Why Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin Was The Greatest Match Ever

For this week’s WWE Retro Review, we take a look back at one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart from WrestleMania 13.

In an effort of trying something different, I decided that a fun weekly segment could be to take a look back at some of the best, and possibly worst matches, PPVs, segments, and moments in WWE history. What better way to start off here with my personal favorite match of all time, Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold from WrestleMania 13.

This match took place in a time where WCW was as hot as it ever was, the nWo was the most popular thing in wrestling, and WCW was winning the rating war against WWE. The year prior Stone Cold had won the king of the ring, and cut the infamous Austin 3:16 promo. So this match came at a point where WWE really needed to move the needle in their favor, and boy did this start that.

An interesting thing about this match was that it wasn’t even supposed to happen. Bret Hart was going to face Shawn Michaels for the WWF Title originally. Had it not been for Shawn Michaels “losing his smile” we would’ve never had this match, and what a travesty that would be. So thank you Shawn.

The beautiful thing about this match is that before this match, Bret Hart was the beloved baby face. Stone Cold was still a heel, but gaining more fan support. By the end though, Stone Cold would gain sympathy and become the baby face, while frustration and anger would get the better of Bret Hart, and he would be the heel by the end.

This match would also feature Ken Shamrock from UFC as the special guest referee, who I thought really helped this match even if just in a small role.

This match was a submission match, which on the surface gave Bret Hart the significant advantage as he was a submission specialist. Jim Ross though did a great job on commentary to make sure that the viewer wouldn’t think of it as foregone conclusion that Hart would win because this match favors him, as he would rightfully point out that even though Austin is not a submission specialist, he can still beat Hart into submission.

In Austin’s own words, “there’s not a man on this earth that can make me say I quit.” Which not only helped the viewer take Austin as a threat in this sort of match, but it also would later play into the finish of this match.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

The Match Begins With A Brawl

This match delivered and then some from bell to bell, and they wasted no time. As soon as Bret entered the ring, Stone Cold took him down to start the match and the two began beating the hell out of each other from there. It’s something I wish we’d see more in WWE today is that when a rivalry is this personal, waste no time, go right after each other from the start. This brawl would ensue to the outside of the ring, and going into the crowd right at the start of this match.

This led to a moment here which I always find funny when I watch this match. In the midst of this brawl through the crowd, Austin would take a soda from what appeared to be a concession employee selling drinks, took a sip of it, and then threw it at Hart. Then after that, Austin tries to take the drink carrier off the guy to use it as a weapon but the guy wouldn’t let him take it.

The unfortunate part of this brawl into the crowd is that it was hard to get good camera shots, as Hart and Austin were surrounded by fans, so you couldn’t really see the impact that would later happen when Hart would back body drop Austin off of the steps and to the floor. When they did eventually bring this back into the ring, Bret would focus his attack on the knee of Austin to soften him up for the sharpshooter.

The great thing about this match is that it wasn’t a typical submission match. They weren’t trading holds throughout. This was a fight, that just so happened to have to end by submission. Hart would begin to work Austin’s leg here, but it never felt like it dragged or became any less of a fight while he was doing this. Austin would hit a Stone Cold Stunner out of pure desperation, but as JR would point out, there are no pin falls.

The Stunner proved to be only out of desperation as Austin struggled to his feet, but still feeling the attack to the knee, was hobbled, and Hart would take advantage of that. Hart would then drag Austin to the turnbuckle, and lock in a Figure Four Leg Lock with Austin’s legs being wrapped around the turnbuckle.

Photo Credit: WWE Network

Introducing A Steel Chair

Bret would introduce a steel chair into the equation, wrapping it around the leg of Austin and climbing the turnbuckle. Austin would get up and hit Hart with that chair as he was perched on the turnbuckle, which would begin Austin’s attack on the back of Bret Hart, hitting him in the back with the chair one more time, and then putting Hart in a Boston Crab submission.

This sequence helped convey Austin’s game plan; beat Hart throughout the match, and then be able to put Bret into a submission after already being beaten to the point where he would have to submit.

Austin would then attempt to put Hart in a sharpshooter, but Bret would counter with a thumb to the eye of Austin. This would lead to the two finding their way to the outside of the ring again, with Hart whipping Austin into the barricade, before unloading on Austin with a fury of punches.

This is where one of the better behind the scenes part of this match took place. During this time, WWE was not doing blood. They weren’t doing blade jobs. Hart though, took it upon himself to say for this match to work, we have to get color.

Austin, however, had never bladed himself before, and asked Bret to do it for him. Which, if you’re getting into the wrestling business, is probably one of the first things they would tell you not to do, but Austin put his full trust in Hart. Bret is also such a pro, you can watch this over and over, but you can’t really tell when Hart does the deed.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Austin’s In Trouble, But He Won’t Quit

This would lead to a furious onslaught of offense from Hart, punching Austin in the head several times, and then eventually going back to the knee, this time hitting Austin with repeated chair shots to the knee. Hart would try to lock in the Sharpshooter, but in a call back to earlier in the match, Austin would counter out of it by raking the eyes of Hart out of desperation.

Austin from here was at a clear disadvantage as he was losing blood, and was still hobbled from the attack to his knee. It would not stop Austin, as the story throughout this is that Austin refuses to lose. Hart would back Austin into the turnbuckle and continue to throw punches to Austin’s head, but Austin would once again desperately manage to prolong this match by hitting Hart with a low blow, giving himself time to try to recover.

Austin took this opportunity to try to get one last gasp of offense to try to win this match. He would whip Hart into the turnbuckle, and Bret would run full speed, chest first into the turnbuckle. One of my favorite things about Bret Hart is how he gets the most out of everything. On the surface, this is a simple Irish whip into the turnbuckle. When Bret Hart takes it though, it means more because of the way he is able to sell.

Austin would follow this up with a super-plex to Hart, then throw him to the outside of the ring. Austin then, in another attempt to desperately try to put Bret down for good, would grab cables from the ringside area, and try to choke Hart with them on the ring apron.

Hart would counter though, in another call back to earlier in the match. When Bret introduced the chair into the match, he originally grabbed the ring bell, but decided to use the chair instead and sat the ring bell on the apron. The ring bell Hart placed there earlier would save him here, as he was able to use it to hit Austin in the head, forcing him off.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

The Sharpshooter Is Locked In

Hart would then go for the kill, finally locking Austin into the Sharpshooter. Steve would desperately try to get out of this, but was fading fast. After it appeared Austin was out, he had one last gasp, and managed to put his hands to the mat and push himself up.

Austin desperately tried to break the hold, and seemingly almost did using his legs to pull Hart off of his back, but Hart never let go of Austin’s legs and didn’t break the hold, and would regain his footing and lock the Sharpshooter in fully.

Photo by WWE Network

This lead to the most iconic image in the history of professional wrestling, with Bret Hart putting as much pressure as he can on the sharpshooter, and the shot of Austin’s face, pouring blood, screaming in agony, but refuses to quit. Austin fought as long as his body allowed him, and did not quit, but instead his body quit on him, as he passed out in the middle of the ring, forcing Ken Shamrock to call for the bell, declaring Bret Hart the winner.

Bret would show that he reached his breaking point in this match, attacking Austin again after the match was over. Bret would have to be wrestled away by Ken Shamrock, and Hart would make his exit, with a chorus of boos.

Another official would come into the ring to attempt to help Austin to the back, but Austin would refuse his services by hitting him with a Stunner. Austin, the now prideful baby face, wanted to leave under his own power. Austin would get a standing ovation as he hobbled to the back.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

The Greatest Match Of All-Time

Had it not been for this match, this would have been considered a sub-par at best WrestleMania, as nothing else of note really stuck out. Not only was this the greatest double-turn of all time, in my opinion, this is the greatest match of all time.

The story that these two told throughout this match was filled with drama and hard-hitting action, and by the end of it, it accomplished something that is very hard to do; make the viewer feel sympathy for Stone Cold Steve Austin. If you look at it on paper, how can people feel sympathetic for Stone Cold? He was an ass kicker, why would we feel sympathy for him?

The journey this match took us through though, made us feel for Stone Cold. He fought as hard and as long as humanly possible, and refused to give up. But in the end, it wasn’t his decision to give up, as he was knocked unconscious by Bret Hart.

From Bret’s perspective this also told a great story of the frustrations Bret had to deal with, after being screwed over so many times by guys like Stone Cold and Shawn Michaels, that he had finally reached his boiling point. He didn’t care about sportsmanship, he didn’t care about what anyone thought about him, all he cared about was making Austin feel as much pain as possible, and winning the match by any means necessary.

With all of these elements in this match, it did something that is very hard to do. After this match, both guys were elevated. Hart had just defeated one of the hottest guys in the company in a grueling match, while Austin came off as a complete bad ass who refused to lose, and had to be knocked unconscious to be forced to quit.