Austin's rivalry with Hart started in late 1996 when Austin called him out for a match at Survivor Series. Bret won the match on a counter move. It's not like he dominated or made Austin look foolish. He simply outsmarted him. Austin, who was a heel at the time, couldn't let it go and made it a point to make life difficult for Hart. Their work in the 1997 Royal Rumble was great with Austin cheating to win the match, which only added to the rivalry and make Hart hate him more. They were also part of the Final Four 1997 PPV where the winner of a battle royal got to become the WWE Champion. Hart won even with Austin trying to prevent it and then the next night on Raw, Austin cost Hart the title in a match against Sid. The stage was set for their Submission Match at WrestleMania 13. It's one of the best matches in WWE history that ended with Austin bleeding profusely while Hart had him in the Sharpshooter and ref Ken Shamrock ended the match when Austin passed out. Watching their work from early 1997 was amazing. Hart transformed himself from being this smiling babyface character to a whiny heel that complained about how unfair things were. His tirades made people start to hate him while Austin was loved because he would speak the truth while also using some colorful language along the way. In addition to the great matches they had, they had the best double turn in the history of wrestling that set up Austin as the babyface that would turn things around for WWE. Hart was doing the best promos of his life. It was so much fun to watch.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
