WCW was thrashing WWE in the wrestling war that dominated the 90s -- despite being a distant number two in the earlier part of the decade, a bottomless wallet had allowed the Atlanta-based organization to snatch up several big WWE stars, and the nWo invasion angle made the company red hot. WWE wasn't without it's talented performers, but plain and simple, theirs wasn't the cool show to watch. That didn't change overnight, but the turn of the tide was telegraphed at WrestleMania XIII, when increasingly popular heel Stone Cold Steve Austin took on increasingly unpopular babyface Bret Hart. The WWE stalwart had been tormented by the WCW castoff for months, and the two would settle their issues in a submissions-only match. The bout was everything it needed to be -- a brutal fight that turned into one of the best matches WWE has ever aired. Austin fought valiantly, while the desperate Hart did everything he could to ensure victory. In the end, a bloodied Austin was locked in the Sharpshooter, but he refused to submit -- instead, he passed out from the pain. Unsatisfied, Bret continued to attack Austin until he was physically stopped by special guest referee Ken Shamrock. Hart cemented himself as a coward while Austin became a defiant hero -- one who would enable WWE to ultimately win the war.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
