10 Most Influential WWE Matches Ever
6. Shawn Michaels Vs. Bret Hart - Survivor Series 1997
Lost in the industry-changing controversy which directly followed it is the content of the match itself which, alongside Hart's own classic with Steve Austin at that year's WrestleMania 13 event, laid down the blueprint for the frenetic arena-wide brawl synonymous with the company's Attitude Era.
The finish has been covered in extensive detail by several commentators (the best of which can be found here), but it was so revolutionary that it demands inclusion.
Referee Earl Hebner, under orders from Vince McMahon, prematurely called for the bell while Hart was locked in his own Sharpshooter by Shawn Michaels. He patently didn't submit, but McMahon felt that screwing the departing Hart was the only way he could protect the WWF Heavyweight title for which the match was contested.
The impact has been incredibly far-reaching; without it, there would be no Mr. McMahon, the antagonist with whom Steve Austin contested the feud which relaunched the WWF into the mainstream consciousness.
Regrettably, the finish has been dredged up on countless occasions to mixed - though usually groan-inducing - effect.
The Rock's swerve turn at Survivor Series 1998 was the pinnacle of the subsequent retreads, which somehow made it to this year, purely as a means of extending the Natalya Vs. Charlotte feud well past its expiration date.