10 Dumbest Decisions By WWE Champions

3. Bret Hart - Keeping His Monday Night Raw Match Against Sycho Sid

Bret Hart Sycho Sid
WWE.com

Bret Hart was the literal and perfect opposite of a dumb professional wrestler, but a choice that looked prideful on the surface was in fact a tell that Stone Cold Steve Austin had gotten under his skin to such a degree that he could no longer focus like the 'Hitman' of old.

Crafting yet another elegant chapter in the story of his phenomenal and era-defining 1997 heel turn, WWE booked Austin to beat the sh*t out of 'The Hitman' before he could make it to the ring for his defence against Sycho Sid on the February 17th edition of the show.

A second attempt to get the match going went even worse for the Champion, with Austin striking violently backstage. It was at this point that 'The Best There Is, Best There Was and Best There Ever Will Be' should have known it wasn't his night, but he stubbornly went out there one final time to defend the title in his weakened state.

Austin's steel chair assault in the bout's closing moments cruelly terminated Hart's latest reign at just one day, further continuing his emotional downward spiral. It took him until August to pull himself away from 'The Rattlesnake' long enough to get that belt back.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 65,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live.