10 Most Epic Breakout WWE Performances

1. Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart - Survivor Series 1996

There is something about the bright lights and big stage of Madison Square Garden that breeds breakout performances, as you have witnessed throughout this list. No breakout performance was more important to the future of WWE, though, than "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's in his 1996 Survivor Series classic against Bret "Hitman" Hart. Full of the proverbial piss and vinegar, Austin was a loudmouthed rebel who respected no one. He cursed openly, drawing the ire of Vince McMahon on numerous occasions, but struck a chord with the viewer. Though he was nowhere near as over as he would come to be by the time the fall of '96 rolled around, he certainly had momentum on his side. That he had stepped up to the plate and challenged the legendary Bret Hart to a match at one of the company's biggest pay-per-view extravaganzas only helped to demonstrate the intestinal fortitude of the man Jim Ross would come to label the Texas Rattlesnake. For all of the headway he had made in the weeks leading into the show, though, some still questioned whether he could be a legitimate headliner. He was a mechanic by his own admission, the type of performer who could be counted on to deliver from bell-to-bell but nothing more. Survivor Series was his opportunity to flip his doubters the bird. He did just that. In one of the finest matches in the event's history, Austin stood toe-to-toe with Hart and proved that on that night, he was every bit the Hitman's equal. The two professionals delivered a wrestling purist's dream that, to some, is even better than the much-heralded Submission match from WrestleMania 13. Hart, in his first match back from hiatus, reestablished himself as the standard bearer in pro wrestling while Austin won the confidence of McMahon and fans, both of whom were suddenly ready to accept him as the savior of the sport.