10 Best "Passing Of The Torch" Matches In WWE History
1. Bret Hart Vs. Steve Austin (WrestleMania 13)
His victory over Shawn Michaels one year later would legitimise Steve Austin as championship material, but his match with Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 is what made him as a major player. Many fans consider this the greatest match in WrestleMania history, and for good reason. It is an undeniable classic blessed with a near-perfect story, and it signalled the start of one superstar’s rise to megastardom, and the beginning of another’s decline.
Austin had screwed Hart to win the 1997 Royal Rumble a few months prior, but neither fought for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. Instead, the duo’s bitter rivalry culminated in a gruelling No Holds Barred Submission match, and while Hart entered as the hero and Austin the villain, the roles were reversed by the end.
Hart’s escalating brutality saw the crowd gradually turn on him throughout the match, while their sympathy for Austin increased tenfold. The sight of a bloodied Stone Cold screaming in agony while locked in Hart’s Sharpshooter has become iconic, and the Rattlesnake had never looked gutsier. Austin was in immense pain, but refused to quit right up to the moment his body finally gave up on him, and he collapsed in defeat.
Stone Cold’s fighting spirit saw him become WWE’s biggest babyface that night, and Hart’s decline was set in motion. The Hitman continued having strong matches prior to his eventual departure following the Montreal Screwjob, but he was never the same after joining WCW. Austin, meanwhile, inherited his status as the company’s top babyface, and soon became one of the biggest stars the sport has ever seen.