for a chair and an electrical cord) but they made up for it in more than a few other ways.
The reason this match worked was that it felt as it these two were there to beat the other until one of them couldn’t take it anymore. This resulted in Austin being busted open and one of the most iconic shots in wrestling history, as Austin screamed in pain as the blood flowed down his face (and between his teeth) while in the Sharpshooter. Austin’s body ultimately gave out on him and he passed out from the pain, which was considered the same as a submission.
The story wasn’t over that night though, as Hart was not happy with Austin just being beaten into unconsciousness because he wanted Austin to actually give up. Hart stayed on Austin and attacked him even more, with guest referee Ken Shamrock breaking it up and even teasing a fight with Hart, who walked out instead, albeit rather steamed at the same time. Austin could barely stand after the damage done to his leg (and the rest of him) in the match but he eventually Stunned another referee and walked out under his own power. The fans loved Austin even more than they did and, eventually, he would become their antihero.
Did You Know...
As of this writing, Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin is the highest rated WrestleMania match on Cagematch.net?
Highest Rated WrestleMania Matches On Cagematch:
So why did this work? Well first and foremost, it’s an outstanding match. Yeah believe it or not, Hart and Austin in a twenty two minute match of any kind is going to work. They’re two of the best of all time for a reason and they were more than capable of making this feel as intense and violent as you could imagine. That’s what you want from this kind of a match and it worked so well.
There is a stretch in this match where Hart absolutely lays waste to Austin, but then Austin is able to catch him on top with a chair shot. Austin proceeds to give Hart one of the best beatings of his career (which Hart sold like only he could have) and you can feel the crowd openly embracing Austin, as they have wanted to the entire time. This match wasn’t so much Austin turning good, as much as the fans being told that it’s ok to cheer for him, because despite being more of a traditional bad guy, he was about as tough as you could have gotten.
This is where the story of the match worked so well, as you had the fans being a bit shaky about Hart’s recent actions but still loving him for what he had done. At the same time, Austin was rebelling against everything that had come before him, but he was just so talented and amazing at what he did that it was hard not to appreciate him. Ultimately the fans got what they wanted when Hart snapped and went too far, while Austin refused to give up and went out on his shield (and his own two feet) after an all time performance. It was a perfect double switch, even if the actual switch didn’t happen for a good while afterwards.
Bret Hart Vs. Stone Cold At WrestleMania 13 Featured A Legendary Double Turn
The other thing that makes this match work so well is the story that they told. The two of them got here because Hart was trying to keep things going one way, as in the old way, while Austin wanted to shake things up because he didn’t care. In Hart’s eyes, he blamed all of his problems and the changes taking place on Austin, whom he had to defeat (as mentioned in the video hyping up the match), but that’s where the storytelling got that much better.
More From Thomas Hall: This Is The Worst Match In WWE WrestleMania History
Yes, Hart won the match in the end, but ultimately he would lose the way, especially with what would happen later in the year at Survivor Series, with his final downfall. The catch to this whole match though was that while Hart beat Austin, he didn’t stop him, or what Austin was all about. Instead of stopping Austin for good, Hart was only able to slow him down. The changes that Hart hated and had been fighting against were coming no matter what he did, which triggered the upcoming Border War over the summer and gave Hart one of the greatest runs of his entire career.
This match is absolutely amazing for a variety of reasons, including just how impressive the storytelling became. You could see all kinds of layers to what they were doing and it’s one of the only matches where I still pick up new stuff on it every time I watch it. The shot of Austin’s blood stains on the canvas after the match still gets me every time, as the match has that much of an emotional impact. There is a reason it was the first match enshrined in the WWE Hall Of Fame, as it had a major impact on two of the greatest careers in company history. It’s one of my favorite matches of all time, and that’s because it exceeded its huge hype.
Watch Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 here: