10 Most Iconic WWE WrestleMania Images

2. Bloody Austin Will Not Give Up (WrestleMania 13)

In 1996-97, Vince McMahon and the WWE were playing chicken on the train tracks of edgy TV. Whenever they'd do something risky, like the Brian Pillman gun incident, or incorporate more table-and-chair-based matches on a kids' show, they'd pull back and continue watering down the show with bad gimmicks and cartoonish hues.

Stone Cold Steve Austin was the antidote to that hackneyed image. If his four-letter words and coarse attitude weren't enough to flip the script, his loss of blood at WrestleMania 13 would surely break all binds. When Bret Hart subtly cuts him during their submission match, the crimson mask quickly arrives.

The enduring sight is when Hart snares Austin in the Sharpshooter, and the stubborn antagonist will not surrender. He pushes up onto his palms, emitting anguished grunts as rivulets of blood dribble down his face, a futile swat at circumstance. It is Austin who is heroic in defeat (he passed out, as opposed to submitting), and the road for Stone Cold's rise to the company pantheon is quickly paved.