12. WrestleMania XIII
This is another one-match card, but it just might be the greatest match in the history of WrestleMania. Steve Austin won the King of the Ring tournament in 1996 – the night of the infamous “Austin 3:16” promo – and immediately started taking shots the Hitman. Their rivalry progressed into an epic 30-minute collision at Survivor Series, where Austin ultimately ended up losing, but had proven himself as a top heel in the promotion.
Things were quiet for a few months, until “Stone Cold” narrowly cheated his way to winning the 1997 Royal Rumble match. Because of controversy with Shawn Michaels at the time, the WWF title ended up vacated and both stars competed in a four-way match where Bret Hart regained the championship. In a rage over losing the main event at WrestleMania, Austin cost Hart the title on Monday Night Raw setting up their “final collision” at the Rosemont Horizon.
While Austin came into the match as a huge heel, and Bret was resident legendary babyface, this match was so good and so brutal that it changed the course of the wrestling landscape. In one of wrestling’s most famous images, the “Texas Rattlesnake” passed out to the Sharpshooter in a pool of his own blood, refusing to submit and losing the match by referee stoppage. Hart then continued his assault, deeply effected by the personal nature of their incredible feud, causing the fans to turn on him and establish Austin as a babyface.
This to me is the epitome of what pro wrestling is about. These two all-time greats took fans on a brutal, unexpected and epic ride through a gauntlet of emotions. They drew blood, made us cringe and left everyone feeling upside-down when all was said and done.
The rest of the WrestleMania XIII card is mostly garbage, including the main event between The Undertaker and Sycho Sid. I want this show to be among the elite of the elite, but there’s no reason to go back and watch anything but the war between Bret Hart and Steve Austin.
